Track what you spend

One of the ways you can control your spending is to keep a spreadsheet on your shopping trips.    You can also just do it with a pencil and notebook.   I use a spreadsheet and keep track by week and store I shopped at.    It gives me a running total so I know how close I am to budget and when I need to reign  in.   I am over budget this week, but I did a big Costco run that isnfoodmthatnwikl last more than a month.    I'll just adjust next weeks accordingly.   It makes more sense than paying as much as 7.00 for a pound of cheese tat I can get for two dollars or 2.35 respectively.    I know the fridge and freezer and pantry are full and I only need dairy and vegetables.  

Keeping a close track of spending goes a long ways to staying on budget and maintaining enough food to feed your family the whole  month.   

I haven't run a price list for a while.  By now, I have prices firmly emplaned on my brain.   I know the RBP of things we use in a regular basis.   I have self imposed limits, on what I buy and pretty much stick to them.   There is almost always an alternative.    We eat, we eat well.  If we are eating inexpensive sources of protein, we are going to eat the best quality I can afford.   

Prices have gone up, but I keep track by looking at the prices of my main things as I shop.  I also read some labels.    Drives hubby crazy.    We don't need that, he'll say!    I know, I'm just checking ingredients.   I want the peanut butter  with the lowest amount of hydrogenated oil.    I'm scratch cooking some things to avoid hydrogenated oils.   Anything BUT canola, Olive amd safflower oil is hydrogenated.   Jenny can cook is  U-tube channel of a gal that bakes without butter for the most part and uses either no oils or a light olive oil.   Many depression area cookbooks use less eggs and milk also.   Butter was a rarity during the war.   Many of them are a help if your doctor has ordered a specialty diet.   

Now some doctors are saying that if you introduce things like peanut butter early on a child's diet, there will be less allergies to it.   I'm thinking maybe when they switched to a no food until six month diet for newborns, it opened up a lot more food allergies.    I never bought into that.   I introduced one thing at a time and waited to see if there was a reaction to it .   The only one that appears to have an allergy is my oldest and that is pineapple.    Just an observation.    I, not making any recommendations.   

I digress.    

Keep track of spending,   It might just be an eye-opener.    

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 prospective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 

planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Meal plans

Another Monday, another meal plan.   I went through the fridge and consolidate and choked pull dates.    It's a good way to see what needs to be used up before meal planning.    This week, I went to

1. Fred Meyers for milk and an extreme couponing .    When you add a sale price to a good coupon, you can really score.     Got 1125 off of the bill and pretty much bought real food---ice cream is real food, right?    
2. Safeways: one of the few times they had a sale that was really a sale.   I stocked the catsup to last until fourth if July sales probably and manwich, tamales. And vegetarian refried beans.   Refried beans are a few cents cheaper at Costco, but you have no variety.    
3. Costco for a med run.    I also replenished our cheese and bought bananas.    
4. Winco for regular food.   

I'm still on track at 70.00 a week.   

Meals. 

1. Pork  tenderloin, scalloped potatoes. Broccoli 
2. Leftovers
3. Scratch pizza 
4. Pulled pork sandwiches. Tater tots , salad 
5. Nachos 
6. Lemon chicken 
7. Fish packets 

I have a lot of California blend vegetables , and I got tater tots from Winco for 1.28 for two pounds.    

Pulled park was on sale with a coupon. - 1/2 off 

GroceJries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypxective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 

planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Extreme couponing, Kroger!

I went with coupon book on hand to QFC and Fred Meyers ( Kroger)

Sara Lee artisan sandwich bread 2.25.- FREE
Blue bunny ice cream 2@3.69- less 2.00 coupons - 2@2.69
Nathan's Frank's 2 @ 3.49 - BOGO coupon - 3.49 for 2
Barilla pasta @1.00 for 3 ea. 3.00 less 1.50 is 1.50 for three 
2 milks at 2.19 amd 1.89 - coupons made them .98


Total spent 12.35
Total saved 11.34-  48 percent






 Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 

planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Frozen blueberries

I found angst of frozen blueberries hiding in the back of the freezer.    I also found a recipe for a cobbler on th Internet.  Seems like a Marriage made in  heaven.  Tomorrow I am making a cobbler.    We are die to have breakfast for dinner.   I replenished the hash browns last time I went to grocery outlet.  

I read an article on how to go about building a stockpile.   The lady was selling her ideas.    I don't get money for writing my blog. I am not in it for the money.   If someone is having a hard time making both ends meet, they certainly can't afford to pay to learn how.  

The easiest way to start a stockpile is to look very carefully at your last sales slip from the grocery haul.   Break it down onto categories.   Now decide what you can do without and what are real necessities.   What can you do instead.   I always said to myself when something wasn't working, what can I do instead.     Sometimes I would have to brainstorm with my sister.   Between the two of us, a solution was found.   She would say something and a lightbulb would go off on my head.

Part of a stockpile can be developed just by watching for a RBP on something you use on a regular basis and buying multiples of that thing.   Sometimes you can luck out and get a coupon that makes something almost free.  By snowballing a few things, you can get a good start.

Avoiding anything that is empty calories is a good way to save a lot and get started.   The more you save, the more you can stockpile and save more.  Just making air-popped popcorn instead of using microwave popcorn that is full of unhealthy stuff or chips can save hundreds of dollars.  Add eliminating juices and pop to the mix and you have a few hundred dollars more.  

Smoothies are wonderful. But the are really pricey.    When you have four dollars a day to eat, you can't use a dollar of  it foot on a smoothly.   You are better off eating a piece of fruit in season.  

 The best advice I can give you I'd to know your prices and find the best priced stores in your area.  If you live in a town without a chain store, get with a friend or neighbor and carpool.   Get the flyers and go when there is a good  sale on,   Plan your trip.   Check out the coupon policy, and do the  math with the store ad to know exactly what you can buy.   Pare the list down if you need to.   Pair it with a dollar store run if you can.  

Thanks for stopping by ... Please share and follow.  

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 

planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

FRED MEYERS AD FOR TOMMORROW

TOMORROW's ad for Fred Meyers.

Turkey, ground  2.99.  Foster farms lean
Cucumbers 2/.99
Oranges .99
Raspberries 2.99
Broccoli .88
Milk .99@@
Cottage cheese 3/5@@
Frozen fruit 3.49
Zucchini .99
Corn 5/2
Beans/ tomatoes .49@@ limit 6.

Beans and tomatoes are a stock up item.    I am going to save the fm ads for a month or so and see if I find a pattern.   Limit 6.   The information I have found is that when tomatoes, the most acidic thing I can think of, were tested, the BPA level was six  parts per several BILLION.   Rinse your beans and drain them.  It cuts the salt.   Winco's  beans , limited selection of types, are .48.   Winco's  beans have water, salt, amd beans In them, period.  

It seems to me, that if something is trending, they raise the price, supply and demand.   The media and manufacturers can hype up anything to get you to buy it.   Practice due diligence and study , research, before you leap.  The Internet is a great invention, but, sometimes it does us a great disservice when it can find something wrong with everything we eat.    I read that too much kale can give you lead poisoning.  Go figure.

 Turkey at the holiday time is .69 a pound, yet because someone said it was lower in fat, it's more expensive than ground round on sale.   Earth to people, at 2.77 per pound, ground beef at ten percent fat that has been defatted is really low fat,  and more nutrition.  I buy 7 percent when I can.

The experts say, don't worry about the cholesterol , worry about the fat-- that's where the cholesterol comes from.  Also, bump up your good cholesterol.    I always cook with olive oil.    I put olive oil in salad dressing for the pasta salad.   It was fine.

I still say that moderation is the key.   We eat red meat once a week.   The other days are balanced with chicken, pork, vegetarian and fish or shellfish.   We always have fresh fruit in the house.   I buy fresh vegetables in season.   I buy frozen on sale.   Frozen veggies are picked at their peak, amd frozen and can be better than fresh, nutrition wise.

There are ways to eat good food and still economize on food.   If money isn't an issue for you, go for trending.   If you need to stick to a strict budget, a little time and effort can out good , tasty food on the table and not bust the budget.  

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Baked potato bar

Last night we had a baked potato bar.    It's a good way to use up bits of things on the fridge.    I put sir cream,no arm, yellow cheese, broccoli, some leftover taco meat, chilli on the island and baked four potatoes.    Add some fruit salad.

We need a Costco run, mostly for OTC meds.    I'll add bananas to the list.    We are out of bananas, so granddaughter and I had yogurt and a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter.  I am still at under seventy dollars a week, and we have a considerable stock built.   High means we don't eat seventy dollars a week - that's a three month average.    Getting Winco has really helped.

Taking out the processed food card, it is a challenge to find ready made that is cheaper than ready made.  The basic no wholes barred is tomato products.   The lowest price for a tomato on this part of the country is a dollar a pound.  Most of the time they are upwards of two dollars a pound.   Canned tomatoes are much cheaper.   It is cheaper to buy hunts pasta sauce than scratch sauce.  I have found Jared sauce for as little as 1.25.   I'm not finding many coupons out there.   I'm finally finding a low price on pasta.  Thre are a lot of coupons out there for Barilla proto pasta.   It's actually easy and good tasting.   I expected mass starch, but it didn't happen.    I found it for a dollar at the dollar store and at Fred Meyers.   I got a Catalina twice at Fred Meyers for it.   Pasta at less than a buck goes a long ways to stretch a dollar.   Fred Meyers has a pasta that has a serving of vegetable in it and is very well disguised.

There is a buy 10, for 8.00 at Alberways.    Not everything is a bargain.   Margarine isn't a bargain at any price.    Catsup is a good buy and BBQ season is around the corner.   The pasta sauce is a good price.  I have got both of those for .75 at the dollar store, but it's nit a regular occurrence,   There is also vegetarian refried beans amd manwich.   Refried beans are cheapest at Costco, but there is no
variety.  We like vegetarian, ot makes life easier.   Diced tomatoes are not cheaper, and microwave popcorn isn't cheap at any price.

For the most part, Fred Meyers and Winco are having the best prices.   Albertsons and Safeways have the same prices, Albertsons owns both, but are keeping their names separate.    They are closing the store across from the James Village  Albertsons, and have restored the Safeways in the shoreline store that Haggens had taken over.

For practical purposes, as long as the ads are identical, I'll go on calling it Alberways.    It doesn't make sense to repeat the prices.    I guess that just means you can go to the store that is the most convenient.  I like to take a cooler along on my car and cluster the stores.    I always go to two stores a week and buy the specials amd the things that are typically a  lower price.    It gives you the most food for your buck.  

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 

planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Perogie and sausage. - 35.00 challenge

Yesterday I tried a recipe for perogie and sausage in the slow cooker.    I'm nit sure if I would try it again.    It cost five dollars and the cream cheese didn't melt, it was like curdled - in specks throuout the dish.   It tasted ok, but I didn't like the texture.    Trying new things is a crap shoot-- but it defies boredom in meal plans.   We , granddaughter and I, made a small batch of sugar cookies.   I picked up a bettymcrocker pouch at the dollar store, and it makes one pan of about one and a half inch cookies.   Not so much to load up on sugar-- a little treat .

 Yesterday I met a lady that had $35 to spend for five people. I don't know how long that food had to last.     But, I thought I would give it a shot. I just want to go through the thought process to see how far $35 would go  and take you along for the ride.  I'm going to assume she has the basics at home.

1.  Let's start with protein since it is the most expensive.   Pork loin is 138 a pound . 
2. Hamburger was 10.00 and change for 5 pounds.   

I don't know how many pounds the poke is.   You can cut 3/4 inch pork chops from it and leave enough for a roast.  Slice so,e ofmthemcooked roast thin and add BBQ sauce for sandwiches.   

Or 

Fry the hambirger to make crumbles.   It's fatty, so drain it in a colander placed on a pan.   Put the colander in the sink and pour boiling water over it.   Drain.   Place in containers of about a cup each.   

Five pounds of hambirger will net you five meals- stretching.    

1. Sloppy joes and tater tots.  ( buns are .88 and tater tots are 2 lbs for 1.28.   ) 1/2 pkg tater tots.  

1. Hot dogs w buns and the rest of the tater tots . ( Nathan's are on a coupon for BOGO net 1.91 and .88 for buns.
2.   Use this meal twice, second time add a suddenly salad. 
3. Speghetti w meat sauce.   : Barilla pasta 1.08  , salad 1.00. 
4. Tacos , taco shells  1.28 which includes a coupon on the box for taco seasoning  add lettuce from yesterday and tomatoes 1. Refried beans .88. Cheese 138. 
5. Stuffed potatoes ( broccoli, hambirger, cheese, chilli ) 
6. Hambirger pizza ( Bisquick crust, cheese, hamburger, black olives 

10.35. - 5 lbs hamburger
3.18 - 2 pkg hot dogs, Nathan's BOGO coupon (newspaper)
2.64 buns (3)
2.74 bread (3)
1.28 2 lbs tater tots
1.81 -2 suddenly salad (coupon) .55
.88 refried beans
4.14 3 pkg cheese at 138
1.00 tomato
100 head of lettuce
198 10 lbs potatoes
.98 1 pound broccoli
.90 Hormel chilli (coupon)
148 peanut butter
.70 black olives
1.64 -18 eggs

Total 36.00

Peanut butter toast. Or egg quiche for breakfast.   There is no fruit there.
Marchand bowls 08 with coupons.  

A week for 35.00 is a tall stretch without stockpiling.   Snap is 140.00 a week.

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 
planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Winco , Alberways, and qfc

I had to take granddaughter to summer school orientation,   So I went to Winco to pick up a few things we ate before they got to the meal plan day,  

Cucumbers were .38

They were having a pork sale, flyers are on the entry way,   Along with coupons for johnsonville  grillers.....save your money, out family didn't like them.  lol pork loin for 1.38 is a bargain,   

Suddenly salad was 1.18 and I had a .55 coupon on 2. 

 Yoplait yogurt was .50 and I had a coupon for .50 on five.   Grandpa bought a frozen yogurt for granddaughter in Edmonds,  it was a yoplait yogurt they had put on the freezer for 2.50.    I believe in origins , but who needs 600 percent!   

Tater tots were two pounds for 128.   

Beans are .48.   

Alberways 

Five dollar Friday's 

Freschetta 

Ritz crackers 3/5$$

.80 when you buy 10

Pasta sauce 

Manwich

Refried beans 

Catsup

Coupons 

Ragu. 1.29@@

Red Barron 3/10@@

QFC

Draper valley whole chickens .99

Tomatoes .99

Zucchini .99

Buns 4/5 - cheaper at Winco

About it.   

This weeks rotation would be draper valley chicken, ( WA grown, but nit as desireabke as Foster farms)  or pork loin for 1.38 at Winco.   

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 
planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Wicked Wednesday,

Wednesday is cooking day,  and clean out the fridge day.   Since Sunday when we deep cleaned the freezer and fridge, it should be easy,    I promised granddaughter that we would make cookies, amd a perogie dish in the crockpot is on the agenda.    

Watching other people's videos, I saw a apple fritter cake.   I love apple fritters and it's another recipe that doesn't take exotic ingredients-- just things I always have in the pantry. Having a list of recipes that don't take any special imgredients  helps keep the budget on track and still afford treats that aren't laden with preservatives and you control the fat.  

1. Sugar cookies 
2. Apple fritter cake 
3. Banana bread 
4. Snickerdoodles 
5. Brownies 

Watching other people's videos, gives you a perspective of what tondo and not to do.    Value based large families tend to have a no wholes bared approach-- just good food.    On a tight budget, the six bags of chips and 3 cases of pop amd bottled juice, just doesn't work.   Besides not being healthy, it's costly.    

Buying in bulk at RBP, using coupons, and not wasting food are principals that will save your grocery budget.    

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Couponing , not what you think

Couponing  doesn't take a long time....unless your printer refuses to work!   LOL.   They can be for a lot of things that are not processed, junk food.   For the most part we don't buy a lot of junk food,  It's a sure way to jack up your food bill.  
On coupons. com today I found :

.55 of soft tortilla
.50 off butter
.50 off butter with canola oil
.55 off two pronto Barilla pasta (2) -
.50 off rove yoplait yogurt.
2.00 off of a pork tenderloin

On blue  bunny, I got 2 - .75 off coupons

None of  that I consider junk, highly processed food.

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Staying on target

Staying on your target budget is not hard if you stick to the premise that you are not buying junk foods and have set target prices for items.    If an item is more than my target price and it's not absolutely imperative that I have it, I walk away.    Most things have an alternative.   That's where going to more than one store and buying the best of that store is key to feeding your family well on a small budget.

Even finding one or two things really cheap can snowball.   Barilla pasta is running 1.49.   Four boxes , then should be six  dollars, rounding.    I paid three and I got a coupon for 1.50 off three more.  I saved three dollars.   If I use  that three dollars to buy something  else that is an extreme bargain, it snowballs my savings.    That's how you pay for stocking without spending more than your normal budget on food.    Pretty soon you are spending less, because your stock is built and you are only buying the things at RBP.   

10 percent ground round was 2.77 instead of six dollars a pound,   I bought five pounds.    I saved rounding, 15.00 .   Today I will cook crumbles, and taco meat.    

Last night we had scrambled  eggs with cheese, a fruit compote with cantaloupe, grapes, and strawberries, and an apple, cinnamon  muffin.  ( I was making the basic muffin from Betty Crocker.   Granddaughter was helping.   She was mixing the dry ingredients while I was mixing the wet.  She decided that cinnamon would be a good addition to the dry ingredients, so I gave her some to add.   Then, I figured grating an apple onto the wet ingredients would be a good fit.  -and the rest , as they say, was history.    

Meal plans happen tomorrow.    We go for out last nit picking, and I'm working in my studio,  and batch cook five pounds of hamburger.   Hopefully all will work as planned.    

Back later.

I stopped at grocery outlet on the way home from what my DDG calls the hair Doctor.    I found 33 ounce tomato sauce in a bag for .50.    Romano cheese was 3.99 a wedge.    And onions were 1.50 a bag.  

On to meal plans

1. Hambirgers , French fries, salad 
2. Speghetti and meatballs , salad 
3. Baked potato bar 
4. Pizza 
5. Hot dogs. Suddenly salad 
6. Breakfast for dinner 
7. Perogie chicken casserole.    

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro sypective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 
need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 
on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Fred Meyers haul

Today, as predicted, we went to Fred Meyers.   I'm done for the week.   I also went to dollar tree and to TJ Maxx.    I found a darling designer  outfit for ban for six bucks.   Dollar store had six for 6/1 again.   I was out of Gallo bags, so I picked up 14 for a buck until we get to Costco.  

Fred Meyer.    

5 pounds of 10 percent lean hambirger at 2.77 price was six dollars.  
2 stoffers Mac and cheese cups 2.00 ( baby's lunch)
12 English muffins 1.67
two Barilla pasta ( veggie) for 1.00 ea
two pronto Barilla pasta for .50 each with a coupon.  
2 -10 packs mission tortillas 1.00 ea
3 -8 ounce cans tomato sauce 1.00



Red grapes 1.48 a pound
2 cantaloupe - 1.00 ea
Blackberries 299

Total 33.34,

Total week 64.35


Yesterdays s and w beans were .43 net.   Net after Ibotta is 64.10.  

Sunday notes

4, + 1= 5 -- four people, one meal, five bucks.    Better , cheaper, faster.

Last night we had what I call a pick  up meal. We had cleaned and organized the freezer. There were two part packages of ground beef, cooked.   I put them in a pan to thaw on warm  heat.   I also found three partial bags of French fries --some crinkle cut, some not .   My husband dumped them all together.  When we went to Winco I saw a display of sloppy joe mix for a buck a can.  A light bulb went off in my head.   We had sloppy joes, French fries , amd broccoli salad for dinner.    It worked, amd I didn't have to.    ( we had thoroughly scribed the stove and refer greater, drip pans, coils. Fan, and all, took inventory and organized the freezer.) along with regular Saturday work.   I can't say that I like the canned stuff better than my own sloppy joe recipe; it was just easier and cheaper than take out.  Tonight we will have breakfast for dinner.  The cost of eggs has gone down and we have two and a half dozen with various pull dates.

It's meal plan day tomorrow and I plan to go to Fred Meyers today.   It would have been cheaper to go to Safeways for  milk, but  goimg to a store for one thing wasn't very cost effective.   We wouldn't have had time when we went to the dollar store  for bleach and disinfectant wipes.   The car seats had to be disinfected before we went home from ' lice meeting you'.  

Four plus one is five.    Most of our dinners are five dollars or less.   The trick is to average two dollars for protein.   That has been my figure for about fifty years now.    Fofty ears ago, the quality of meat we were eating was a drastic difference from what we eat now.    The types of proteins haven't changed, except we eat vegetarian twice a week.   As food prices have gone up, we have adapted.   There , also. Is three adults and one child in the family; fifty years ago, there were two adults and one child.    At one point in time, there were two adults and two teenagers.   At that point in time, I was written up in the Women's Day for feeding is on fifty  dollars a week.    I have dime that with a stand up freezer, and without.   You can still buy rotation meat with a regular freezer in the fridge.  Store the packages as flat as you can and precook your meat if appropriate.

This month I have found

1. Whole  chicken amd chicken thighs for .87 
2. Pork loin for 1.69 
3. Hamburger for 2.77
4. Eggs for .88

That's an easy rotation for our matrix of 3 chicken or pork. 2 vegetarian, 1 fish, and 1 beef.   

The trick is portion control and a lot of the time, meat is served in pieces,rather than  a whole hunk.   We still have pork roast slices and whole chicken thighs.   Occasionally, we splurge and have a piece of steak.    We still bet more than the FDA of protein usually.    

Another trick is to almost never pay full price.   I have a good idea of what I am going to buy before I ever walk into the store.   If not actual things, groups of things.   I knew I wanted fruit and veggies at Winco.   I bought the ones that were a good price.  I know that grapes are cheap at Freddie's today, so I passed.   Bananas were two cents a pound more than Costco.   I bought a few.   Cucumbers were .58.  English ones were a Buck.   It all goes back to knowing your prices.    

Winco had pork sirloin for 1.38.   I passed because after cleaning out the freezer, I know that I have enough.   Pork carnitas are 1.99 as well.   

Knowing your prices and always buying at RBP is key to a low food bill.

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro spective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 
on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Winco run

Today, I deep cleaned the fridge and took inventory.   I used a sharpee to label the bins in the freezer.   We'll see how long they stay labeled.    
Then, I went and got the haircut I tried to get a week ago,   At least I could get it 1/2 price and then go to Winco.  

Winco has pork loin for 1.38.

I got bread
Bananas
Milk
2 Johnsonville sausage
Blue bunny ice cream
Nathan's Frank's
Hunts manwich
S and W black beans .69-Ibotta
Naval o ranges
Cucumbers
 California veggie fresh bag
Yoplait yogurt
 broccoli slaw

5.81 cents in coupons , an Ibotta on the beans, and total was 31.01.

The Fred Meyer ads - a good one

Fred Meyers has a really good ad for TOMMORROW,

Lean ground beef - 10 percent 2.97
Half loin. 1.77
Grapes 1.48
Barilla 1.00
Flour tortillas 1.99$$
Zucchini .99
Cantaloupe .99 each

That's about all.

The cheese is not a bargain.   Buy five pounds at Costco and freeze what you are not using.

 My pick  for rotation would be the beef hambirger - defat it.  and the pork loin of you didn't get it last time.  

Just when you think......

Yesterday's schedule just didn't happen.   I know, €><~. Happens as the saying goes.  The plan was to work on my studio and do kitchen management and shopping,   Best laid plans.......another good reason why having a stock and a plan gets you through the hard times.

Dear darling granddaughter brought home more than her wonderful purple construction paper "w" complete with craft eyes and other embellishments,   I wasn't impressed.    After two days of disinfecting everything and shampoo sing with this product that had the consistency of snot and having no good results. My daughter found " Lice meeting You ".

So, yesterday, we all went to a place in Seattle underground complete with primary colored walls and televisions streaming the latest Disney movies.   The line outside the door had to be at least four entire families waiting to get in.   Soon there were a dozen of us in shower caps with gunky  oil stuff sprayed on our heads.    There's something very disconcerting about the thought that there is creepy crawlers on your head.   Spiders on the wall creep me out.  LOL.

Hours and more money spent  than a months worth of groceries, we came out of there deloused, complete with an appointment for a follow up and instructions to disinfect yet again and quarantine for 24 hours.   My thoughts wained  to the "louse" that brought their child to daycare with head lice and the bigger "louse " that refused to believe that's where it came from.    The forensic person knew exactly where it came from.   Needless to say, we are homeschooling for the summer.   It was a day I won't forget soon.   None of us in our collective 184 years, have  ever had that experience.

On to tomorrow,   Another day.   I plan to do kitchen management,   We had hot  dogs and oven fries and fruit salad instead of the pasta salad I had planned.  We survived.    And I plan to get down the hall to my studio.

I digress , I have two more meals to pull from this weeks meal plans, amd will take inventory and do new meal plans.    Since I will have dear granddaughter, I can prep in the morning; she loves to help in the kitchen.

Involving children on the process of meals, and kitchen management teaches them valuable lessons.  Anything from fractions when measuring for a recipe, to grouping like things in the pantry or fridge/ freezer.   They also figure out that life isn't just playing and watching videos.   I also plan to find the beach this summer.

I did get to the dollar store for disinfectant wipes and bleach.   They have pronto speghetti as well as some boxes of Barilla.   They are also a dollar at QFC, but usually pronto and gluten free cost more.

5 ways to maximize your grocery dollar

To continue the 5 series....

Five ways to maximize your grocery dollar.

1. Make best use of coupons and rebate sites for the things that you buy regularly.  It is possible to use coupons without being extreme and still cut dollars off your grocery bill.   Ibotta gives you money on a gift card for buying things like veggies, milk. Etc.   
2. Just say no to the snack food isle and the bottled drink isle.  You will save a ton of money making  lemonade, herbal ice tea and water.    Potato chips are one of the most expensive items per pound in the grocery store,   Opt for pop corn.   - air popped.    
3. Portion control meat.    Serving a hunk of meat costs a lot more than putting pieces of meat on a dish,   It is cheaper to make sloppy joes than it is to make hamburgers.   Portion controlling meat assures proper protein without over-eating.   We only need six ounces of protein a day.   
4. Do a  kitchen management inventory check mid week and factor in perishables that need to be eaten soon. Waste not, want not. Soup, vegetable stock. Stir fry?    
5. Plan your meals.   Those that fail to plan, plan to fail.   Planning your meals allows you to feed your family a variety of foods and efficiently use what is in your pantry.    

See ongoing dinners updates.

This weeks ads

QFC is a one week ad.  

Broccoli is .99
Kroger cheese is not a bargain...that is for 8 ounces, that's 4.00 a pound.  
Barilla pasta 10/10....you don't have to buy 10
Annie's Mac and cheese has more fat than Kraft.  - I'm not found of the processed.  
Raspberries and blackberries 2/5

Alberways

Pork loin 1/2 1.79
Grapes 1.99
Milk 1.99@@
CANNED VEGGIES ..50



Five dollar Friday
Shrimp
Strawberries


Not much there.  

My pick for the rotation would be the 1/2 pork loin,   You can make chops from some of it  and use some for a roast.  Slice roast leftovers for BBQ pork sandwiches.

Barilla pasta is a good buy.  It's been running 150.   There are coupons for specialty varieties" but I don't know of that price covers

them.  

Reading Pinterest.

Everything in Pinterest is in  the eyes of the beholder.    Several old economy measures are no longer true.    It , sometomes, is a case of supply and demand.    There are a few convenience foods that are actually cheaper than homemade.    Of you like the taste, you are better off buying the ready made.   Idahoan mashed potatoes with sales and coupons are par with scratch, Hunts   speghetti sauce is cheaper to buy  than make.    As people get on the homemade, no processed food wagon, these prices will go down.   Now, beware, there are still a lot of processed foods that are full of preservatives and salt, fat, and sugar.   I wouldn't make a steady diet of them.  

Another misinformation is that  grated cheese is more expensive than blocks.   This is not so.   The cheapest block cheese I can find is 250 a pound,  I can get grated cheese for 200  a pound.    When we grated our own, we used twice as much.   Grating cheese at home is a courser grate and you use more.   The fine grate of ready made melts faster.  

The other idea is that Costco's deli chicken is a great buy,   Compared to other deli chickens, it is.   Costco's chickens in Seattle are draper valley.   I know because I asked, and asked, and asked, until I found someone  that would tell me.   They are three pounds.   Now, if you buy a three pound chicken, you are getting about 1.5 pounds of meat. You cost is about 3.34 a pound for meat.

Foster Farms chickens go on sale for .88 a pound often .  A 5.5 pound chicken is 4.84.   You will yield about 4 pounds of chicken from a 5.5 pound chicken or 1.21 a pound.    - a 64 percent savings.  

I can get a chicken on to cook in about 5-10 minutes depending on how I cook it and sometimes I get the added bonus of chicken stock included in my cooking,  

Of you are n a tight budget every savings is an important savings.  

Ongoing dinners through Thursday.

Tonight we are having a ham and pineapple pizza.    I am using the last of the ham from Sunday's ham and macaroni and cheese dish.   I added some pineapple from the dollar store ( name brand) and will add the rest of the can to a fruit salad with salmon patties.     I put a jar of pizza sauce into a ice cube tray and froze them.   I could pull two out and defrost them and still have a few more pizzas .  I used  a pizza crust I got from the dollar store.    Total cost 3.00.  add a salad  4.00.


Next up vegetable bean soup.   Some of us are planning to go to dinner, I will make a batch of vegetable bean  soup and we can have leftovers tomorrow.  

Vegetable bean soup

2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 cans  of beans ( I use two different kinds of  beans )
4 cups stock, vegetable or chicken
1-1/2 cups diced vegetables , sauté if appropriate.  
1 T Italian seasoning.  

Dump in the crock pot and cook on low 8-10 hours.

While I was dumping everything and sautéing the vegetables. I was cooking the chicken cubes for Thursday's dinner.   We are having baked chicken chimichangas.   Simple, baked dish.   Like a five imgredient dish.

Wednesday, we had chicken chimichanga and green salad.   The chimichangas were easy and I prepped  the salad earlier in the day,  

Thursday, we or emoted the mark plan becaus we had a lot of leftovers.    We had the bulk of the vegetable soup over rice.     An easy dinner .


.

Who, where!

Someone texted me.  It came across my screen, but I don't know where it came from.......

I make :

Ranch dressing mix
Chocolate pudding mix
Biscuit mix
Cream  soup mix,  
Taco seasoning mix
Dry rib mix.

It makes life easier, faster, amd I am not paying. If moneymaker stuff in an envelope to out on the trash.

Meal plans

after a disaster yesterday......I made mixes. But didn't discover that my cornstarch was stay date....a lot.   So, I traded cornstarch with my daughter who bought it to make deodorant-- she doesn't need her deodorant to thicken! LOL.  And, I started over.     New chocolate pudding mix and new cream soup base.    Fortunately, they both are fairly inexpensive.  

I needed dill weed for ranch dressing mix.  I bought it in bulk.  1 scoop was .02 pounds and it cost .22.   I don't have set it enough to warrant buying a big jar.  

Meals
My matrix is now 3 chicken or pork, 2 vegetarian, 1 beef, amd 1 fish.  

1. Salmon patties, oven roasted root veggies 
2. Speghetti and meatballs, green salad 
3. Baked chicken chimichangas , rice, beans 
4. Breakfast for dinner 
5. Vegetable bean soup ( use the half can or corn left over from taco meatloaf. ) 
6. Pizza ( buffalo chicken) 
7. Sausage and saurkraut with apples 

Salmon party recipe is on " Jenny can cook" u tube
Meatballs are already on the freezer, speghetti was .25 at the dollar tree.  
Chicken chimichangas are baked and I found the recipe on line.   I bought cream cheese for a dollar.  
Breakfast for dinner - strawberry waffles, eggs.
Vegetable bean soup is a mainstay here,,,easy and everybody eats it,   Add a cheezy bread or......
Buffalo chicken with scratch crust, ranch dressing for a base with hot sauce infused chicken, blue cheese, amd red peppers,  diced.   Top worth mottz cheese.  
Apples cut the tartness of the saurkraut.    Serve with a biscuit or sourdough bread

Sunday.

Tomorrow is meal plan day.    This week we were D along with a bunch of.   ..... Meals didn't go as planned.  We survived, but the meal plan didn't.    You always  need a plan, but it doesn't  always work out to follow it.   I found an interesting quote.  The author wasn't revealed.

Those to  fail to plan, plan to fail.

I'm am all about getting out of the kitchen fast at dinner time.    It's late, we have a four year old that's busy busy busy and everyone hits the door hungry. Hey, wheel of fortune is on!    LOL

Cooking ahead of time  works very well, as well as the crock pot.   Some working people cook dinner after dinner for the next day.    Of teen kids get home first, they can put it in the oven when it's the proper  time, amd dinner is done when you get home.   Whatever works.

I have a variety if mixes that I make ahead if time.  They are fractions of the cost of buying the mixes and it's just one less thing you have to plan for and buy at the store.   The least amount of specific things you need at the stores the easier it is not to forget something.

1. Chocolate pudding mix : better than ready made...yuk, and cheaper than the box of mix.   You are laying a lot for sugar, chocolate and thickening agent     
2. Ranch dressing mix - control the fat so you aren't getting hydrogenated oil and many recipes call for it.   
3. Taco seasoning - you control the heat!   
4. Salt and pepper mix - easy to grab 
5. White sauce mix ( instead of cream of XX soup) a lot healthier.   
6. Bisquit mix ( healthier) - no hydrogenated oil.    

I bought a bag of salt some years ago.   I will not have to buy salt the rest if my life.   It doesn't go bad.  It is on a cupboard we dont use a lot and I fill the  salt box when I need to.  Grocery outlet has large cartons of slices that are smaller than Costco, but bigger than the grocery store at a reasonable cost.    

It only takes a few minutes to make up a mix.   Try to do them a little at a time,   It's good for childre to help.   .   Use fractions and count.    I write  the directions on the top of the jar so I always have them at my ready,   

Granddaughter loves to "do a recipe".   It's good for her.  We have quality time, she's learning something, and I am getting my cooking done, not wondering if she is off trying to polish her nails or something worse!   LOL.   Isn't that the age where they decide their bangs are too long?      LOL.  My mother used to say that involving children  in what you are doing is easier than cleaning up the mess they make while you are working. 

I'm batch cooking the hamburger I bought yesterday.   Granddaughter has requested speghetti and meatballs for dinner.    

Tomorrows Fred Meyers ad - notes

Surprisingly  , there are not many items of food in this ad.   What's there are some really good prices

1. Strawberries , 2 lbs -299
2. Petite sirloin steaks 3.97
3. Milk , chocolate milk, OJ .99@@
4. Foster farms chicken, .87
5. Barilla pasta 1.00
6. Cross rib roast 3.99

That's about it for bargains,  my rotation protein his week would be the chicken and the twenty percent off hambirger I got yesterday.    That would make up for a week that I didn't get anything.   You can cook both at the same time , so your prep time would be less.    

As for the coupon book that comes with the paper, glade has a coupon for 100 off of any two products. There is some glade at the dollar store , but they may or  may not match,   .   .50 off any Colgate 3 ounces or larger.   That can be found at the dollar store sometimes,  just read the label carefully. Sometimes toothpaste at the dollar store was made for the Mexican market and they have a lot of fluoride in them.   I always read labels.   In any store you can find food that comes from China,  the FDA tells me that they monitor the factories in China and spot check the food  that  comes into the country for contaminates or quality.   

I only buy Foster Farms or Draper valley chicken.   I prefer Foster farms.    --all I am saying. 

I am careful what I buy.   We can only buy things that are at our target prices.   I want to average two dollars a pound for protein and a dollar  a pound for fruits and veggies.   Sometimes  that doesn't happen with fruits and veggies.    I always have a variety of fruit in the house.   It is a mainstay of a healthy diet.    What I do buy of inexpensive sources of protein is the best  quality I can find.    Finding the RBP on these items affords us good food on a tight budget. 

  Buying in season works too.  

Stocking on a product that typically goes on sale in conjunction with a holiday cuts your cost dramatically.  Check pull dates and buy what you will need for the year.   I'm talking things like pumpkin, catsup, turkeys.  Pizzas are cheapest super bowl weekend with coupons.   Unfortunately, you cant buy a years worth.  Pizza is cheaper of you can make it from scratch.  I don't always have the time or stamina, and it is our go to if no one wants to cook.    I am better off prepping early on the day so that dinner is a ten to twenty minute non- passive event.   

I , personally, am not convinced that organic food is better nutrition than regular food.   I peel and wash my veggies when it is appropriate.  My experience with organic produce is that it goes bad almost instantly.   

No food can do you any good if you are feeding it to the garbage disposal.   

That also is true of portion control and not overbuying perishables.   Kitchen management and freezing or incorporating food before it goes bad onto you meals is important too.    It's only a bargain if you use it. 

The Internet and Pinterest is full of ideas on how to use up bits and pieces; it's also full of examples of what not to buy if you are feeding your family on a tight budget and trying to be as health as possible on it.   

5 easy snack foods that go together in a snap.

its always nice to have a little something in the house to snack on.   My mother always had the idea that if we are our meals, we didn't need to snack, we needed to give our stomaches  a rest.   We did learn to make cookies and bars at an early age.   

I see a lot of grocery hauls with five and six bags of potato those chips etc.    ....it's a good way to derail the food train.   They are expensive and if you figure the cost over pound, you will be very surprised.   Certain,y, you can get a lot better nutrition for that amount of money per pound,   

Besides the usual carrot and celery sticks, peanut butter and apple slices , veggies and hummus , and air popped popcorn, there are a few things you can make on a hurry that are good snacks. 

1. Although, full of sugar, rice crispy treats are quick and easy.    
2. Granola bars - another sugar loaded, but peanut butter and oats are good.  
3. Oatmeal, blueberry banana bread is quick and full of good nutrition 
4. Berries with a little yogurt on top
5. I'm the summer, we make pop cycles from yogurt or a fruity herbal tea.   I bought forms on clearance at Fred Meyers, but we use dollar store ones too.   

What really happened. .....

I did go to Safeways today with the blanket coupon my daughters boss so generously gave me.   I didn't follow my examples because we already had a lot of what was on that list.  I started with the largest dollar items,   Adding in my head as I went along.   I pick three pounds of ground round, and a pork tenderloin.   Just short  of  17.00.   I went down the isles, comparing prices.   Just about everything else was higher than my target prices.   I never buy anything that is more than my target price unless we really really, need it.   I , realizing that everything was twenty percent off provided I stuck to a 25.99 limi, picked up no sugar added apple sauce for granddaughter, (2.00) .  I paid 1.69 for it at Fred Meyers .    The net price  of it will be 1.60.  

Up to 19.00.   Six to go.   My husband picked blue cheese.  That left a few cents short.   I added a package of ramen noodles that I use for stirfry without the flavor packet.  

25.18 less five dollar coupon made 20.18.  

I didn't use any manufacturers coupons.   I stuck  to protein because it is the most extensive of the food groups.    No sugar applesauce is hard to come by at a low price. There is fruit cups  and applesauce at the dollar store, but they are full of sugar, anywhere from 16-20 grams of carbs.    No child needs that many  carbs added to their diet.    

Why?....

Someone once asked my why I fed us for fifty dollars a week. ( this was some years ago) .   My husband and I had both been laid off of work and  while we were fortunate to get jobs, we took a cut in pay to get them.    My answer was , " because the mortgage company doesn't have a sense of humor.   ".   LOL.  They really don't care what your situation is, they just want you to live up to your promises.  

Honestly, no matter how much we have earned, I have always economize on food.   It was how I was raised.   We never wanted for food, we always had good quality food, but my mother never wasted food or allowed us to have junk in the house.  Cold cereal was only in the summer time, and not very much of that.  Drink mixes or fresh fruit, or pop just never happened.   We grew up in the fifties when fresh wasn't quite as easy to get as it is now.    

I have read economizing tricks and articles for years -- like over fifty years.   I've tried a lot of things: some worked, some didn't.   I never got soy beans or lentils to come out any better  than rocks.   LOL.   I am still reading a lot.  Only,now, we have the internet that makes things  easier.   

I have been watching  a lot of grocery hauls.   Some mothers that virtually make everything from scratch.   Some mothers that buy everything in a box or bag, and some that are in between.  Some mothers that buy everything organic and spend two hundred dollars a week.   Some that still spend two hundred dollars a week and buy organic milk, but boxed Mac and cheese.   Some that buy everything from the dollar store or .99 store regardless of how big the box or where it came from.

All of them buy their food one week or two weeks at a time.  

What I have developed is a different way of grocery shopping,  it is easier, and a lot more economical.   It's neither all organic, or all junk food.   It's some planned, controlled, scratch cooking And a little ready made when it makes sense.  It developed over a lot of years trying things, twekting things, and sticking to what worked to keep our budget in tact.   

It works.   It takes a few weeks to get up and running.  It takes some time  to get planning and organizing.  Once you get yourself set up, shopping is a piece of cake.  Some weeks I don't have to shop if I don't feel like it-- and it doesn't mean that we are eating out three days a week.  I can cook a variety of meals any day .    I have dinners on the shelf that can make dinner on a hurry.  Tonight we were going to have tacos.    By dinner time, my body wasn't cooperating.    My granddaughter and I made scratch cheese bread and we had chilli.    

No body died!   

Life goes on......

Terrific Thursday - 4-14-16

One of the ways to stretch your food dollar is to take advantage of extra promotional sales when offered.     Somewhere, ( I'm working on where) there is a specials coupon for five dollars off of twenty five dollars at Safeways.

The trick is  is to only spend the twenty five dollars and  only  on things that are already a good price, and use coupons.    It can be a really good saving opportunity.    Usually, most of the items in the store are full price.  

Safeway's- virtual shopping trip-- shop Friday.   

2 dozen eggs  ( 1.98) with coupon on ad
Strawberries ( 2/4)
Pork tenderloin -24 ounces (5.00)

Either :
I chub of ground sirloin ( 11.97)
              Or 
Buy 4, get free milk participating GM products ( up to 399 value)

1.  Cheerios , Cinnamon Toast Crunch ( 2 each- use dollar off coupons ) nets you 8 dollars for a 3.99 milk, and four cereals.    Depending how you look at it , if you attach a regular sale price of two dollars to the milk, you are paying  six dollars for four cereals, or 1.50 each.   ( that is still higher than my target price.   

Now you are up to either 22.95 - buying beef or 18.98 buying cereal.    

Fill in 2.05 in the case of beef, or 6.02 if you bought cereal.   

This is the key point: if you overpay for  your fill in, you loose.   

Ideas -1) ramen 5/1 , sour cream 1.50 (250)

Or.      2) 10 ramen -2.00, tortillas, signature kitchens 167, salsa, 1.67 , romaine 1.49, (6.83) 

That's as close as I can come and not buy somethings that are not over priced.    

For 20.45 ( beef option) you get ( protein option ) 

1. 2 dozen eggs
2. Two pounds strawberries 
3. 1 pork tenderloin 
4. 3 pounds lean ground sirloin 
5. 5 top ramen 
6. 1 sour cream 

Or 

For  20.81 - cereal option you get ( breakfast option) 

1.  2 dz eggs 
2. 2 pounds strawberries 
3. Pork tenderloin 
4. Gallon milk 
5. 4 boxes cereal 
6. 10 top ramen 
7. Signature kitchens tortillas 
8. Salsa (1.67) 
9. Head of romaine 

In my opinion, I would go for the beef option-- it gives you more bang for your buck.    I can get more meals out of it.   We don't eat a lot of cold cereal.   It can get costly if you have a child that would abuse it amd not eat their meals.   

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Alberways ad

since Albertsons and Safeways have identical ads, I'm just posting one set of prices.  
Albertsons bought all of the Albertsons and Safeway stores.   The prices are the same, but the stores still have two names.    The Safeway store in shoreline that became a Haggens, is,now back to being  a Safeways.

Strawberries 2/4
7 percent ground beef 3.99
Eggs .99@@


5 dollar Friday
Shrimp
Pork tenderloin


Buy  4 General Mills indicated cereals, get milk free. Assuming milk costs two dollars, that makes the cereal two dollars each.   There are coupons out there for cereal to make them cheaper.   Also includes,uses nature valley granola bars.

Wicked Wednesday.

So, I don't know what is wicked about it, but it is Wednesday.   There are no ads for QFC this week, it is a two week ad last week.  That means that the buy 10, save five salemsmsill on.  A lot of the items are for processed foods.    I am trying to steer clear of too much salt, sugar, and fat,    A little at a time.    I'm using what we have stock  on and starting with the things that we eat the most of and replacing things with healthier versions as long as the budget will hold out,  I am still on budget.   I went to Winco and Fred Meyers this week along with doing an extreme couponing for the B10;save 5  haul.  

At Fred Meyers I picked up a few non food items.    They had 160 count tissue for a buck and the shampoo was cheaper than the dollar store.   I just bought fruits and veggies and a couple of cream cheese packets for a buck.   I also bought six white beans and garbanzo beans so we can make hummus and chicken Chimichangas.     I got one more Barilla pronto with a .75 off coupon,  

Strategy for buy XX, save XX sales.    First, make sure that there are enough things in the list that are not too processed and that you will actually use.  

Nothing is a bargain if you feed it to the garbage disposal.   That bears repeating.   Nothing is a bargain if you feed it to the garbage disposal.    

Usually, there are a few things that are in the dollar range.    I never do a haul if I can't match coupons with it,    That's a deal breaker.   You can't save enough money.    This time I was close to sixty percent,  last time i was  at 78 percent.    I do keep frozen pizzas on the freezer.   While I can make pizza from scratch, pizza is our go to meal when my husband and I are gong out , or when someone is sick and we don't feel like cooking,    Cheaper and not any worse than take out.    Tombstone was on sale, imhadmcoupoms, and there was an Ibotta on it too.   They are 3/10 at Fred Meyers and there is still the coupons and Ibotta.  

I had coupons for ritz crackers and I found lowered fat and whole wheat.  We eat crackers,my it not a ton of them.  Dtto salad dressing and BBQ sauce.    We eat a few more hot dogs on the summer time,
Nathan's is my hit dog of choice,  it's the best ingredient wise and it has as many hot dogs as there is buns in a package.   Of course, in a pinch, you can make pigs in blankets.  

When to meal plan

Meal plans help you stay on track and not cave into the take out or pizza delivery demons.   We stopped the pizza delivery when a driver told my daughter that twenty percent wasn't enough tip.   It's expensive and in the to,e it takes to wait for the delivery, you can Doctor up a frozen pizza and have it 1/2 cooked.   I'm still trying to perfect a thin crust home made.  

The magic question is whether to plan before shopping or after.   Since I already have most of the basics before I go shopping, I plan on a specific day.  Before Alberways happened, I used to shop on Fridays.   Because there is no consistency in the times the ads come out, amd some places don't have ads, that doesn't quite work.   We go to Fred Meyers usually on Sunday or Monday because the ads come out Sunday.  I can check the ads for QFC and Alberways and see if there is anything worth a trip.    Otherwise it's usually Friday for Winco.   I do meal plans on Monday.  Whatever day you choose, make it the same day.

Doing certain things and having a plan is a lot more efficient.   If I don have. Plan, I might do a few things, but I get a lot more done with a list.  

Making a matrix saves a lot of time when planning,   I use a protein based matrix to give us a variety of foods and keep everyone happy.   Some people use a theme based matrix : i.e.  Soup, breakfast for dinner, Mexican, Italian, casseroles, pizza.   Etc.  

Most people have a list of meals they make often.   Of not written down, on their head.   Wrote them down under the type  of protein.   It makes meal planning a cinch.  

1. Make a list of things in your fridge that need  to be used up soon.   
2. Check your schedule for nights out, or appointments that will make your day hectic.   Plan on a crockpot meal or a meal you can make the morning of or the night before to accommodate.    
3. Check your matrix and fill in the blanks using the things that need to be used up and adding any things you need to fill in the meal.   

Product review.....one cheap dinner.

I purchased pronto spaghetti ( Barilla) at  the dollar store  with a .75 coupon.   I was a little Leary, expecting it to be starchy like a hambirger helper, but it wasn't.    It took ten minutes and was just the consistency of boiled pasta.   I googled a recipe and adapted it to use up ingredients I had in the fridge.   I added 8 ounces of pasta sauce. A can of white beans and 1/2 of a package of beer brats we had left over.    Total cost 1.90 for six servings.   I added a salad.   ( I pulled two servings out before I added the beer brats for daughter and granddaughter. ) and added a sprinkle of parm and parsley.

5 Bargain dinners.

Continuing the five theme....Less than five dollar dinners from the specials this week.  

1. Tombstone pizza   2.00  salad 1.00   Total 3.00
2. Speghetti, meatballs. Sauce.    Sauce w coupon .79, Speghetti with coupe , .25. Meatballs 2.00 total 3.05.   Green beans .58.   3.63 
3. Pulled pork sandwiches 2.50, buns .98. French fries. .75 Carrot sticks..50.     4.73 
4. Pigs in blankets. 1/2 - 1.75,  pasta salad   .75 
5. Scrambled eggs 1/2 dozen .84, oranges .84, fried potatoes .20, Bisquits    1.88

Now, I would not eat all of these meals on the same week.   Far too much processed foods.

But, incorporating them into your meal plans can severely reduce your food budget.    

Extreme couponing, QFC buy 10, save five.

Total spent 19.93.   At least two of the items were already marked down from regular retail.    The slip says a 57 percent savings.  I also picked up a 1/2 gallon of milk for .99.

Nathan's hot dogs
Tombstone pizzas w coupon
Lloyds BBQ meat w coupon 2.49. Retails 6.00
BBQ sauce .99
Kent dressing on sale with coupon
Ritz crackers, whole wheat with coupons


Plus a Catalina for 1.25 off tombstone pizzas and a dollar Ibotta on the pizza.  

Meal plans

Meal Plans for week of April 11

These plans are on no particular order.  I have a weeks worth of plans, but no rigid schedule.   I do have a matrix based on origin choice.

1. Chicken pot pie 
2. Ham and chicken quiche , salad 
3. Tomato,roasted red pepper soup with  basil.  . Cheesy Bisquits. 
4.  Meatballs  and speghetti pronto 
5. Pizza , salad 
6. Tacos,re-fried beans, rice 
7. Salmon patties , rice, broccoli 

Chicken is chicken breasts I de-boned - 1.00 a pound 

Ham is from cubes in a pouch from Winco - 1/2 pouch - 1.20

Tomato soup is from Costco -2.00- add basil, milk. 

Meatballs are already madman freezer

Taco,shells, seasoning and sauce is a dollar at grocery outlet , taco meat batch cooked.    

Salmon patties recipe is on "jenny can cook" .   

That's it for today..... 

Don't throw the baby out with the water.

Pinterest and u tube are really good sources for finding new recipes .   It's nice to shake things up and cook something  different .  It broadens our horizons and stretches our brain.   Often times, a recipe will sound good, but in examination, it either has expensive  ingredients or is very unhealthy.  

Now, if the main ingredient is lobster, you prolly should skip it.   But, often, you can adjust and substitute an ingredient to make a recipe more healthy or less expensive.  

Basically, if  you substitute an ingredient, you need to replace it with something that has the same bulk and flavor.   My husband does not like onions, green pepper, or mushrooms.   I often substitute celery or red and yellow peppers.  

I saw a recipe on u tube.   I was intrigued because it was an oven recipe that made chicken and rice in the oven.  The problem was that it called for onion soup mix ( onions and a lot of salt) , cream soup and two cans of water.    Basically you put rice in the bottom of a baking dish, add rice, boneless , skinless  chicken breast, and add a cup that has onion soup mix, cream of celery soup, two cans of water and bake for 2 hours  at 320 f.  

1. Grease the pan.   Add raw rice ok .
2. Debone 1/2 chicken breast .  Difference is 3.00 a pound savings.   
3. Instead of onion soup and cream of chicken soup ( too much salt and preservatives and cost. ) use a can of cream of mushroom soup, 2 cans  of chicken stock and some grated onion.   You can get cream of mushroom soup for as little as forty cents with coupons at thanksgiving time.  Stock up for the year providing the pull dates on the can are far enough out.   We don't  use a lot.  It was hard to tell how much liquid he was using because it was imperial measurements.   
4. I would also add parsley to the top for color and serve with broccoli.    I would still bake for 2 hours on a medium oven 350 degrees.  

That was a hard one because I was dealing with Celsius and method measurements,  their can if soup didn't look the same size either.   

Basically, I'm saying don't overlook a recipe that sound good just because an ingredient is too expensive or not healthy.  Look for an equivalent in taste and mass.  If it is a spice, don't use it, or replicate the flavor with something else.   No capers!   Add a little salt.     

Or goggle the dish and see what pops up.   

Happy cooking.    

Tomorrows Fred Meyers ad

Large  avocados .99
Berries, black or raspberries 1.88
Chuck roast 3.77
Kroger veggies or beans 2/1 @@ limit 6 stock up price
Hillshire sausage 2/5@@
Eggs 1.69
Sour cream/cottage cheese/ cream cheese .99
Cantaloupe 2/5 each

Dollar tree haul.  

Tomorrow's paper 1. Instead of 2.00

Speghetti, Barilla , .25 with coupon 

Speghetti o's , large per than large can 

Hangers, velvet type 2/1

Laundry basket for wet choices.   

Garbage can 

2 spray,cans of "Pam" one butter, one canola 

I don't have price comparisons on everything, but I'm sure that did well.