Light at the end of the tunnel...

This is the final week of the "Jewelry Diet". I have not tallied all of the grocery receipts, but the last notes I made showed me coming in around $7 per person, per day. Definitely not my goal of $5, but also a pretty decent savings over what I typically spend per month. I briefly considered including my dogs - 2 chocolate labs - in on the total daily allotments when they ate a wedge of Parmesano-reggiano. I had briefly set it on my kitchen counter so I could answer the phone...that lovely bit of cheese was one of my indulgences, carefully budgetted into my menu, so I was not so happy with them that day!!

What have I learned from this experiment? First and foremost I have learned that with a little planning and some flexibility it is NOT difficult to eat good, wholesome food on a budget. We ate well. I know that if we were in dire need of saving I could have cut back even further...it would have taken a bit more creativity, but it could have been done.

Second, I have learned that when unnecessarily putting your family on a budget - especially when they are not used to being on one - DO NOT TELL THEM!! If I had said not one word to my family (one member in particular) they would never have known. I did well keeping the foods and portions the same...

Third: We did eat well; however, I discovered that despite the fact the foods I eat are 'pure' and wholesome and un-processed, I don't eat enough vegetables. I do well with everything else. We eat whole grains (breads, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, etc.) and plenty of fruit; the meats we consume are from grass-fed, humanely raised animals. We may possibly eat the minimum daily recommended amount of vegetables, but I'd say it's borderline...this is something for me to work on.

Fourth: As much of a Whole Foods advocate as I am, they are not perfect. I was disappointed to find out much of their '365' brand of frozen vegetables, which are labeled organic, come from China. I did a little research and discovered there really are farms in China classified as organic; however, I worry that with all of the pollution in China the acid rain negates a lot of the organic effects. I have not delved deeply into the matter, but I plan to spend more time researching and sorting fact from fiction. It is so convenient to stock up on frozen vegetables for those times I don't have a lot of time to spare, and their brand was an inexpensive and good-tasting choice...

The big question: Will I continue my 'Jewelry Diet' in the months to come? This experiment highlighted the fact that we spend a lot of money on food. Being on a budget this month, I did not waste much food at all. And I ended up going to the store only once, at most twice, per week...this forced me to plan my meals, which is often the most difficult part of making dinner in the first place. My goal is to keep this going; however, I am not going to be quite so restrictive if I want to make a particular meal that happens to cost more.

We are past the halfway mark!

With slightly less than half of February to go, I came really close to caving in to temptation tonight and ordering take-out for dinner. But then I considered what my choices were, which were even fewer once I limited myself to places that delivered. As we leaned closer to ordering Italian I thought of the whole wheat penne pasta in my pantry, the can of diced tomatoes - also in my pantry, and the chicken which I had defrosted and which was ready to be cooked into some delicious creation of my choosing. Then I looked in my refrigerator...I noticed the spinach which would soon expire...Dinner was suddenly and enthusiastically back ON!!!

The menu I concocted consisted of breaded and baked boneless chicken breasts (breaded with whole grain bread ground together with garlic, salt and pepper), whole wheat pasta tossed with a tomato sauce made of diced tomatoes, onions, red wine and garlic, and finally, the spinach sauteed with garlic and the few mushrooms remaining in my fridge. You know what? It was all ready within 45 minutes, start to finish...including most of the clean-up. The take-out place we would have ordered from would have taken about that long from the time we called in the order. Once the time to figure out what everyone wants to order is taken into account, it would be closer to an hour. The best part is that the meal I made was healthy and nutritious and delicious, and everyone left the table feeling sated and happy...and just in time to watch the day's Olympic events coverage...

It just doesn't get any better than that!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Every year for Valentine's Day I make heart-shaped sugar cookie 'valentines' for my boys. I have done this for them since they were in pre-school.

Evolution - it's making me change (my experiment)!

The experiment is evolving. Due to teenagers - I mean circumstances - beyond my control I am going to track my dinner expenses only. Certainly I can keep within the $5/per person/per day limit if only dinner is taken into consideration. Actually, I know that over time (as I build up reserves of my main staples) I can keep within that limit for the entire day. However, I have one person in my house convinced he is not getting the same amount of food as he was prior to the experiment, and I am now taking breakfast and lunch out of the equation to keep the peace, or at least try to regain it. Even adding a little extra to the budget to make sure lunch is hearty will keep me well below what I had been spending each month. Dinner was the meal I had been spending the most on. I refuse to give up now that I am halfway through.

Tonight's meal was pork chops (from a sustainable farm in TX), creamy mashed potatoes, green beans and a hearty salad. I was FULL at the end of the meal...did not feel deprived one bit. And I got a bonus today: my husband came in a couple of days early (okay, two bonuses...), and that means ten extra dollars to add to the $15 I have yet to spend for the week to stay in budget!

Jewelry Diet: Week Two...

Jewelry Diet, you wonder? What? Where did that come from??? Okay, okay...I have dubbed this the 'Jewelry Diet' because I realized that if it works I will save enough money each month to invest in a nice piece of jewelry!! So if I follow this 'diet' I will not only be eating healthy, I can look like a million bucks, too! More incentive to stick with it!

Details: I am into the second week of my experiment. The end of the first week found me about $40 over budget. Although I did not go to the store and spend more than the initial $71, I did supplement with items already on hand in my pantry and refrigerator. In accounting for their costs I used the price I would have paid for them in full even if I only used a fraction of the quantity, and anything I was not sure of price-wise I erred on the high side. Among the supplemented items were some fresh salad ingredients I had leftover prior to my experiment's onset. I certainly did not want to waste anything soley to prove a budgetary point. This week I should be using only things I have bought (or accounted for) since the experiment began...any perishibles should now be used up. I will get a slight amount of help this week from the fact that the dried fruit I bought for my son's lunch last week should last this week (and possibly into next), and I have some rice and a small stock of pasta still left from last week.

One advantage to this experiment besides the obvious one of saving money while eating healthy? My refrigerator is staying much cleaner because I have not overbought items which will be only partially used up before eventually getting thrown out...

UPDATE:
I have returned from Whole Foods with my total expenditures at $75.53. This includes fresh vegetables: lettuce, radishes, mushrooms, cucumber, onions (red and yellow), potatoes (sweet and golden), carrots, garlic and even a slaw mix; fruits: bananas, apples, lemons (Yay!!), 1 lime, 1 pear; fish: frozen mahi-mahi and ahi tuna; whole wheat penne pasta; apple juice; cranberry juice; frozen vegetables: broccoli, green beans and peas; and a few other odds and ends. I still need meat for a few dinners, but the meat specials weren't as good this week. I think the new specials come out on either Tuesday or Wednesday, so I will re-check later. I do have meat in the freezer I can use, and it has the prices on it so it will be easy enough to add into the budget if needed. I regret not taking advantage of the chicken and pork specials last week...oh well! By the way, my husband will be here for 4 days this week, so this week's budget is $90...woohoo, almost $15 more dollars to spend!!

Decisions, decisions.....

After much consideration - and lack of time - I opted to bring a selection of cookies from Whole Foods to the Super Bowl party. I chose a variety of cookies: Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal with Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodles, Double Fudge, Brownie Bites, and Coconut Macaroons. It is quite possibly the next best thing to homemade, and certainly the time-friendly (though pocket-book unfriendly) choice. And just to be clear, I am classifying the cookies under "Entertainment Expenses" rather than have them count toward my food budget for the week.

On a side note, I have not decided which team I'll be cheering for; however, I generally tend to support the underdog, and since the Saints have never been to the Super Bowl there is a high likelihood I will root for them.

The Curve-ball called 'Life'

Funny how you try to plan things out, but life often has a different idea, throwing a curve ball at you when you least expect it...to make a very long story very short: we had an interesting day (won't go into details, but we spent some time at the ER today), and as a result I did not make it to the grocery store for the dessert ingredients I need. I am going to play tomorrow (Super Bowl Sunday) by ear as far as what desserts I end up bringing. At this point I may (gulp) buy some brownies or cookies instead of actually making some from scratch...and anyone who knows me knows how much I love to bake - and how resistant I am to buying pre-made!! But, as I said, it was a crazy day. I will keep you all posted!

Day 5: Goulash

I am at day 5 of my food experiment, and I have a few observations to comment on so far. One, I am NOT surprised at how much I have been spending on food. Two, I have not kept within my allotted budget of $85 for the week. However, I am very surprised by observation number three: how easy it has been to eat healthy, wholesome food on just slightly over my budgeted amount. I have not spent more money than the initial $71; however, I have used ingredients from my pantry to finish off a couple of the meals, namely olive oil and Kashi bars (for my son's lunch). I also accounted for the full cost of the salad ingredients I had leftover in my fridge since I would have had to buy the larger quantity if I'd had to buy them from the start. In all I went approximately $30 over budget. Okay, so maybe that is not just 'slightly' over my budget...but it is great that I only spent around $100 for us to eat so well this week. I did this mainly from Whole Foods (often referred to as 'Whole Paycheck'). The bread I used for sandwiches was the only thing not from Whole Foods...it is the Orowheat Whole Wheat Bread, which Whole Foods does not sell.

On to tonight's meal: Goulash. Now this is not goulash in the traditional Hungarian sense of goulash. This version is the American comfort food my mom used to make, and the only thing Hungarian about it is the paprika. My mom's version included ground beef, paprika, elbow macaroni, green bell peppers, onion, and a tomato sauce. My college roommate said her mom made the same thing but called it 'American Chop Suey'. My version is somewhat evolved from my mom's. My kids don't really care for bell peppers (and by 'don't care for' I mean really dislike), red or green, so they have been eliminated from the 'original' recipe. I do add the paprika, but I use hot paprika rather than mild. Also, I use whole wheat elbow macaroni...a healthier option. With the tomato sauce you really cannot tell it is whole wheat. Plus, whole wheat pasta tastes much better than the whole wheat pasta of only a few years back. The best part? I have enough for both tonight's dinner and tomorrow night's...and possibly a lunch or two. Not too shabby!!!!

A Super Bowl Dessert Throwdown: Bananas Foster vs Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie!

So here's the deal: We are going to a Superbowl party on Sunday (The Saints vs. The Colts) and I am bringing dessert. I originally planned to bring something easy to eat, something which does not require anything fancier than one's own two hands - and perhaps a napkin. But then I thought, "What desserts are associated with these two areas?" Well, you know me - Google Goddess - I did a little research. As you might well expect, it was MUCH easier to find desserts for which New Orleans is known. And, surprise, surprise - Bananas Foster popped up everywhere. Not such an easy dessert to bring to a party, but I'm looking into it...

Indiana has proven to be a tad more challenging. While known more for farming and corn and livestock, Indiana doesn't actually have a 'state food' as do many other states. (I did, however, come across an interesting tradition they have of spooning chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes...and to someone who has yet to eat breakfast that sounds mighty good! Aaaahhh, but I digress...) I delved deeper into the history of Indiana food traditions and eventually came across a dessert called "Sugar Cream Pie". Actually, it is a well-known dessert in Indiana. So...I figure a pie is pretty easy to transport, and since the only other Indiana dessert I came across was Persimmon Pudding, I zeroed in on the pie. Upon perusing the various recipes I came across, I eventually homed in on one for "Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie". This incorporates a mixture of both granulated and brown sugars, heavy cream, a little flour, and a touch of vanilla. After mixing it is poured into a pre-baked pie shell and baked for about 40 minutes. How can a pie go wrong with sugar and cream as the main ingredients??? This pie sounds simple and delicious, and I am eagerly anticipating my first bite of this pie!!!

Day 4...

Tonight's dinner: Mahi-Mahi (seasoned with salt and pepper and olive oil then baked at 350 for 12 minutes), pasta salad (leftover), and peas...Filling, delicious and nutritious! By the way, the meal was cooked and ready in about 20 minutes...

Day 3: Food Experiment

As I sit here, blog-blog-blogging away, there is the wonderful aroma of breaded pork chops baking in the oven, and my whole wheat-pasta is bubbling away on the stove. I have my broccoli ready to cook - with dried cranberries to be mixed in (leftover dried fruit from what I bought for my son's lunch...). I'm not sure what to expect taste-wise with the broccoli/cranberry mix, but the green bean/raisin combo turned out delicious yesterday. And again I lament the lack of lemon, but I must work with what I have...and now that I think of it, I may just mix the broccoli and cranberries in with the pasta so the pasta isn't quite so bland...

Later: Dinner was ready within 35 minutes, including clean-up on anything that did not go into the dishwasher (so take that Rachel Ray!!). And the dishwasher stuff...well, isn't that what kids are for??? ;-)

Day 2: So far, so good...

I'll admit last night's dinner (and tonight's as well) wasn't anything fancy, but it was delicious. The chicken was cooked perfectly and emerged from the oven very moist...by the time the brown rice was finished cooking (just under an hour), the chicken was piping hot from the oven, and the roasted garlic and juices from the chicken added some neccessary flavor to the otherwise bland rice. I served broccoli and a salad with the meal to round it out nutritionally. Also, I put aside half of the rice to use with tonight's meal. So far I haven't decided if I am going to leave it plain (not really my choice) or see if I can dress it up out of the ingredients I have on hand from my shopping trip yesterday. I will admit, it sure would be wonderful to have something as simple as a lemon on hand about now!

Tonight's after dinner results: Wild-caught Sockeye Salmon (thawed from frozen) - delicious and so much cheaper than getting it 'fresh' from the fish counter; Brown rice: I added some salt, pepper, mustard (okay, I cheated here and used some I had on hand) and olive oil; Green beans: I cooked them in the microwave and added raisins for the last 30 seconds of cooking time, then I added a touch of salt and olive oil. Surprisingly delicious!!! I gave my son some grapes (leftover from the chicken salad I made for his lunch), and I had a salad of lettuce and radishes...

So...I am guessing that I will end up going over a little for this week's budget to account for stocking up on a few staples and things I bought which will last longer than this week. Already I have a couple of areas I could cut back on if I was in dire straights. I made a chicken salad for my son's lunches this week, and to save money I could have done peanut butter sandwiches instead (and saved around $6-8). But he didn't ask to be a part of this experiment, so I am trying to make it as painless as possible for him...Also, I bought the frozen sockeye salmon, which was $2 higher than other frozen fish, and there was some that was even less expensive...So there is around $10 right there which could be used for fresh salad ingredients and/or items to make fish tacos (corn tortillas and a slaw mix).

And there it is in a nutshell (ooooh, nuts....yum...wish I had some of those!!) for your reading enjoyment...

The Food Blogger's Dilemma

So what is my food focus? What is it that I really want this website to convey? I am all about authenticity. I don't want substitutions for the real thing...I want the real deal. Yes, I believe in good nutrition...but I also believe that it's okay to have a little fun with your food, too. I have always described myself as 'traditional with a twist'...a bit ecclectic. Well, the same holds true with food for me. I love to put a spin on my recipes and do so using real food, not artificial food colorings, HFCS, trans fats, etc. I don't want genetically modified this or that, or meat that has been unnaturally raised to yield more muscle/fat/etc...those things ultimately detract from the true flavors of the food at hand. I don't need to reinvent the wheel, but it's okay to add some extra traction or fancy hubcaps to dress it up a bit. But at what point does a dressed up meal become a modified meal? Where does that line fall? When does the line get crossed into not being authentic anymore?

Thoughts, anyone??

Day 1: First Meal

I only plan to list my dinner menus for the month on the blog. Our breakfast generally consists of either cereal or eggs/toast...nothing too exciting or costly. And lunch usually includes some sort of sandwich or perhaps leftovers from dinner the previous evening.

Tonight's menu is comprised of chicken breast (skin on/bone in) which I will bake in the oven after sprinkling each breast with garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. I will serve brown rice with it, and plan to pour any pan juices over the rice for flavoring. To round out the meal I will cook some frozen broccoli and will use up some salad ingredients I have in my refrigerator. I have not accounted for the salad items in my budget yet, but it will deduct approximately $3-4.00 from this week's remaining budget dollars.

As far as drinks are concerned, I am not including any alcoholic beverages, coffee or tea...I often have water with my meals, and if I were truly in need I would be more diligent about that. I will, however, include milk, juice and any alcohol I might cook with (as if!).

Finally, in an effort to make my meals as user-friendly as possible (for the time-crunched) I will record my cooking times. Tonight I began cooking at 5:40 PM. The brown rice will take the longest. To help out time-wise, I made enough to serve with my meal tomorrow night. If I truly wanted to help out for future meals I could make a large batch and freeze it in portion sizes. Cooked rice freezes very well, and since brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice (about 1 hour all said and done for brown vs about 20-30 minutes for white) this could be a huge time-savings that would also help with keeping meals healthy...

More to come....

Aaaaaand - We're off.....Let the Challenge Begin!!!

I have returned from Whole Foods...My total expenditure for this visit was just shy of $71. Of that amount I have a few foods which will carry over into next week (some dried friuts, rice and pasta). However, I do not have much in the way of fresh produce, and this week we will be relying on frozen vegetables to round out our nutrition. I am going to work on my menu a bit more diligently for next week to see if I can remedy that situation. Today I went online and discovered that the maximum amount of food stamps for a family of 4 in TX is $668/month, which works out to just shy of $6/per person, per day for food.

I have decided that as far as my budget is concerned I will allow $5 per person per day. I have decided to break it down per person because for 4 days of most weeks I only have to provide food for 2 people: me and my youngest son (a teenager, so no break in the amount consumed...). The other 3 days my husband is also here. My total budget for most weeks will be $85. Therefore, I have approximately $15 left to spend for this week. I have bought my meats/fish, breakfast and lunch foods and most, if not all, of my dinner ingredients. That $15 will be used for fresh fruits/vegetables if needed. I did buy some staples even though I already had them on hand so I could properly allow for them in the budget, but there may be a few items from my pantry which I end up using. In those cases I will approximate their value and add that amount to what I have already spent. So while my total cost may not be exact each week, it should be within a few dollars.

There were some specials this week which I am contemplating going back to take advantage of...mainly on the bone-in/skin-on chicken breasts (organic) for $3.49/lb. I can buy some to freeze, making sure I allow for that cost in my future weekly budgets. I also discovered their frozen fish. I bought 12 ounces of frozen wild Sockeye salmon for $8.99 and 12 ounces of frozen Mahi-mahi for $6.99. If the flavor is good that will be a substantial savings over buying fresh, and the quality should be equal to or better than fresh since the fish is flash frozen when caught. This will be a wonderful way to economically add fish to my diet.

Wish me luck!!