Friday Recipe

Chicken and Pasta -serves 2

1 large chicken breast (8 ounces)
1/4 of a box of penne pasta ( or pasta of choice)
2 T butter
2T flour
1-1/4 cups milk
Garlic pepper to taste
1cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line sheet pan with Parchment.   Spray with cooking spray.
Pat chicken dry with a paper towel.  Rub with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a spice mixture.
Brown chicken on both sides in a skillet on the stove for one minute each.
Transfer chicken to baking sheet and cook until done.  Time will depend on its thickness.  5-15 minutes or until juices run clear and it tests done with your meat thermometer.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta and drain.   Pasta cooks in 2 minutes in the insta pot.  1 package needs a quart of water.   Or, boil it on the stove.

In separate pan, heat butter in the pan and whisk in the flour . Cook a minute.   Add milk a little at a time until you have a thickened sauce.   Add cheese.   Stir until melted.  Stir sauce into the noodles.   Garnish with dried parsley.   Add garlic pepper if desired.


Spice mixture:

Equal parts
Paprika
Garlic pepper
Onion powder
Pepper
Thyme
Oregano

Grocery Hauls

Costco

Oatmeal 8.39
Bananas 1.39

QFC
I didnt go last week because I knew this week would be the same ad.

Barilla pasta 1.00
Stoffers Meals ( calculated lunches ) 1.88
Goldfish .99
Jimmy Dean Sausage


19.98

Watching my carb level closely.  Some of the frozen entrees are as low as 17.  

Book Review : Good and Cheap: eat well on 4.00 a day

I bought “Good and Cheap: eat well on 4.00 a day”. It was 10.00 and I can appreciate the fact that they proceeds went to feed the hungry.   I, however, don’t think that the. Examples of food are too practical.   No food is going to do your family any good if you are feeding it to the garbage disposal.

This woman wrote the book for a graduation project from college for her masters.   I don't think she was too down to earth.   Most people I know would not eat the food she was suggesting and the money just doesn’t add up: it doesn’t sound like she has walked the walk.

Kale
Eggplant
Pineapple, fresh pineapple salad
Tomato scrambled eggs 1.80 a serving (half your budget)
Egg sandwiches with mushroom hash.  1.80 a serving
Quinoa....1.25 a serving -have you priced a bag of quinoa.
Broiled grapefruit 1.00
Dal.????? .60

Corn soup....just corn soup...1.25
Squash soup.....1.50
Tomato soup and toasted chees 2.40–more than half your budget
Kale salad 2.25 -the total protein is an egg yolk for a family batch

Broiled eggplant 2.25


None of this has any meat.

Quinoa 1.25
Tomato soup and toasted cheese 2.40
Kale salad -no protein 2.25
Totals is 5.90.  And hardly what would be RDA for a family.   I do know I wouldnt get my husband to eat quinoa or kale salad.   And probably not my granddaughter.

Sounds good, but doesn’t meet the reality check.

The key to four dollars a day is to buy your food at the lowest possible price.  Buy food that is nutritious and versatile.   Buy food at RBP in bulk when it makes sense.   Buy meats that are low fat.  Eating beef once a week gives you variety and the nutrition that you cant get from any other source that is practical.   10 percent fat hamburger is 2.77 this week at Alberways .   If you fry it and de-fat it the fat left will be minimal.   A 4 ounce portion is plenty .

Efficient scratch cooking, buying in bulk and things that are on sale helps.   Stock at low prices and eat when the prices are high.  Not a strange concept. Stockbrokers have used that concept for years.   Our great grandmother on the farms, put up food for the winter.

You can feed your family on four dollars a day, keep a 4-6 week supply of food and cook food that your family will eat.  I don't know many men or children that are adventurous enough to go without meat and be satisfied with a piece of grilled eggplant or a grilled 1/2 grapefruit for a meal.

And....1/2 a raw egg in anything that isn’t going to be cooked is wrong.    You are playing with fire.
The object is to feed your family, not kill it.  LOL.

Alberways ad

QFC was a two week ad.   Fred Meyers doesn’t mail their ads, so we have to get them on line.

Alberways

Lean ground beef 2.77
Petite Sirloin steaks 2.77

Avacados , tomatoes .88

Bread .99@@
Tuna .59@@
BREYERS 2/5
Strawberries 2/5


About it.

Fred Meyers
MAY 19 ONLY.
WITH DIGITAL COUPON
BUTTER 1.99

Avacados .77
Apples .99
Pears .99
Petite Sirloin. 2.68
Ground Beef 3.77 - 10 percent
Tillamook cheese 2# 4.99
FF split chicken breast BOGO- note not sure if thats a bargain. Or not

Milk ;99
Cream cheese 3/5

Barilla Pasta 1.00

BUY 4 SAVE 4
FF chicken tenders frozen 4.99
Kraft mayo 1.99
BREYERS 2.99

Note all the BOGO are not advertised, there are more tags in the store.


My vote for the rotation protein would be either the 10 percent hamburger at Alberways for 2.77 or
The split chicken breast at Fred Meyers if the price nets 1.50 or less.

Split chicken breast can be advanatageous if you cut the rib portion off, save in a bag. Bag the chicken breast in dollar store quart bags and the quart bags in a zip lock that you mark with the chicken and date.   Before you go to bed, put all the ribs in a slow cooker, fill to within an inch of the top , add vegetable scraps and italian seasoning.  Let cook on low all night.   In the morning, strain the broth into a pan and pick the bones for meat.   Cool the chicken stock in deli cups and when chilled, remove the fat that collects to the top freeze with some headroom.

I have lots of BLANK, what do I do?

Age old question :  I have an abundance of .....what can I do....

• Zucchini in this part of the country grows like wild .  There is always an abundance.   Its s good vegetable that is full of nutrients, but how much can you use.  The obvious answer is to grate and freeze it for chocolate zucchini muffins or cake.  It gets veggies into children by magic.  You can also dehydrate grated zucchini. Or dehydrate and grind it into a powder to add to soups.   Another way to hide it.   My mother’s friend used to cook it with tomatoes an d italian seasoning.   We have cut bigger ones, took the seeds out and filled it with a mixture of sausage and tomatoes and cheese.   
• Tomatoes:  obvious one is pasta sauce, tomato soup, and stuffed tomatoes.   I recently foun d a recipe for roasted tomato, pepper and carrot soup.   You can stuff a tomato with the pulp, breadcrumbs, and some parm.  Top with parm and broil.   We slice tomatoes and cucumbers and use it as a salad. 
• Eggs:  you can dehydrate eggs.  Its messy and takes f o r e v e r , but it does preserve them.  I did it when they were .78 a dozen.  It is a good thing for emergencies.  You reconstitute them and can make scrambled eggs or use them in baking.  My best trick is to make deviled eggs or just make hard cooked eggs.  The easiest way to make hard cooked eggs is to put one in each section of a muffin pan.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and bake the eggs for 30 minutes.   Have an ice bath ready and immediately dump the eggs into the water.  I use tongs or a large spoon.   They peel really easy and there is no watched pot. 
• Carrots:  carrot cake or muffins 
• Milk:  pudding, bread pudding . Clam chowder or potato soup. 
•  Potatoes:  french fries, baked potato bar.  Loaded baked potato soup. Chilli fries...I made fries last night.   I cut the potato after it was washed in vinegar water, and soaked it in more vinegar water for 30 minutes to get the starch out.   I dried them with a paper towel and put them in a green container with paper towels between two layers.   They were in the refrigerator until we were ready for dinner.   Put the potatoes in a bowl and dry them off with a paper towel.  Drizzle some olive oil on them and sprinkle with your favorite seasoning.  We use garlic pepper.   We cooked them in the hot fryer for 20 minutes.   Start at 15 and add if needed.  Shake half way through.  We set it at 400 degrees:   You could also bake in a 400 degree oven and turn over half way through.   Air baked, or oven baked fries with little good oil and no salt is a good way to eat french fries.   In moderation !!!
• Bread.  Bread pudding, toasted cheese sandwiches, french toast, stuffing for pork chops.   Make stuffing, add chicken stock, veggies, dried or chopped fine and apple and craisens.  Brown pork chops on both sides and place on stuffing and bake off covered until chops are done.   

Keeping ‘zones” in the refrigerator is a good way to avoid missing something in a ‘black hole” 

• Condiments, large bottles 
• Dairy , a plastic basket groups yogurt. 
• Leftovers 
• We keep cheese: mozzarella  and Mexican blend, a celery box, and miscellaneous items on one shelf. 
• The door is set up to take salad dressings, condiments like mustard, and a butter space.  
• There is a drawer for meat and sliced cheese.
• A drawer for veggies 
• And a drawer for back up cheese.   

Terrific Tuesday -what next?

Working on a schedule for the blog.

Sunday:  meal plans
Monday:   Kitchen management
Tuesday:
Wednesday:  the best of the chain store ads
Thursday:  Grocery Hauls
Friday:  recipe
Saturday:  


Tuesday and Saturday are blank.   With Fred Meyers going to a Wednesday ad, Saturday is changed.  
So, please comment what you want to see.   Hacks?  Dinner Diaries?   Any ideas.  

Kitchen Management Monday

Kitchen Management is a tool that preps food for the week in conjunction with your meal plan.  It saves time and hastle when you reach the hectic dinner hour. 

Reminder of meal plan for the week. 

1. Quiche , fruit
2. Pizza
3. Salmon, seasoned rice, honey gingered carrots 
4. Tacos, refried beans (scratch) 
5. Stuffed chicken breast , baked potato, veggies. 
6. Chicken tenders, oven fries, veggie tray 
7. Breakfast for Dinner

Notes 

1. Wash and wax kitchen floor 
2. Clean refrigerator and dump anything dead 💀 
3. Clean and disinfect countertops and sinks.
4. Straighten pantry 
5. Make bacon for chicken, ham and bacon quiche. 
6. Cook a chicken breast in the insta pot.  (Or poach in the microwave. ) 
7. Wash fruit, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes 
8. Check the rice mix and make some if needed 
9. Mark meal plan if something needs to be defrosted.   (Chicken) it takes 2 days.  

Winco haul

Winco haul for vegetables and fruit

Celery .88
Granny Smith apples .98
Jonigold apples .98
Strawberries 1.98
Lettauce .98
Bar S bacon 2.48
French bread .95

Total 17.43

Real Meal Plans

Meal Plans are a necessary part of groceries on the cheap.  They keep you organized.   We use a protein based matrix.   It just makes for a varied selection of meals and makes meal plans efficiently in a matter of minutes.

• Quiche, field green salad 
• Pizza 
• Salmon, rice, glazed carrots 
• Tacos, refried beans 
• Stuffed chicken, baked potatoes ,peas 
• Chicken tenders, oven fries, vegetable platter 
• Breakfast for dinner.  

Notes 

1. Quiche is a favorite and we need to use up eggs.   
2. Pizza , another favorite can use up leftovers and costs a dollar a cheese pizza when make from scratch.  Scratch pizza crust takes less than five minutes and cost .19. The cost at safeways and central market was priced at 1.50 and 2.00.
3. Salmon is frozen.   Note that all salmon we get is frozen. They freeze it on the boat to keep it fresh.   What you buy in the store has been previously frozen.   Rice is a mix made from scratch with chicken stock and herbs.  Carrots glazed with butter, honey, and ginger.  
4. Tacos are with a kit we got for a dollar. Homemade Insta pot refried beans. These refried beans have no fat.   
5. Chicken was purchased for a dollar a pound.  Oven fries are made in convection oven and have a spray of oil on them or are tossed with olive oil.   
6. Chicken tenders are made with a coating of breadcrumbs, nuts, and parm cheese.  
7. Breakfast for dinner is a family affair.   Everyone contributes.   A healthy family time.   

Meal Plans

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers .  
Yesterday, we went to the GO .  ( a discount grocery store.). I found stewed tomatoes, organic, hunts for 3/1.00.  The pull date was March on some and June on others.   I bought six that had June pull dates.   I researched the cost of them.   Target has them for 1.38 which was cheaper than Wallmart.  
I have been told that you cant eat on four dollars a day.   I have also had people tell me that all they could eat was potato chips and ramen noodles.  You can eat well on four dollars a day.  We eat on less than four dollars a day and we supplement a grandchild and have grown a stock.   We eat well.   Salmon, Pork Loin, Boneless, skinless chicken breast, and supplement eggs, cheese, and beans.  
It can be done and it can take no more time than you are spending now.   It does take a little effort.  

I didn't start out to feed us on four dollars a day.   I just wanted to cut our food costs.  We live in the 7th highest COL place in the US, so I read.   Judging from the food haul I watch on a daily basis, it seems right.   Because I write this blog, I set out to try every cost cutting food hack I could logically do.  Some are not going to be tried here.   Like making stock from already eaten chicken parts.   YUK!  But if it was reasonable, we tried it.   The last ting that I tackled was making bread.   I did find bread recipes that were almost free and easy.....almost no money and almost no time is a good thing.

When you are on a fixed income and social security give us a 132.00 a YEAR raise and. Your taxes and insurances go up 2000., its a good thing that we can eat well on a shoestring.   Buy shopping wisely, we can still have a few luxuries .

By attacking the large food bill on many angles you can collectively lower your food bill dramatically.

• Shop wisely.   Set rock bottom prices on the things you use on a regular basis.   Don't buy those things until they are at or below the RBP.   When you do, buy in bulk within reason.   I would start at a 4-6 week supply of that particular food.   If you use 2 cans of tomatoes a week, that means you would keep 8-12 cans.   Most cupboards can take that .   The average family has a list of 10-15 items they use on a regular basis.  
• Buy meat and some staples in bulk.   Rotate meat and buy one thing a week , enough to supply your family for 4-6 weeks.   PorkLoin, chicken breast, and hamburger are good choices.  They are easily purchased at a two dollar a pound average and are versatile to avoid monotonous dinners.  Flour, rice, and oatmeal are items we buy at costco in bulk because they save a lot of money.  Cheese at the business costco is cheapest.   There are sales lately at the chain stores, sometimes with digital coupons and limited times.   I want two dollars a pound.  
• Meal plan.   Just Meal Plan. 
• Efficient scratch cook.  Pinterest and the internet are full of recipes.  An insta pot is worth far more than it cost.  Just making beans and rice instead of buying canned or redi rice. Or instant rice will pay for itself in less than a year for the average family.  
• Make bread and muffins and pancakes from scratch.   A batch of pancakes are less than 30 cents.  They cost five dollars.   A artisan loaf of bread is upwards of three dollars.  It cost a quarter.   Not a quarter of the price—-twenty five cents.   And it takes 10 minutes spread between two days.   
• Portion control.  No one needs to eat a two pound roast at one sitting.  Nutritionists will tell you that three squares a day is better than waiting until dinner and gorging yourself.   Portion control is good for your waistline and good for your budget.  

Easy,   Nothing is rocket science.   But the savings are remarkable.  Start with one concept.  When that is comfortable, add another.    Hope this helps.   Four dollars a day is attainable.   

Grocery outlet and DT haul

We went to amtown a few towns away.  I thought I could get a few more diced chillis and holiday nuts.   There were no more of those items.    I did find taco kits for a dollar.   I have purchased them from grocery outlet before.   These were a different brand.  But getting the taco sauce and seasoning  along with the shells for the same price as the shells is good.

Stewed tomatoes, hunts were 3/1.  Some were dated March, other’s June.  I bought 6.  I know I can use six before June date.

You can score good if you are not season sensitive.   Pumpkin Oreo type cookies are a dollar.   They are not stale dated, just seasonal.  

Dollar tree netted ancient grains suddenly salad , and tortilla chips for taco soup.  

Mexican Chicken casserole......

Gather ingredients,   Diced mild green chillies , diced tomatoes, drained. Pasts and cheese,   

Cook pasta. I used the insta pot with a pound of pasta and a quart plus of water,   

Didn’t wind up adding the pasta because it was good without and I’m trying to avoid some carbs, ,   

Shredded chicken .  I cooked a chicken breast in the instant pot from frozen for 15 minutes. Place on rack and add two cups of water . Sometimes,  I add chicken stock instead of water,   

Layer the chicken, chillies, diced tomatoes, and cheese.  I used a blend of any these I had in the cheese drawer,   Sharp cheddar, white cheddar, and some parm.   

Normally, I would add cooked pasta and top with some reserved cheese,   This would taste good In a quesadilla.  

Cheeseburger macaroni..then and now

I dig out the recipe for cheeseburger macaroni that I priced for channel 5 news , probavly at least six  years ago.  Costs have risen 45 percent. If you add organic upcharges you are adding some 80 percent.  

Prices  are then/ now

1 lb hamburger. 1.66/ 2.44
3 ounces celery .06/.10
1 slice red pepper .10/.08
Garlic, onion
1can diced tomatoes .59/.39
1 8 Oz tomato sauce .33/.33
1 cup grated cheese .38/.50
1/2 lb macaroni .35/.50
Total  3.47/4.34

Serves 6. prorate  4

2.31/2.89

Still a 5.00 dinner

Add homemade bread and a salad or vegetable

Directions
Sauté veggies on a small amount of olive oil.  Add gRkic powder and onion powder to taste. Add cooked hamburger or cook hamburger until no longer pink.  
Add 🍅  products.
Simmer  15 minutes for flavors to blend.
Top with cheese and put a lid on it.  Turn off heat.

Pantry /freezer dinners

we have all had those days.    Those beautiful days when the meal plan has gone out the window.   Thief days when no sick in the bin will satisfy the child, it’s gym day and those aren’t gym socks. Those are valentine socks, see... the have hearts! Those days when a project takes longer than expected, or the meat didn’t thaw.....those days....

Having pantry or freezer meals are a rescue,

• The obvious one is frozen pizza.   It can be cheap and it is a no brainier,   
• Frozen salmon comes in shrink wrap individual packages and is also a pull and cook.   Add rice, instant mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes and a frozen veggie or sliced  cucumbers and tomatoes and you have a dinner, 
• Chicken parm can be made from chicken patties from Foster Farms, tomato sauce and a half package of spaghetti.  Spaghetti can be cooked in TWO minutes in the insta pot...no watching the pot.   
• Tuna cassarole is a pantry item that is a good mainstay if you can’t get out if the house for some reason,   We add frozen peas, 
• Mac and cheese is a favorite,   White sauce, cheese , and again, elbows in the insta pot.   Don’t buy that Mac and cheese in a box,  most of it has SOAP in it,   TSP or its derivative is the soap or detergent that we sold at the paint store to clean the grease etc off the walls to ready it for paint,  you need to use rubber gloves with it because it eats your hands,   And,,,,you are feeding it to ....
•  Breakfast for dinner is a good alternative,  pancakes or waffles are made from shelf staples, eggs are a basic , and cheese adds protein.    
• Tacos are a go to here.   I always keep taco shells when o get them for anywhere between .50 and a dollar.    Taco meat is always in the freezer because we cook hamburger, de fat it, and freeze it in meal sized portions,   You don’t need a lot of hamburger for tacos, because you are adding cheese too to supplement,   You can also add beans to the meat to s t r e t c h it if you need to,   
• Cheeseburger macaroni is a long favorite,   NOT out of a box,   It’s actualky cheaper than the box and the ingredients are REAL.   When my daughter and I dissected a big mix to prove a point,   It had 1,57 ounces of a cheese sauce mix that had no cheese 🧀 in it..no cholesterol is a clue here, and 4.2 ounces of elbows,   And, ingredients you can’t pronounce. ( the recipe is on the blog, use he search key) if you are interested.   

We are waiting fir the tech guy to install the printer,   I finally got the computer up and running,and data changed over ....three days..long story...our error,   But the WiFi keyboard, mouse and printer are another story,   LOL.  

I am sure there are more pantry ideas, but this is a good start.    

.....tomato soup and toasted cheese or quesadillas.   We also always have tortillas in the fridge,    

Having basics in the house makes it so that you always have food,   And, she; purchased right, you can do it on four dollars a day ,

Thursday Notes

 Disclaimer: my keyboard has lost its fuzzy logic.   I am  back to using the keyboard with two fingers, 

My recommendation is to never buy a keyboard from amazon.   This is the second one, they replaced it once before,   Ugh.   

Last night the chicken I had planned to cook hadn’t thawed,   So, I improvised,   It’s always good to have a few easy entrees in your back up plan, 

We had salmon cakes, a few french fries to use bits up, green beans with red peppers, tomato and cucumber salad, and some strawberries.   

Previously, we were dealing with a freezer meltdown, so I cooked several pounds of hamburger,   The menu plan went out the window,    

We had: 

Taco salad

Shrimp and salad, 

Tacos

I think tonight we can go back to normal.   Just an example of sometimes you have to punt, and having food in the house makes it easy,  

We went to grocery outlet this week because we needed coffee and we were already almost there so we could make best use of our trip.    We get e mails telling us what is on sale.   This time they had chocolate yoplait yum....a good way to have a little desert, including protein and low carbs.   

QFC has a special where if you sign up for their e mail, they will give you a basket coupon for five dollars off of twenty five,   I’ll use it next week, they have a two week ad this week,    Barilla pasta is a dollar,  it is also right now at dollar tree,  including spaghetti and elbows,   

Basket coupons work well if you stick to the amount on the coupon ( in this case 25 dollars) and only buy things that are at RBP.   It’s getting the most bang for your buck,    Twenty percent off your food bill is a good thing, but every item you purchase over the dollar amount of the coupon is a loss in percentage.  If I were to buy a box of pasta for a dollar and stay at 25.00 worth of food, I am actually paying .80 for the pasta.   At the prices here, that’s a good deal,  Barilla is up to 2.00 some places. 

It isn’t one thing that makes you be able to eat on four dollars a day, it’s a lot of little things that all add up.  

• Make good use of any coupons that come your way. 
• Efficiently scratch  cook whenever possible .  Convenience foods start with $$$
• Buy in bulk when the price is lowest for any foods that you will use a lot of.   Its a lesson in evaluating how much of a particular product you will use before it can go bad, 
• Buy basic sources of protein in bulk at the RBP and buy enough to carry you with that meal for four to six weeks,   In other words,  if you eat pork once a week, you will need enough for 4-6 meals. Buy things hat average two dollars a pound,   Here that would be hamburger, pork loin, chicken breast, eggs, cheese, and beans.   These are all versatile enough that you will not get bored with meals.  Buying the meat when it’s on sale and buying one thing a week and portion controlling enough for a meal avoids waste. 
• Planning meals saves time and money.   It doesn’t have to be fancy or time consuming,   
• Basically, you are going to the store to replentish your stock and buying a rotation meat and your perishables. By keeping a 4 to 6 week stock of the things you use on  a regular basis that are shelf stable or freezer ready means you never have to pay that nasty f word...full price . You actually spend less and always have food in the house,   
• We spend less than 4.00per person a day considering that we supplement our granddaughter and add to a stock.   We eat well balanced and don’t eat rice and beans as a steady diet,  we have pork roast, pork chops, pork stew, hamburger meals, boneless , skinless chicken breast locally grown, salmon and supplement cheese, eggs, and beans,   
• Portion control is good for your budget and your health . Your doctor will tell you that three squares of portion controlled balanced food is better for you than binge eating. 

Fred Meyer and DT haul

It’s not what you buy as much as when and where you buy it 

Bread, orowheat, 

BC suddenly salad, ancient grains 

Spaghetti, Bareila x2 

Egg noodles 

5.00

Lean cuisine meals 2.00

Baguette 1.00

Foster Farms chicken breast, frozen 4.99

FF Chicken wings 4.99

Strawberries 2.77

23.75

Pork loin was .99 a lb. it did not look good.   Full of fat.   

In addition , there was chicken parts for .99 a pound,  

I am 28.75 over so far, but that includes a bulk hamburger buy,   This only means I have to shirt each week for the next three weeks 10.00.   

Chain Store ads

ALBERWAYS

DIGITAL COUPON LIMIT ONE - ICE CREAM .99

Cheese 2 # 4.99
Tilamook ice cream 2/6
Artichokes .99
Butter 1.99 limit 2
Safeways brand pasta .79
Nathan’s 3.99


QFC - THIS IS A TWO WEEK AD -sign up for e mails and get 5.00 off of 25.00

DIGITAL, SATURDAY 5/12
HUMMUS 1.49
RIBS 1.77

——-
Milk .99
Barilla pasta 1.00


BUY 4, save 4
BREYERS 1.99
DAVES KILLER 2.99
JIMMY DEAN SAUSAGE 2.49
ALMONDS 7.99

FRED MEYERS
STRAWBERRIES 2# 2.77
Pie 4.00
Baguette 1.
Barilla pasta 1.
Chicken thighs . And legs.  99
80/20 beef 2.99

Grocery Outlet Haul

Grocery Outlet Haul
Note:  they have a cereal sale on.  We dont buy cold cereal, so I didnt pay much attention.



Hills Bros Coffee 6.99
Holiday Nuts. 2.99
Pumpkin Bread .50

Chili’s- Old Ole Paso .50 ( 1.28 at winco and winco brand is .66.

Bacon 198 lb
Cheese, Holland.  2.00

Sliced cheeses 1.99

Chocolate whips - yoplait.  .33


Total for food 24.43 including. Coffee.  

Cost of Meals

It is not what you buy perhaps, but when and where you buy it.   Finding a RBP and buying at that RBP is necessary to keep your costs at a minimum.   If you face the challenge of feeding your family on four dollars a day and you want to feed them good, nutritious food, it is a necessary thing.

Last night we had taco salad.  It was a nice spring day and I had cooked and de fatted four pounds of hamburger.  It was just a natural choice since we bought a bunch of Mexican food on sale for Cinco de Mayo.  

1/2 Pound of hamburger , cooked with taco seasoning,
1/2 bag lettuce
1Tomato
1cup shredded cheese
Sour cream, salsa, chips
Cost two dollars and fifty cents for 2.  

Hamburger at two forty four a pound
Lettuce was a dollar a bag
Cheese at two dollars a pound
Tomato at a dollar a pound
Sour cream was seventy nine cents
Chips were a dollar a bag
Salsa was a dollar a twenty four ounce jar.

Costco Haul

Costco Haul—just then food stuff 

3 REAL whip cream 8.69

Romas   3.49

Kirkland Nut Bars 16.99 minus 3.50....good and only 7 net carbs.   

Chocolate and nuts and only 7 carbs......yeah!

Bananas 1.39

Thats it....