Typically I blog 1-2 times a week about what we’re eating. Blogging 2-3 day just was too much for me because after dinner I laid down on the couch and next thing you know I am waking up and its Saturday morning. This picture “The Morning After” is what I woke up to in my kitchen.
I am glad the Hunger Challenge is finally over because I’ve realized that dissecting the costs of what we purchased in groceries and ate only proved I’m not smarter than a 2nd grader when it comes to math (please no one challenge me to a 2nd grade spelling bee either). Yesterday I posted my final thoughts of the Hunger Challenge as well as an open invitation to donate to local food banks or the United Way. I am putting my wallet where my mouth is and will match total contributions up to $200. So please considering donating to your local food bank of the United Way of King County. Now moving on to what we ate yesterday. I’m too tired to break down every ingredient so I’m just going to put the approximate totals down for each meal. If anything I am probably over estimating each meal slightly, okay?
Breakfast: Yesterday I made a delicious egg scramble using eggs, mushrooms, green and yellow onion, red bell pepper, cheese, potatoes and bacon. A couple of us had some kiwis, toast, milk, and coffee. Total cost for breakfast was: $4
Lunch: I had some left over chicken from the night before and made a small amount of chicken salad using the home made mayo, cilantro pesto, some raisins, toasted sugared walnuts, and a granny smith apple on a bed of lettuce. I ate left over egg scramble and my husband had the salad. Because some of the things were freebies from past meals lunch was $2 for the grown-ups. My kids had the same lunch and snacks ($4.50 – it’s actually a little lower but who’s counting?) they’ve been eating all week. And if you really want to know what they ate and the breakdown of costs, just read the back posts. Lunch $6.50.
Dinner: On Friday nights we usually do movie and pizza night. We typically just order from Pizza Hut but we had no left over money to do this. I had a partial pack of yeast left so I made some home made pizza dough. For the pizza sauce (I’m so ashamed) I made a quick BBQ sauce made of ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, and a dab of mustard. The idea was to make a BBQ chicken pizza. The sauce was not that bad but still I was a little grossed out. But my kids LOVED IT! What is it with kids and ketchup?!? So I made mini pizzas using the left overs from the previous meals, although the chicken piece I used was pretty dry. We also ate Edamame, cilantro pesto bites, small green salad, milk, diet soda, and water. There was no dessert because I passed out, remember?? Total cost for dinner was around $6.
Total for the day was $16.50.
Just to recap the week:
Monday: $22.59
Tuesday: $22.43
Wednesday: $11.62
Thursday: $18.45
Friday: $16.50
Total amount we spent eating at home was: $91.59
Total amount of groceries we purchased for the challenge: $128.37
Grocery Budget for a family of 5 on food stamps: $130
Best things I bought this week to get me through the challenge were yeast, oats, flour, sugar, lemons, apples, butter, eggs, milk, edamame, and chicken.
Items I regretted buying the most: Bottle of fish sauce and a can of raisins.
And that’s it folks.
jenn says
I’m very impressed, Alice! Great job on making it through!!
Patty Gironda says
Excellent post. I too have been journaling-to compare costs, ease of preparation and overall health benefits.
Last night I was too tired to cook- so I looked towards what I had leftover in the fridge. I shredded the leftover lettuce from the tacos, added a fresh tomato, sliced avacodo and thinly sliced roast pork.
I made a homemade dressing of mayo, catsup, chopped garlic pickle and apple juice. The apple was perfect for the roast pork. The cost was minimal, the flavor maximum!
sig says
You’ve done an extraordinary job with this challenge Alice! The variety of dishes you made last week is amazing! Looking forward to your future posts.
jamieofalltrades says
Congratulations! I am so impressed with your creativity.
Danica says
You did awesome!!! I am absolutely impressed with all the foods you ate. They all looked and sounded amazing – nobody would’ve ever known you were on a budget if you didn’t mention it 🙂 Thanks for sharing your adventures in the challenge. I can’t wait to see what you are up to next.
Jim says
Great job! Can’t wait to keep reading about your adventures!
Jim