missmoe Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Today I sorted through my food storage and organized it. My freezer is filled to the brim with food. I need to start using some of this food. I'm going to try not to buy anything other than milk, produce, and bread for the next three weeks. Anyone want to join me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I'm already there. I've got $20 for the rest of the month. The rest of my grocery money is already allocated to 1/2 a hog I ordered 2 wks ago. We don't buy milk or bread though and I have a stocked pantry, all I need to buy is veggies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I'm in! I'll have my husband inventory the freezer while I'm at work today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Me!!! I REALLY need to curve our grocery spending. :glare:Half the time we run out of food mid week, and I've spent all our grocery money already!!! I just need to organize meals and plan better. How do you normally do these? Do you set a budget to stay under, or try to use up the food you already have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I'll play. I have lots of meat in the freezer, but I'll probably have to buy some pantry goods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamajo Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I have a budget of $300 every 2 weeks and it is so hard to stay within budget. I don't have a stockpile of anything and run out of just about everything within a month. I may have a few frozen chicken breasts left over and bags of frozen veggies between pay periods. Depending upon the season cans of tomato paste, chili beans, etc. will last for a few months but other than that its paycheck to paycheck. I have a family of five (kids are 14, 12, 11, all girls). I've tried couponing, bulk shopping, ALDI, CVS rewards - you name it. The next thing I will try is buying ground turkey in bulk form the amish at $1/pound and visiting a apple orchard in the Fall for bushles (sp.?) of apples. I even planted a garden this summer and am waiting on my first harvest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I'm in! I just signed up to take two university courses this summer and the cost is a big stretch. My grocery budget is one area that I need to trim. Goal #1 for me is to radically reduce waste. I returned to work this past year for the first time since kids and this has really got away from me. I went through my canned goods recently and found way too many expired items. How do those of you who do a good job in this area manage it? Goal #2 is to dig into the items on my shelves and freezer. Thanks for starting this. I've needed a kick in the pants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I've been doing this almost since the beginning of January (minus about a month where we didn't have a working stove or usable kitchen) and we still have so much food. We moved an enormous chest freezer full of meat and all of our dry and canned goods, because it was cheaper to move them than to buy them again. We are just about out of pasta and quick side dishes. We have tons of dry beans, canned goods and meat left, plus whatever my husband needs to grab on his last trip through the old house. Some thoughts after reading previous posts: We do use canned goods beyond the "best by" date if the cans are still in good condition. We were buying a lot of sale items. We'd buy from an Amish scratch and dent-type place, and I knew exactly where to look at our local grocery stores for the best prices. I'll buy a lot of something if the price is good (less than 50 cents/can vegetables, less than 79 cents/pound pasta, less than $2/lb meat, etc). I'll buy a #10 can, and use it in different meals for a week. (Usually tomatoes, this week nacho cheese sauce.) Other than an occasional bag of tortilla chips or pretzels from Aldis, we don't buy "snack" foods. We save money on things like toilet paper because I still wipe more than half of the bums in this house. :D We also save money because my husband eats for free at work a few times a week, but he has some separate dietary requirements from the rest of us that increase our normal food bill too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Hey, I shop at an Amish scratch and dent too. It is usually feast or famine though. Some times I will buy two carts full of stuff, and sometimes it isn't worth the gas money to drive over. Do you shop at the one in Adams county? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 My goal for tomorrow is to take inventory and make a menu for the next couple of days. Then I can start to get creative with using what we have. DH an I are preparing to cut out simple sugars and refined grains, so I'd like to use up some things. Hopefully, I'll save enough using what we have to do some good restocking with whole grains, nuts, etc. Oh, I also hope to spend less than $20 this week, since DH spent $100 on food for Mother's Day. (I know FIL gave him some $, but still . . . I budget $80 for a WEEK!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 Me!!! I REALLY need to curve our grocery spending. :glare:Half the time we run out of food mid week, and I've spent all our grocery money already!!! I just need to organize meals and plan better. How do you normally do these? Do you set a budget to stay under, or try to use up the food you already have? I've started using Pinterest to plan my meals for the week. I kinda have this plan in mind---two bean meals, one fish meal, one meal with meat as a main dish, one meal with meat as part of the main dish, and one pasta meal. My husband went out and bought stuff for Mother's Day, so I'm starting from here. My menu plan this week: Chili and corn muffins Fish tacos with refried beans Chicken and mashed potatoes and salad and fruit dessert Pasta with veggies bean burgers with veggies and hummus meatball sandwiches with salad Breakfast will be granola, oatmeal, pancakes, muffins--all with fruit Lunch--baked beans, tuna, shakes, homemade ramen, rice noodle soup I need to buy some veggies, milk, and rolls for the meatball sandwiches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 Me!!! I REALLY need to curve our grocery spending. :glare:Half the time we run out of food mid week, and I've spent all our grocery money already!!! I just need to organize meals and plan better. How do you normally do these? Do you set a budget to stay under, or try to use up the food you already have? I've started using Pinterest to plan my meals for the week. I kinda have this plan in mind---two bean meals, one fish meal, one meal with meat as a main dish, one meal with meat as part of the main dish, and one pasta meal. My husband went out and bought stuff for Mother's Day, so I'm starting from here. My menu plan this week: Chili and corn muffins Fish tacos with refried beans Chicken and mashed potatoes and salad and fruit dessert Pasta with veggies bean burgers with veggies and hummus meatball sandwiches with salad Breakfast will be granola, oatmeal, pancakes, muffins--all with fruit Lunch--baked beans, tuna, shakes, homemade ramen, rice noodle soup I need to buy some veggies, milk, and rolls for the meatball sandwiches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I just need to get back to Menu Planning. I also need to go through our cabinets and donate some of it. For awhile I was going to the Food Pantries and now I have too much! saraha- I have never heard of the Amish Scratch & Dent place. Can you tell me more about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Jpoy85- In Adams county there is an amish shopping complex just called Millers. They have a bulk food/scratch and dent store/deli, a bakery and a furniture store. It is off state route 32. Kindof way off. From Eastgate it would be about an hour. It is a gorgeous drive, and there are several other amish businesses in the same area as the complex. Just be careful driving out, the roads are very winding and hilly and there are Amish out all of the time, and you can come up on them quick around a blind corner. We go there at least once a month, they usually get a truck delivery on Wednesdays. They buy their food at an auction up in Kidron I think from another amish outfit. They don't always have exactly what you need, its kindof like a treasure hunt. I shop there first and then fill in at the regular store. If you find a good deal, buy all you can because it will be gone the next time you come back. On Mondays and other occasional days they will have left over baked goods down in the bakery and we always buy ourselves a treat and the kids play on the play structures, so it is a nice day out for us. Are you in the Cinci area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Jpoy85- In Adams county there is an amish shopping complex just called Millers. They have a bulk food/scratch and dent store/deli, a bakery and a furniture store. It is off state route 32. Kindof way off. From Eastgate it would be about an hour. It is a gorgeous drive, and there are several other amish businesses in the same area as the complex. Just be careful driving out, the roads are very winding and hilly and there are Amish out all of the time, and you can come up on them quick around a blind corner. We go there at least once a month, they usually get a truck delivery on Wednesdays. They buy their food at an auction up in Kidron I think from another amish outfit. They don't always have exactly what you need, its kindof like a treasure hunt. I shop there first and then fill in at the regular store. If you find a good deal, buy all you can because it will be gone the next time you come back. On Mondays and other occasional days they will have left over baked goods down in the bakery and we always buy ourselves a treat and the kids play on the play structures, so it is a nice day out for us. Are you in the Cinci area? Wow, thank you so much for sharing this! It looks like they are half an hour further out than we are. We had been going to a place in PA when we still lived there, but we hadn't found anything here yet. Neat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I live in Brown county, do you live out this way? You can pm me if you want! I can give you better directions also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 (edited) We have discount stores here as well, but they are not run my Amish, although some local Mennonite's did run one before. The ones here specialize in packaged food though. It used to be the place I'd go to buy any processed food, like cereal. Dh used to eat tons of it so I'd stock up there for about $1 a box for his name brand favorites. I would sometimes find some more natural snacks as well, although the last several times I haven't seen anything like that. They can be a cheap place as well for canned goods although I've noticed that often their prices don't beat Aldi's unless you find some specialty item Aldi's doesn't carry. You do have to watch expiration dates though, I'm not super picky on that but some things you just don't want to buy expired. Before going GF I'd buy lots of pasta there but I did end up with pantry moths a few times, you have to watch what you buy and grain products you need to watch dates and freeze it when you get home. I did find some nice Lindt chocolate a few weeks back for more than half off, so that was a nice treat. I did go a lot more often but I found for me that often I'd find this special GF treat and feel the need to stock up as it was a special treat but then we would end up eating much more than we would otherwise, so in the end it wasn't me saving money. Edited May 14, 2012 by soror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 (edited) How are we all doing? I bought bagels, bread, milk, and apples so far. Spent 17 dollars. Haven't followed the menu I listed even a little bit! That is part of my problem. I plan on making something. Go and buy the ingredients. End up not making it and buy ingredients for something else! It is fine this week as I only used things I already had. Nova147 did you make your menu plan? Edited May 17, 2012 by missmoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I did plan a menu. Actually, after I inventoried food, I planned about 10 meals, bought a few things to round those out and spent $30 on that plus produce and yogurt. I hope to spent only $30 or $40 next week, leaving me a good amount extra to stock up on nuts, whole grains, meats, etc. I usually do fairly well with sticking to a menu plan. Occasionally I choose a recipe to try that doesn't sond good later. But I made one of those this week anyway. (it wasn't awful, but not good either.) Mostly, I make the same 20 meals or so all the time. I actually made a list of them that I refer to when meal planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I've not spent anything here. The hog I ordered was actually $25 more than usual so I need to not spend anything or very little($5) because that ate up the rest of my grocery budget(and then $5 more). We have a Cub Scout camp this weekend so I'm planning to pre-make some safe snacks today and try to figure out what we can eat the next 2 weeks. Looks like a lot of green beans! I wish the blackberries were ripe already as it is we have about 1 day left of fresh fruit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 I've made my menu for the week. Thai Sesame noodles Fafafels Mac and Cheese Pizza Fish Tacos Potato Cauliflower Soup I will need to buy pita pockets and produce for our meals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Can I come to your house for dinner? Those meals sound great to me, but DH and the kids would only eat the mac and cheese and pizza. :tongue_smilie: I think I have enough meals planned from my pantry for this week. The kids and I will be headed to my parents' house (6 hour drive from here) Thursday, returning Monday after dinner. (We like to take advantage of being able to school anywhere!) So I only need 3 dinners. That probably means I won't need to buy much at the store. We need some bananas, but we have oranges and grapes from last week and I won't buy more fruit since it will just go bad. I did go to the store this weekend and spent the rest of my grocery money from last week. DH volunteered us to make dinner for the in laws on Sunday. And chose to grill, so it was kind of expensive. Thank goodness for Aldi! I'm planning to cut sugar when we get back from my parents' house. It's going to be rough! But I know I need to do it. The scale has been creeping back up. I'm tired and cranky much of the time. It's time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I just made a meal plan for the rest of the month. I've ended up $20 over budget due to the hog being $25 more. I have $5 for the rest of the month. I'm down to about 1 lb fresh carrots, onions and some romaine for fresh. Frozen green beans, peas and cherries. Canned carrots, mixed veg's, corn, black beans, tomatoes. Dried goods lots of beans, rice, almond flour, coconut flour, dehydrated carrots and various canned fruits. I have frozen chicken, beef, venison, rabbit and pork. I have various other pantry supplies as well. I've been trying to rack my brain on what to cook and what to buy for the most bang for our buck. On my list is fresh carrots (2lb), broccoli(1lb) and potatoes(5lb). I'll be shopping at Aldi's and am basing my list on previous prices but I'll have to improvise based on what the prices are this week. Plan: Thursday- Crockpot Deer Roast w/ rice and cooked carrots Friday- Salmon Patties and Salad Lunch Pizza- Supper Saturday- Deer Stew- (Leftover Roast and canned mixed veggies) Supper Sunday- Leftover Stew- Lunch Sweet and Sour Chicken w/ Pineapple, Potatoes, and Carrots- and a bit of dehydrated bell peppers served w/ Rice (Will just be using the breasts from a whole chicken) Peach Crisp dessert Monday- Egg Salad, Broccoli and Carrots- Lunch Chili- Supper- 1 lb of ground beef, kidney beans, pinto beans, canned tomatoes and spices Tuesday- Leftover Chili- Lunch African Chicken Peanut Stew over Rice- Supper- Thigh Meat from chicken, w/ dehrydrated carrots, canned tomatoes and spices Wednesday- Leftover stew-Lunch Chicken Potpie- Supper- Chicken drumsticks and rest of meat from carcass, broth from carcass, mixed canned veggies, 1/2 batch of almond flour biscuits on top Thursday- Baked potatoes and broccoli - Lunch Pork roast and cajun pinto beans -Supper Friday Tuna Salad- Lunch Cajun Pinto Beans w/ Rice- Supper Homemade Cherry Coconut Milk Icecream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starwarsmomma Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 HOW did I miss this? How fun! I REALLY REALLY REALLY need to do this! Spending $700 on the air conditioner repairs today.... we live in Texas, there's no going without AC here! And I have this serious problem. I'm a last minute cook. who doesn't like cooking. LOL So, I make all these grand plans for a nice meal, and then end up waiting too long and making grilled cheese and tomato soup! I MUST fix that! The other ISSUE I have that here in Texas we don't use the oven when it's so hot out. It makes the AC have trouble keeping up. So for the most part, ovens are out. (sometimes I will cook in the oven at night or early morning, but that's mostly desserts or breads) During the summers, it's crockpot, grill, stove top or microwave. Tonight-- eating at cub scouts (but I have an attitude about it because of leadership it's dumb. LOL...) I had to make 26 sandwiches and chips, etc...-- $12 Friday ground beef mince (from cheap, fast, good! cookbook) Saturday chicken with broccoli Sunday beef or chicken stroganoff (if I need to recycle leftover chicken I will) Monday cheeseburger macaroni casserole -- will use oven in morning, then reheat in microwave for dinner Tuesday Sausage and Pepper Pasta (with veggies snuck in) Wed Chicken and green been casserole (done stovetop) Thursday Empty the fridge leftovers night Friday taco night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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