Cheap Eats

I've been obsessed this week with reducing my food costs. Two cars leaking oil will go a long way to get you back in the frugal mindset.

Sidebar: I've also been long obsessed with the idea of the "Food Stamp Challenge" where you try to live for a week/month on a "food stamp budget." Some websites say the average amount a person may receive on food stamps is $3/day. Other places, I've seen $4.50/person/day. At any rate, according to my credit card's online pie chart, I spent between those two amounts at the grocery store during all of last year.

So in the interest of spending less at the grocery store this week, I've been trying to adopt a "use it up" mindset when it comes to my refrigerator and pantry. This week was pretty successful.

Breakfast: I had oatmeal, peanut butter and added 1/2 banana ($0.39/lb) for a cheap-o breakfast.

Lunch: I had imitation crab meat in the freezer, cooked some frozen edamame, an avocado, lettuce and added brown rice ($0.98/lb bag) and cucumber ($0.88). I mixed a dressing out of things I had: miso, wasabi & sesame oil. While not really cheap, the only thing I had to buy was the rice. After this was gone I just ate leftovers.

Dinner: My supposed-to-stretch-all-week Tuna Noodle Casserole (Had: tuna, noodles, milk, flour. Bought: cream cheese $1.69 and milk which we always have on hand anyway.) turned into a family Sunday dinner with the addition of the in-laws. I still had a couple days of leftovers. I also made Fried Rice with Chicken (everything leftover...rice bought (and cooked) for California Roll Salad, chicken & veg in the freezer, egg in fridge), and Easy Red Beans & Rice (used up the last remaining cooked rice, canned red beans & spices in the pantry, salsa in the fridge, faux meat crumbles in the freezer.)

For snacks, I had apples, cottage cheese and bought baby carrots for $0.98/bag.

In all, I spent $44.54 at the grocery store this week stocking up on staples, buying what I needed for my planned dinners (California Roll Salad, PB&B Oatmeal & Tuna Noodle Casserole), getting stuff for my step-daughter (her dad needs something quick and easy to make for her on our hectic Monday nights and I'll shamelessly feed her almost anything to get her out of bed in the morning. Plus she will only take certain vegetables in her lunch: cucumber, red pepper, or carrots. I bought 2 of the 3 this week, just to be sure.), stocking up on spaghetti sauce (on sale with a coupon for buying 3), and buying the stuff I need to cook enchiladas for Sunday dinner next week. That's puts me under $3/person/day mark for this week, too.