What We Eat...on $75/wk

So, it's true.  I've cut our food budget down to $75 a week.  We live in the Bay Area and have a growing family of 5.  Though my children don't eat a lot at one time, they eat all. day. long.  Marcus is still stunned at how much our little Sammy eats.  Never underestimate the Samster.  She may be small, but her appetite is large, eating every 2 hours, at least.  

But, we don't have teenagers yet, and I understand it will be vastly different as we continue to grow.  I mean, look at my kids in 20 years!  They look hungry (and criminally scary).

Seriously, this freaks me out.  Back to the food.  Because this is all too creepy.

Last week,  this is how we ate:

Monday

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Dinner: Masman Curry with Brown Rice -- meatless.  Potatoes, celery, carrots, onion.  Masman curry lasts a long time.  You can buy the curry here.  My recipe was given to me by an old Thai lady I met at an asian market.  It's so easy!  I omit the fish sauce and tamarind paste because I'm out, and we have found that it still tastes really good.   

Tuesday

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Dinner: chicken salad wraps in homemade tortillas -- 3 chicken breasts fried in coconut oil, salt, pepper, chili powder, other herbs...cut and chopped up.  Lettuce, cucumber, apples, celery, feta cheese.  Drizzle dressing over it.  Put in homemade tortilla (made with coconut oil).  My homemade tortillas aren't beautiful, but they are filling, healthier, and the kids love them!  This was great as left overs the next day as well.

Wednesday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Dinner:  Veggies stir-fry with noodles  (used this for sauce recipe)  YUMMMMMMY!  Even Callie loved it.  It was so good.  Seriously, so good.

from this.......

to this.....

Thursday
Breakfast: oatmeal (big surprise)

Dinner: Beans and Rice.  I got this idea from my sister-in-law, Annie.  Then I altered it a touch.  This, though, has the potential for so many different variations, especially because the kids loved it too.  I made a big batch of it and froze it.  We'll have it again for dinner tonight.  It's a nice blend of citrus, sweet, and spicy.  We all really liked it.

I've been using dried beans.  They are easy to cook up, a lot less expensive, and I know they don't contain anything extra in there to preserve them in the can.


Friday
Breakfast: Oatmeal

Dinner: Eggs
To jazz it up, I added broccoli, a bit o' cheese, peppers, and shredded carrots.  The kids really liked it too.


Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Dinner at Grammy and Grandpa's.
Had we not done that, I probably would have done a noodle dish with spaghetti sauce or something simple.


Lunches are pretty standard.  There's always enough for Marcus to take left overs to work for lunch.  I'm lucky I have a husband who not only is supportive and WANTS to eat less meat, but he also wants to bring left overs for lunch.  It's motivating when we're saving money, but also because he sincerely likes our meals.  So, that makes me feel good too.

Callie has been requesting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I always have yogurt and applesauce for the kids for lunches and snacks.  They get 1 yogurt a day.  Same with applesauce.  I get a large container of each and divvy it up into these...

It save quite a bit of money.

For snacks we have pretzels, animal crackers, cheez-its, whatever is the best price for the quick go-to snacks.  You need to have those in a house.  We also try to have nuts and raisins hanging around.  The kids eat a lot of fruit and veggies.  If I have a plate of cut up vegetables on the table, they'll eat them as they are playing throughout the day.

For other snacks/treats, though, I'll make brownies (I replaced the butter with coconut oil), many different variations of this granola bar, cookies, popcorn, etc.  I'll bake things up, individually wrap them, and then put them in the freezer.  These items can go into lunches or be used as a quick snack or treat during the day.  Limit: 1 per day.  

This is how we did $75 for groceries last week.  I try to stick to $75, but sometimes I go over if there's a good deal.  I tell myself I have a budget of approximately $350/mth, and try to stay within cents of the $75 mark.

I have found that as I've made this move to $75/week
* I don't overbuy produce and have it go bad.
* I don't buy junk just-because...to have on hand.
* There's not as much mindless eating, because we don't have a ton of stuff laying around.
* We eat WAY healthier.  I'm making our "junk" food by scratch.
* Callie and I are spending more time together baking and cooking, which we've both really enjoyed
* Our tastes have changed for the better.  Salty things are now soooo salty.  Sweet things are often too sweet.  Our bodies aren't craving the same things it did before.
* I feel very fulfilled as a mother and wife cooking these really healthy meals for my family, while saving money.

This may not be possible in every area of the U.S.A.  And as our kids grow and our family changes, this will change too.  But, that's ok.  For now, this is my goal.  We're doing it, and it feel great.

The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon

The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes by Lindsay S. Nixon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who "reads" cookbooks?  I had never.  I usually look through them, but not read them like a real book.  But when The Happy Herbivore came in the mail, I read it.  I started by just reading the beginning, and then my curiousity got me going and I kept reading.  And kept reading.  And kept reading.  Until it was done.

I wanted to have a cookbook that gave me good options for healthy recipes.  So far, there are some I like, some I love, and there was one that was...not good...but Callie and Samantha still ate it with pleasure.  I like the cookbook. It is giving me easy options for healthier alternatives to what we are currently eating.  And my family is liking it too.  So, yippee for that.


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Smoothies

Lately, we've been drinking up our health.  I've been doing my best to eat healthier in general, and to have my family follow that trend...and smoothies are just such a great way to do it.  Callie loves them.  She likes making them with me (she turns the blender on and off; it's a big job), and then she always wants to drink it in her Jasmine cup.  And Sammy, she downs hers pretty quickly as well.  Each day they're a little different.  Usually with Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, or this pineapple coconut juice I buy as a base...banana, kale, and the rest of the fruit and vegetables that go in is changed up on a regular basis.  If some of our fruit is getting too ripe, I cut it up and throw it in the freezer to put in tomorrow's smoothie.  It's great.  But most of all, I'm so glad the girls like them just as much as I do.  I know that they're getting a load of vitamins, minerals, and fiber in one shot.  It makes me happy.

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health by T. Colin Campbell


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was completely eye opening and as I read, I was convinced I needed to make certain changes in my dietary lifestyle -- so change I did. I began reading this book last year, but then left the book in Michigan. I picked it up again this year when my husband bought it for me. This book is thick with research and statistics that, for me, were shocking, and again, life changing. After 25 years of government supported research, Campbell has concluded that living a vegan lifestyle is the only way to prevent (and reverse) cancers, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and macular degeneration -- among other diseases of affluence. He doesn't deny that some of us are genetically predisposed to certain diseases, but what he does conclude, after these 25 years of first animal testing -- and then taking the research to people -- is that we have control over our genes. If we choose to eat properly (and again, he says properly is plant-based), then we don't have to trigger those cancerous genes to get going.




As shocking as all the research said, it wasn't a surprise to me. Over the past decade, I've seen and read more and more about this stuff...I had just never seen it so clear like this. I had never read the actual China Study, so I didn't know. He took their study -- the China Study -- and put it into a book. Why haven't we heard about this, even though his research was gov't funded, he receieved awards, and he along with other well-known and respected doctors are advocating diet as a way to control disease? Well, he talks about this, and it becomes political. That part of the book, though I actually really believe it, wasn't as appealing to me simply because that stuff wears me out. It makes me sad and it's discouraging.




Did he convince me? 100%. Am I a vegan? Not today. But we have started adjusting our eating patterns to reflect more of a plant-based diet. We are taking it slow, but I do feel really good about the changes we've made. I'm losing weight (but eating a lot of fruit, vegetables, and grains), I'm sleeping better, and feeling better all-around. It is a book that everyone should read sometime.




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Nectarine

Nothing better than a juicy nectarine, eh, Sammy?

I love nectarines, and apparently Sammy does too. She grabbed one off the table and started eating it. The girl knows what she likes. (I especially like seeing her hands so open. Before, her fingers would have been curled under and she would have been holding that nectarine with her knuckles! Wahoo! I like a girl who knows how to use her fingers. Makes life a bit sweeter.) I got a bit of video of her chowing down until she decided she was done and threw it across the room. Yes, we're working on that.

Justin's Honey Almond Butter

Eureka! I've recently made a new discovery. One that I'm quite happy about. Yes. Justin's Honey Almond Butter. Now, I recently saw this on a blog and was reminded of it's sheer goodness.

A few months ago, I switched Samantha and Callie from peanut butter to almond butter. It's a bit pricier, but I think it's worth it. We still have peanut butter, but I opt for almond butter over the peanuts if I have a chance. I'm, personally, not a huge almond fan, so all the more reason to get my children into almonds before they're old enough to realize I don't eat them.

After Samantha's therapy, I usually head over to the nearby Whole Foods to pick up a few items that I can't find in other stores. I went down the aisle and saw Justin's Almond Butter. It was on sale and cheaper than the others. I decided to buy it. I mean, really, what's one almond butter compared to the others? I'm all about price.

When we got home, I busted out the crackers and dove into the almond butter. I hadn't realized it, but I bought the Honey Almond version. I thought to myself that I should try it out...see if I can't make some changes too. I spread it on a cracker, and holy moly. I loved this stuff. Maybe it's the honey in it, but I really like it, and now, when it's on sale, I get a few of them (because at regular price it's too much for me.) HoWeVeR, I just saw that on NaturalGrocers.com you can get it for $5.79! Woa! That's a great price. At Whole Foods they sold it in smaller "trial sized" packages for $1. Maybe it'll be worth a try. Check it out. It's my new favorite discovery! And, I happen to love the plain white label. Love it.