{Would you believe these are dairy-free? More on that later…}
I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t counting the days when I refill our grocery envelope. At the beginning of the month I found a great deal on some fruit. Three weeks later I’ve figured out why it was marked down. They take forever to ripen up, and they taste awful. I think they were treated with some kind of gas to prevent them from ripening too quickly. Not even Ray, who loves pears, is eating them very enthusiastically.
So maybe I will try to peel them and cook them up in a cobbler or something. Because we have 11 days and two more bags of fruit before I get more grocery money.
On the Menu:
Breakfast
- Soaked Oatmeal Porridge
- Scrambled Eggs & Toast
- Whole Grain Waffles & Orange Juice
- Toast & Assorted Spreads
Lunch
- Leftovers
- PB&J/Honey/Raisins (with homemade overnight whole wheat bread and natural peanut butter)
- Salad
- Snacky Lunch (olives, carrot sticks, sliced fruit, bread)
Dinner
- Homemade Soup & Bread (Two times this week)
- Asian Chicken Salad (I know I’ve had this on the menu for several weeks… I have a huge head of cabbage and it’s taking a lot of salad and soup to eat through it)
- Healthified Macaroni & Cheese with Hot Dogs (beef, nitrate and nitrite-free)
- Homemade Pizza & Cheese-less Pizza Roll
- Girls’ night with a friend – I’m planning to make something fun and girly
Snacks
- Sliced Pears & Oranges
- No-Bake Chocolate Energy Bites
- Dairy-Free Brownies (more on that later)
- A No-Bake experiment I’ve been working on…
- 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?
Ever stocked up on a great deal only to have it fall on its face?
Cheers,
P.S. For more menu inspiration, check out Menu Plan Monday!
19 comments
Steph
01/23/2012 at 5:16 PM (UTC -6)
I have so many pears from my csa box that I’m going to attempt to make fruit leather this week!
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:38 PM (UTC -6)
Thanks sounds delicious! I’ve wanted to try that but don’t have a dehydrator. Having a hard time stomaching the idea of keeping my oven on that long, but maybe over the winter it won’t be so bad….
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Coupons
01/25/2012 at 9:24 AM (UTC -6)
I asked my grandpa if we could get a dehydrator to put up our produce this year and he said we could save the $200 (I wanted the Excalibur) and just use our convection ovens set to 100*.
Patricia
01/23/2012 at 6:27 PM (UTC -6)
It’s all about trial and error, and balance. I have discovered that you get pretty much what you pay for. There are certain areas where I have learned to cut dollars, and the money I save is set aside for the items that require top dollar (at least by my standards).
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:33 PM (UTC -6)
I agree. I was surprised these were so bad because things from this store are usually pretty good. Oh well
Lesson learned.
Rona
01/23/2012 at 9:04 PM (UTC -6)
Yum, yum!
Your menu sounds delicious!
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:31 PM (UTC -6)
Thanks Rona!
Zaira @ LLLN
01/23/2012 at 9:13 PM (UTC -6)
Thanks for stopping by my blog! It looks like we have a lot of similar ideas about food, I’m going to have to give your soaked whole wheat bread recipe a go and those brownies when you share
Zaira @ LLLN recently posted..Meal Plan Monday
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:30 PM (UTC -6)
I was thinking the same thing when I visited your blog
Hoping to post about them in a week or two.
Donna
01/23/2012 at 10:42 PM (UTC -6)
You do great- keeping it real and frugal! Great menu!
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:29 PM (UTC -6)
Thanks Donna!
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy
01/24/2012 at 8:21 AM (UTC -6)
Those brownies look awesome! Can’t wait for the recipe. I have 3 weeks until my next big shopping trip, and I’ve already started my list, lol. We can both make it;)
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:28 PM (UTC -6)
Me too! haha. Must remember to get different kinds of fruit.
Athena
01/24/2012 at 9:37 AM (UTC -6)
Wow, those brownies look AMAZING! Can’t wait until you share the recipe.
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:27 PM (UTC -6)
Thanks! There’s actually a bit of a twist to them – you’ll have to see.
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:27 PM (UTC -6)
Thanks! There’s actually a bit of a twist to them.
Michele
01/24/2012 at 10:25 AM (UTC -6)
You can try ripening the pears by placing them in a bag with a banana for a day or two. Bananas ripen very quickly and ripened fruit gives off gases that will cause other produce to ripen. .I do this with avocados too. Or you can try placing them in a bag on top of the fridge (it tends to be a little warmer there than the rest of the house).
Steph
01/24/2012 at 11:46 AM (UTC -6)
great tips – thanks!
Mrs. R.
02/01/2012 at 12:29 PM (UTC -6)
REALLY like your site—thank you SO much for all the oh-so-helpful tips and recipes!!!
Our salary got cut by a LOT last year, so we’re learning more and more about cooking more frugally, so I just saved a bunch of your recipes!!
Wanted to say, too:
I’m so frustrated FOR you and your family about the pears…..and I wanted to suggest returning them if you think that would work.
Stores in our area are getting MUCH more lenient about returning things, and don’t even ask questions anymore or ask for reasons—-and that includes grocery stores, clothing stores, Walmart and more. We wouldn’t ever abuse the system, but we DO return things that are defective, or make us itch, or hurt (like the earrings I took back yest.) or we just plain don’t like or they weren’t good.
Just a thought……I want you guys to get some great-tasting ones instead! I realize, too, that it may be a situation where they came from a source where returns aren’t possible.
Thank you again for all the wonderful help we will continue to get from your blog! Oh—and we were in a third-world country, too, and consume soooooooooo much LESS than we used to—-and try to send money to those countries as often as we can.
Oh–and you’ve probably already thought about this: Is Pear Butter an option? (You know—with lots of cinnamon, etc.?)