Quick food budget challenge update...

So far I've been able to stretch my $60 worth of groceries over 11 days, averaging about $4.15/day. I'll be hitting the grocery store again tomorrow, and I have my menu all planned out for the next two weeks. Hopefully I will have just as much success this time. I still have food left over from my last shopping trip that I intend on using in my upcoming menus. Here is what's left:

2/3 pkg. English muffins
1/4 tub organic yogurt
1 12 oz. bag frozen corn
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach
1/2 box organic chicken stock
1/2 container quick-cook organic oatmeal

Unfortunately, I could have gotten at least another day out of my $60 shopping trip before hitting the grocery store again, but one of my housemates got pretty overzealous while cleaning out the fridge and pantry and tossed some of my leftovers and a grapefruit. Last shopping trip seemed to be all about skillet meals. This time I'm feeling like some Mexican might be in order.

My food budget challenge...

In an attempt to eat better and more economically, I am inspired to shop and meal plan more wisely by one of my favorite foodie bloggers, Poor Girl Eats Well (a blog I have been following for almost a year now). PGEW is well known for her $25 Shopping Cart, and while I applaud and admire her ability to exit a grocery store having spent only $25-ish, I am by no means delusional enough to think that I can accomplish the same mind-boggling feat. I, instead, will be working with a $60 shopping cart (which does include a $15 case of beer, a purchase that is entirely necessary as I continue to work on my Master's thesis). I'm not entirely clear on how many meals PGEW manages to create from her $25 trips, but I imagine her pantry is much more well-stocked than mine, thus resulting in fewer necessary purchases. My mission now is to see how far I can stretch my $60 worth of food. Here's what I managed to purchase:

12-pack of Rising Moon - $14.99
2 pkgs. English muffins (one for the freezer) - $5.00
1 32 oz. tub organic yogurt - $3.59
1 12 oz. bag frozen green beans - $1.67
1 12 oz. bag frozen corn - $1.67
2 10 oz. pkgs. frozen spinach - $2.00
1 16 oz. bag frozen sliced peaches - $2.50
1 box microwave popcorn (another thesis-writing necessity) - $3.49
1 15.5 oz. can black beans - $0.89
1 32 oz. box organic chicken stock - $2.59
1 18 oz. container quick-cook organic oatmeal - $2.50
1 14.5 oz. can diced organic tomatoes - $1.50
1 13.25 oz. box organic whole wheat penne - $1.67
1 pkg. chicken sausage - $3.99
1.27 lbs. ground turkey - $3.09
5 grapefruit - $2.99
3 apples - $2.34
1 red onion - $1.04
3 tomatoes - $2.81

It's been five days since my shopping trip, and I have to say I am quite proud of my ability to create quick, tasty, and most importantly, cheap and filling meals. I'm a little over a third of the way through my supply of food (and the beer) and I am quite happy to report that I have been eating very well every day for an average of $5 a day (I already had couscous and farfalle on hand and did not include these in my cost calculations)! I was also able to whip up a batch of my favorite Black Bean Chili (a whopping $1.28/serving!) and freeze 2/3 of it for a rainy day (or more likely a snowy one). At this rate, I estimate my shopping cart to last me at least another five days! Hooray for me!

I am quite enjoying this challenge and since I don't intend on having any kind of livable income for at least another 7 months, I imagine this type of meal-planning and budgeting will be something I continue with down the road.

Some holiday reflection

The holiday season has come to an end and for the first time in many, many years, I'm sorry that it is over. Usually around mid-October I begin experiencing holiday related panic attacks, stress headaches and night sweats (alright, maybe not the night sweats, but you get the idea). After the holiday season of '08, however, I vowed to do things differently this year. I wanted a relatively relaxed, peaceful and stress-free holiday experience, and for the most part, I'm happy to report that I accomplished just that! So what was my magical solution? What mysterious remedy did I discover to banish holiday related stress? Well, I didn't buy a single Christmas present this year. Not one. And I didn't feel the least bit guilty over it.

As the years move on, and my immediate family gets older and continues to expand, the number of gift recipients keeps multiplying. I have four sisters and a brother and when you add in their significant others, their children, parents and step-parents... you can see how quickly things can get out of hand. This year I declared, NO MORE! Now, in the interest of full disclosure I must admit this decision wasn't entirely made as a result of my gift buying frustrations. It just so happens I'm in graduate school finishing up my thesis and trying to survive on the measly income I receive as a graduate assistant. In other words, I'm dead broke, which contributed significantly to my inability and unwillingness to purchase Christmas presents this year. I very well could have used my {gasp} credit cards to buy some holiday joy for my loved ones, but I didn't. (I am quite proud to say that I have 0 credit card debt, thank you very much)

In place of gifts I decided I would spend more time with my family and help them out with their holiday stress as much as I could. BEST. DECISION. EVER. I have never felt better about myself nor the holidays than I did after helping my mom wrap Christmas presents, or after staying with my sister for a week and helping her in any and every way she needed (she had three boys, all under the age of 5 and fueled up with Santa-fever, to manage), or after preparing an entirely homemade, from-scratch Christmas dinner for 12+ family members. Never has a last-minute, purchased gift, wrapped in over-priced paper made me feel as generous and giving as I did this year. I felt useful. I felt appreciated. Most importantly, I felt a renewed love and joy for my family that I haven't felt in years.

Will I buy Christmas presents next year, when grad school will be over and I'll be (hopefully) employed full-time? I don't know. I do know that if I do, I will put more time and thought into my gifts rather than rush through the stores, carelessly checking people off my list. I also know that I'm going to take more time for my family and offer to help them out as much as I can.

Happy New Year!

Quick Cookin'

I'm currently broke. I mean BROKE. In an attempt to save money yet still eat well, I've been making my own meals at home. Peanut butter and jelly is a classic, favorite stand-by (for all three meals and a late-night snack), however, one can only eat so much peanut butter. I recently picked up a tub of quick-cook oatmeal. My sister serves this to her sons every morning, so I figured it was good enough for me too. I was sort-of right. Plain oatmeal is bland, boring and slightly gross so I started looking for ways to dress-it up. I tried jelly, peanut butter,(leftover from the abandoned pb&js), brown sugar, applesauce and various other combinations, but I just couldn't get excited about my morning oatmeal. Then, during one of my daily perusals of the Allrecipes website, I can across this recipe for Pumpkin Oatmeal and I thought, okay, I like walnuts and honey and maybe I can get on board with pumpkin in my oatmeal, so I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I discovered that pumpkin puree is near impossible to find this time of year. Instead, I picked up some walnuts and frozen blueberries and created a super delicious oatmeal recipe of my own! I call it Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal and it has restored my love for a morning bowl of warm oatmeal!

Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal
3/4 cup quick-cook oatmeal
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1 1/4 cup water

Mix together in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!
(I'm sure milk could be used in this recipe, but I've never been a fan of milk in my oatmeal and so I use water)