Wednesday, July 31, 2013

365 Day Spending Fast Update - July

I think that For July and August, I will be dividing them into their own posts, instead of posting the two months together.  For one thing, I am finding that in the summer, I am spending money more often on un-budgeted expenses.  The girls are with me all the time, and there is simply more opportunity to spend while we are running around and having fun.  I, apparently, also felt more of a need to wax poetic about the times that I did spend on what - in accordance with the terms of the spending fast - would be deemed "frivolous".

July - $113.03 in un-budgeted expenses. ($35.00 on Girls nights)

I started out this section of the Spending fast with with a couple of trips to Denny's, which was kind of planned, but since it was not really in the budget, I am claiming both trips to Denny's in McAllister.  My kids went separately to Camp Grandma.  I dropped Thing2 off for a week, and My mom and I met in the middle, between our two houses, in McAllister, Oklahoma. The following Monday, we exchanged, and I took Thing2 home, and she kept Thing1.  It is equidistant for both of us, and they have a nice offering of restaurants to choose from.  We chose Denny's, because I knew that I could get a salad or an omelette and be fine with that.  Since my Mom was providing meals and snacks for the weeks that my kids were with her, I thought it would be the courteous thing to do to buy the meals during the exchanges.

The first meal was actually in June, but that is documented on the Spending Fast Post about May and June.
July 1st - Denny's $44.18 - This was for 5 people.
July 8th - Denny's $31.02 - This was for 4 people.

7/10 - $15.00 Beef O'Brady's - I was invited to go out for drinks with some of my girl friends, and I did it.  Life has been hectic, and it has been months since I have had any kind of gal-pal time.  We sat, chatted, and drank for a little over two hours.  I had a salad with full fat ranch dressing on the side.  I dipped my fork and speared the leaves, so it was a DDP (Dip, Don't Pour - thanks Hungry Girl for that tip!) situation.  Full fat Ranch.  It has been years since I had that, and it was as good as I remembered.   :-) I also has a blended alcoholic drink along the lines of a frozen margarita, but it was a fruity blend.  The last time I had been to Beef O'Brady's, I had had another drink that I did not see on the menu.  I described it to the owner, and he tried to re-create it.  We did not get it right, but it was still mighty tasty.  Of course, a friend that joined us a little bit later ordered a Hard Apple Cider.  I could have kicked myself for not thinking of it. Oh well, I will remember better next time.  :-)  So, between my salad, frozen adult beverage, and tip, I spent $15.00 on one single meal.  I feel a little bit of "You know better, that was wasted money", but something that I am coming to realize through this year long spending fast is that there are some things that ARE worth the money.

It is kind of becoming like that MasterCard commercial that listed the price of various objects necessary to create a certain memory, and the tag line was "priceless" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVHfTUYUqjs&list=PLE9B6A8F561CC674)

2 hours spent in good company with no child interruption, spending 15 bucks replenishing the "me time" tank in my body so that I have more to give to others?  Priceless :-)  This year is helping me to hone what I really find important in my life.

An unexpected side effect is that my house is getting incrementally cleaner.  I am not exactly sure of the connection, I have been meaning to clean my house for a few years now, but since I am not running as much since I am not going to places where I would have typically spent money, I have more time at home.  I am taking time to get organized.  That is how I am entertaining myself a little bit.  I am finding quite a bit of satisfaction in looking around and seeing my progress, and it is no longer quite as daunting to make a plan for the rest of my house.

7/14 - $20.00 at Johnny Carino's. A friend from church invited the girls and I to meet her at Johnny Carino's for lunch after church.  Her daughter, a friend of Thing 1's, was going to summer camp directly after the meal, so it was an easy opportunity for the girls to be able to say goodbye.  After some careful consideration, I decided to go.  We wound up going with a third friend - who happens to be transitioning to Paleo!  So, they have these things called Johnny Carino Points, which give you free meals after so many points.  My lovely friend had discounted kids meals on her card, so my Italian Wedge, the kids meals, an Italian Soda, a Sprite, and my lemon water only set me back 20 bucks, including tip!  I handed her a $20.00 and she called it done!  The generosity of friends is amazing.  :-)

7/28 - $17.83 at Beef O'Brady's.  After church, a meeting was called for the Missions Group to get a consensus of the direction that we would like to go in once our new building is all done and moved into.  Ours burned down over a year ago, and we are almost able to move into the new building.  I got a salad, and each of the girls got a kids meal.

I need to rein in the eating out.  5 times in one month is excessive.  Even though I ate with points in once instance, and did not spend more than $45.00 on any given experience - even when 5 people were involved, I still need to put a stop to it.  This is supposed to be a spending FAST, not a spending "occasional splurge because I have been soooo good lately".  Although, I must say that I do not think I would have eliminated any of the trips to the restaurants.  Individually, I had a good time at each, and the fact that I have halted the other instances of fiscal leakage means that I do these things with less guilt, and less worry about how I can afford it.  However, I feel that I broke with the spirit of the fast by breaking bread in restaurants so often this month.

I like the examination of spending that this is forcing me to do, and the thinking through of where my money goes to a greater extent than I have done in the past..

Groceries for July - $423.86 (Underage of $244.14 added to rollover of $317.28 for a grand total of $561.42 in the grocery rollover amount)

t


Groceries 7/20/ to make refrigerator jam, which happens to be (mostly) Paleo!

On the 15th of July, Kitten The Juice Pirate posted a recipe to her FB page.  It was for refrigerator jam made from Strawberries, rhubarb, honey, and chia seeds.  Again, I know chia seeds are not strictly paleo, but I love them, and they help to detox my body in a gentle way.  So, for the foreseeable future, they are part of my diet.  Here is the link that she posted that inspired me to make some of my own refrigerator jam!  http://rawforbeauty.com/blog/refrigerator-jam.html

I went to the store to grab some rhubarb and eggs.  When I passed the frozen strawberries, I saw that they had 1 lb bags for 2.18.  I had gotten a deal at Aldi earlier in the season for strawberries for 99 cents per lb, but that meant that I had to process them myself, so the actual price was closer to $1.50 per lb after chopping off the green bits and the soft bits to feed to chickens; and sending the bad bits to the composter.  The sweat equity I chalk up to the price of having strawberries for my smoothies year round.  But, at a dollar off a 1 lb bag, it was worth it to me to grab 5 bags.  Was it an impulsive food buy?  Yep.

Frozen whole strawberries 1 lb bags 5@2.18                                                 $ 10.90
2 dozen large eggs   @ 1.88 each                                                                    $  3.76
Rhubarb  .52 lb @ 2.99 per lb.                                                                        $  1.55
Tax                                                                                                                  $    .73
                                                                                                  TOTAL   =   $ 16.94

I have made the jam, and it is good, but I have not downloaded the pics.  When I get that done, I will be sharing the experience with y'all!

t

Monday, July 22, 2013

Grocery Shopping 7/11/13 & 7/15/13

Did I need to go out and buy more food?  No.

Were the deals very very good, so they brought me out to Aldi's to pick up some veggies, then over to Wal-Mart to price match?  Yep.

ALDI (7/11)
Cucumbers 10 @ 29 cents each                                                      $  2.90
Grape Tomatoes 6 @ 69 cents each                                                $  4.14
Mushrooms 12 @ 79 cents each                                                      $  9.58
crescent Rolls  4 @ 1.39                                                                  $  5.56
Cashew halves  2 @ 2.99                                                                $  5.98
Almonds  2 @ 4.29                                                                         $  8.58
Hot Dogs  2 @ .75                                                                          $  1.50
Natural Trail Mix 2 @ 5.49                                                             $10.98
Raisins Canister                                                                               $  2.79
Macaroni and cheese 6 @ .39                                                         $  2.94
TAX                                                                                                $  2.53
                                                                                    TOTAL   = $ 58.77

Since I was at Aldi, and reasonably close to Cooks, I stopped in to grab some Melatonin, Lavender Oil, and Paleo Almond Bread from Julian Bakery.  I was out, and I want to try to make a totally paleo french toast, so I needed it.

COOKS NATURAL MARKET (7/11)
Julian Bakery Almond Paleo Bread                          TOTAL =  $ 8.99

When mushrooms go to basically half price, I like to buy a whole heck of a lot of them and cut them up to go into freezer bags then into the deep freezer.  Between the Chicken Stroganoff, Chicken in Mustard, Omelets, soups and stews, I use mushrooms a lot, so when the price is so low, it behooves me to stock up.

For the cucumbers, I like to cut them up and do a refrigerator pickle.  I will sometimes do a full on mix where I boil on the stove 2 cups white vinegar, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 5 cups water, 3 tbsp of salt, 3 tbsp of sugar, 2 sliced garlic cloves and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.  But, today, I just peeled and sliced up 7 of the 10 cucumbers, put them into 2 large tupperware container2, poured a cup of white vinegar in each, then topped off with water.  I have loved them as a snack since eating them as a child at my Grandma's house down at the lake.

WAL-MART (7/15)
Mushrooms (price match)  16 @ .79                                             $12.64
Grape Tomatoes 5@ .69                                                               $  3.45
Cucumber 6 @ .29                                                                        $  1.74
Shredded Cheese                                                                           $  7.98
Sliced Cheese                                                                                $10.98
Honey Turkey Deli Meat  2 @ 3.98 per lb                                    $ 7.96
Honey Ham Deli Meat 2 @ 3.98 per lb                                         $ 7.96
Oscar Meyer turkey and cheese slices                                            $ 2.50
Frozen Chicken Breast 3 lbs                                                          $ 6.98
Frozen Chicken Thighs 5 lbs                                                         $ 5.68
Swirly string cheese   2 @ 5.98                                                     $11.96
                                                                                   TOTAL =  $79.83

I think that I have enough mushrooms in the freezer, that I should not have to buy them for recipes for the rest of the year.  I think I should only have to buy sliced mushrooms for salads for quite some time.

I slow roasted about half the cherry tomatoes for use later in sauces and soups.  Needless to say, between the feta and goat cheese stock up from earlier this month, and this weeks mushroom and tomato stock up, my freezer is not getting much more empty, and I am questioning whether my goal to clear out the chest freezer for a half cow purchase is a realistic one.  Grrr... I will have to ponder more about this

I have been adding 1/2 a cucumber to my green smoothies, and I had 2 green smoothies the other day in one day, so I am going through them faster than I normally do. If they start to go soft, worst case scenario, I chop them up, drizzle them with some balsamic vinegar, and snack!  So, at least the cucumbers are not taking up freezer space!  :-)

t

Thursday, July 18, 2013

I *should* be hungry

I am intrigued by juicing.  But, I am too frugal to waste the pulp, so I smooth.  This morning, I put into the kitchen ninja 4 small carrots, 2 small apples - cored, an extra large handful of kale, 1/2 a cucumber, 2 tbsp of flax seeds, 2 tbsp of chia seeds, and a frozen banana with about a cup of water and a drizzle of olive oil.  It made about 26 ounces of green smoothie, and they were sweet without being too sweet.  It took well over 2 hours to finish the drink, but only because it sustained a nice full feeling for quite some time, and it wound up covering part of my lunch meal too.

Last night, I made Chicken in Mustard Sauce to serve over spaghetti squash.  (http://paleoonthecheap.blogspot.com/2013/03/chicken-in-mustard-over-spaghetti-squash.html)
Husband is out of town, so I have bountiful leftovers.  For lunch, I spooned up a helping of leftovers.  I started piling it into my bowl, then put about half of it back, warmed it up and went to town.  YUMMY!!

After about 15 minutes, I had an urge to get up and make myself another bowl.  I kept thinking, I am not sated, I must still be hungry, then I realized I was kind of bored and my instinct was to eat.  I kept thinking, I should be hungry.  But, I wasn't.  3 hours later, I still wasn't.

Between a veggie slurpee, and a healthful serving of Chicken in Mustard for lunch, I'm good.  It is nearing dinner time, and I am just beginning to feel the hunger gnome nibbling around.  And, this time, I believe myself to be feeling actual hunger.

I have been constantly hungry, yet continuously bloated for so long that coming back to what my body is supposed to feel like has been kind of surreal.   Sometimes, I get it wrong.  I will take a moment and take inventory, and convince myself that I am not really hungry, but when I start to eat, I find that I am famished.  My frame of reference is so skewed from decades of abusing my body with food, that I do not even know if this is normal or not.

It is odd to stop every once in a while and think "Okay, am I hungry?", do a mental check with the rest of yourself, and realize that you are not hungry?  I wonder if this is what people do when they have eaten well all of their lives, or if it is something that I am especially aware of, like an alcoholic needs to be aware of a craving for alcohol?

Stumbling through all of this paleo/ancestral/primal/eating for my health stuff is in the process of changing the way that I think and perceive my own body, reality, and consciousness.  The journey continues, and I am liking the road now.  :-)

t

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Groceries 7/6/13

When Aldi has certain special buys, I stock up.  This week, they had special buys on Feta crumbles and Goat Cheese crumbles.  Plus, they had a salad spinner for $8.99 , and I need one - especially with the lettuce in the yard growing and being eaten like it is.  :-)  Salad shrimp was $3.99, so I picked up 5.  I also wanted to take advantage of their watermelon price and cantaloupe deals for the week.

Flat Leaf Spinach 2@ 1.69                                            $ 3.38
Turkey Bacon  2@ 2.19                                                $ 4.38
12 oz hot dogs 5@ .75                                                   $ 3.75
Shredded Cheddar 2@ 3.29                                          $ 6.58
12 Grain Bread                                                              $ 3.38
Seedless Watermelon 2@3.99                                       $ 7.98
Cantaloupe    2@ 1.29                                                   $ 2.58
Strawberries  4@.99                                                      $ 3.96
Goat Crumbles 6@ 1.99                                                $11.94
Feta Crumbles  6@1.99                                                 $11.94
Dried Cranberries 5@1.19                                             $ 5.95
Large Eggs  6@ 1.29                                                     $ 7.74
Almond Milk 3@ 2.49                                                   $ 7.47
All Natural Fruit Snack                                                  $ 3.69
Salad Spinner                                                                 $ 8.99
Salad Shrimp  5@ 3.99                                                  $19.95
Tax                                                                                 $  5.56
                                                                TOTAL =    $119.22

With the Spaghetti Squash that I bought the other day, I have enough for 2 dinners of Uncle Foodie's AMAZING Spaghetti.

I have chicken thigh quarters languishing in the deep freeze that can become Chicken in Mustard and Chicken Cacciatore.

I have shrimp in the deep freeze, so with the addition of the turkey bacon from today, I can have Bacon BBQ Bundled Shrimp a la Hungry Girl.

I have a few steaks that I need to cook.  I have never cooked steak, so I will be looking up how to do that well.  I want to pair them with mashed sweet potatoes, and I need to cook the sweet potatoes soon. Wish me luck!

My goal is to turn over the inventory in my deep freezer, so that I can start looking into buying an entire cow, or half of a cow.  If I commit to buying that much meat, the per lb price goes down, and I will more readily be able to afford grass fed beef if bought in large lots and used over time.

I will keep you posted on how that pans out.

t

Groceries 7/3/13

After coming home from a trip with more food than I brought, I did not need a whole heck of a lot from the store.

I came home with three quart sized bags of Uncle Foodie's Amazing Spaghetti Sauce.  A few times a year, especially when the family gets together in Branson, he makes a large batch of sauce which yields 4 or 5 gallon sized bags of sauce.  We got 4 bags in our freezer to utilize over the week that we were staying.  I wound up bringing 3 of the bags home.  (LUCKY ME!!!)

I had purchased 2 Hawaiian Chicken dinners, 2 Turkey Breast stuffed with artichoke and spinach, and a twin pack of Chicken Piccata.  Never having made Chicken Piccata before, I was unaware of the fact that they are lightly breaded.  It was not until half way through the first chicken breast that I realized this, then it was such a negligible amount of breading, it did not give me any trouble.  Those are the things that I brought with me.

Once in Branson, my sister and I hit the Wal-mart for veggies, kid snacks, cheeses, chicken and burgers, and various other food and sun protection items.  Then, the second day of our trip, a family emergency made my Aunt and Uncle need to leave, and they emptied their refrigerator into ours, giving us multiple salads, cheeses, and some snack items.  It helped extend our food a bit.  Also, on the second day, my favorite brother in law (FAVBIL) got the grills going.  He barbecued chicken thighs, chicken breasts, and hamburger patties.  I had bought a large box of patties at Wal-Mart on sale, and FAVBIL went ahead and cooked them all up, and we used them all week long.  I added them to eggs in the morning, diced them up and tossed them on salads, and fed them to kids for a couple of lunches.  I wound up bringing the Hawaiian Chicken and the Turkey Breasts back home, and they became 4 meals here.

I needed Spaghetti Squash in order to serve some of Uncle Foodie's kick butt Spaghetti Sauce, and that wiped out my stock - necessitating a trip to Harps.  While I was at Harps, I also picked up a few small items.

Mangos  2 for 1.00                                         $ 1.00
Celery                                                             $ 1.69
Spaghetti Squash @ 1.49 per lb 2.46 lbs        $ 3.67
Spaghetti Squash @ 1.49 per lb 2.50 lbs        $ 3.73
Spaghetti Squash @ 1.49 per lb 2.39 lbs        $ 3.56
Spaghetti Squash @ 1.49 per lb 2.64 lbs        $ 3.93
Pecan Halves @ 17.99 per lb  .33 lb              $ 5.94
Tax                                                                 $ 1.06
                                                  TOTAL =   $ 24.58

I also found out a great new way to cook Spaghetti Squash - in the microwave!!!  :-)  Looking on my phone for the pre-heat setting, a microwave way popped up.  I followed the instructions and poked holes in the skin, then cooked it for 12 minutes.  The directions were for 10-12 minutes.  12 minutes made it a bit mushy, so I have been cooking for 10 minutes since then, and have been pleased with the mildly crunchy texture of the squash.

t

365 Day Spending Fast Update - May and June

Reminder:  The grocery budget is set by the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program limitations in my state for a family of 4.  That amount is $668.00.  While not personally in need of the SNAP program, I was curious as to whether or not a family could eat in a paleo-esque way while staying under the SNAP guidelines.

May -  $124.49 in un-budgeted expenses.

Husband will be rueing the day that he showed me how to order through Amazon Prime on his account.  It has been my downfall!  I ordered Pink Himalayan salt - 2 different kinds.  Total?  38.03.  Now, I had planned on trying Himalayan Pink Salt, but I only budgeted $15.00 for it.  So, $23.03 in un-budgeted expenditures.  I also bought several books, and a couple of other food items.
5/15 Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin, pack of 2           42.32
5/15 Tulsi Tea                                                                  4.98
5/22 2 copies of "No Regrets Parenting"                        12.00
5/25 "Paleo Slow Cooking" by Chrissy Gower             18.16
5/25 "The Best 4 Years" by Adam Shepard                   24.00

I was inspired by this blog to try to Tulsi Tea Jello for Hormone Healing  http://empoweredsustenance.com/tulsi-gelee-for-natural-hormone-healing/

When I ordered the Gelatin, I got it almost immediately.  It took almost a month for the tea to come in, and by that time summer was in full swing, and I am just now getting to slow down and think about making this Gelee this weekend.  I will let y'all know how it goes.  :-)

Groceries for May - $514.90 (Underage of $153.10 to be added to the grocery rollover of $135.93 for a total of $289.03 in the grocery rollover slush fund)


June -  $260.06 in un-budgeted expenses.

June has shown me that Summer is not the time to try to do a spending fast.  The kids are home, and we are on the go more.  We have taken 2 trips to Branson and had loads of fun at Silver Dollar City and White Water. I did not take the time to pack any snacks or quick treats, and I wound up utilizing drive-thru way too often.  I know better.  My lack of preparation for our trips cost resources to the tune of $183.78 in the month of June.  I am annoyed with myself, because I KNOW better.  Ugh.  From that, I can tell you that Chick-fil-a's Grilled Market Salad is DELICIOUS, but it is also $6.99.  McDolalds' side salad is also nice, but I have to order three or four of them as a meal, so it is a good thing they are a buck each.  I also found out that I am much more inclined to hit the drive through when my girls have a friend or two in tow.

My kids went to my Mom's house (Camp Grandma) one at a time, so they each got a week on their town, thus a two week separation and I got one kids for a week for two weeks in a row.  Since my Mom fed my kids while they were at her house, I thought covering the meal on the way to Camp Grandma would be the thing to do.  It was $41.28 at Denny's for 5 people.

I have a good friend whose husband is in a group of guys from work who get together and smoke meats.  Husband has purchased racks of ribs from these guys before for 20 bucks a rack.  These suckers are AMAZINGLY GOOD!  My lovely friend told me that her husband, Handsome, was going to  be smoking some meat, and did I want to get my hands on some?  YES!!!!  She went to Sam's Club for some racks of ribs, where there are three in a pack. We agreed that I would get one pack.  She asked me for the money for the ribs themselves (sssshhhhhhh, don't tell her Handsome that he was working for free) so I got three racks of AMAZING ribs for $35.00.  Totally un-budgeted, but definitely worth it!

One of the trips to Branson was to have fun with my sister and her husband, with their 4 youngest children.  At the very beginning of the week, Uncle Foodie's father died, and he and my Aunt left to go to his funeral.  They emptied their refrigerator into our two refrigerators in our condo's.  I have never met the man, but I am very fond of his son, and my Aunt sings his praises, calling him the closest thing to a saint that has ever walked the earth.  He will be very missed.

As a result of their upending their perishables into our laps, and added to the fact that my sister and her husband live a 12 hour drive away, I wound up taking home quite a bit of the vacation food.  I had made entree purchases large enough to feed 2 families for each meal.  When I brought them home, each planned vacation meal became - in fact - two meals for my family.  I can foresee buying only odds and ends to supplement what I have in my freezer for a couple of more weeks before having to make a large food run.  That could be good, or that could be bad.  When I do my large haul once a month, I keep to my list and am efficient.  In my weekly trips, I also stay fairly on point.  My worry is that by going to the store as I need things, I might get a little off track and impulse buy more often.  I will watch for that tendency.

Groceries for June - $479.75 (Underage of  $178.25, added to $289.03 for a grand rolling total of $467.28 in the grocery rollover amount)

In consideration of the fact that I was the recipient of the contents of my Aunt's refrigerator, I am going to deduct $150.00 from the rollover amount.  $150.00 is an definite over-estimation, but I like to over-estimate, rather then under-estimate for budgeting purposes.

So.... New rollover amount? $317.28  :-)

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