meal planning: January 2020

[JustEm]

On 1/19/2020 at 10:30 PM, happysmileylady said:

True, but the concept is good I think.  In terms of carbs, I would think you could replace the rice with cauliflower rice.  The cauliflower I picked up this week was only $1.50, and making it into rice seems to be a simple as running it on the grater.   And I think if you set aside the portions for each day the first time you make some of the multi day stuff, you could probably still come close to the portions she mentioned.   And she did address in the beginning that her family doesn't need any sort of special diet.  No gluten free, no dairy free (though, I will note, she didn't buy anything to drink....I presume that she had everyone just drink water, but still. )

Having said that, I watched one of her other videos and her kids aren't young kids.  I mean they aren't older teens but tweeny type stage....and I want to say at least two were boys, if not 3.  I am not so sure that "normal" portion sizes are going to really provide enough for tweeny aged boys, especially if they are active kids.  Kids who are like 2, 4, 6, and 8 are going to eat a whole lot less than kids who are like 8, 10, 12, and 14.  And the menu included NOTHING for between meal snacking, which, again, sometimes kids really do need just that little bit of something in the mid morning or mid afternoon.

 

All in all though, if $30 is really actually ALL a family has for food for the week and there's nothing else in the house,  probably no one will starve (again, excepting special dietary needs.  I would be pretty hard pressed to get DS7 to eat like anything she made that week.....so dietary restrictions, just sensory things.)

I think if my family truly only had $30/wk for groceries and  I was concerned with filling their bellies I would have changed many things she picked. For example, I would have skipped the pie crust, bullion, apples, sauce, pasta, can of cream of mushroom, and the tomatoes. Instead I would Have focused on fresh veggies like Sweet potatoes or reg potatoes, maybe kale to get sauteed with eggs in the morning. Milk or cream to replace the cream of mushroom. Those substitutes would all depend on prices but at our Walmart they're all pretty cheap. Milk being the most expensive of those things. Sadly, when only working with $30 flavor shouldn't be a concern. Filling foods need to be.

I would love to see how cheaply I could pull off a week of food.

Edited to add: she could make chicken broth with those chicken bones and use that throughout the week. I'd also cook the oats in milk for added substance and use the bananas to flavor it.

Edited January 22, 2020 by hjffkj

[JustEm]

If anyone is looking for a new meatless meal, we just tried this one for the first time and it was awesome.

https://www.budgetbytes.com/lentils-with-creamy-mushroom-gravy/

I sauteed an onion with the garlic and mushroom, used chicken broth because that is all I had, and ate mine over quinoa with some raw spinach mixed in. It was delicious, easy, and pretty cheap. Dh and Ds had theirs over  rice. DD made popovers to dip into it. 

Not everyone wanted to try it so they are leftover chicken, raw fruits and veggies, popovers, and rice.  

[prairiewindmomma]

I finally worked my way through the video linked above and I think I would’ve made different choices too. My mind went towards Asian food, where a small bit of meat flavors a meal. The video had me googling—lots of 2017-2019 era menus out there for eating <$50. I am taking a peek at some of them for ideas...

[prairiewindmomma]

Eggs here are like $2/dozen. 

If we had to do $30/week for our family of 6, we could, but it would be ugly. Rice, onions, cilantro, butter, carrots, black beans, eggs, a package of chicken thighs, and ??? I need to think more on that.  I have big teen eaters. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Ds said he would eat pb&j all week with bananas and apples. Interesting take.

[Kassia]

One of my adult son's hobbies/obsessions (Aspie) is eating frugally.  He's vegan so eggs are out (they are cheap here), but eats a lot of brown rice,lentils, pasta, oats, and bananas.  Potatoes are inexpensive and filling,too.  

 

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Kassia

[prairiewindmomma]

HSL, I saw that you pinged over on ktgrok’s thread. One of the other thought exercises/experiments I have been running is how to deal with healthy eating on a budget. Honestly, my blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure have been way better eating high veg than when I was just thinking “low carb”. We get such mixed messages in society and our bodies are all different. We could eat high starch like what I posted above if we had to, but I think I would have to do some intermittent fasting and really watch my portion size to make it work. But I could.

Bread + processed foods + sugar are the worst for me. Pasta and oats are bad for my body too. Immediate reflux.

[JustEm]

At Walmart eggs are .95/dozen. Other stores it is closer to $2. But we buy 15 dozen eggs month at the restaurant Depot for between .59 and .79/dz. They get a prime spot in our fridge. But we'll also make a bunch of egg muffins and freeze them or make pasta dough and freeze that to make more room if we need to. Usually we don't.

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, happysmileylady said:

Oh, and, I found, she has a whole playlist from last year....grocery budget challenge, $200 a month for the family.  She doesn't show everything they ate or go into the nitty gritty of the cooking, but she did show all her reciepts, showed all her math, etc.  I haven't gotten through them all, and what I have seen so far, many meals are based on a lot of stuff she already had, BUT, for my life and probably most of us here right now, that's probably pretty realistic, I know I have plenty of stuff here in the house right now.

I think if I had to i could do $200 for the month with what we already have in the house. But one problem with that is next month will the grocery bill be double to replenish things?

We average between $160 and $200 per week on groceries. I don't think I could realistically lower that over the long term. 

[JustEm]

43 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

No, long term is where it would get me.  It's been interesting.  I will say, the one I just watched..........she just received several DOZEN POUNDS of beef.  For free.  She said someone at her church (or work?) had gotten a portion of grass fed cow from a farmer (we do this every year) and then.......................didn't like it (?!?!?!?!?!  that part doesn't compute.)   And then............that person was going to just pitch it because they weren't using it because they didn't like it.  So she asked for it and they gave it to her.

That's certainly not something that anyone could count on on a regular basis.  

We run around $200 a week, but that's both food and other household stuff-TP, toothpaste, vitamins, trash bags, cleaners, etc etc etc.  I am thinking of maybe starting to split out every non food item to see what it is that we are spending on *just* food.  I don't think we overspend on either food or the household stuff, but seeing just what the split of that $200 a week actually is might produce some other things to think about.  

*It's between $800 and $900 a month which includes the portion of freezer beef (and pork) that we buy every year.  At the grocery store each week, it's closer to $125 to $150.

If we were still buying a side of beef a year we could get the price down but we don't eat much beef anymore. I have started finding better prices on chicken with bulk buying so once I get that down to a science the overall budget will decrease. Our number includes non food items as well.

 

I can't imagine someone would just not eat a side of beef because they didn't like it

[BarbecueMom]

January menu - the "final-but-will-probably-change-eleventy-billion-times" edition:

1/1 - Red Beans and Rice, Salad  Hamburgers, Tater Tots, Salad
1/2 - Homemade Pizza/Breadsticks, Salad Red Beans and Rice, Brussels Sprouts
1/3 - Junk Food Night 
1/4 - (Lunch) Bacon Spinach Parmesan Pasta, Salad (ran out of leftovers!)
          (Dinner)Tilapia in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, Rice, Brussels Sprouts Steamed Carrots and Corn on the Cob
1/5 -  Sheet Pan Honey-Dijon Chicken, Broccoli and Carrots, Potatoes
1/6 - Sweet and Sour Chicken, Rice, Green Beans  Chicken Noodle Soup, GF Soft Pretzels, Applesauce
1/7 - Tacos, Beans, Chips and Salsa, Salad Cucumbers and Carrot Sticks
1/8 - Homemade Pizza, Green Beans
1/9 - Pulled Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Corn or Peas Breakfast Casserole, Biscuits, Butternut Squash (I had to use the ham, it fell out of the freezer and shattered the container)
1/10 - Junk Food Night
1/11 - Pulled Pork, Baked Potatoes, Corn, Leftover Green Beans/Squash
1/12 - Chili, Tater Tots, Apples
1/13 - Chicken Fettucini Alfredo, Roasted Broccoli
1/14 - Tacos, Beans, Chips and Salsa, Salad
1/15 - Roasted Italian Sausages, Carrots and Onions, Mashed Potatoes
1/16 - Smoky Black Bean Soup, Rice, Pupusas, Salad (thanks to whoever mentioned this soup earlier, it's been a long time since I've made it!)
1/17 - Junk Food Night
1/18 - Chicken Pot Pie, Salad (or another veggie if the salad is gone by then)
1/19 - Baked Fish, Rice, Frozen Veggies (green beans or broccoli) Leftovers/Chicken Nuggets (I think?  DS11 wasn't feeling well that night and I didn't cook)
1/20 - Mock "Chik-Fil-A" Chicken Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts
1/21 - Tacos, Beans, Chips and Salsa, Salad
1/22 - Mock "Chik-Fil-A" Chicken Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries
1/23 - Italian Wonderpot, Pao de Queijo, Salad (also making a pot of Cauliflower Chowder for lunches for the next few days)
1/24 - Junk Food Night
1/25 - Pork Chops, Seasoned Rice, Carrots, Salad
1/26 - Turkey, Stuffing, Potatoes, Green Beans, Cranberry Sauce, GF Bread (no more room in the freezer for the turkey, so it's chillin' in the fridge)
1/27 - Turkey Leftovers
1/28 -  Tacos, Beans, Chips and Salsa, Peppers and Onions
1/29 - Turkey Tetrazzini, Carrots
1/30 - Pinto Beans and Chorizo, Rice, Broccoli
1/31 - Junk Food Night

***

So that's it!  The freezer and the downstairs fridge are packed, pantry will be stuffed once the Subscribe and Save order gets here (every six months - end of January/July).  I can probably skip Costco again in February (we went seven weeks between trips and needed two carts, fun times).  We've had very little food waste so far, just some icky lettuce leaves and a couple apples that were too far gone.  I've put chili, black beans, and refried beans in the freezer for later meals.  And now that I have a second Instant Pot (a 3qt, it's so cute), I've started making yogurt again!  Hopefully the inevitible bouts of winter illnesses won't derail things too much.