Grocery Budgets

I'm weeks behind in getting the information typed up. No good reasons, just excuses. I started keeping the lists on Google Documents, instead of in AppleWorks, and I really like it. At least I think I like it - I'm lousy with spreadsheets. Odd, because I'm quite good at working with the data once it's in there, but I can mess up a template and formulas during setup faster than my 3rd grader.

Average weekly grocery bills for my family of five has continued to drop. As of the end of this week (39), it's down to $125.69. Means the per person is roughly $25/week, and that is not too shabby. (It can get better though, especially once I have the pantry for bulk rice, oat, and flour purchases, beginning in two weeks.) The totals for a couple of weeks are going to be great for pulling down my average for a week of groceries for a family of five. In getting ready to move, the fridge, freezer and pantry emptied out. The new house is only 5-10 minutes away, but still don't want to carry anything we don't have to.

I'm still figuring out the whole sharing thing on google docs. In theory, I can set these nifty links, and anyone can click over to see the shopping list.

Week 38

Week 39

The more interesting part of my catch-up will have to go up tomorrow. We've built up a decent number of kid-approved recipes during the 8-9 months of Try Something New Dinner, aka Supper Wars. We're not trying new recipes quite as many days each week, but there have been three pretty successful new additions over the last couple weeks. Want to take the time to post links, as they are really well worth trying. As of this moment, I need to get to bed. Have to make up my long run tomorrow morning, since I didn't get out in the heavy rain after B1's cross country meet.

Extreme Frugality

I've been pretty proud of my efforts to cut the grocery bills from the highs of a couple of years ago - a little over $200/week. And that $200/week was when I was shopping the sales at the big grocers, and taking advantage of coupons from the Sunday paper.

I'm not a coupon shopper anymore, and generally do the shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes, with less frequent trips to the big grocers, costco and the farmers market. Doing things this way, you don't exactly have a Sunday sales flyer to use while building your weekly menu and shopping list. It's working better than I'd thought when I started changing the way I shopped.

With the couple of months, I've been able to pull the average weekly spending to under $130/week for our family of five. As the temps cool, and baking all of our bread becomes practical again, it'll keep dropping. In fact, if I can keep my $110 & under weeks going, we should be on track for a below $120/week average by the end of the year. Being below the USDA "frugal" spending levels was - I thought - quite the accomplishment.

Until I read about the Z-day Challenge. W. Hodding Carter, a writer for Gourmet, has spent the summer growing vegetables, stocking the freezer with a quarter-cow, and prepping for a month with Zero Spending.

That's right. ZERO spending.

I realized the moment of truth had arrived. The Z-Day Challenge, our personal anti-stimulus project. For the entire month of September, we’re spending ZERO dollars. We’re ready. Our garden’s ready.

It’s our civic duty.

As some of you may remember, I’ve theorized (read ranted) that spending our way out of this current mess is wrong. To me, it’s like putting an overweight person on a 1,000 calorie-a-day diet of ice cream. It may work in the short term, but it’s definitely not healthy in the long run. We need to remember—or in most cases, learn—how to save money, pay off our debts, and become one with reality: The party has now been over for quite a while.

So, on August 31, after topping off the cars and stocking up on groceries and a month’s worth of animal feed, we’re migrating to Unamerica—a land where misers are heroes and spendthrifts are scorned. A land of limited horizons and very little opportunity. A land where … well, you get the idea. I know this sounds like a gimmick since we have a fairly full pantry, nearly a quarter of a cow in our freezer, and we will still pay our monthly bills, but answer this: What’s the longest you’ve ever gone while living your normal daily life without buying something? Think about it. Be honest. A month? A week? A day? For me, during this frugal year, I’ve lasted around two to three days. But I want to do better. It’s time to shake off the shackles and see what it’s like without consuming.

Wow.

At first glance it seems like a big plunge. Heck, it seems like a big plunge at second & third glance, too. But, I've started reading the beginning of the Extreme Frugality series, published back in February.

For years, Lisa had been telling me we were living beyond our means. “Please, please, Hodding, don’t buy that hand-carved black walnut countertop!” she’d implore. In fact, once she even kicked me out of the house for nine months in hopes that I’d wake up. But like that alcoholic who downs yet another Two-Buck-Chuck, I wasn’t ready. I knew that my next book was going to be an international bestseller and I felt entitled to live as did my father (although he was 25 years older than I) and all those successful, happy people in ads and on TV. Here I was, though, finally seeing the raw truth. Our average combined income—drum roll, please—for the past decade had been … $41,000. Thanks to those heady days of refinancing, deft shuffling of credit-card debt, deceased grandparents, and a lucrative house sale, however, we had lived, year after year, as if we were making $120,000. Like 70 percent of our fellow Americans, we were living off our VISA cards with no means of paying them off any time soon. As a result, we had $75,000 in credit-card debt and owed $245,000 on a $289,000 house. What had I been thinking?

Never mind. I’ll sort out the “why” on my therapist’s couch. Right now, it’s time to do the unthinkable. It’s time for us to be more like our grandparents and less like our neighbors. (Ninety percent of us buy something we don’t need every month, and Americans in all walks of life—except the very rich—carry $961 billion of credit-card debt at any given moment, paying $1.22 for every $1 they spend.) For the first time ever, my family is going to do the unthinkable. We’re going to live within our means. No matter what we actually make, we’re only going to spend $41,000 for the entire year. In other words, after paying our mortgage, taxes, insurance, and the $500 to service our credit-card debt, our family of six is going to live on $550 a month.

After mortgage and credit card payments, $550, for a family of six. Again, Wow.

I am a lightweight, a pansy, in comparison to this family. I intend to keep reading my way through the year, and see which lessons I can carry over into my family's habits. (Not raising chickens for eggs though. Even if there weren't zoning laws about livestock intown, I do not want to clean up a henhouse. Been there, done that, and glad to buy my veggie-fed, no-cage eggs at the store.)

Still, there's probably a lot more I can do, and next month is probably a good time to try it. After all, it was last September that I embarked on trying out a variation of the $100 Grocery Challenge, where I upped the amount to $125, to reflect the five members of my family, rather than the four in the original article. Maybe, if I can spend the next week doing some serious planning and sensible stocking up, I can try a month of Semi-Extreme Frugality. It won't be zero spending, but maybe I can treat it like a limbo... how low can you go?

Grocery Challenge - At the halfway point

Slightly past the halfway point for the year, but I'm making progress on dropping the regular weekly grocery budget for the family into the range I tried out for one month last year. Getting my weekly shopping information into Google Docs has taken a while. I put all the weekly totals into a spreadsheet, and found I lost my ability to add a list of numbers properly, at least by the old paper & pencil methods. Somewhere over the last six months, I'd gotten off by about $40. Not sure if it was an incident (or three) of reversing numbers in transfer, or if the children and old age are taking their toll by erasing the basics of addition from my mind.

As far as errors go, it's a good one. My botched YTD was higher than the correct number, so I'm glad to admit it. I'm not going to go back through every single shopping trip, item by item. But, I will pop a snapshot of the year so far right here:


I haven't managed to get the weekly average below the target of $25/person (or less), but I'm getting closer. With the last few weeks of summer, there's a bit more "junk" food than there will be once school starts. Popsicles for handing to kids during outside chores in the heat. Ice cream and cones - so I can easily head off requests for $2-3 frozen treats at the pool. Single serve snacks, juice boxes and pre-sliced apples for hikes, bike rides or mommy pool camp. Between those items and the fact I'm shopping with the children throughout the summer, I look forward to the totals continuing to drop over the next few months.

The ongoing "try something new" suppers are a big part of the difference. By treating a few meals each week as experimental dinners and letting the kids make suggestions for how recipes can be altered to make dishes more kid-friendly, we're finding ways for everyone to eat the same meal, though sometimes with slight kid/grownup variations. I'm not cooking two completely separate dinners very often anymore. If I have a hankering for a really spicy curry dish, or something they've tried and truly disliked (like the pan-crisped deviled eggs on french lettuces), they get cheesy pasta and veggies. Other than the snacks mentioned above, we really don't have much in the way of heavily processed foods.

Here's the weekly lists for the last few weeks. I know the YTD and average don't match up... like I said, my math skills are not what they once were. Thankfully, there's technology to make up for my failings.
Week 28 - $96.67
Week 29 - $91.78
Week 30 - $106.33
Week 31 - $102.58

**Shoot. Along with my diminishing math skills, I've also forgotten how to correctly set up a batch of images for conversion. Will need to grab the last week and add to post in a bit.

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 26

Week 26 Shopping:
Whole Foods - $91.70
Publix - $87.24
Total - $178.94

2009 YTD - $3,493.14
Average weekly spending - $134.35


These first two weeks back from vacation are a bit higher, as I'm restocking the fridge & freezer we emptied out before the trip. And, there was the matter of junk food. Publix had both brownie mix and ice cream sales, so it was a good time to restock the items for occasional gluttony. It turned out to be a bit more spaving (spending to save) than spurging though, as the promise of a scoop of ice cream or cold can of yoohoo (don't ask) when we get back home from the pool saved my wallet - and patience - from begging for pricier single serve items sold by our friendly neighborhood ice cream man.

Supper Wars
Meals were fairly simple this week.

Orange Teriyaki Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Jasmine Rice and Broccoli
Father's Day request. Two kids liked the shrimp, one ate under protest. None of them ate the peppers, onions and mushrooms on the skewers. That was anticipated, which is why there was broccoli.

Turkey Tacos, Mango & Black Bean Salad
Still can't get the kids excited about the black beans in salad form. Guess they'll have to be mixed in with the turkey for a while longer. Had ice cold Dublin Dr Pepper with this dinner. No dessert necessary after. (Wish I'd bought an extra three or four cases of the stuff while we were at the soda shop in Texas.)

Chicken Fried Rice
Got a night of leftovers out of this, too.

Brinner!
Spinach & Mushroom omlet, Turkey Bacon, Whole Wheat & Flax Waffles. (No mushrooms for kids.) Turned out to be perfect comfort food on a night we all needed it, too.

Thai Basil Chicken & Sticky Rice
Used thinly cut strips of chicken breast instead of ground chicken, and cut back a little on the red chili to keep from scaring off the kids. Used loads of both Thai and Sweet Basil from the planter. Soooo good. Will post link to recipe soon. Want to make sure I link the one with the step by step photos.

Grocery Challenge Catch Up

Missed getting the last couple of weeks up before vacation, so am putting up stores & totals without the full shopping lists. Full lists and "try something new" menu will restart next week.

Week 21 (5/17 - 5/23):
Trader Joe's - $60.32
Costco - $86.94 (Stock-up trip)
Trader Joe's (bike) - $23.03
Total - $170.29

Week 22 (5/24-5/30):
Publix - $32.34
Little Euro. Bakery - $8.29
Publix - $59.33
Total - $99.96
This was an experiment in standard supermarket shopping. Prices good, but some of the food, especially produce... meh.

Week 23 (5/31-6/6):
Whole Foods (bike) - $30.25
Publix - $31.73
Whole Foods - $49.81
Total - $111.79

Grocery spending (as of 6/6/2009): $3,239.90
Average weekly spending: $140.86

We were on the road for Week 24 and Week 25. The restaurant meals we ate were officially part of the vacation budget, so don't figure here. I did pick up travel food at Trader Joes before we left, and again in Colorado at Safeway before we headed out for the trek back home.

The little bit spent on peanut butter pretzels, olive oil popcorn, juice boxes, baby carrots, apples, babybel cheese wheels, dried fruits and nuts provided us with a few picnic lunches, helping us avoid greasy fast food meals and more expensive "healthier" restaurant alternatives. Also saved quite a few whining rants - I mean requests - for the pricey snacks while we were refueling the van.

Week 24 (6/7-6/13):
Trader Joes - $33.13

Week 25 (6/14-6/20):
Safeway - $41.17
I'm totally spoiled by Trader Joe's prices on bagged fruits and nuts. The list of items purchased for the trip home was quite close to the list for the trip out, but the cashews, pistachios and almonds in the little canisters cost quite a bit more than my usual $5.99-$8.99 baggies at TJ's.

Grocery spending (as of 6/20): $3,314.20
Average weekly spending: $132.57

I'll post a few of the memorable "try something new" meals in our ongoing Supper Wars this weekend, after I see if I can dig up recipe links. If not, I'll type them up and post. Yes, a couple were that good.

Applewood bacon, heavy cream, strawberries...

How's that for a shopping list?

Only things we need from the store today.


Edit:
Maybe I should have put need in quotes. After all, I don't "need" the strawberries, I want them.

I'm a beyond-thrifty grocery shopper!

I may think the grocery budget needs further trimming, but I'm beyond frugal by government standards. This isn't the beginnings of a rant on wasteful spending and federal bailouts, though that does seem like the obvious direction for this post to take. This is about official numbers on the food budget of the average American family, but - what the heck - let's make a brief side trip to the rant.

The federal government does entirely too much snooping and mucking about in the daily details of our shopping lives. In addition to being meddlesome, government agencies are constantly gathering data. Not that this is all bad. Data about population and crime statistics fall squarely into planning for the government to do it's main job - protecting life, liberty and property. But then there's all those other little details of our lives. Like that census question everyone likes to use to point out the ridiculous - about how many flush toilets are in a house.

In this case, the data has been collected by the US Dept. of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, and is related to weekly grocery spending. It's broken down by sex and age, and has been conveniently categorized as Thrift, Low, Moderate, and Liberal. It's updated monthy. As unhappy as I am to find my tax dollars used to snoop in grocery baskets, the data is current, answers a question I had about how our food bills compare to others, and was easy to find. I'll swallow my grumbling and use it. After all, I paid for the @#!* stuff.

My question: How does our average weekly grocery spending of $142.89 compare to the national average?

According to the January 2009 data (link to PDF):

Family of four, with children in the 6-8 and 9-11 range:
Thrift.............$139.00
Low...............$179.90
Moderate.....$224.80
Liberal..........$272.90

Great, but I also have a teenaged boy. The recommendation is to reduce the weekly amount for the age/sex by 7% when adding to an existing family group. I used 10%, to avoid needing a calculator.

Male child, age 14-18 (less 10%):
Thrift.............$33.75
Low...............$47.07
Moderate.....$58.59
Liberal..........$67.32

Add the two sets together, and here are the USDA amounts for the weekly food spending of a family of five, with children aged eight, nine and fifteen:

Thrift.............$172.75
Low...............$226.97
Moderate.....$282.59
Liberal..........$340.00

The average weekly spending for my family is $30 less than the Thrift level of spending. Many weeks come in below the Thrift level for a family of four. Even my big stock-up weeks, with gourmet cheeses and fancy coffee, come in between the Low and Moderate levels.

I have lost just about all sympathy for anyone who says it's too tough and too expensive to buy healthy food. For people with access to only the inner city convenience markets that may be true. But for everyone else... Really?!

I do most of our shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes, both considered to be at the high end of pricing. Buy organic when I can, especially if it's an item where we'll be eating the skin. Free range chicken. Grass fed beef. Eggs from birds with hormone free, vegetarian diets.

Sure, I could do more to lower the bill. Using only bulk dry beans, rather than purchasing canned, is a big one, given how many days they're mixed into our meals. If I were to make the drive out to the Super Walmart and Farmers Market each week, I could probably drop the bill even further. The only reason I don't is one of time and effort. I get far more enjoyment out of the ride to the store on the bike than I would from driving around the suburbs. It's worth an extra $10-15 each week to stay within a 3 mile radius of home. (Actually, if you figure in gas, it's probably more like $5-10 each week I'd save.)

I get that it's a convenience and personal preference thing. I bake oat muffins for breakfasts, and always make extra waffles during weekend breakfasts, to keep in the freezer for another day. Our granola is homemade. (Not cheap, once I add all the nuts & fruits, but still less than if I were to purchase the premium packaged stuff at the store.) Lunches are made with homemade sandwiches, not pre-packaged lunchmeat & cheese combos. Meat, poultry and fish are parts of our dinners, but rarely the main part.

I'm not saying everyone should do what I do. What works for us is far more difficult for someone who works full time. Heck, I read several Mom & Food bloggers who do far more from-scratch cooking than I do, plus gardening and food preserving. There are families out there who eat diets far healthier and greener than ours. In comparing the numbers here though, I have a pretty good idea that those families' grocery bills might not be much, if any, higher than mine.

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 20

Good week for the shopping by bike, with the exception of the frozen rear wheel and the call to my knight in shining armor for a rescue, right at the beginning of the week. Freewheel cleaned and oiled, so rest of the trips went smoothly. Again, loving the added cargo space having the panniers provides. And the stability of having all the weight on the rear rack.

Week 20 Shopping:
Whole Foods (Bike) - $62.14
Kroger - $6.17
Trader Joes (Bike) - $25.14
Euro. Bakery (Bike) - $4.75
Farmstand (Bike) - $9.25
Total - $107.40
Year to Date - $2,857.86
Average weekly spending - $142.89

There's around $80 not included with this week's shopping. Made the decision to pull all of the food for school parties and cooking for the international festival out of the regular shopping. I have a monthly item on the budget tagged "Misc-School" which covers things like yearbooks, field day t-shirts, teacher gifts. I felt the foods for the Swedish and Australian tables fell squarely in that category.

Week 21 is the final week of school, so there are a few more party items to purchase. Nothing like this week's shopping though. I'm looking forward to seeing what Week 22 does for the shopping budget, with lunches at home and juice by the half gallon, instead of 10pk drink packets.

Supper Wars -

Butter Chicken, Basmati Rice, Green Peas
First time with no complaints, even though it was the official tangy version. Used greek yogurt, rather than coconut milk. For the kids, chose breast meat, instead of thighs. Kept the biggest critic of the dish involved in the cooking process. B2 & I decided to use sweet vidalia onions, instead of the usual yellow or white, and that I should keep scoop some of the curry paste to the side. That way, I could make the servings as spicy as my evil tastebuds desired.

Cheese Flatbread Pizza, Salad

Baked Pasta (w/Bison), Salad
The kids who make faces about meat if they know it's not coming from the big three of farm animals are continuing their exploration of other protein sources, such as bison and lamb. And by exploration, I mean being kept in the dark by mom until after they've eaten a meal and pronounced it a winner. (Yes, the same strategy used for sneaking in veggies.) Had leftover pasta, salad and fruit a couple nights later.

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Pears and Root Vegetables
Brussels sprouts, carrots, sweet potato, red and vidalia onion, pears and garlic; tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme, sea salt and red pepper. The kids tried the sweet potato and carrot, but weren't at all impressed. Was okay, as this was completely expected, and already planned as the night of the leftover pasta. One of my favorite dishes, but not one I'm going to force on the kids. My memory of childhood brussels sprout traumas are still too vivid.

Baked Ginger Sesame Tofu, Sticky Rice
Stir Fried Veggies
Kids ate green beans and carrots from the stir fry, but left all the squash, onions, peppers, etc., untouched. Sigh.

Cornmeal Waffles, Bacon, Fruit & Yogurt
Brinner!

Two-wheeled grocery challenge

14.6 pounds of fuel for the family. Tuesday's trip went so much smoother with the lighter weight of the basket. I need to keep the majority of the weight on the back of the bike. There were none of the wobblies, like when the basket was carrying 25 lbs last week. I found a slightly less congested route home from Whole Foods. It's a mile longer, but I'm more comfortable without as many fast cars. Plus, it's a section with a shoulder wider than a gutter.


B2 & I went to Harry's Market (farmers market bought out by Whole Foods) Sunday afternoon, so there wasn't a big list. Didn't get a whole lot of stuff, so I'll still be shopping my regular days this week. There are just some things I can't get without being at a farmer market, and we were in the neighborhood. Harry's isn't far from the theater where we saw X-men Origins: Wolverine. We ground our own peanut butter, and a little of the chocolate almond butter, to try on toast for breakfast Monday morning. (Won't be getting that often, as it would prove irresistable.) The cheese sampling around the market is always fun. My fave was a habanero cheese; B2's was a Cheddar... not to be confused with all the cheeses made elsewhere in the world.

We also ground flour at this nifty mill, which I will be using tonight in baking bread for tomorrow's lunches. This trip was the hard white spring wheat. Next time we'll try the red.

No grocery bike trip today, but managed to get in a quick 8.9 mile ride before the stormy weather rolled in. Worked out well, since it started right about the time I needed to pick up the younger kids from school. It was a windy ride, but great. Made the return trip into the wind the higher intensity portion of the workout. Ended a little winded, but very happy for having worked in the 30 minutes of exercise.

Two-wheeled grocery challenge

Did the majority of the shopping by bike (Patty the hybrid) this week, as planned. Am hoping to do the same this week, depending on the severe weather which may be on the horizon. Shouldn't be a problem, as long as I time everything right. The stores aren't far from home, so even if I get caught out in a downpour, it won't be for more than 10-15 minutes.

Have two photos from the week. First, Tuesday's cargo from a trip to both Trader Joe's and the bakery:


And, Thursday, which was another combined trip:

I think it's time to get one of those handy racks and basket or panniers for the rear, if I want to keep doing this. The balance on the trip back home felt a bit... wobbly. I weighed the grocery bag & backpack, to see how much weight I had added to the front basket. Total weight of shopping bag & backpack was 28.7 pounds, which shouldn't have been too bad, until I realized 26 of those pounds were resting on the handlebars. That's probably not the best idea.

Ooh! The sun just came out. Time to make my shopping list and get pedaling. We're expecting thunderstorms this afternoon, and again tomorrow.

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 18

Week 18 Shopping:
Trader Joes (Bike) - $19.74
Publix - $15.43
Trader Joes (Bike) - $26.43
Euro. Bakery (Bike) - $6.25
Trader Joes (Bike) - $44.41
Total - $112.18
Year to Date - $2,633.13
Average weekly spending - $146.28

The total could have been lower, but I gave in to a couple of special requests from the kids, like the Gouda w/Walnuts and the chocolate filled shortbread cookies. Oh - and I restocked cashews and pecans for salad topping and granola. Most shopping was done by bike this week. If weather permits, I'm planning to do the same thing this week.


Supper Wars
Good stuff this week, but nothing fancy. The big win for the week was getting zucchini into the children successfully! (Hid it in lasagna.)

Chicken Breasts, Potato & Onion Pierogi with Butter-Onion Sauce, Peas, Tomato Salad
The mashed potato texture of the pierogi filling disturbed B2, but everyone else enjoyed. The tomato salad ended up being all mine. (I didn't mind - I'm a big fan of the tomato.)

Sweet Potato, Spinach and Chickpea Curry Brown Rice, Leftover Chicken
Knew the kids wouldn't eat much of the curry, even though it was mild, so served up the leftover chicken on the side. I think it's growing on them. Or the lack of complaints just means they've abandoned hope.

Lasagna (Turkey Italian Sausage & Zucchini), Salad, Ciabatta
Had the leftovers the next evening, along with salad and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Veggie Stir Fry, Fried Rice

Brinner!
Was just B2 & me. Bacon, garlic roasted potatoes, slow-scrambled eggs (super creamy) and fruit.

Two-wheeled grocery challenge

This week and next, I'm taking a slightly different path on the grocery challenge. Not only will I still be trying to lowering the average weekly shopping bills (currently @ $153 for five people), I'll also be doing as much grocery shopping as possible by bike. I haven't picked out and installed a rack on the rear of the bike yet, so will be limited to what I can carry between front basket and backpack. It's not actually all that limiting, as you can see by this photo from last Thursday:



With Publix, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, a bakery, and the pet food store all within 2.5 miles of the house, there's really not many reasons to get in the car, now that the weather is so nice. (Ooh! That reminds me - it's almost time for the two fruit & veggie stands to re-open for the summer. Yea!)

There will be a couple of exceptions. This Monday, I swung by the store on my way home from the middle school media center and picked up a gallon of milk while getting a container of fruit salad for lunch. Thunderstorms are out, too. I don't mind riding in a gentle rain, but darker skies, distracting flashes and heavy downpour just doesn't feel terribly safe. I'm not worried about being struck by lightning. It's the cars. Atlanta drivers go a bit... nutty when it rains.

The early shopping this week has gone pretty well. Both trips were TJs/Bakery combos. Felt a little odd carrying the bag from the bakery into TJs with me, but the only question I got was the clerk asking me which bakery I'd gone to, because the ciabatta looked wonderful.

Finally, for the last few days' Things People Yell Out The Window:

Where's your helmet?
This one didn't bug me, as I should be wearing my helmet. I smiled, took it out of the basket and put it back on. I'd just taken it off to adjust my ponytail at the red light.

.......OOR!
I didn't catch the first part, so am not certain they were berating me for being poor. It's possible they were asking if I was a member of the world's oldest profession. I could have asked the young men (late teens/early 20s) when I passed them at the next intersection, but was too busy trying to avoid the bare foot dangling out of the passenger window of the SUV. Yeah, they were classy. Gotta love the suburbs. If you're on a bike while wearing street clothes, you're a bum.

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 14

Week 14 Shopping:
Publix - $31.64
Trader Joes - $20.35
Publix - $41.96
Total - $93.95
Year to Date - $1,970.38

Average weekly spending - $140.74


Until I sat down with the receipts yesterday, I was sure this week would show up as a step backward in budgeting. Didn't follow any of the normal guidelines. I shopped without a list. Picked up a bit of junk food. Bought bread, instead of baking. Plus, everyone was here this week. When I took off the non food items - vitamins, allergy meds for the whole family, ibuprofen for the post-half legs - the total for the week was under $100. Taking advantage of a few of the Buy One, Get One specials at Publix definitely helped.

I'm starting Week 15 completely out of meat, poultry, milk, rice, couscous, oats, etc., so this week will definitely be higher as I restock. With the kids out of school for Spring Break, the food cost may end up being higher for lunches, too. The weather stinks, and cold temps are sparking requests for hot lunches and cocoa.

A good thing about the lousy weather these first few days of break - I'll have enthusiastic participants in the Farmers Market trip. They'll be completely sick of the house, not long after using up all their video game time. Time on the Xbox360 is earned by physical activity and chores. I'm going to guess that, for the kids, walking around the farmers market trumps cleaning out under their beds.

Supper Wars-

Flatbread Pizza, Salad & Fruit (Kids)
Leftover Sw. Potato Curry & Flatbread
This was after getting up early for the trip downtown for the ING Half-marathon. Nobody was terribly motivated, and we were all very happy with our dinners.

Chicken Fried Rice, Garlic Green Beans

Turkey Tacos, Black Bean, Corn & Mango Salad

Baked Mac & Cheese, Broccoli (Kids)
Quinoa Salad w/Feta & Avocado
The kids sampled the quinoa before I mixed it into the salad. DD is convinced the little string-like centers are worms, thanks to the comments of big brother. (I refrained from murdering the boy in question.)

Pork Chops w/Mango & Roasted Red Peppers
Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Liked the flavor left by roasted peppers, but wouldn't eat the actual peppers, yet. When I puree the peppers with more mango and onion, making a BBQ sauce for chicken, they'll eat them.

Garlic Chicken, Dahl Curry w/Couscous
Cornbread, Salad
Once they learned dahl was related to the lentils and chickpeas they work so hard to avoid, the eating of dahl & couscous stopped. It was expected, but still disappointing. (I'm pretty sure they're not actually my children, having been replaced by alien clones at some point.) The cornbread was a non-dairy experiment. Used olive oil and soy milk, instead of melted butter & whole milk. It was good, though a bit drier on day two than the dairy version would normally be.

Spaghetti w/ Pistachio Pesto, Salad, Rustic Italian Bread
The pesto was amazing. Modified the recipe from one out of the Splendid Table host's How to Eat Supper cookbook. Used the food processor, instead of doing the rough chop, figuring it best if the onions blended with the basil and pistachio. It worked.

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 13

A few days late posting this, but it took me a while to figure out where the receipts were and what we'd eaten for dinner. Sunday was a lot harder on my brain than I thought it would be. Not the run, but the part about getting up at 4:00 a.m. after a restless night of paranoid dreams about sleeping through the alarm.

Week 13 Shopping:
Whole Foods - $26.20
Publix - $50.34
Trader Joes - $26.81
Total - $103.75
Year to Date - $1,876.43

Average weekly spending - $144.34


Another good week with the shopping budget. Almost made it to another $100 grocery week. Biggest reason for this was the small stockpile of meat and poultry in the freezer. The weekly average is continuing to drop, even if only by a few dollars each week. This week's spending will be higher, as I'm having to pick up the protein from the regular stores, instead of the farmers market. Was planning to make a trip out to Dekalb this week, but there's a lot of work on projects I'm trying to get finished before the kids are out for Spring Break.

Next week, we'll be taking a half-day trip to the farmers market. Whichever day is not suited to outdoor play will become our food adventure day. I'll figure out some sort of scavenger hunt to keep them occupied. Maybe the search for everything we need for a three course pizza dinner. Wonder if I can steer dessert away from the normal peanut butter and chocolate this time?


Supper Wars -

Cheddar Stuffed Burgers, Green beans
Roasted sweet & russet potatoes
Easy win. Burgers were chicken & turkey combo, prepped & frozen last week.

Parmesan Chicken, Salad
Roast Winter Vegetables
The kids like parsnips when mashed, but not so much when roasted. General kid consensus? Creepy. Squash, potatoes & carrots all okay though.

Baked pasta & broccoli (kids)
Butternut Squash & Mushroom Risotto
The kids tried the risotto, and thought it was okay... except for the mushrooms, which are apparently even creepier than roasted parsnips. (Figured this, which is why there was pasta for them.)

15 Bean Soup, Fresh Whole Wheat Bread
Don't want to talk about reactions to this meal. Not a win with the kids, even though it's one of my favorite soups.

Beef in Beer & Onions, Brown Rice, Broccoli
Used guinness instead of lager, so there were a few faces made upon sight of the very dark gravy. Until they tried it. B2 declared it the best ever.

Garlic Ginger Baked Tofu, Veggie Fried Rice, Salad

Brinner - Bacon, Eggs, Fruit (kids)
Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Curry
The curry was not for the kids. That wasn't a battle I was interested in fighting Saturday. Found the recipe for the curry here. Modified it slightly by making my own curry paste (onion, jalapeno, grape tomatoes, garlic, ginger, spices), and it was delicious. Plenty of leftovers, which made for the perfect hot food to warm me from the inside out after Sunday's run.

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 12

Week 12 Shopping:
Dekalb Int'l Farmers Market - $104.97
Kroger - $10.91
Trader Joes - $6.65
Total - $122.53

Year to date - $1,772.22

Average Weekly - $147.68


It's not quick, but the average weekly number is continuing to drop. Week 12 was a little of a stock up week, at a much lower cost than my trips earlier in the year. I purchased much of the protein we needed for two weeks while at the farmers market, and divided it up for easy cooking - details. Carried us nicely through last week, and a couple of meals into Week 13. There's still a packet of the basil meatballs (chicken/turkey) in the freezer for Saturday.

The shopping for this week is already complete, but I think next week is a good time for another trip to the farmers market. I won't be doing a lot of miles for the first half of the week, so prepping two (or more) week's worth chicken, turkey and beef for the freezer can fill the time.

Supper Wars

Malaysian Fish Curry, Rice, Pineapple - Cucumber Sambal
Very, VERY good, but kids did not like. Wasn't too spicy, so dislike had to be because of their automatic "eew" about fish.

Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)
Green Salad
Thin sliced beef, chicken broth, vermicelli and handfulls of fresh bean sprouts, basil and cilantro.

Lemongrass Chicken Skewers, Sticky Rice, Green Beans
Minor grumblings about spiciness, but they liked. Will cut back on the red pepper flakes or green thai chili next time.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti & Meatballs
Salad, Cheesy Flatbread
This went over better than last time I made the whole wheat spaghetti, because I tossed a little of the sauce with the pasta, and they hadn't seen the label on the box. It's so odd that WW ziti, macaroni, etc., are all okay, but they freak out about spaghetti.

Baked Tofu & Veggie Fried Rice

Turkey & Black Bean Tacos Mango Salad
Tried starting sauce with a vegetable and chili paste, like with curries. Love it.

Garlic Ginger Beef w/Snow Peas, Broccoli
Leftover Fried Rice
Left onions rough chopped, for easy removal. No whining.

Rainy Days in the Kitchen

The last two days have been all about home & hearth. I'd like to say it was part of some awesome homemaking/mom plan, or a part of my sensible training plan and an official "recovery" from the cold & wet 10k, but it wasn't. Just didn't feel like being outside.

Sunday was filled with loads of housework and a bit of experimental cooking. Took B2 along on the Farmers Market trip. He was put in charge of keeping an eye out for a few of the less common items on the list - lemon grass stalks, for example. He enjoyed some much needed time as an only kid, and also enjoyed sampling coffee from several regions of the globe. (He's partial to Columbian french roast and the Turkish blend. Not as fond of the light roasts.)

Turned into a little bit of a stock up trip. Picked up dried apples for the next few batches of granola, replaced a few spices from the bulk bins, and grabbed most of the protein we'll need for close to two weeks. Still, the total was pretty good.


Got home, unpacked all the goodies, and set to work:


Browned up a few slices of bacon, added onions, garlic and a can of crushed fire-roasted tomatoes. The sauce was put up for any night which becomes a "fast food" night. Let it simmer on the back of the stove while I did prep for Sunday's dinner, Malaysian fish curry. Chopped veggies, roasted coconut flakes and measured out spices for the curry paste. If I have any decent pictures, I may post the recipe later this week. It was a composite of about three other recipes, and quite tasty. The kids weren't fond of it, but that wasn't really surprising. Even though two of them had a hand in making it, they just couldn't get past the fact of it being fish.

The time I'd normally be running or at yoga on Monday was also spent in the kitchen. Combined the containers of ground turkey and chicken with an assortment of fresh chopped herbs and veggies.


Turned the 4.5 pounds of poultry into ready-to-cook protein for six meals.

Lower Left:
Grated garlic and onions and a handful of basil leaves, chopped. This was mixed in everything, along with a little sea salt and black pepper. Set aside two 1/2 lb packets of the mix at this point and popped them in the freezer, to be used some other time with pasta or rice, or in tacos.

Lower Right:
1 grated carrot, 2 chopped scallions, 2 Tbs of chives, grated ginger and a handful of cilantro, chopped. Mixed with poultry, red pepper flakes, lime juice and an egg white, then formed around eight lemon grass skewers. Popped them in the freezer - they'll get moved down to the fridge 3-4 hours before cooking tonight.

Upper Right:
Bread crumbs (heel Friday's homemade bread), grated parmesan and asagio cheese, handful of parsley, chopped. Added to part of poultry mixture with egg yolk, and formed into 16 meatballs. Eight to a package, then popped in the freezer.

Upper Left:
Grated asagio, cubes of cheddar. Added asagio to poultry, then divided into balls. Added one cheese cube to the center of each, and flattened into burger form. Five burgers, stacked with foil in between, wrapped, bagged and frozen.

Since last night's supper was Vietnamese beef noodle soup (Pho), prepping the beef was next. Part of the top round was thin sliced for the soup; the rest cut small and placed in a ziploc freezer bag with honey, lime juice, teriyaki, freshly grated ginger and garlic. The bag went in the freezer, to be used for beef fried rice sometime in the near future.

Last, but not least, the cookies. A batch of cinnamon oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, ready for school lunches, rewards for trying mom's latest experimental cooking without too much complaint... whatever. Couldn't skip the cookie baking. After all, what could be better for a day you're avoiding cardio than a big bowl full of raw, buttery, cookie dough?

Sun's out today, so I'll be back on the trail. Good thing, too. My freezer is full, and the cookie jar - well - let's just stick with it being a good thing I'm out of the house today.

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 11

Week 11 Shopping:
Harry's Market (Whole Foods) - $100.34
Publix - $27.61
Total - $127.95

Year to date - $1,649.75

Average Weekly - $149.98

Lower than last week, but it will take a few weeks before I start making a noticeable difference in my average.

It wasn't a bad week, as far as the budget went. Had I not done the majority of my shopping at Whole Foods (Harry's Market), it could have been lower. But, the weather was gorgeous last week, and a trip to the International Farmers Market would have meant less time to play outside at the park with the kidlets. Plus, we'd not have discovered the additional options for fresh ground nut butters which are not available at either the Whole Foods close to the house, or the Int'l Market. Not Almond or Cashew, as both other places have that. What I'm talking about are the two machines filled with nuts and chocolate chips. We tried the Chocolate Peanut Butter, but have plans to go back in a couple weeks to get the Chocolate Almond Butter. Mmmmmm....

Supper Wars -

Butter Chicken, Brown Rice, Peas, Naan
Tried it with coconut milk, instead of yogurt this time. (Per B2's request.) All three kids loved it. It was pretty good, though it was a bit too mild for me.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Couscous Salad
The chicken was declared the best chicken ever by the boys. Since it's something I've done before, I'll have to attribute the difference to the all natural, free range chicken breasts from Harry's. For the salad, I used a touch too much mint. Will scale back a touch next time.

Garlic Teriyaki Wings, Yucca Buns
Mango Salad, Sticky Rice
Other than complaints about the chicken skin, well received. Again, I think the all-natural, free range chicken makes a difference.

Hoisin Beef w/Snow Peas
Brown Rice, Broccoli
Finally have the onion chop size perfect. The kids are not complaining about the onions, as they're the perfect size to slide off to the side.

Grilled Cheese, Sliced Apples
Left the teenager in charge - ducked out for enchiladas and a movie.

Eggplant Curry, Naan
Turkey Burgers (Kids)
The kids tried the eggplant curry, but I knew it was both tangier and spicier than they'd care for. Had basil turkey burgers and crunchy baby carrots for them.

Tamarind Glazed Pork Chops, Sticky Rice
Braised Carrots & Broccoli
Really good. I think I'll add less tamarind next time, or a touch more sugar. The sauce was a bit too sour for the kids, though they did like the flavor of what had carmelized on the boneless chops. The veggies had mixed results. In a complete switch from the norm, the girl loved the broccoli, and the boys ate all of the carrots.

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 10

Week 10 Shopping:
Publix - $64.02
Trader Joes - $14.52
Trader Joes (Bike) - $20.82
Whole Foods (Bike) - $50.06
Total - $149.42

Year to date - $1,521.80

Average Weekly - $152.18

You know when you're zipping along on weight loss, and you hit a five or ten pound milestone, and just can't quite get past the "speed bump" on the way to the next part of your goal?

That's where I am with the grocery budget. I'm pretty solid on the average of $30 per person for the week, but that's where I am.


I could get it lower, by shopping for conventional items at the chain supermarkets. I'm just not sure it's possible while I'm purchasing any organic fruits and veggies, along with grass fed beef and cage free eggs. Hopefully, the arrival of spring and summer will mean lower prices on a lot of the produce, as locally grown stuff becomes available. And, there was the $25+ spent on supplies for nutty granola on Friday. We should get four batches with the nuts & fruit, though I will need more rolled oats. Assuming that's roughly $6/batch, I could just purchase a box of granola each week. But I'm not sure that's a savings I want to take. DD & I had a great time making the granola, it's absolutely delicious, and we know exactly what's in it.

For the next few weeks, I'm going to try holding steady at the $150/week average. As the local produce hits the shelves, I'll see what I can do to try and drop to $125-130.

Another good thing about spring, it is a lot nicer for frequent small trips and errands by bike and on foot. I'll be saving on gas, if not on the groceries. This past Friday, the weather was lovely, and I rode to pick up the bib for Saturday's 10k, and then kept pedaling right on down the road for the nuts/seeds/fruit shopping spree.

Supper Wars:
I was in the mood for a bit of the spicy stuff this week, so there are a couple of suppers with kid/adult designations. I had them try a bite, but then eat a meal in their own comfort zone. As much as the kids need to keep trying new things, I'm not pushing the chili and curry very hard. They get to keep trying heat in small doses.

Black Bean Chili, Salad
Baked Pasta w/Beef & Sausage
Kids weren't fans of the black bean chili, which I expected. They did try it though, before scarfing down their Pasta.

Turkey Tacos, Black Bean Chili, Salad
Oddly enough, a bit of the chili, mixed with the turkey and stuffed into a taco shell - gets past the "eww" factor with the kids.

Teriyaki Chicken, Green Beans
Brown Fried Rice

Casserole Roasted Chicken with Butternut Squash
Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Parsnips, Petite Peas
As usual, the butternut squash is only a hit with one of the three. Will keep trying.

Lentils & Couscous Curry,
Baked Pasta (leftover)
Broccoli & Carrots
Again, the spicy stuff was a bit much for the kidlets.

Smothered Potatoes, Spinach Salad
Leftover Roasted Chicken
The potatoes are thick sliced, browned in butter with spices. Onion slices are added, then the whole thing is topped with chicken, beef or vegetable broth and allowed to simmer down until it's all absorbed by the potatoes. It's really delicious, and the kids won't eat the onions, so I end up with more onions than potatoes on my plate - which I love!

Saturday night was sandwiches and fruit, picnic style. The first two Harry Potter movies were being shown back-to-back, so the younger kids & I made an evening of it. (It was guys' night out for the oldest child & dad.)

Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 6

Not a bad shopping week. Not a great one, but not bad. Earlier this week, I posted my blissful shopping by bike from Sunday, but here's the Whole Foods haul from the midweek shopping.

No, it was not by bike, as I had two bags, one of them loaded down a six pack of pop and a jug of milk. Moved the fruit into the bowl for photo. (Can't tell much from plastic baggies.) I've become a total pear addict over the past couple weeks. I'm cooking with them, eating them as-is while working at computer or driving to pick up the kids at school. (Something I advise against, having had to wipe down the door handles, steering wheel and center console after a particularly perfect Red d'Anjou.)


Week 6 Grocery Numbers:
Trader Joes - $42.63
Whole Foods - $62.19
Publix - $15.76
Week 6 Total - $120.58

Year to Date - $940.71 Weekly Average - $156.78

I will need to either double my quantity of whole wheat flour, or just plan on purchasing every other week, instead of on the four week stockup. The rice & couscous amounts were perfect, so I'm getting better. Still have a ways to go until I get it down to under $120/week. Would probably be a bit easier if I cut back another supper or two each week to basics, but I'm going to see if I can manage without that.

Supper Wars
On the supper front, was a pretty good week. I expected loads of complaints, so was quite pleased with the less than average number I received.

BBQ Chicken Breasts (Split), Roasted Sweet Potatoes w/Garlic
Snap Beans, Oat & Whole Wheat Rolls
Have gotten the kids used to the mix of regular & sweet potatoes. Am down to just cutting one russet potato into wedges, with 2-3 sweets. (Big win!)

Mild Vegetable Curry, Bronzed Chicken Breasts, Brown Rice
There were protests over the curry, until I let them stir green peas into the sauce. (I planned it this way) Used coconut milk for the sauce, instead of yogurt, to lure in B2.

Herbed Turkey / Ham Sandwiches, Celery & Carrot Sticks
Assortment of Sliced Apples and Pears.
Lest the kids think "try something new" is always about the icky vegetables, we had a family wide taste test, with three different varieties of apple and two pears. Pink Lady Apples are still the favorite, though we did enjoy the Arkansas Black. Comice beat out d'Anjou as the pear of choice.

Veggie Omelets, Turkey Bacon, Cornmeal Waffles
Brinner! Kept the veggie amount in the kids' eggs a bit lower. They're still getting used to "stuff" in eggs. No complaints, but a few raised eyebrows & scrunched noses. The uncured turkey bacon from Whole Foods (365 brand) was a big hit. Waffles are always a win.

Basil Chicken/Turkey Meatballs, Whole Wheat Linguine and Sauce
The meatballs turned out really well. Wasn't sure they would, since it was the other portion of the mixture for last weeks Cheddar Packed Burgers. No worries, though. I'll be doing this again. Added a bit extra chopped basil and parsley to the sauce before serving. None of the kids commented on the extra bit of green, so they're getting used to it. Pretty soon, I'll have fresh greens added to everything (mua ha ha)

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Stew, Couscous, Nan
It was delicious! But... the girl loved the chickpeas and hated the lamb. The boys liked the lamb, and thought I was poisoning them with the chickpeas. Between them, the dish was, well, it was like a bizarro version of the Jack Sprat nursery rhyme.

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts, with Winter Veggies and Autumn Fruit
Cheesy Flatbread
Kids ate sweet potato, parsnips, carrots, pears and butternut squash, but were not at all interested in the sprouts. No surprise there, and I'm not willing to push that particular veggie just yet.

Friday's Moroccan Spiced Lamb Stew, complete with the little girl who rinsed the garbanzos and lentils, and did the garnishing. If she hadn't seen the label on the ziploc bag, it's quite possible she'd have liked the lamb. But, knowing it was lamb and not cow, she wouldn't touch it. Oh well.

Links
2009 Grocery Challenge
Supper Wars

GC - Week 1

Stock-up Shopping
International/Farmers Market - $155.04

Regular Grocery Shopping
Publix (2 trips) - $61.98
Trader Joes - $13.06

Week 1 total - $230.08

This was the stock up week. Refilled the spice cabinet, bought organic basmati rice, oat flour, wheat flour, flax meal, barley, whole wheat couscous, and more, in bulk. Spent at least $30 more at the farmers market than I would have, had I not had helpers (note the lower case h) clamoring for dark chocolate dipped ginger cookies, anchovy stuffed olives, large containers of pistachios and 1/2-lb bags of exotic coffee (the $40/lb stuff).

Made three smaller trips to the grocery stores through the week, for milk, meat/poultry, and for produce at the end of the week. (Included the wine for New Years Eve/Day)

This week's spending will be lower. Don't know how much yet, since I'm still working out the plan. I'm on day two of week two, and haven't needed to go to the store yet, so it's looking good so far. I'll be heading out when I get the rest of the meals planned for this week. Only needed half of the pack of boneless, skinless chicken thighs Friday for Butter Chicken, so the other half soaked in ginger/soy/honey and became Sunday's stir fry.

Links:
2009 Grocery Challenge
Supper Wars - Week 1