March groceries #SNAP

I made several trip this week and have drawn up menus/ideas for this months food budget. I was also fortunate to find several items on sale. Kroger sends coupons on a regular basis to their card members and this months mailing included some free vegetables! I always find it worthwhile to use my Kroger card to save money. I also found cereal on sale at Walgreen's. I always keep an eye out for sales at Walgreen's and it paid off this month!

Kroger 1 minute oatmeal $3.89 (about 15 1 cup servings)

1 box spaghetti $1

1 box whole wheat Rotini $1

3-1 lb dry beans (@1.39 each) $4.17

4 boxes veggie Rotini (sale @.69) $2.76

4 lb sugar $1.50

5 lb rice $2.98

Kroger non-fat dry milk $6.59

(should make 3-4 gallons)

1 jar pasta sauce $1.29

3 boxes Cheerios $5.91

(Walgreens sale @ $1.97 each!)

4 loaves of bread (Kroger) $1.96

(mgrs special!  put 3 in freezer)

3 cans spinach (@ $1 each) $3.00

Kroger brand peanut butter $2.99

Dozen eggs $2.00

(sale at Kroger)

mini carrots FREE

Frozen broccoli FREE

$41.04 total spent over several shopping trips!  I have tea, olive oil, ketchup, and margarine in the pantry as well.  This should easily last through the rest of March.  Meaning that I am going to eat on $1.64 a day- well below the KY SNAP average of $4.24 a day) until the end of March!  I did buy several Rubbermaid containers that I found on sale.  Cooking for one is a pain and means I usually make 2-6 meals at a time and stash them in the fridge.

Note that I only used 2 coupons (for the free carrots and broccoli). I'm just not into cutting coupons when buying store brands and catching sales is a much better way (for me anyhow) to stretch money.

Have you ever tried dry milk (as opposed to running out for milk every week)? I've had it before- it does take some getting used to. I've just never did the math and realized the significant savings per serving (and it doesn't go bad- so no waste!)

#SNAP February inventory day

Last night I took inventory of the pantry and fridge:

16 oz dry red beans (approx 7 servings?) 1.09/bag

32 oz rice (in sealed container).  I have no idea when I bought this!  But it's sealed so should be usable

Kroger 1 minute oatmeal $3.89 (about 15 1 cup servings)

8 lbs potatoes ON SALE(!) for 1.99- 12 potatoes

7 boxes of whole grain pasta ON SALE for 49 cents each (when you buy 6 at Kroger)

2 frozen lasagna dinners (single serve) closeout at 79 cents each

1 gallon milk ON SALE at Walgreens for $2.49

8 eggs (on sale for 1.99/dozen- so that would be 21 cents each)

4-8 servings left of Cheerios and Corn Flakes (free from parents!)

8 slices left of cheese (1.99 for 12 slices so 16 cents each)

30 slices of bread (inc a loaf in the freezer)  This is the $1 loafs from Kroger so 5 cents a slice

A can of Progresso vegetable barley soup I found in the cupboard- 2 servings

6-7 servings of ham and beans left from this weeks crockpot 

3 cans of pasta sauce ($1.09 each)

3/4 medium bottle of olive oil ( I only use a tablespoon or two at a time so I've had this for a while)

3/4 big bottle of vegetable oil

full jar of mayo

2 cans of corn 

2 cans of sliced carrots

1 box of 100 tea bags ($1)

The pasta I bought was a spinach/tomato/wheat mixture that provides 1/2 a serving of vegetables in each serving of pasta!  So that will "count" as a veggie won't it?  

Anyhow I am trying to be more diligent about NOT spending money.  I'm going to try not to buy anything for the rest of this month.  That means stretching this into 28 days food.  I see at least 75 meals in the above (meals that will leave me satisfied but not FULL).  If I added correctly, it looks like it will also be for under $40 total cost as well (not counting condiments/oils). I've started a notebook for daily records (of food actually eaten), so on Feb 28th, I should have a better total.

Question:  Can you cook small red beans in the crockpot?  I'm getting conflicting info online.  There's some poison in some beans that has to be cooked at a high heat to kill the toxin.  Anyhow IF anyone has any clue, I'm all ears.  I need to eat these red beans this month- one way or the other.

#SNAP Shopping Day

Wow is it cold out there!  I was very behind in my laundry this week and had several heavy towels to be washed so I skipped the Wonder Washer and headed to the laundromat this afternoon.  And I seriously thought I was going to get frostbite.  My hands were freezing- even with thick gloves!  I pressed on though because it's only going to be colder tomorrow.  The windchill is expected to be -15 tonight!







It is nice to have all my clothes clean and dry though.  The next thing that needed to be done today was grocery shopping.  I was out of bread, milk, and peanut butter.  So I left for work early via the bus and stopped by Krogers.  I forgot my list but knew that I needed 21 meals for under $20.  And I think I made it work.

First of all, I am so glad I went to Krogers!  I was tempted to go to a closer to home store that was a little more convenient.  Kroger, however, has once again beat the pants off the competition in price and quality of produce.  I was able to get 2 yellow squash, a gallon of milk, 4 frozen lasagna (single serving), tater tot casserole ingredients ( 1 pound ground beef, frozen tots, frozen vegetables, and cream of mushroom soup), country ham pieces (for bean soup), 6 eggs, and bread for less than $20! I have a 2 pound bag of dry beans that I plan on soaking tomorrow and make some bean soup with ham.  I think this should last me more than a week.  And it's reasonably balanced nutrition (grains, veggies, milk, protein in almost every meal).  I did forget peanut butter.  But I'm through shopping for this week.  The frozen lasagna was on closeout for just 79 cents each- and it's vegetable lasagna too!  So it pays to be flexible.

So how are you handling the cold?  Staying inside or braving the weather?  I have a new giveaway that started yesterday.  It's part of a giveaway hop and my prize is your choice of 2 canisters of gourmet hot chocolate!  The PERFECT way to stay warm in this crazy cold weather! So be sure to enter!

New Years Thoughts: Part Two

Another issue that I want to tackle in 2014 is two-fold.  Budget (controlling spending) and health.  These go together because food and eating out are still eating excessive amounts of my budget.  And eating out is also unhealthy and is leading to weight gain and other health issues down the road.

Earlier this year I experimented with the SNAP challenge.  The holidays rolled around and interefered (as they do every year) so the experiment went on hiatus.  This year I want to attempt a SNAP lifestyle.  This would be living on the SNAP budget of $22 a week (for ALL food and drinks) for a 6 month period (24 weeks).  At the end of the six months, I'll see where I'm at and go from there.


I know health involves more than just calories consumed.  It is possible to gain weight and become more unhealthy on a SNAP budget.  So I will be shopping sales and getting as much produce as I can.  No outside food will eliminate all soda from my diet (replaced with unsweetened tea)  I also am going to try to walk for 15 minutes a day starting January 1st.  This is a very small first effort but something I know is manageable.  Hopefully I can build up to 30 minutes.  But 15 is the first goal.


So what goals do you have for this new year?  Remember to make them small, bite sized, and manageable!