Safeways and Fred Meyers.

I did go to Safeways after my  appointment at the lab.   They had grated cheese, shirt included for 1.25, limit 4.   Inakso got origressonsoup, for .99 and had a coupon for 100 off 4 - the amount if quality for the  discount.   They had shrimp for 1/2 price with today as a pull date,    We were going to have salmon for dinner, I'm switching it to shrimp.   It oays to be flexible,    Tortilla chips were 3/5 and we were about out,  

Fred Meyers for tomorrow.  


Honey crisp apples 1.68
London  broil 2.99 - portion control, but at 2.99 it would make sense to grind your own hambirger.  
Pears .99

Freschetta 3.99

Yoplait 3/1 limit 6@@
Ice cream 1.99 limit 2@@

That's all for bargains.  

Grocery Outlet and Dollar Tree

We did go to grocery outlet and dollar tree.    We had DDG with us,    I'm always just looking for anbargain that I will and can use.   

Grocery outlet 

Split peas .99

Coffee 4.99

Four cans of wild caught albacore tuna 4.99

Tomato paste .39

Original grains cereal.  1.59

Crescent rolls ( 4 ea in roll) .25 

Pepperoni  1.50 ( spices) 

Spent 21.00 saved 56.00

Dollar tree 

Name brand enchalada sauce 3/1.00

Taco shells 1.00

Pronto pasta 1.00. Barilla 

And you have what in your pantry?

I will admit that we have a great deal of stock in our pantry.   It was well thought out.   The banks are giving me less than a half of one percent on my money.    I know that we have extraordinary expenses during the last quarter of the year.    If I have a large pantry of food that I have paid fifty percent less on  the dollar for, I can restrict our grocery spending and have more money to pay for the meds.  

I don't like having to spend  money for meds to keep me alive but it's a fact of life and I have to deal with it the best way I can.   End of story.  

It just makes sense if you have a limited amount of money for food to lay as little as you can for good food.  It isn't hoarding  if you have a controlled amount and develop places to keep it.  Now, of you are buying 69 bottles of red pepper sauce that you can never use in your lifetime before it goes bad, that's not being rational.   Buy a controlled amount of the things  you use in a regular basis that you can make a meal out of.   Buy them in themcheaoest sake you can find and use coupons if you can.   Our pantry looks like this, You might very well pick different foods.   Writing a list of typical meals using inexpensive sources of protein helps give you a basis .  

1. Chicken noodle soup.   A good staple, especially if you have children . 
2. Tomato soup
3. Beans : kidney, black, garbanzo, white, pinto ( canned ) - limited supply for emergencies and when time is restricted.   
4. Dry beans : white , black, pinto, kidney 
5. Diced tomatoes.   Diced tomatoes can transform into a lot of things, anything from salsa. Pasta sauce or a base for soups.    
6. Pasta sauce :  you can get it for as low as .59 and it can make a quick dinner, or part of it can be topping for a pizza in a pinch.   
7. Pasta : a good staple.   I have got it for as cheap as .38 and it has a very very long shelf life.   
8. I keep a limited supply of - Mayo, catsup, mustard, BBQ sauce, a few salad dressings, a back up olive oil.   
9. In the freezer I keep frozen veggies. Cheese, a few back up pizzas, 

A few things can make a lot of meals.   It covers you when there is a disaster,  be it a snow storm, or just sick kids that make it hard to get to the store.   

No child should have to suffer the insecurity of having nothing in the house to eat.   

Food will do you no good of you are feeding it to the garbage disposal.    

Four plus one is five : 4 people, 1 meal, 5 bucks.    

Better, cheaper, faster 

The rest of the story ...ads

Finally.     

Alberways 

Mix or match when you buy 4 

Cheerios. And other cereals 1.49 $$

Just 4 you coupons. 

Yoplait .39

Forgets coffee 6.99

Five dollar Friday 

Skippy peanut butter 3/5

Pork loin chops 1.99

Milk 199@@

Apples .99

Mission tortilla chips 3/5

Red Barton 3/10

Greek yogurt .88

About it.    

The ads

I still don't have the ads.    I picked  up QFC ad when I went to the pharmacy.   

Strawberries 2/4 

Mandarines 3.99

Honey nut Cheerios  1.99$$ 

Ground pork 3.99

Medicare pays for flu shots, they are free of you are on Medicare.    If you get your flu shot at Fred Meyer or QFC, they give a meal to the hungry.   My sister belongs to group health, and she still good get her shot at QFC.    

$$ means there are coupons for them on line and in inserts.    

The strawberries are at the end coffee their season.   They didn't look so good when I was there.   

The best meat deal this week is at Winco.   With a coupon in the entrance, you can get 1.50 off a pound of ground turkey, of you buy two la Victoria taco sauce or enchilada sauce.    The enchalada  sauce is 1.58  and there is a dollar Ibotta on two.   The turkey I bought was three dollars.   

1.58

.58

1.50 

Total 3.64 for all.    That's less than the price of the turkey elsewhere.  

There is no limit , and it's good into November.    I don't know how long the Ibotta is good for.    

Werther's original carmels are 2/4 at Fred Meyers.   There is a insert coupon for a dollar  and an Ibotta  for another .75.  Watch your package sizes.   

Sugar free chocolates are 4/5.00 at FM.  Usually 2.59-279 

160 count tissue is 1.00 at FM.  

This comes from Dr Oz., so consider the source.    According to him, there are preservatives and msg in Costco rotisserie chicken.    

Where you buy something has a great impact on the orice you pay for the same item.   The same brand and the same size package can be 50 percent or more at another store.   CIP- the same box of of pepperoni at winconfir 1.69 is a dollar at the tree and with a dollar coupon  on two, ot is .50.   

This is the case on many things.    

You don't have to go to five stores a week to accomplish this,   Go to two stores a week.  Mine  lately  have been FM and Winco.    Then, hit the alternative stores when you are in need of the things they are notorious for having the best prices .   

Dollar tree - all regular brands ( the same as the other  grocery store. ) 

Pepperoni 

Pizza sauce 

Pretzels 

Grocery outlet 

Cheese 

Coffee - check prices 

Nuts 

Anything really cheap close to the pull date.    ( just adjust your meal plans to compensate for the pull dates) 

Enchiladas

I am going to make enchiladas today for dinner,    Onfond that if I make dinner in the morning when I am fresh, I am more likely to cook scratch,    The last thing I want to do at 7 o'clock at night is to make a scratch dinner.

I make meals that are about 1.00 to 1.25 per person.    If younfacor in the fact that there are certain staple items,s every kitchen should have - like olive oil, slices, yeast etc.    you,need to stay at  close to five dollars or less a dinner to stay on track for a four dollar ore day per person budget.    Five dollars is based in a Proverbial  famiky of four   Two adults and two school aged children.  

I watch a lot of grocery hauls to get a good feel for food costs.   I study trends and things that will effect food prices.    Seattle is one of the highest  COL in the nation,    We do have the luxury of an economical car and the major chain stores within a five mile radius or less.   Bit by bit, imhave collected the tools I need to make my life easier in the kitchen.   I'm old and I do a lot besides a blog and cook.    I want easy!    I want cheap!   I want good nutrition.   I want it all.  And, I have found a way to get it.  

If you are new, the mantra is to avoid the f word at all costs -- full price.
There are a lot of legal tools you can use to cut your OOP cost of good, nutritious food.  

I digress :

Enchiladas.
You will need

• Enchakada sauce.   I got it for $1.10 a 28 ounce can.    I will probably not need that much sauce.   The rest I will freeze for another dish . 
• Meat: I precook hamburger and portion control it in quart bags and out the quart bags in a gallon bag so it's easy to get out of the freezer.  If something is hard, you will likely be tempted not to do it.    
• Beans - You can use canned beans, drained and rinsed thorally ( reduces the gas quotient, and reduces the sodium. Or, you can cook beans,   I have been using the pressure cooker.  It's a lot easier and you don't have to presoak.    
• Cheese : I usually have a mixed cheese lock n lock on the fridge.    

That's it,   Easy, good protein.  I might ad chilies ( Winco has the best price ) and I'll ad lettuce and tomatoes and sour cream .   I use low carb tortillas and defeat 7 percent hamburger.   Themcheese and a little sour cream garnish is all that is fat.    

Total cost for 2/3 of the pan- the rest can be for a lunch the next day.    3.15.  That includes more cheese than you need and does not include the oil spray for the pan.    Those that want slice can add red pepper flakes or hot pepper sauce.    

Gather ingredients 

Mix hamburger, cooked and de-fatted, beans, rinsed and drained, and 1/2 can of green chilli 

Mix in cheese, grated , a couple of handfuls. 

Spray pan with cookin oil.  Cover bottom with sauce.  

Place filling on tortillas and roll.   Place seam side down in sauce lined bow,  

When all your tortillas have been assembled (6) . Pour remaining sauce over them and sori me with cheese. Garnish with rest of the chilies.  

You can make ahead and remove cover to bake at 385 degrees until heated through and cheese is me,ted.   Probably 30-45 minutes.  Everything is either cooked, or can be eaten raw at this point . So you are just cooking until the sauce is hit and the enchakadas are heated through.   

Grocery shopping hints.

This is something I wrote a while back.   This week I am taking classes for business and am nit feeling well.    Hope this is informative.

OK! Grocery shopping is my game,  finding the ,west orices os my thing.    

1. Cheese.  As of now, two dollars a pound is my target price ( nothing to do with the store with the red balls.) The USDA bought a huge quantity of cheese because the dairies had more than they could sell and it kept the price low.    I suspect that the result will be higher prices in the near future.    It's a good time to stock and freeze.   Grated cheese freezes well.    If you grate your own, add a little cornstarch and shake in a bag to keep it from clumping,    When you measure cheese, a cup of cheese is 4 ounces of cheese.  You can figure that whatever once is in your recipe for grated cheese. You will use 1/2 in actual poundage.    I.e.:   A half a cup of cheese that is grated is 2 ounces.   
2. Spices : they are inexpensive in large containers at Costco if it is a spice you use often.    That would be Italian seasoning here.    I also keep a large canisters of any Mexican seasoning and make my own taco seasoning,   It's a lot cheaper.    Why pay a dollar for seasoning.   The same holds true of seasoning sauces.  Don't pay  more for the seasoning than you do the meat you are putting on it.    Small quantities of slices are best bought in a bulk isle.  Not every bulk isle is created equal.    There is a grace difference between Kroger (QFC)  and Winco.    An example is dill weed.   I needed some to make my own ranch dressing mix.    A smallest container ( the one that is about an inch in diameter and an inch tall.  ) was over 6.00.   Enough to fill that sized container was .18. No, I didn't forget a decimal.    LOL.  
3. Dry pasta is more expensive at Costco than getting it on sale with coupons,     I am getting pasta anywhereI between .38-75 cents.    According to a class I saw in BYU television on food storage, pasta has an eight year shelf life.   I don't think I would keep a eight year supply, but I am well stocked.   It's a good stroke that fills people up and can be very versatile.    
4. Canned goods.   Yes, there is a issue with the lining in cans.   A study using tomato , one of the most acidic foods showed like 6 parts per 3 billion.   All I can say is that I am 70 years old, still kicking, and we ate nothing but canned goods growing up.    That's all there was that was within a reasonable cost.  We had bananas because my dad worked for United fruit sometimes and got them free,    I have target prices for canned goods and buy a select few.    I don't buy canned fruit, I have had it blow up on me and make a mess.    I buy green beans. A small amount of corn, diced tomatoes, some beans, and chicken noodle soup is a mainstay,   
5. Oats : quantity buy.    The individual packages are a lot more expensive than the bulk canister or box.  Costco's box is now .79 cents a pound.  For the same nutrition, you,need to eat three pouches of the microwave stuff.    It is super easy and no more work to make scratch : 1 scant cup water, 1/2 cup oats - 1-1/2 minutes.  Use a larger bowl that you need to so it doesn't boil over.   I add cinnamon sugar and my morning banana and a splash of milk.     You,can also add chopped apple, raisins, craisens, cinnamon, --- dollar store oats are less quality and more money .   
6. Meat :  chicken :   I only buy chicken from the PNW.   I can still find whole chickens for a dollar or less.  I was finding solid breast for a dollar too, but haven't recently,    Then, I would De-bone  them and place the bones in a stockpot with a few veggie ends.    I got six dollar a pound boneless, skinless chicken  breast and a bonus of chicken stock and chicken for a casserole for a dollar a pound.    Whole chicken can be cooked in less than ten minutes Nona passive cooking.    It, too can be purchased for under a dollar.    I recently got foster far,s chicken patties for almost free with coupons.    It s a good go to if you get stuck and cheaper than fast food.   
7. Meat. Beef is expensive.    We have real beef cubes or steak occasionally.   Most of the time, I buy hamburger meat that is seven percent fat and de fat it.   Beef has some nutrients that you just can't efficient get anywhere else.   We eat it once a week.   
8. Sausage is usually cheapest at Costco for Jimmy Dean in a chub.  I have found coupons for it and got it for A dollar and a half a pound recently.   Also, on a sale and coupons made rope sausage a dollar.    
9. Eggs fluctuate in price.   In the winter the chickens don't lay as many so the price is higher.   You can freeze eggs, I'm not going down that road.   We will eat more,abundance in the summer and less in the winter just like we do with so,e fruits and veggies.    
10. Fruits and veggies.   All I can say is season, season, season.  Buy what In season  You will get better quality for less money.   

Monday. Miracles

miracles...I mad it through another weekend,    Maybe..

I have been buying chicken noodle soup at Winco for .75 plus using coupons every time I can find a coupon. That makes it .45 instead of 1.59.  

I have been making a lot of scratch foods, but holding off on a few quick ready made ones,   We all have days when it's just crazy and a few easy things stays off the take out gremlins.   Granddaughter loves chicken noodle soup and it works for those days she doesn't like what we are eating.  

I got chicken patties for .90 by buying three packages and using a 3.75 coupon.   I only buy Foster farms.   Sometimes a five minute dinner or lunch is in order and they are pretty low on carbs.  

We tried a u tube recipe for soup in the pressure cooker,     Im not impressed, the pasta was way over cooked  and even though I cooked and defatted the ground turkey , it tasted boiled.   All I can say is that it cost about a dollar to make and it made four quarts.   We ate it, but I would t make it again that way,    Some things are vest  left to the cooktop or the slow cooker.  

I do the experimenting so you don't have to.    LOL   I did make chilli in the pressure cooker, I just used the slow cooker setting,  

Kitchen management day,  

• Wash and cut up vegetable sticks and carrot rounds 
• Clean the fridge .   Note things to use up 
• Swap out speghetti for pizza.   We have an abundance of pasta sauce.   I got speghetti for .50.   
•  Bake something,    

Most if this weeks meals are easy and need to be prepped the morning of the day we eat them.    

Taking advantage if sales and offers and using coupons and a site like Ibotta lowers your food bill; kitchen management lowers your Prep time .  You are chopping everything at once, and ckeaning up once.    It's a more efficient way of making dinner happen  on the cheap.    

1. Speghetti and meatballs.    1/2 pkg of speghetti, meatballs. 1/2 package, and sauce.    1.63. Add some parm .25 and a salad 1.00.    Total 2.88 or less than a dollar a serving.  If you are not going to eat a whole package of pasta, cook a half a package.    Meatballs are frozen.  You can take out just what you are going to use.   Portion control.    A jar or can of sauce can be split and you can cook part of it and use the other part for pizza  sauce or add it to soup or freeze it.    
2. Pizza crust is a ten minute job.   It costs about .40.   I have got cheese for as low as two dollars a pound and I still see white cheese for that  at Costco.   Stock if you,can.  I have a WAG that you will have to pay more when we get closer to winter.    Chop veggies as you go during the week, and pepperoni is .50 a package at the dollar tree with a coupon.   The same package is 1.69 at Winco.    It pays to watch your prices.    Pizza sauce is a dollar at dollar tree.  The same brand as you get at the other grocery stores for 1.50 or more.    Freeze it on ice cube trays and place it on a zip lock on the freezer.    Take out a cube or two per pizza.    Total cost of a pepperoni pizza.  1.60 vs anywhere from six to ten dollars for a take n bake, and twenty at a pizzeria.   
3. Enchiladas.    I have got tortillas for a dime a piece.   Enchilada sauce for as little as 1.08 for 28 ounces.   Cheese and meat, and chillies.   Cheese is two  dollars a pound. A cup of grated cheese is 4 ounces of cheese.  1/2 lb of beef and turkey mixed is 1.25.   Cost 3.09 for three servings.   
4. Sausage and roasted root veggies.    1/2 package of sausage was 1.00.   Red potatoes were 5 lbs for 2.28.  Carrots were 2.58 for five pounds.    And radishes were .60.    Total 2.50.   
5. Chicken parm noodles.  Noodles .50.   Chicken 1 lb 1.00,    Parm .50. Mixed cheeses .50, peas .22.  Total 2.72 
6. Breakfast 4 dinner.   1/2 dozen eggs .20, cheese .10, muffins .50, fruit cup 1.00.   1.80 
7. Salmon, 3.35 ( 1/2 package) rice medley .10, frozen veggies .40.   Total 3.85 .   

Cost for three servings.   Total seven days 18.44/ 7 =2.63 a meal. Or .88 a plate. 

This does not include staple items like spices , olive oil. Etc.   

Meal plans

Monday.

Turkey vegetable soup with macaroni

Tuesday

Pizza

Wednesday

Beef enchiladas , rice

Thursday

Sausage with oven roasted red potatoes, radishes, and carrots,  

Friday

Salmon , Rice medley , salad

Saturday

Chicken parmesean noodles.  

Sunday

Breakfast 4 dinner

Fred Meyer ad

tomorrows ad

I made turkey vegetable soup with the leftover chopped veggies from last kitchen management,    I had pasta left  from yesterday's Mac and cheese.   Of o take the total of a bundle from Winco and subtract the cost of the enchilada sauce ( a good buy in itself ) the turkey cost .40 a lb.  

A noteworthy blurb -   The coupon book in tomorrow's paper has .40 off of four campbells souls.    I have been dining 1.29 off of four, but not of late,    They are .75 in the first isle of Winco.  Nets 65 instead of the 1.59 that I have seen elsewhere.  

Freddies

Grapes .99
Shrimp 5.99
Peppers and English cucumbers .99
Milk, chocolate milk, or oj is .99

General Mills cereal, or cereal bars 3/5@@.  - match with manufacturers coupons.  $$
Sour cream or cottage cheese 4/5 @@

 Berries 2/5 ( season running down, watch quality )
Cantaloupe 2/4


Not much there.

Free or almost free food.

There's no issue,  free dinner is a good thing when you are on a limited budget.  

I shopped two stores.    We hit grocery outlet when I had to go to a neighboring town for business.  
I spent six dollars.  

QFC
Hummus kit  reg 2.38 -  FREE

Eggs - 1.59.  - FREE

2 Jimmy Dean pound sausages @3.00 less coupons 2.00 nets 2.00 each.

Pork sausage links 1.99

Pumpkin pie.  2.99 ( the pumpkin when you can find it is 2.48 a can )

Total 8.98 - calculated savings 16.46

I always consider it a win if I save more than I spend.

Winco

Cucumber .68
La Victoria enchilada  sauce 1.58 ( less Ibotta )
Ground turkey 1.48 with coupon

Chicken patties and nuggets ( Foster farms ) 4.47 and 8.94 less 3.75 coupon.  Makes a chicken patties  package -3 meals - .72.

White beans 2.36

Campbells chicken noodle soup. (8) 6.00. Less 2.40 in coupons or 3.60 or .45 a can.  1.59 a can  at other stores.

Red potatoes -5 lbs.  2.28

Total 23.72

Total spent 32.70. Less 1.00 ibotta. 31.70.

5 ways to save on food.

FOve ways to save on food.   

• Portion control 
• Use every bit of what you have : don't waste 
• Shop sales ( true sales ) and never pay full price. Stock enough to last till the next sale.  
• Use coupons ( especially stacking with sales ) 
• use a rebate site like Ibotta   

Extreme couponing at QFC

QFC s  bundle sale  is a good coupon winner.    That's usually when you can get a good deal-- when you are buying multiples.  

Buy 4/8.00 and get free milk ( Frosted Flakes or Keebler cookies.  )
Pair with buy 5, save three coupon on coupons.com.  

You are paying a total of 10.00 less 3.00 is 7.00 less 2.50  deducted 2.50  for milk total 4.50 for five boxes of cereal.    Or .90 each.  

Your OOP is 7.00 for five boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk.  




Buy 2 Jimmy Dean sausage at 2/6 Get 1 dozen eggs.  
Coupons,com has a dollar off coupon.  
Two jimmy dram sausage 4.00. Less a dozen eggs for 1.00 is 3.00 net or 1.50 for sausage.  

Your OOP is 4.00 for 2 lbs sausage and a dozen eggs.  

Price Lists and organizing the kitchen.

Back in the day......I developed a price list to track prices of the things that I used on a regular basis.  

I got a small spiral bound notebook and topped the sheets with the product and description.

Line items


Date.      Store.           Price.    

9/1/16.       Fred Meyers.              2/1.00           Coupon in ad


That told me when and where the cheapest  price on that particular item was.
If  prices are in a fluctuation mode, that's probably still  a viable tool.

Since we don't buy a big variety of foods, I have been able to keep the prices in my head.   I have target prices ( nothing to do with the red ball store) .   I know I want to pay .50 for beans and veggies and tomatoes,  I want chicken for a dollar a pound or less.   And so it goes.   I try to buy enough to last me until I find it that price again.   This one thing saves a ton of money.    Dried beans are about a dollar a pound,  pintos are cheaper at the dollar tree.   The rest are cheaper at Winco in the bulk isle.   I have started to use the canisters that pop corn comes in from Costco.  I want the same canister in a row in my pantry shelves.    I bought labels from the dollar store.   They can be removed from plastic.

I helped my daughter last night reorganize her kitchen.   She had a shelf in between her cabinets in her pullman kitchen.   It made it so that she locked up two 24 inch cabinets and the kitchen always looked messy and was not efficient.  We took the shelf out to be used to organize shoes or toys.  We made a cupboard just for lunch makings at a lower level so granddaughter can go in a pick her juice box and her snack.   I bought canisters and we labeled them and put the canisters in a cupboard and a drawer.   We purged glasses down to one cupboard for glasses and coffee mugs and out extra glasses for back up incase one was broken in storage.    Appliances she doesn't use often we put in a cupboard and big canisters of bulk items went in a bottom cupboard.   Her counters now have appliances she uses daily and a counter designated for a work surface with a bamboo cutting board.  She still needs an apartment sized fridge.    Having an efficient kitchen helps  enormously.   Scratch cooking is a lot easier.   It doesn't have to be a huge kitchen.  She has a pullman  kitchen.

Finding zones based on activities makes everything you need for a particular project condensed in one place.  You save steps not running all over the kitchen and it eliminates some of  the chaos of doing a task.   If it's more pleasant, you feel more like doing it.

The ads 9/28

QFC

Apples,199
Pears .99
Yoplait 2/88. **



Bundles :   Thrifty or nay!  

Dijorno pizza 2/10 get ice cream free ( Haagen das)
Frosted Flakes 4/8 a free milk gallon
Jimmy Dean sausage 2/6. Free eggs
Wheat thins buy 3 at 199, free 8 oz cheese.  
Buy 2 5.99 k cups free creamer

Most of those don't sound like a great bargain.   I do not know ifmyou can  use a coupon  on the buy ite,s. But I suspect so, since these specials are not on a coupon.     There aremcoupons for frost d Flakes and sausage.  

Pumpkin pie 3.99

Alberways

Beef roast 3.88 lb

Grapes 1.49


Five dollar Friday's
Pork tenderloin
Barilla 5/5
Bread .88@@


That's about it.  


Grocery outlet had
Cheap on
Seasoned whipped cream cheese ( peach)
Cake mixes 2/1 ( use soon,).
Tomato paste was …39


About it.    

Ways to cut your grocery bill.

Simple ways to cut your grocery bill

1. It's hard to believe, but one study says that we spend 1/3 of our grocery bills on drinks.  Cut the pop or soda oit completely.  It's not even good for you.  We should all be drinking water unless you have medical issues.  Put a pitcher of water in the fridge.   It will taste better because it's cold and because the chlorine will dissipate. When my daughter was small, the nutritionist told me to give her an apple instead of apple juice.   Apple juice is especially bad for children in tippie cups.   Iced tea is cheap and there are all kinds of herbal teas out there.   They still cost pennies a bag.   No need to drink kool aid.    Don't be a coffee snob.  Use the cheapest  you can find.   
2. Don't waste food.   Portion control.   Read packages, they are a good source for portions.   A half cup is a portion for cereal.   Oatmeal or cream of wheat is better than cold cereal , especially sugar loaded cold cereal.  Give a child a small portion of something and give them more within reason if they are still hungry.    
3. Eat foods  high in protein.   I learned at diabetic school that foods high in sugar or starch are processed by your body fast, and leave you hungry. Eat protein with your carbs,  the protein is digested more slowly and you are fuller longer.    
4. Fix  plates in the kitchen.   Or cook with portion control in mind,  it takes 20 minutes for your brain to figure out you are full.   If you eat until you are full, you are probably  over eating. Some teen or pre teen boys will make a game out of how much they can eat.   Don't allow it.   It's not good.   Yes, I do know that growing boys , especially active   ones need more calories.  They don't need to eat a two pound roast!   
5. Use all of your food.   Another study says we throw out 1/2 of our food.   Not so in our house.   If you have leftover meat, go to a website ( Betty Crocker on  line  cookbook is one ) and insert the item in the search box,   Recipes using that item will pop up.    Think outside the box.   Leftover chilli can be chilli dogs .   It's important to have a meal plan; and just as important to deviate the meal plan to use up leftovers.   Lunch the next day.   A lot of husbands don't like leftovers.   Our home Ec teacher called them planned overs.   Give the food a new face. 
6. When you do your kitchen management. Take note of what's left.   Incorporate it into the next weeks meals.  Think vegetable soup, or chicken vegetable soup.   
7. Of your kids don't eat the crusts if their sandwich, cut the crusts off and place them on a sheet pan with a rack or in the food processor so they dry out for bread crumbs or croutons.   
8. Use an 8 inch plate.   You can easily get 4 ounces of meat, 4 ounces of a vegetable, and a starch on an 8 inch plate.   We feel that we have to fill our plates just as we feel we need to fill the grocery carts,   That's why grocers have bigger and bigger carts.   Have you really looked at the size of Costco's Carts! That's why you can't get out of there for less than 100.00.   The size of the carts and the size of the packages is the reason.  A lot of things are close to ten dollars.    Same with your plate.   Phycologically , we fill our plates.    Force portion control.   Your waist line will love you, as well as the waste reduction.  
9. Meal plan to use up whatever's in the fridge.  Have a list of go to meals written down.   As well as a list of snacks.   As for snacks, growing up, we didn't get any.  None of us were fat.   
10. Give children a portion controlled healthy snack.  Apple slices, maybe with peanut butter.  Crackers and hummus,  make muffins ( muffins can be really cheaply made) they are huge and cost a dollar a piece at the store often.   Air popped  popcorn is a good, healthy snack and really cheap in the bulk bins at Winco.   ( about fifty cents a pound ) the bulk at Costco , I believe is better, but it's 1.50  a pound. )  Oatmeal in anything is good. 

Easy Peasy

I am making two pots of soup for a gathering,   I cooked beans yesterday and chopped veggies the day before And cooked ground beef, defatted it and froze it.    It was a cinch to out ingredients in a pot and turn it on.   It makes entertaining easy.  

It's stressful if you are cooking at the last minute.

Chilli in I sta pot as slow cooker.

Vegetable soup 

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What am I going I do, and how am he going to do it.

How many  times have s have  asked  yourself this ?

I'm not ready to put Halloween  up yet, maybe a few leaves.   I got a gift of the hot psds and towels from the dollar tree.   I picked up the placemats that went with them for the breakfast bar.   That spruces the whole kitchen up for six dollars.    It doesn't take much to make the kitchen table festive!  
Dollar tree has stemmed votives.   I had three kids, two of them boys.  You can have steamed votives and nice things,    Kids can learn to act appropriately .

Some turning leaves  from the dollar store,    A bowl of fake apples collected through the years.   I saw some at the goodwill yesterday,    Votives from the dollar store,    A crystal bowl was a gift, but you could use any bowl, there are always interesting bowls and baskets at the goodwill.








Kitchen management day,    I have already oreoed somemthinfs.  We went to Freddies yesterday,  I didn't buy much food, but i replaced  the meat tenderizer that my husband broken trying to break up some ice and my diabetic candy was on sale.     What's not to like about 1/2 price chocolate without any Carbs!  LOL.

• Cottage cheese 
• La croix -not in the food budget - - more healthy substitute for pop,    
• 4 fire roasted diced tomatoes, and dining 2 dices tomatoes with jalapeños,   
• 5 pounds of carrots, 
• Radishes 
• Butter 

Basically, what was on sale and some carrots and radishes.    

I saw a interesting article about what store is the best store to shop at.   There is no best store.  No store has the best prices on everything.  Certain stores are nitmed for certain items that they sell a lot of and therefore, can price really low.    Shopping sales and shopping multiple stores is your best  bet to find 1/2 price or more.    I used to shop on Friday and hit two chain stores, the ones with the best prices for the week of the products I needed.     Now, our selection of stores has dwindled.  We have QFC ( Kroger) and Safeways/Albertsons that have merged and have one set of prices that we get the ad for on Wednesday.   Fred Meyers (Kroger) we get on Sunday,    Winco and Costco we don't get at all.   That makes one shopping day a lot harder to manage.    I usually group my shopping so we use less gas,   We do have a car that gets 50 mpg.

When you go to the store and just buy the things on a good sale, they call it cherry picking.  The grocers don't like it, because they want you to buy a lot of expensive things they make a big prodit  on.  I don't usually just get the sale items,   I don't, however, get the high priced items.   A lot of profit is made from. Using soaps and sundries that are priced  higher than other stores.   It's convenient to buy everything in one place,but conveniences have a price tag.  A lot of everyday things like toothpaste, deodorant, napkins, tissue, are at the dollar tree a lot cheaper.  . Same brand. Less money.   

I have found .50 coupons for puffs.  That makes them 1/2 price at dollar tree.  It makes the, closer to 75 percent off from regular stores.   We see toilet paper when we were kids.  I have sinusitis.   I use a lot of tissue.   I want it all over the house.   I got some for .69 at Fred Meyers. It was a smaller  tissue but there were over a hundred tissues in the box.   I'm thinking we don't need large tissues.   

The mantra is to never pay full price.    If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.  There is always that person that buys nothing to decorate the house or try to make it festive or fun.  It doesn't have to be expensive, bit it adds  to your quality of life.   A few things, packed away for another year.   

I digress.    This is about food.    Paying 1/2 price or less is the key to eating well on foir dollars a day.  Think  about it, basically you are eating in eight dollars a day.or almost a grand a month for a family of four.   We eat on an  average of  75.00 a week and have for years. Basically, there are three of us.   And, that also stocks a pantry.    It's full at the present because I am expecting a large expense shortly, and we can eat out of the pantry and freezer and balance the budget.  This is the only place that. Can get fifty percent on my money with  relative safety.

Having a stock is not  hoarding.   It's being prepared.    The young people that have never seen the dark side of broke with no safety net don't  see the need.   We had a big snow one year,  the snow plow came down the street and blocked the driveway with a pile of ice. It wasn't safe for us to be walking.    Without food we would have been in a pickle-- no one want to survive on the pickles in the fridge.  LOL.  Stocking gives you a sense of security , you are prepared of there is an emergency and it can be as simple as having a sick child that shouldn't go out.

No child should suffer the insecurity of haveing nothing in the house to eat.  Now, I have known teens that think because there is no chips and pop on the house and they actually have to cook something means there is no food on the house.   LOL.

With a little sleuthing and food buying skills, you can have a lot of food, for little money.   

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Meal plans

Meal plans for week of September 26

Mac and cheese. Carrots

Chicken tomato salad , rolls

Salmon, rice medley, peas and carrots

Sausage and sourkraut , apples, rolls

Pizza, salad

Breakfast 4 dinner

Meal plan board from the dollar store.     

Winco and meal plans

after the Winco haul , I did some marathon cooking,    I de-boned chicken breast and made chicken stock and picked the vines for some meat-- enough for soup.  

I cooked the six pounds plus pounds of hamburger amd pit some in small packages for taco meat or a casserole or sloppy joes.     The other I put aside for Chilli.  

We had chicken burgers for dinner.    It's best to make something simple after marathon cooking.  

Today I will do the kitchen management and clean out and organize the fridge.  

The pantry is full and so are the freezers ( the fridge freezer is very small) and my husband. Ought a smaller one when we replaced the freezer.  

The do it hike is coming very soon and we will be eating the pantry down.   I'm sitting at 68.00 a week this month.   I hadn't bought a lot of meat until this week.    We had a lot of meat  and I haven't seen a lot of sales.     My pick for this week would be the while chickens of we really liked dark meat.  
I haven't seen chicken breast cheap for two sales rounds now at Fred Meyers.     I broke down and laid 2.28 for split breast.   That's still a lot cheaper than sox dollars a pound and I got stock and chicken pieces.     I'm still averaging 1.25 a meal so I'm not to upset.  

A lot of thing are forecast to go up about 2-4 percent next year.    I see some evidence of that now.  Beef , chicken, eggs, cheese... To name a few.   We can hedge ot a little for a short time,   Stock so,e chicken and cheese and beef.   Eggs will just have to bite the bullet.    There are some substitutes for eggs in the old war time cookbooks.