Ok, so it's been a week since I started the challenge and time for an update. Last weekend I went through our freezers and pantry to make an updated inventory of what we had on hand. Then I planned out a whole month of meals via Google Calendar.
The freezer inventory I usually do from time to time, so I know what we've got. But this is the first time I've planned a menu for a whole month! But with a challenge like this, you need a plan of attack.
Last Monday I spent $27.30 for the week's groceries and only bought milk, yogurt, OJ, butter, and veggies. I was surprised at how little the bill came to! My budget of $200 over 4 trips might be more realistic than I thought...
Here's what our menu looked like:
Breakfasts
Cereal
Yogurt
Homemade Waffles w/strawberry sauce
Oatmeal
OJ and granola bars
Lunches
Chicken Nuggets
Turkey Sandwiches
PB & Honey Sandwiches
Elbow Mac and Parm Cheese
Lunch @ at friend's house
Leftovers from dinner
Snacks
Applesauce
Canned Pears
Cheese
Crackers
Homemade cookies
Suppers
Dinner w/small group
Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves (freezer meal)
Mexican Shredded Pork over rice (freezer meal)
Homemade Pizza & bread sticks (frozen dough and dough mix from pantry)
Dinner @ at friend's house
Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup w/rolls
All in all, we ate pretty well and I basically stuck to my rules. A borderline slip is that I did stop at Walgreens to buy some Nabisco crackers. I know that is not dairy or produce but they were free after coupon, so I wasn't *technically* buying anything, right??? Also, I decided that juice is OK to buy as my family prefers to drink our vitamins in the form of V8 and OJ.
One week down - three to go!
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