Last week I got to spend a boat load of money (ok… more like $150 – but that’s a boat load for us) as I bought most of our staple ingredients for the next month. While I enjoy completing most of our shopping in one large trip instead of eight tiny trips, I admit that plunking down a month and a half’s worth of grocery money made me kind of queasy. Now we have $50 to keep us until early February.
However, we have full cupboards and a full freezer, so I’m sure we’ll be fine.
On the Menu:
Breakfast
- Homemade Yogurt & Fruit
- Oatmeal
- Scrambled Eggs & Cheese
- Whole Grain Waffles & Orange Juice
- Toast & Assorted Spreads
Lunch
- Leftovers
- PB&J/Honey/Raisins (with homemade overnight whole wheat bread and natural peanut butter)
- Homemade Greek Yogurt, Olives, Sliced Fruit, Crackers or Toast
- Salad
Dinner
- Homemade Pizza & Cheese-less Pizza Roll
- Lentil Shepherd’s Pie (Dairy-free)
- Homemade Tomato Soup (Dairy-free) & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- Homemade Soup & Bread
- Honey Mustard Crusted Chicken & some kind of vegetable side
- Asian Chicken Salad
Snacks
- Sliced Pears & Oranges
- No-Bake Chocolate Energy Bites
- Cheese & Crackers
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake (with cheap homemade almond milk and no added sweetener)
Prepare
- 2-3 Loaves Soaked Whole Wheat Bread
- 2-4 Quarts Chicken Stock
- 1 Quart Homemade Almond Milk
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Do you get nervous when you spend a lot of grocery money?
Cheers,
P.S. For more menu inspiration, check out Menu Plan Monday!
15 comments
Lisa
01/16/2012 at 5:07 PM (UTC -6)
I’m impressed. Very interesting; liking the whole grains. Interesting story you have, too. Found you on Menu Plan Monday.
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy
01/16/2012 at 5:23 PM (UTC -6)
It is a little unnerving to spend that much at a time! Haha! It looks like we’re on a similar shopping cycle. Your menu looks great!
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy recently posted..Batch Cooking for the Busy (Lazy?) Mom
Steph
01/16/2012 at 10:17 PM (UTC -6)
Yeah, that was funny to read your post and realize we spent about the same amount for our OAMS. Great minds?
Lisa Grace
01/16/2012 at 10:40 PM (UTC -6)
Your blog is awesome! I cannot imagine getting by quite as frugally as you do, but we have 3 adults and 3 children to feed … and we are about to have 5 children as soon as we finish our adoption. I am at $300-400 a month, but now that gardening season is coming closer and we are buying a part of a cow, I hope to cut the store spending in half. Can’t wait to learn from you!
Steph
01/18/2012 at 1:10 PM (UTC -6)
Lisa – Thanks for the comment! It sounds like you are doing a fantastic job feeding so many people. Frugality looks different to everyone, depending on how many mouths you have to feed, how healthfully your’re trying to feed them, what resources you have, all that. I’d love to hear more baout your garden. Do you have a big one? We have a few containers that I plant with lettuce and tomatoes that we can cart from rental to rental.
Lisa Grace
01/18/2012 at 1:34 PM (UTC -6)
In the past I’ve focused on cucumber, peppers, and herbs … and a few odds and ends that caught my kids’ fancy. I want to get serious about tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, and garlic this year, though, if possible. I also want to grow zucchini (super easy; I never needed to because a friend did and we swapped) and also loofahs (for fun!).
Lisa Grace recently posted..Dreaming About Someday: A Vision and A Choice
Athena
01/17/2012 at 8:27 AM (UTC -6)
I’m always inspired by your meal plans (and those on other blogs). I haven’t started meal planning my weeks yet, though I know I should. I am happy to say that I still manage to do well and only go to the grocery store once every week or so, thanks mostly to my weekly farm baskets and having bought a quarter of a cow from a local ranch. I also have a deep freeze that I usually keep pretty stocked with meats I find on sale. I LOATHE the grocery store! So I do my very best not to visit more than once a week or two and my best to use as little of my grocery dollars there as possible.
Steph
01/18/2012 at 1:12 PM (UTC -6)
Athena – I’ve been loving getting my meat from local sources. Partially because it totally helps me stay out of the grocery store too, haha. Are you part of a CSA for your weekly farm baskets?
Raylin
01/17/2012 at 10:51 AM (UTC -6)
Hi Steph: I was wondering… how much do you budget per month for groceries? I currently am shooting for $400/month and plan on working my way down as much as possible, I have six kids so that figures out to about $0.64 per person per meal (the youngest doesn’t eat solids yet). You gave some numbers in this post but I wasn’t sure exactly what your time frame was you were planning on using that $150 worth of food. I enjoy your blog, thanks!
Steph
01/17/2012 at 11:43 AM (UTC -6)
We budget $50/week for the four of us, although our youngest is still nursing. Every now and then we puchase bulk orders of meat or something and just shovel in a little blow money to pay for it. That’s our number, but every family is different – with different stores, different costs of living, different tastes. Sounds like you’re doing awesome!
Lisa Grace
01/17/2012 at 2:33 PM (UTC -6)
WOW … so you have a family of 8 and spend $400 a month?!?! That’s awesome! HELP … what kinds of meals do you serve??
Lisa Grace recently posted..I Love Muffins … A Lot
Steph
01/17/2012 at 2:39 PM (UTC -6)
I know right? I’m super impressed too!
Raylin
01/17/2012 at 5:17 PM (UTC -6)
Mary
01/21/2012 at 7:47 AM (UTC -6)
I’m always beyond impressed and completely inspired by your menu posts, Steph. It’s been a busier than usual couple of months, but I am back to my blog reading now. After stopping here and seeing your awesome success with the budget though, I am starting to feel like the world’s most extravagant shopper! Thanks for inspiring me once again.
P.S. You inspired me to try OAM shopping back in November. Let’s just say that it was ugly. LOL Apparently, I have much better control of my spending when I am not trying to buy everything single thing I might possibly need for the next 4 weeks. It was actually laughable how much MORE I wound up spending. At least, it was laughable later. I just might have gasped at the time. On the plus side, I was well stocked up with staples!
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:43 PM (UTC -6)
Lol, sorry about that! OAMS can be really tricky. I find that shopping with cash is really helpful, although by the end of the month we are sometimes eating beans and rice. But I love not needing to go the store as often.