Why: To use up the food that we have been collecting in our pantry, freezer, and fridge for the past year.
And, of course, to save some money.
You see... I came across a challenge last Fall. A blogger "friend" of mine put out a challenge to see if it was possible to only spend $100 on food for a month. It was just her and her husband. (just like us) And they are extremely all natural/healthy eaters. ( not just like us) The challenge was to utilize the food that had been stockpiled in your pantry... and to budget out your dairy/fruits/veges that you may need over the four week period.
Sounds easy. Right?
WRONG!
I was absolutely unable to accept this challenge last Fall because:
1. I was cooking a different meal every day.
2. I was cooking very unhealthy.
3. I didn't feel like it.
4. I love to spend money.
But then came 2010. And Resolution #532 was to pay better attention to what we eat. What I spend. What I buy. To plan our meals around what ingredients I needed to buy - instead of making 7 completely different meals.
So, there was no better time like last week. We have had so much going on lately and I felt like so much food was getting wasted. Not to mention that the doors on our pantry could barely close.
Oh. And then there is the fact that I haven't really felt like going grocery shopping lately.
The week started off great. I literally stood at my freezer and pantry and planned my meals. Did you know that if you type a couple of ingredients in to Google - that it will pull up a recipe. Pretty cool - especially if you are running late and need to fix a meal in a matter of seconds.
Not that that has ever happened to me.
So, we started out great.
We finished off soups. Frozen veggies. Rice. We ate salad almost every night. I even made home made Caesar dressing because we were out of bottled dressing.
But then I got tired of having to sneak over the neighbor's fence to milk their goat so Kev would have some fresh milk for his cereal.
And vaseline does not work the same as conditioner. Hence my T-birds hairstyle from Grease.
The final straw was when I googled "squirrel recipes". Because squirrel was the only meat in my general vacinity. That just goes to show how desperate we had become for a normal meal with meat. And a normal meal that did not consist of 7 different kinds of pasta and a salad made of brown lettuce.
Geez. You would think that it had been longer than a week. The way I am carrying on. But it wasn't. We are just spoiled foodies that can't manage a grocery budget.
So, long story longer....
I broke down. I gave in. I gave up. And on Tuesday, I brought home this:
I hung my head in shame. For about a second.
And then I ate one of my favorite pizzas. Veggie lovers on thin crust. Thank you Pizza Hut.
But my splurge was not over.
Wednesday was St. Patrick's Day. Now if you recall, we went all out last year. I made a meal fit for a Irish person. We dressed as Leprechauns. We turned our pool green. ( If you don't remember - you can read about it in our archives from March 2009 - because I have NO idea how to link you to the original post. And I refuse to ask Kev - I can't let him know that I am computer illiterate)
This year: BORING! My creativity has been asleep lately. My days are starting to run together. And basically, I forgot to plan a celebratory meal. BECAUSE I WAS NOT GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE.
So, I drove up to Outback. And I ordered us the Queensland salad. Because salad, after all, is green. And that is about as much celebrating as I could handle.
( This salad also just happens to be one of my favorite salads of ALL times)So, I scrimp and save and then BLOW it in a matter of two days.
And so I gave in and I just got back from the grocery store. We needed necessities. Like toothpaste. And milk. And toilet paper. (don't ask what we have been using)
And I am finally at peace.
Just a word of advice: Don't ever ask me for money management tips. Apparently, I think money grows on trees.
Hahhhahhhaaaa! That sounds like something I would do. At least you tried. :)
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