Saturday was leftover day. As I mentioned before, I am on a mission not only to pay my bills, but also to rescue food from perishing in my refrigerator before having a chance to become something delicious. So we made beautiful salads and sandwiches for lunch, and the boys finished up our hearty chicken soup with rice while I was at work. It was a great feeling to have enjoyed the food that we have. As we sat talking after lunch, we realized that paying more attention to our food bill and what is in our refrigerator has had a wonderful side effect: we eat together more often! I know it may sound crazy, but often on weekends we are going in two different directions, and may only sit down for a brief dinner or, if we are really tired, a dinner in front of the TV. It has been a welcome change to talk more over delicious, easy meals from our pantry. We are hoping to make this a tradition!
Today it was time for my second weekly extreme-budget grocery trip. This time, I did not take enforcers. It was just me, $23.25 (I had $3.25 left over from last week), a very short list of items (although a couple 'big ticket' items like yogurt and salsa), and some determination. I headed to Hannaford's first, where I noticed as soon as I walked in that this trip was going to be much harder than the last. I didn't have Liam to distract me, so I had plenty of time to look at all the many items available to buy. I took a deep breath, and walked a little faster down the aisles. I am happy to report, though: I made it! I left Hannaford's with a carton of Stonyfield plain yogurt, a can of organic diced tomatoes (I decided salsa was too expensive, and I could make my own), 3/4 lb of grapes, and 1 red tomato for $8.31. The coop was even harder, as I love the huge selection of local and organic food, but I managed to reign myself in there, too. I got: bag of brewer's yeast, 1/2 lb of kale, 2 bananas, 3 apples, and a special almost-halfway-done-with-austerity-month gift for my hubby for: $10.11. The grand total for this trip was: $18.42. I have $4.83 left for the week, just enough to send my husband for a gallon of delicious raw milk tomorrow night. With a successful second grocery trip behind me, I am ready to tackle another week of leftovers and exciting food from our shelves. Tonight's delicacy: Spicy Artichoke and Olive Pizza. There may be some salad involved, or we may take the night off from veggies (hey, it's the weekend!) but we will be enjoying another evening together, working toward our bill-paying goal! Good Night!
artichokes and olives totally count as veggies :)
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