Inspired by Chad's high school classmate Emily and by my growing dislike of realizing it's 4:30pm and I have no idea what we are going to have for dinner (or what ingredients we have on hand to make anything), I have started planning the week's meals on Mondays. Also, after finishing up our 2008 budget and realizing for more than one month we spent almost $500 for groceries, I am trying to get our grocery spending back to $350/month. This mainly means spending much more time and effort planning meals, paying attention to sales, and using coupons. I'm definitely starting out small in the sales/coupon part and may not get much further than a dollar off here and there because of the time and effort required. But I am doing my best to be much better about planning. So, in that vein, here is what we're having for dinner this week (hopefully I will post this every week):
Monday - Oven-fried chicken, baked potatoes, raw carrots with homemade ranch dressing
Tuesday - Leftovers from last week - wild rice and mushroom soup, green salad with homemade ranch dressing
Wednesday - leftovers from Monday
Thursday - Chicken Cacciatore with whole wheat spaghetti or spaghetti squash
Friday - Borscht (from freezer), maybe green salad
Saturday - leftovers from Thursday
Sunday - something using the chicken backs left over from the chickens used on Monday and Thursday (suggestions are accepted!!)
If it's not obvious from the list above, I (almost) always make at least 2 or 3 times as much as what our family eats in one dinner so we have leftovers for the rest of the week, lunch and/or freezer.
Our eating habits are almost always all-natural, no preservatives or artificial flavors/colors/etc., meat/dairy without hormones, antibiotics or animal-byproducts used in feed, and some organic (especially fruits, vegetables and dairy when possible). That tends to increase our food bill significantly, so I am trying to find other ways to cut down on costs - like learning how to cut up a whole chicken into usable pieces (thus the leftover chicken backs).
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2 comments:
Good work! I'm with you on the big portions. I have never made a "meal for 2". We just eat it until it's gone.
Speaking of motivation... I just started with my first photography class last Thursday (the one you recommended through PP&R). I'm really excited about it and already hoping to take his 2nd course. There are only 5 people in the class which is great.
Yeah it sure is amazing with grocercy bills these days and how it adds quickley to hundreds of dollars. There are only three of us and it adds up, seems we are fussy food eaters too, but I am watching the bills too.
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