Frugal Accomplishments

I popped into Walmart this weekend because I needed sugar and was traveling in that part of town. I had a couple last-minute things on my Christmas list too, so I had to trek over to the toy section. I was absolutely flabbergasted with the number of people trolling the aisles. They were basically ripping toys away from one another in the quest of getting their shopping done. I mean, I get it. We all want to be done shopping, but being rude to a stranger about a plastic doll isn't going to magically make it all better. But that's not really the point.

In this time of excess, I'm trying to keep a level head. We're still dealing with a good deal of debt and always striving to be more frugal than not. So, here's some of the things I've done lately to stay in the green, so to speak.

// Thrifted Decorations, etc.

One of the best places you can find holiday decor is at the thrift shop. Sometimes you'll luck out and find stuff that's brand new. I got a tree topper for a dollar and a package or ornaments for a couple bucks. I also found some cute beaded Santa boxes to use as wrapping/gifts. Ninety nine cents each. A steal, right?

I didn't need too much, but I found nativity scenes, outdoor decorations, garlands, faux trees, and more. It's definitely worth a look if you want to add a bit more cheer on a dime.

// Thrifting Running Apparel

Speaking of thrifting, I've been looking for a decent running coat to add to my collection. I have a bunch of old ones that don't fit well anymore. I was able to find a nice, basic fleece Columbia number for $4.99 that also happened to be 70 percent off. No holes, rips, stains, or other defects. The only catch is it's a weird shade of green. I run mostly in the evening, so that doesn't matter!

I decided to take a look around and found a new Nike running top (short sleeve -- so for treadmill time) for just $3.99. I also snagged a nice pair of yoga pants for a few bucks. Now my athletic clothing is refreshed! I wish my motivation would do the same . . . 

// Lice Spray

Last year there was this little girl in Ada's class who ended up having lice the entire year. I decided to mix up a batch of homemade lice spray . . . and, guess what?! Ada didn't get lice once. I've made it part of our morning routine now, and I have to say it's working. Ada has my type of hair -- very fine and stands straight up with static. I had lice often as a kid despite being well groomed and taken care of. 

Anyway, I'd say a spray bottle of this stuff lasts several months. I just spritz it through her hair each morning before she goes to school. Bonus is that I swear is makes combing her hair easier.

Combine:

• 10-15 drops lavender essential oil
• 10-15 drops rosemary essential oil
• 10-15 drops tea tree oil
• 5 drops peppermint oil
• Fill the rest with water

Combine everything in a small spray bottle. Mine is 4 ounces -- an old lavender room spray bottle. FYI: I use all Aura Cacia essential oils that I buy either on Amazon or at Wegmans. I've used them since I was in college!

// DIY Table Runner

I wanted to mention this frugal thing I did at Thanksgiving. We don't have tons of fancy linens and such to use when we celebrate holidays. I wanted to dress up the table a bit, but also make it fun for the kids. So, I rolled a bit of paper lengthwise across the table and gave Ada a bunch of markers and crayons. She drew pictures, wrote little sayings, and it kept her occupied while we cooked. I plan to do the same thing for Christmas. 

You can use any paper (see my photo, above), but we happened to have a roll of Melissa + Doug easel paper on hand. It was perfect!

// TTC Tricks

Oh, gosh. If you've ever been deep in TTC (which I'm not yet this time around -- just saying from experience) and spent literally #allthemoney buying pregnancy tests, ovulation strips, supplements, and other stuff -- save yourself. Since I take progesterone, I have to pinpoint my ovulation day, which means either taking my basal body temperature or using ovulation strips. I choose to do both, as my temperatures are quire erratic (thanks to waking up often at night -- my own doing, Eloise sleeps great).

Anyway, I finally bought one of those sets with 50 LH strips and 20 pregnancy tests for just $20. I used to spend that much just buying a couple pregnancy tests. It seems like a silly thing, but I know many of you are trying to conceive, and month after month . . . it gets expensive. Do yourself a favor. The LH strips work really well for me -- I get clear positives (line darker than control) and the pregnancy tests are apparently as sensitive as First Response. I personally got a positive on one last time around when my HCG was like 12 coming down from my D&C.

I love sharing frugal accomplishments. What are some of your most recent wins?

Till next time! 

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Smart + Thrifty Tips for Buying Second-Hand Clothing

So many of you have messaged me privately about my second-hand shopping escapades. It’s really one of my biggest hobbies. There’s definitely a method to my madness. One of my favorite bloggers -- Jessica over at What I Wore -- recently shared her own tips for shopping thrift, garage sales, etc. You should definitely check those out.

Here’s how I approach things, at least when it comes to clothing. I have a host of other tips for household and other items.

Make the rounds

A lot of people tell me they aren’t able to find good stuff at their local shops. And for some of you, that may be an ongoing issue, I understand. But for others -- don’t give up with just one visit! Consider that these places get new stock from time to time. How often will certainly depend on the shop, so it’s a good idea to ask the sales associates how often new stuff comes in.

I find that if I try to hit up all my local places in a rotation about every two weeks, I am able to see a wealth of goodies. Of course, I still see that crazy cat embroidered vest at Good Will even a month down the line, but many other awesome things have filtered into the aisles as well.

I also have discovered that where you go matters. We live in a large-ish area with many different pockets of age brackets, income levels, etc. While I have found good things at most stores . . . I tend to more heavily hit certain areas where I find the demographic more closely matches my own. Well, and also where middle-aged women who like FLAX clothing live.

Know your style

I know what I’m looking for. Usually natural fibers. Linen, mostly. FLAX the brand specifically (here are my 5 favorite FLAX outfits for summer). If you have a tried-and-true brand or fabric or cut or item you like, look for it specifically and try to forget the rest. In my own experience, I have picked up things that I would have never purchased simply because I thought it looked kinda sorta neat. Then? I never put it on because, well, it’s just not my style.

You may find it helpful to write down a list of things you like. Or things you need. But try to avoid getting random stuff that appeals to you based on price alone. I went through this period of time when I thought maybe I’d like to wear corduroy jumpers simply because I was finding a lot of them and they were cheap. Nope.

Oh, and while you’re at it, don’t hoard things just because they are what you’re “looking” for. Again, I LOVE FLAX . . . but I don’t need a lime green FLAX vest or something that doesn’t match my style.

Know your size

I really, really don’t recommend trying on thrift store clothing. Even while shopping at a “nice” store, I contracted scabies when I was in my early twenties. It’s helpful to know your size in different brands or simply by looking at the item. You may even want to bring a measuring tape with you to help. I tend to wear things big or in a freer size, so usually I’m pretty good if something is a tad too big on me.

Instead of trying on, I tie my bag tightly after leaving the store and immediately throw it in the wash when I get home. I dry in the dryer as well -- anything to help kill weird stuff that might be on there. I am usually just fine with sizing because I’m a ninja at this stuff. BUT I’m not immune to mistakes. So, that all said, if you do end up getting something home that just won’t work after washing, you may also try to re-sell it or donate it again if it only set you back a couple dollars.

Oh, and I would recommend checking all sizes. Some things are either in the wrong section (misplaced) or -- at least with vintage clothing -- sizes have changed over time. I wear anywhere between a 2 and 8 in different modern brands. With vintage, I can wear up to a 12!

Scan and keep moving

This goes with knowing what you want -- keep moving! If I stop too long to consider something, the chances are that I’m more convincing myself that it’s a good deal or whatever. If I see something that I immediately love, I grab it and move onto the next item. Oh, and if you’re curious . . . I seriously go item by item when I shop. Since I know that I mostly like linen, it’s pretty easy to scan for this fabric among all the other things in the store.

And any seasoned second-hand shopper will tell you to inspect your items well before purchasing. You will find stains, holes, tears, and other reasons why these things may have ended up in the shop. If it’s something you can fix, great. If not, put it back.

Or  . . .

Ask for deals

If I find anything wrong that I think I can fix, I ask for a discount. Some stores offer while others aren’t as willing. Don’t go overboard. But, for example, I found a linen dress once that looked like it had simply fallen on the ground and got some dirt/dust on it that would clearly come out in the wash. Still, I said “gee, I love this . . . but I sure hope this stain comes out . . . would you take off anything?” And they took off 20 percent with no issues.

If something has an issue I’m not as confident about resolving and they won’t take anything off, I walk away. Sometimes after saying never mind, they’ll take off more and other times, not. It’s all part of the game.

Remember -- you can (often) return

At the same time, check out your store’s return policies. If you do bring something home and don’t like it or find it has issues, you’ll want to return if you can. Some shops only offer in-store credit while others will give you your cash back. Some store do not offer any type of return policy. This is, again, where checking items carefully comes in to play. I’ve been burned a few times. I have mended a few things . . . but others were beyond help or my abilities.

Consider modification

There have been times I’ve found dresses or pants and I love the cut + fabric, etc. But not the color. You can actually change that, you know. RIT dye is extremely useful in these cases + easy to use. Jessica recently darkened the color of a cool pair of leather boots she found. And there’s a blogger called ReFashionista who buys second-hand clothing that some find hideous and transforms it into hip, ultra-wearable pieces through her sewing skills.

Look beyond what’s in front of you to see what it could be. But don’t go too crazy or elaborate. I find that quick fixes or changes work best for my skill set.

Don’t forget shoes

I shunned the shoe section at thrift shops for years because the idea of wearing other people’s shoes creeped me out. Here’s the thing . . . some of the shoes you will find are either like-new or entirely new. It always astounds me. For example, I found a like-new pair of FRYE boots (similar to these that go for HUNDREDS!) this weekend. I also found a brand new pair of Eileen Fisher espadrilles (just like these that are currently in stores for $135+).

Don’t forget to check the shoes. Period.

Mind the calendar

Most thrift shops in my area have sales throughout the year. This weekend the thrifty shopper up the road had 50 percent off everything for just one day. I think they do it twice a year. Ask your associates if there are any planned sales. Many stores also have tag sales where, say, purple tags are 30 percent off or blue are 50 percent off. This usually means that whatever the item is has been sitting on the shelves longer than other items.

Again: Inspect your loot carefully for damage . . . but otherwise celebrate finding a super deal!

Go alone, if you can

I try to shop thrift on my own. I find when I bring the kids that they get terribly bored. I am also much (MUCH!) faster without them. So, I try to join my thrifting trips with my grocery shopping, which I also try to do alone as much as possible. If I’m scanning and moving on, I find I can go through a whole store in like 15-20 minutes. That means I could hit up three in the span of an hour.

For me, this is great entertainment and exhilarating deal-finding, but I totally understand if this isn’t your idea of fun that you might want to spend your solo time doing other things . . . NOT. :)

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What are some of your tips for thrift shopping? I’d love to hear them!

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Bad Spending Month // Recovery Plan

March, you guys. Oh, March. Where to begin? Stephen and I are in the process of switching to a more local bank. We have most of our money (which isn't much!) in Bank of America, but there are no local branches. It's made the cash system costly. The month we did take out cash, we discovered that we were being double-charged. We had taken out our cash in two installments . . . and it ended up (FOOLISHLY) costing us like $30.

So, we joined a local bank which now makes ATM transactions free. In the process of switching, though, we haven't transferred around enough, so we decided to just do our debit card last month. I still shopped for our food at the beginning of the month in a large shop and stuck within budget. After that, though, it was a landslide of spending . . . and I'm really not proud of it. This is our current plan to get debt-free, and I hate already deviating from it.

Without having the physical money, we find ourselves venturing out to the store and buying all sorts of things we "need". We find ourselves without a plan -- and that's dangerous. I haven't looked at the ugly numbers yet, but I plan to do that later today. Part of me is actually just nervous/scared to look at how much we over-spent on our budget. Does anyone else ever feel that way when you're looking at a bad over-budget month?

Here's our plan for recovery:

Chatting about the Why

Stephen and I know very well why our spending got out of control. He started coaching track and is now gone long hours and Saturdays. This means we are trying to do anything and everything to make ourselves feel better. And that usually means eating takeout or getting extra food all the time. Because home-cooked meals are sometimes hard to make when life is crazy AND eating delicious sandwiches with fresh ingredients from Wegmans several nights a week just sounds . . . amazing.

Ugh. The schedule isn't changing until a couple weeks into June. If we keep spending at this pace, our bank account will look frightening by summer. This is one of the main reasons why everything went to crap this month. So, we need to recognize it and move on.

Going Back to Cash

We need to take out cash for this month. Period. I'm going to figure out the total number I want to take out today and then divvy it up into my cash envelope system wallet. Then I'm going to write out our spending plan for the month.. There isn't much more to say about this one. If you're prone to mindless and excessive spending when you use cards . . . cash can help so much.

Simplifying Our Meals

We have $500 a month set aside for our food. We have a pretty well-stocked pantry right now, so I may forgo the big monthly shopping trip and try to just use up what's in the pantry for as long as possible. I'll need to buy some fresh produce and other items that expire more quickly. But otherwise, I am going to try to plan our meals around what's already at home. This may mean eating pasta more frequently this month.

My goal is to spend just $300 of that $500. SAVINGS: $200, maybe more.

Planning a Personal Spending Freeze

I budget $200 a month to an allowance fund for the family. This money is essentially fun money, money for stuff each of us might need or want, and etc. This month of April we are going to try to spend as little of this money as possible. Along with that, we have a $135 monthly weekend fund to do stuff out. Instead of breaking into that, we're going to try to just doing free stuff on our weekends and skip eating out, etc. I'm hoping the nicer weather may help with this. Having a blizzard and all that jazz definitely contributed to us spending more money.

SAVINGS: Potentially $335, but we'll see what ends up happening. It definitely won't be all of this.

Changing Vacation Expectations

OK. Yeah. So, this is where it gets tricky. We are also heading up to Burlington to visit my brother mid-month. What I think may happen is that we use some of these weekend/personal funds to pay for what we are doing up there versus spending any extra on top of the budget. Does that make sense? We've had this trip planned for a while . . . and we originally intended to stay three nights. I think we're going to cut the trip back to just two nights and try to save that way as well.

On the trip, we get free breakfast at the hotel, so that's a savings. I'm going to look up as many free things to do as possible. And we will try to eat modestly out and not spend a ridiculous amount of money on all the meals. Gas is the other expense. I'll try to write more about our travel budget soon.

SAVINGS: $100 -- at least that's what we'll call it for now. It's complex because we didn't totally have budget for travel right now BUT we also want to see my brother and his girlfriend.

Postponing Paying Our Debt

This might not be a popular bullet point, but I think right now we need to preserve the money that's in our bank account. And that means skipping a month of paying an extra $1,000 to our debt. This isn't really a savings, but it will help us in the short-term preserve our emergency fund.

I am actually experimenting with taking on a bit less work this month because things have been crazy with Stephen's new schedule. Basically, we're needing to go back to our original pay-off plan to tweak it a bit. It may make better sense for our to try and allocate $500 a month toward debt versus a full $1,000. I am having trouble sustaining writing so much when Stephen has 11-hour weekdays and was gone from 8:00-5:30 on Saturday.

Final Thoughts

This isn't the most organized or most inspirational budget post I've ever seen. I more just wanted to get it out there. We had a bad month. We recognize that we cannot go back to our old habits. Back-sliding it just not fun at all, especially when it comes to finances. We are admitting we messed up. We are doing a few things to help recoup some of the extra we spent. And all we can do now is more forward and have a good month.

What do you do to recover from a bad spending month? Any suggestions for us? I'm off to see exactly what the damage is!

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Weekly Meals + Cost

I’m back again with more about our grocery bill and eats for this week. (Don’t miss last week’s post about our fresh start for the new year.) The grand total we spent at Aldi was $60. At Wegmans, we spent $48, bringing our total grocery bill to $108. Here’s more about what ingredients we bought and how we’re using them.

PS: You can follow my cooking on Instagram at #nhmweeklymeals!

The List

Aldi:

• Shredded wheat cereal
• Hazelnut spread
• Sleeve Kumato tomatoes
• Bag sweet potatoes
• Goldfish crackers (Ada’s choice)
• La Croix 8-pack
• 6 avocados
• 4 pounds bananas
• Bag carrots
• Package green peppers
• Bag local apples
• 2 packages block cheese
• Deli sliced cheese
• Cocoa powder
• Bag Mandarin oranges
• Package zucchini
• 6 cans organic beans (still on sale)
• Tub Greek yogurt
• Pickles (Stephen and Ada love them!)
• Peanut butter
• Local BBQ Sauce
• Can crushed tomatoes
• Olive oil 
• 1/2 gallon 2% milk

Wegmans:

• Tempeh
• Tempeh bacon
• Jar of yeast
• Kefir
• 18 pack Eggland eggs
• Frozen Tex-Mex veggies
• Bulk bag sweet potato fries
• Roasted Mate tea
• Tub tahini
• Tub organic arugula
• Large tub organic super greens mix

The Plan

Since breakfasts and lunches have stayed relatively consistent since last week, I’ll skip over them in list form. We eat a lot of oatmeal and cereal for breakfast with green smoothies. For lunch, it’s crazy big salads (for Stephen) and PBJ or grilled cheese for Ada. I like homemade hummus melts or egg salad.

Dinners

M: Leftover Pumpkin Chili with homemade biscuits

T: Veggie Burgers (made them in bulk) with sweet potato fries on homemade buns

W: Eggs, roasted sweet potatoes, and PPK Banana + Zucchini Bread

R: Carrot + Chickpea Tagine dinner (made by Stephen)

F: Family Pizza Night, pumpkin dough w/ olives, peppers, onions, zucchini

S: Homemade ciabatta bread sandwiches with orange-glazed tempeh* 

S: Pasta with homemade pesto + faux meatballs

Dessert + Snacks

Mix of quinoa energy bars (we bought it in a school fundraiser)

Crock Pot Applesauce

Chocolate Chip + Pecan Cookies

* This is the one night we don’t do family dinner. Ada usually eats freezer leftovers. This week she’ll be having some frozen stuffed shells (she loves them!).

Highlights

//1: We wasted basically no food last week. I even froze the leftover pizza sauce to save for this week’s pie! It feels really good to look in my refrigerator at the end of the week and see that it’s almost empty. There are some ingredients that are hearty and can last longer, so if we’re nearing the weekend and more fragile ingredients are getting droopy -- we’ll make a plan to use them up and save the carrots, oranges, potatoes, etc. for next week.

//2: We also shifted our shopping to Saturday mornings. I didn’t know this would make a difference, and we didn’t even do it on purpose -- it just worked out that way. But WOW. Talk about a great way to combat weekend takeout! Our pantry and fridge are full of food so we don’t have as much temptation to grab a takeout menu.

Making food at home has become this huge part of our weekend activities now. So, it’s also serving as a source of entertainment (trying new recipes is really fun!), saving us even more money.

//3: We’re trying to avoid eating the same meal over and over again, so I will start doing more freezer cooking as the weeks roll on. The veggie burgers I made (24 in all) will last a good while. That being said, it does take some energy to make sure that all our meals are utilizing similar ingredients. My trick is having a “breakfast for dinner” night where I can just roast a good number of veggies that need to be used up.

//4: We’re trying to stick below $100 total for food each week. This is a big improvement because I estimate that we were spending about $130 at Wegmans PLUS at least (at LEAST!) $50 on takeout per week in recent months. That’s an $80 savings per week we’re striving toward, all while eating healthy foods and connecting better as a family. I do think we’ll spend much less at the store this week, but time will tell.

//5: Oh, and we’re also going to occasionally try “no buy” weeks where we dig deep into the cupboards and freezer drawers to use up what we already have. Of course, we’ll need to get basics -- but I think it’s a great way to save in a pinch.

Looking for more tasty inspiration? 

• Here’s our Clean Eating Guide with affordable meal options.
• Here’s a bunch of Sunday Meal Prep Ideas from the archives.
• Here’s more great meals (and savings!) you can make with Aldi food.
• Here’s our Recipe Archive full of great vegetarian and vegan meal ideas.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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On Planning Meals (Again)

Meal planning is an area that totally fell off the radar last year. I don’t even want to know how much money we spent on food. There was just the regular everyday food. Then the comfort foods (so many of them). The many, many nights of takeout. And, of course, the ever-changing list of foods I could and could not eat during two different first trimester morning sickness phases. Ugh.

In other words, we spent hundreds more on food each month than we normally do. I didn’t lift a pen to plan a week of meals maybe the whole year. We stopped shopping smart. We stopped hitting up stores like Aldi for better deals. And, yes, despite the money suck -- it was sort of awesome to just eat whatever, whenever we felt like it. 

BUT for the first time in forever, I wrote out a plan for the first week of the new year. I wrote up a grocery list and headed to Aldi. I even grabbed a few things that weren’t on my list (including a major stock of organic beans that were on sale!) and still spent only $97 for a hulking cart of food!

Why, why, why did I ever stop doing this? I had a smile from ear to ear the rest of the day. It definitely helps that I’m now 15 weeks pregnant and can actually enter my kitchen again without gagging.

The List

Stephen tossed our receipt (I’ll save them in the future), but here’s approximately what we bought. The list will look weird, but it’s the order in which I picked everything up at the store. Oh, and shopping took maybe 15 minutes from entering to exiting the store. Score.

• Organic teddy graham snacks
• 2 jars medium salsa
• Strawberry jam
• Organic honey
• Large tub rolled oats
• Steel cut oats
• Organic honey toasted oats cereal
• Aldi version of Lucky Charms (I know, I know...)
• Organic dark roast coffee
• Block cheddar cheese
• Block Jack cheese
• Block pepper Jack cheese 
• Ball mozzarella cheese
• Bag shredded mozzarella
• Organic string cheese
• 2 packages (10 each) whole wheat tortillas
• Sea salt grinder
• 4 cans organic black beans
• 4 cans organic chickpeas
• 4 cans organic pinto beans
• 4 cans organic kidney beans
• 2 cans organic fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 cans pumpkin puree
• Zucchini
• Garlic
• Bag of onions
• Bag of local apples
• Bag of Meyer lemons
• Bunch bananas
• Sleeve Kumato brown tomatoes
• Organic baby kale
• Organic arugula
• 2% milk for Ada
• Eggs
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Loaf sprouted grain bread
• Jar pizza sauce

I swear I’m forgetting several things. But that’s the gist. Like I said, we hadn’t been to Aldi in a long while. I was sort of astounded at all the new organic and natural food offerings. Especially the sprouted bread!

The Plan:

Breakfast

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats

Cold cereal or muesli 

Mango Lassi Smoothie w/ kefir + kale

(Egg + toast for Stephen)

Lunch 

Hardboiled eggs

Hummus

Greens

Wraps + bread

(PB+J or grilled cheese for Ada)

Dinner

M: Lentil loaf* with mashed potatoes

T: Leftovers 

W: Veggie-Loaded Quesadillas 

R: Leftovers 

F: Pizza night using Pumpkin Dough

S: Homemade Ciabatta sandwiches w/ fries

S: Pumpkin Chili w/ Greens + Cheddar Biscuits 

* Recipe soon

Dessert

Pumpkin + Pecan Apple Crisp 

Pecan Chocolate Chippers

Looking for more tasty inspiration? 

• Here’s a bunch of Sunday Meal Prep Ideas from the archives.
• Here’s more great meals (and savings!) you can make with Aldi food.
• Here’s our Recipe Archive full of great vegetarian and vegan meal ideas.
• Check out #nhmweeklymeals for Instagrams of my progress!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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What $77 Looks Like at Aldi

We've got one car for the time being, so while I was stuck at home yesterday -- I gave Stephen a shopping list to use after work. We try to buy lots of ingredients that we'll use for two weeks whenever possible. So, I knew he'd be coming home with a lot . . . but I couldn't believe everything he bought for just $77!

I thought it'd be fun to give you visuals this time around versus a receipt.

And here are some of my favorite items:


// ORGANICS

Many of you have been asking about the organic or natural foods choices. It's not like Aldi has an entire section devoted to organic foods, but already I've seen them expand on the items available in our area.

The following ingredients are organic or from Aldi's Simply Nature line:

• Arugula 
• Bananas 
• Apples
• Salsa
• Fruit Snacks for Ada
• Squeeze Packets for Ada
• Flax + Multigrain Wraps

// PRODUCE

The selection of produce has stayed pretty stagnant, but it's been a good mix of ingredients to use in the kitchen. So, while I'd love to see more variety with produce, I'm still happy with the offering. We also discovered that Monday nights are the best time to shop at our favorite store, as they were unpacking everything fresh.

Here's what we got this week for fresh foods:

• Zucchini x 3
• Green peppers x 3
• Bananas x 12
• Apples, bag
• Cauliflower head
• Avocados x 4
• Onions, bag
• Strawberries
• Mandarin oranges 

Quite frankly, it's been hard for me to afford things like fresh berries, avocados, and those little oranges when the rest of my haul has been more expensive. I like having this option to give my family a little more variety without breaking the bank.


// DAIRY

I'm also continually impressed by how much cheese and yogurt I'm able to buy at this price point. Though I always stuck with store-brand cheeses at Wegmans and other grocers, Aldi's prices still beat a block of cheese out by 30-50 cents per block. Over time, that surely adds up.

This shop's items:

• Greek yogurt x 2
• Blocks cheese x 4
• Brie, round
• Almond milk x 2
• Eggs, dozen

Anyway, just wanted to give you a few notes on our recent Aldi shop. We'll use a lot of the packaged items, like tortilla shells + salsa + Greek yogurt, to make foods like Veggie-Loaded Quesadillas for the next two weeks. We'll refresh the perishable items for hopefully around $50 to make it about $65 for each week.

More #unsponsored ALDI recipes/posts:

• Fresh Orange Wakeup Smoothie -- 19 grams of protein!
• Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup -- lots of hidden veggies!
• A month of groceries = $291!
• The FULL THREAD of Aldi posts...

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Grocery Budget: Month Report

I didn't do quite as well as I had imagined for our total monthly grocery budget. I had been trying to stick to a $60 average. By the end of the month, I needed to stock up on some more costly staples, like maple syrup and Earth Balance.

Here's a brief rundown of the month's costs:

Aldi Trips 1 + 2 = $106 

Wegmans Trip 1: $20

Aldi Trip 3: $70

Aldi Trip 4: $55*

Wegmans Trip 2: $40 

TOTAL MONTH: $291 ($72.75/week)

Still, I'm proud of my progress from when we were keeping track. And I'm certainly happy with our Aldi shopping experience. Some of you have been asking for specific recipes I've made with all Aldi foods, so I'll be working on that. Others are wondering what the best bets and things to avoid are.

* I don't have my receipt (what we bought is in the cart below) because we've been cleaning our house so much, I think I tossed it. Actually, the grand total was $80, but that included a box of 96 diapers for Ada at $25. Yes, we use disposables now . . . and it's a long story that will hopefully end in potty training soon!


BEST BETS

• Greek Yogurt
• Organic Apples
• Block Cheese
• Milk
• Fit & Active Flax Wraps 
• Most Simply Nature products
• Dark Chocolate
• Mozzarella Balls
• Ricotta
• Frozen Berries
• Steel Cut Oats
• Rolled Oats
• Onions
• Zucchini
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Peppers (all varieties)
• Organic Salsa
• Dried Beans (we found Pinto last week!)
• Fair Trade Coffee
• Cauliflower
• Almond Milk
• Anything that's locally grown
• Potatoes
• Canned Goods
• Organic Spinach
• Eggs
• Mushrooms
• Organic Honey
• Baby Food (can't beat the price -- all natural)
• Avocados
• Frozen veggies (we got this stir-fry mix that was really tasty!)

SKIP (From Experience)

• Shredded Cheese (ours burns easily, so we get block instead)
• Flour (our stores only stock white)
• Sugar (again, it's all just refined white)
• Peanut Butter (it works, but it's not the best)
• Nuts (I'd still rather buy in bulk)
• Cucumbers (haven't looked so good)
• Brussels Sprouts (again, just didn't look vibrant)
• Asparagus (never looks very good + is small)
• Garlic (tiny and dries out fast)
• Organic Milk (seems to be priced the same as what we buy at Wegmans)
• Bread (it's OK, but the $ get the "good" Aldi kind, I'd rather buy our usual slices)
• Most processed foods (but we avoid those anyway, so we haven't tried many)
• Fresh Tomatoes (went bad fast in my experience)
• Hot Sauce (sort of meh compared to Sriracha)
• Chocolate Chips (are passable, but I'd rather splurge and just bake less)
• Diapers (aren't priced much better than at any other big box store)

However, we've now been to THREE different stores in our area and they are all so different with their offerings. And things change by the week and seasonally, so I think rotating between several, if you can, can get you the best variety.

For example: One has these awesome organic apple juice boxes Ada loves. The other two don't. One has steel cut oats, the other two don't. One has vegetable broth. The other two don't. And their stock is always changing -- what's in those discount bins is stuff that is usually not going to show up again for a while, if ever.

In a way, though, this bare-bones approach is helping us the most of all. Usually the items that vary by store are more of the "wants" versus the "necessities" on our list. So, we can do without them or find some new "want" if we really, well, want it that much.

Which brings me to one of the best points of all:


Yes. I've been supplementing with Wegmans. But Aldi is beating my all-time favorite store in some notable areas. First: I can shop in Aldi and get my week's worth of groceries in 10 minutes flat if I hit it when the lines aren't long. That's SUPER SPEEDY! At Wegmans, I linger along the aisles and find things I didn't even know I wanted. So, that's point number 2: I stick to my original list at Aldi because the frills just aren't there . . . and even when they are, they are cheaper.

If I had a vice at Aldi, it'd be the Moser Roth 85% dark chocolate. I get 2 bars a week that total $4. Not a horrible indulgence. At Wegmans, on the other hand, I went in to get Earth Balance, maple syrup, and some tofu and came out with peanut butter that tastes like cookie dough, fancy Lacey Swiss Cheese, a round of brie, and a $5 loaf of bakery bread, among a few other things.

Anyway, we averaged $73 (rounded up) for each week this month. I'd like to try another month of shopping at Aldi, but I think with our family -- a most realistic number might be $70-$75/week, especially since we're making an effort to eat most meals at home, even those we used to go out for on the weekends (lunches mostly).

However, and this is best of all, I am confident if we had to stick to a $60 budget that we could. I have an "emergency budget" where food is only $60 and entertainment is cut entirely. Basically, the $70-$75 definitely includes extras like chocolate, occasional juice, extra avocados, baking supplies, etc. -- but $60 (or less!) would cover all the essentials to feed our active family.

// WHAT NEXT?

Next time, I'll be back with recipes using Aldi foods specifically -- along with a few more tips and tricks I've learned about shopping at discount stores. There's another one in my area that I've been meaning to check out, so I'll report back next week!

Have you shopped at Aldi yet? What's your BEST food pick and your WORST one?

# This post is not sponsored. I have no affiliation or relationship with Aldi. All my thoughts are my own as a person who has regularly been striving for a lower grocery bill.

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Grocery Budget: $60 Average Continues

As I wrote in my last grocery budget post, we've started shopping at Aldi to save some major money on our grocery bill each week. By now, we've decided this isn't some short-term experiment or novelty that we'll grow out of when the next fad hits. We're pretty much sure we're switching stores for good.

Here's our latest receipt.

If you look closely, you'll notice that we have DOUBLE a lot of items. That's because this $70 total is a good portion of groceries for two, yes, TWO weeks combined with what we still have left at home. We'll have to go back to get some items like bananas, fresh fruits + veggies, and bread next week, but I don't see that being over $25-$30.

You'll also notice we have a bag charge. I have no idea how we forgot to bring our bags. Live and learn, I guess. Also, you guys have helped me settle on the classic canvas bags versus the mesh totes. You're right that the durability and washability trump pretty colors!

// THE DOLLARS AND CENTS

Basically, we've been averaging out around $60 a week if you count the added canned goods + few items (tofu, Earth Balance, whole wheat flour) we use otherwise. This is at least $30 less than we had been averaging per week when we were shopping at Wegmans. And if I'm being totally honest, we were seeing $100-$110/week for a while.

. . . so, for us, we're talking a monthly savings of up to $200!


I owe our saving $$$ to:

• Less selection, but all the necessities are covered.
• Lower cost in general of all the foods b/c they are store brand.
• Less temptation, so I can stay on task.
• Fewer aisles, so shopping is fast and efficient.
• Less expensive toddler convenience foods -- big help in our house.
• Motivation from seeing a lower price tag = invaluable.
• Fewer ingredients mean simpler meal planning (see meals below).
• Continuing to make most meals at home, from scratch.

I guess I've been most surprised and impressed by the quality of the food. Traditionally, I thought of Aldi as a store with expired foods or ones that were discarded. I think there's some perception that discount equals this sort of thing, but all our food from Aldi has been fresh, tasty, and all well within date limits.

This past week, we had to stock up on quite a few items. Our cart was so full, I was absolutely convinced our total was going to be outrageous. We had even snuck into the cart some "extras," like steel-cut oats, a frozen stir-fry mix, and several 85% dark chocolate bars.

As always, I feel it's important to mention a.) That this post isn't sponsored in any way -- I have no affiliation with Aldi, b.) Our toiletries and house items go in a different "household" budget and c.) Our weekend fund is around $50, which we mostly use to go to a movie ($20) and then out to eat or buy special foods to make some weekend meals.


// WHAT WE'RE EATING FOR DINNER

Another concern of mine was that we'd be eating boring, bland dinners. That just hasn't been the case. My produce selection, yes, is a bit leaner than I'm used to, but we just sent in our paperwork for our CSA share (which is around $24/week, if I remember correctly). So, that should soon be covered, though with some local offerings popping up in our store -- I wonder how produce selection changes seasonally at Aldi.

Otherwise, I'm finding some great staples to cook with and learning to love others. Combined with a solid spice collection (which, I have discovered I'll be able to stock up again on a lot of them at Aldi), we've made anything from basic pizzas to more complicated Indian dishes.

Cheese + Bean Quesadillas

Tortilla Shells, Shredded Cheese, Canned Black Beans, Organic Salsa, Greek Yogurt, Avocado

Slow Cooker Soup -- following these handy tips!

Vegetable Broth, Zucchini, Onion, Canned Tomatoes, Canned Beans

Veggie Pizza

Tomato Sauce, Shredded Cheese, Roasted Onion, Green Pepper + Mushrooms, Homemade Crust

Spinach + Avocado Pesto Pasta

Spinach, Garlic, Parmesan, Avocado, Pasta Shells (from this post) -- Salsa and Egg, too.

Chana Masala w/ Roasted Cauliflower

We had spices, but Cauliflower, Chickpeas, Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, Bell Pepper

Basic Veggie Burgers

Whatever veggies are on hand, Beans, Oats, Seasonings, Toast

// RELATED POSTS:

Shopping at Aldi: Our New Secret Weapon
Shop For TWO Weeks, Save Money
Ongoing Grocery Saga + YOUR Tips
10 Favorite (Cheap!) Grocery Staples
How Low can we Go?
$60 Sweet Spot
Eating Well Need Not Cost a Fortune
Grocery Bills: Progress
Grocery Bills: Even More Progress
Grocery Bills: What's Up Now?
Slashing Grocery Bills: We're Going Strong
Grocery Bills: Major Fail!
How to Store Bulk Foods
Cooking and Baking on a Budget: How To
How to Bake It Vegan: Common Substitutions

// WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Some of you said you'd been meaning to try Aldi.

Did you check it out this weekend? I'd love to hear your experiences!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Grocery Budget: The Dollars and Cents

I recently shared with you guys my favorite, cheap winter grocery staples for this year. What I haven't talked about in quite a while is our actual food budget. Of course, there's good reason for it: We hadn't been able to stick to one until recently.

Sigh.

When it was just the two of us, hitting around $50-$60 a week was so relatively easy. We cook most of our meals from scratch and we're vegetarian, but don't eat a lot of packaged extras. And then came Ada. She breastfed for over a year with bits of food mixed in here and there, and after those first 365 days -- her appetite increased (that tends to happen with kids -- they grow!).

Obviously, adding another mouth to feed is going to cost some money, but with a picky palate, we fell into some bad habits with buying Ada separate foods to match her moods and relied on some convenience snacks to get by. Add to that the great cloth diaper disaster of 2013, and our weekly bills were creeping higher and higher.

As much as I try to gloss over it, we also spent the bulk of the last year dealing with various medical procedures and (too much) stress to do detailed meal plans all the time. I'd say we were spending around $100 each week up to higher totals, depending. I had gotten into a great rhythm and loved doing our Vegetarian Freezer Month experiment in October, but then we fell into this funk.


Now that things are looking up for us again, we're doing a reset on our financial handles. We're looking into buying a different house, we have tried living with one car and it's not working (so, we need car #2), we'd like to put Ada in a couple mornings of preschool in the fall, etc. Basically, we need to find room in the budget for all this stuff, along with savings and emergency funds.

It's possible, but it'll take some finagling. Food is one of those variable costs that we can play around with, as most of our budget is fixed with the mortgage, both our student loans, car payments, utilities bills, and so on. Entertainment is also taking a cut, not that it was significant to begin with, but -- and as I've done in the past -- also a shift. I'll share more once we get it all ironed out.

// MY NOT-SO SECRET WEAPON

Not surprisingly, I was motivated to visit Aldi after the explosion of sponsored posts recently splashed across blogs and websites I frequent. We have three stores in the area, all around equal distance from our house, but the last time I had shopped there was over 5 years ago, and I wasn't too impressed.

I had been toying with going again, but didn't feel too optimistic. The lines are long. You have to bag everything yourself. You have to pay cash or debit. Little selection. Yeah. Food, at least back then, was definitely hit or MISS. Etc. But I also wasn't looking at it in the same way.

So . . .


Thing is, I'm glad for the social media boom because the last three weeks, we've done the bulk of our shopping at Aldi, visiting Wegmans only to pick up the occasional block of tofu, a single tub of Earth Balance, or bag of whole wheat flour. And with our CSA kicking in during the spring -- I could see us shopping exclusively there.

Here's why:


Basically, our groceries cost us $100 for the last two weeks (not including that $10 package of toilet paper, which goes in our household budget and I stocked up on chocolate to share with my mom)! I would have included our first receipt, but I can't find it -- that trip was also just over $50.

Granted we have some staples in the house already (beans, oats, yeast, to name a few), but without temptation to get all sorts of other things, I am able to stay on task with my shopping and will likely not increase an insane amount to stock up on the staples. The prices and unit prices are clearly marked. They have most of the basics, and you guys know I enjoy making great meals with few, extremely un-exotic ingredients.

I got a nice loaf of sliced bread for just over a dollar that doesn't have tons of added ingredients. The dairy is incredibly less expensive: 3 cups of cheese for the price that 2 is at our usual store. Greek yogurt that is a steal. Yet, they also have some amazing stuff like super dark chocolate that is to die for.

// WHY I'M HAPPY

I have absolutely no affiliation with Aldi and have had no contact with the store in any form. Still, I wanted to share my piece because I'm a real person who tries to eat well on a real (tight) budget and have been really impressed. Enough to finish off our month's shopping there this Saturday, when I'll likely need to stock up on some staples. I'll continue shopping there if the price at the checkout continues to be so good (and the food continues to be so fresh/tasty).

For once, I like making a simple, no-real-brainpower-required shift that's enabled us to lean out the budget. It meant simply switching stores and writing out our meal plans again and getting smarter about using my ingredients before they spoil (which I'll get to in another post -- soon). But as I've learned in the past, we'll still need to keep on our toes.


*** Oh, and I also like that I HAVE to bring my own bags. 

I can't as conveniently forget them -- though we did have to buy a plastic one on our first trip. But I'm looking to upgrade since mine have a lot of holes and broken handles -- do you guys like classic canvas bags or these pretty mesh totes? They're around the same price, and I see the merits of each (like canvas being sturdy, but mesh being really portable).

// RELATED POSTS:

Shop For TWO Weeks, Save Money
Ongoing Grocery Saga + YOUR Tips
10 Favorite (Cheap!) Grocery Staples
How Low can we Go?
$60 Sweet Spot
Eating Well Need Not Cost a Fortune
Grocery Bills: Progress
Grocery Bills: Even More Progress
Grocery Bills: What's Up Now?
Slashing Grocery Bills: We're Going Strong
Grocery Bills: Major Fail!
How to Store Bulk Foods
Cooking and Baking on a Budget: How To
How to Bake It Vegan: Common Substitutions

// WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Do you shop at discount grocery stores? 

I know Trader Joe's is related to this store -- quite literally -- but we don't have those anywhere near here for me to compare. (Are the prices good? Is it considered a discount store like Aldi?) There are obviously some positives and negatives, which I could cover in another post. But when the bottom line is in the mix, I have to go with what makes cents for us.

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Vegetarian Freezer Month: Details

I finished my shopping.
I did all my cooking.
I'm "done" for the month, at least when it comes to 5 dinners each week.
Phew. I need a drink.

There's a lot to write about this whole thing, so today I'll just give the shopping and recipe details.

// MENU

• Pumpkin Chili (+ skillet cornbread) x 4
• Veggie Burgers (on toast + sweet potato fries) x 4
• Crock Pot Indian (+ naan) x 2
• Pizza Dough (topped with cheese + veggies) x 4
• Garlic Knots (+ greens) x 2
• Stuffed Peppers (+ cornbread) x 2
• Veggie Lasagna x 2

= 20 meals for 2.5 people, frozen

That's 5 meals a week for the entire month of September. I could have done more, but I wanted to cook at least one night a week and we usually get takeout or go out to eat once a week. Written out in this way, it seems sort of boring. I mean, we'll be eating the same stuff every week. But when I thought about it, that's what we usually do anyway. I made a few of the meals in smaller quantities to mix things up a bit.

I planned meals we've regularly made in the past with much success -- I linked to a few recipes, but everything I made was actually new, so I'll be trying to get out a recipe list at some point (I tried making everything more balanced nutritionally -- adding protein, etc.). I wanted to find dishes that used the same ingredients in different ways to cut down on the number of items needed at the store (and to take advantage of deals where I could find them).

At the same time, I do think I went a little tomato-heavy, which brings up another point. It's hard to give exact numbers for how much everything cost because I tried using our CSA box as much as possible -- and we had tons of tomatoes! So, while I'm attempting this whole thing for budget reasons, it's also just for ease of cooking + cleaning throughout the month. Trial and error in all regards, too.

// SHOPPING LIST

• Shredded cheese x 4
• Extra Firm Tofu x 4
• Green Peppers x 6
• Yeast
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Frozen Spinach
• Frozen Corn
• Frozen Peas
• Frozen Cauliflower
• Black Beans x 2
• Garbanzo Beans x 2
• Pumpkin x 4
• Whole Peeled Tomatoes x 2 (28 ounce)
• Kidney Beans x 2 (40 ounce)
• Vegetable Broth (carton versus can)
• Lasagna Noodles 
• Red Lentils (dry bag)
• Bread Flour (1 bag)
• Cornmeal
• Breadcrumbs
• Onions (2 lbs)
• Carrots (5 lbs)

= About $70

* Remember -- this is just for dinners. So, 20 dinners would average out at about $3.50 a meal, and divided by 2.5 people = about $1.40 per person. I guess I thought it would figure to less, but I'm still satisfied with these figures.

// OTHER SUPPLIES 

• Freezer Bags
• Freezer Containers
• Plastic Wrap
• Tin Foil

// OTHER INGREDIENTS + FOODS

• Chocolate Chips x 2
• 7 Grain Tempeh x 4
• Earth Balance x 2
• Greek Yogurt x 4
• Lowfat Yogurt x 4
• Ezekiel Bread x 2
• Tuna x 8 (for Stephen's lunches)
• Frozen Strawberries (5 lbs)
• Turmeric
• Curry
• Fenugreek

Would I do it again?

I'm still in shock from how much preparation + how many hours it all took, so it's a hesitant "yes" at this time.

First we need to see if everything tastes good a month later. After thawing, you know? And while I could be bummed I didn't see major $$$ savings, I am also trying to consider that a lot of the extremely low-cost meal plans I've encountered are for stuff like spaghetti + sauce or rice + beans; what we're eating will not only fill our bellies, but also fuel our running.


In my next post on this topic, I'll try to give some handy tips for making foods for freezing and then how to best freeze + defrost them. Till then, at least I know what I'm having for dinner tonight (and tomorrow, and the next day, etc.)!

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A Month of Vegetarian Freezer Dinners

I mentioned in Weekend Things that I'm in the process of getting together a month of freezer meals. Many of you seemed interested, so I thought I'd take you with me along the way as I figure the whole thing out. Planning the "big cook" (any Breaking Bad fans in the bunch?), as I'm calling it, has taken a bit of thinking.

I've seen all sorts of plans for freezer meals and promises that range from a cleaner kitchen to money saved on groceries. Thing is, a lot of these recipes aren't vegetarian or vegan. And if they are, they haven't necessarily been written by vegetarians. So, I've finally taken the time to wrap my head around how this seemingly magical solution -- a month of vegetarian freezer dinners -- could work for our family.

I'm hoping we'll . . .

• Save money by buying our ingredients purposefully + using them -- without waste -- in various recipes.
• Eliminate a load (quite literally) of dishes each night, saving us water money and time.
• Free up time during the day that I can use for my freelancing projects and, more importantly, doing things with Ada.
• Have more time together as a family during the work week with our meals decided + already made in the evenings.  
• Improve the nutritional content of our meals by planning accordingly and boosting with lots of protein.
• Create some delicious, satisfying recipes that will become new family favorites.

I'm focusing mostly on dinners Monday through Friday for the first month, as cooking oats for breakfast and slapping together a sandwich aren't terribly labor intensive. I also want freedom to cook on weekends because that's what I love doing. I'd miss it! I do think I'll make a gigantic batch of homemade freezer waffles. Who knows. I could get carried away, which would actually benefit me in this situation.

CHALLENGES / CONCERNS

• We'll still be heading to the store/market at least every other week to get Ada's milk and other items (like fresh fruit and our CSA share). 
• Actually I am a bit concerned about how we'll be using our CSA share if I cook our meals ahead, since dinner is when we use the bulk of these ingredients.
• However, I figure I can just can or freeze different items for the next month, too.
• I am also worried somehow I'll spend more at the store. So, using my handy grocery app will be helpful in projecting the costs.
• And will cooking everything in a single weekend be totally overwhelming? When I was pregnant, I made a gigantic batch of chili one weekend and it was a bit much.

I haven't made final decisions on recipes yet, but I'm thinking -- again, just for the first month -- of being relatively repetitive from week to week. Like Monday night is X night, Wednesdays are for X, etc. It sounds formulaic and perhaps boring, but it's what we're already doing while making from scratch every night. I'll be sharing this information next Monday, after I cook everything.

So, the "big cook" will be going down next weekend. Before then, I need to clean out our freezer, go through the ingredients we already have on hand to make stock, finalize the meal options, write out a master grocery list, and . . . go shopping.

If I sit and think about the possibility of having our week-night dinners made for an entire month, I get pretty giddy. Don't you? What would you most hope to gain from making dinners for an entire month?

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Every Other Week Shopping Guide

When I go grocery shopping for two weeks, I focus on basic staples that can be turned into a variety of dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (I was hoping to just take a snapshot of our latest receipt, but I can't find it!)

I've discovered a lot. For example, oats can be used in almost everything.

Here's a sample shopping list.

• 10 pounds potatoes 
• 8 pounds apples
• 5 pounds carrots
• 2 bulbs garlic
• Bag cooking onions
• 4 broccoli heads
• 2 containers tofu
• 2-pack almond milk
• 2 containers veggie broth
• Large container rolled oats (42 ounces)
• Bag of bread flour
• 2 containers (32 ounce) plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 large cans (28 ounce) whole tomatoes 
• 2 large cans (28 ounce) kidney beans
• 2 regular cans chickpeas
• Large bag of frozen peas
• 2 bags shredded mozzarella
• 2 small cans tomato paste
• Large carton (18) eggs
• Large box of Kix cereal (treat for all of us!)
• Bag of chocolate chips for cookie-making!

$$$ + MEAL PLANNING

With this type of list, the total generally comes in around $80, leaving me $30 for the following week's haul if we're sticking to a $60 budget. As I mentioned in my last post, we have $100/week total for groceries AND entertainment, so sometimes we spend it all on food, other times not. It's just good to flex it that way. Generally we are able to stay within around $65 a week average for food.

I look at meal-planning in a two-week stretch. The meals are repetitive, but don't necessarily need to be. It's just easier that way when getting used to buying large quantities of the same ingredients.


Here's what we are eating this week and likely next.

BREAKFAST

• Muffins for breakfasts -- latest recipe tomorrow
• Egg + 1/2 banana for Ada's breakfast everyday
• Ashley + Stephen eats eggs w/muffins or oatmeal + banana

SNACKS/LUNCH
 

• Sourdough bread or other loaf of bread, sometimes 2 loaves
• Applesauce, lasts the whole week for a side-dish/baby food
• Tahini-free hummus (just chickpeas pureed with water and lemon juice + salt/pepper)
• Crock pot veggie soup, lunches Monday through Thursday
• Ada eats veggies strained out of the soup w/ applesauce + cheese or tofu
• Dinner leftovers to accompany lunch
• Stephen gets a sandwich with a coworker one day a week for lunch
• On that day, Ashley picks at what we can find in the fridge

DINNER/ETC.

• Veggie burgers + oven-baked fries + 5-minute naan for "buns" -- 2 nights
• Breakfast for dinner night (eggs + potatoes + side veggie)
• Tofu Stir-Fry Dinner w/ Broccoli + Onions + Rice
• Pizza Thursday -- we started making our own, we have lots of recipes, saves like $15
• Ada eats beans, tofu, peas, bits of our dinner, etc.
• Misc. Night for dinner depending on leftover ingredients.
• We usually make a special dinner or go out one night a week
• I also make dessert 2-3x/week. A half dozen cookies, usually -- I have been using olive oil lately versus Earth Balance

I do most of the meal prepping on Sunday afternoon for week 1 and will do the same for week 2. It's fun to watch a gigantic bag of potatoes get used up with each and every recipe. Almost like a challenge to see just how many ways I can use them.


SOME TIPS

// Stock up on items that don't go bad in a week's time.

Broccoli is hearty, green peppers are, too, and both last the full two weeks. On the other hand, squash can be iffy and go limp. Carrots are robust for longer than two weeks typically. Mushrooms -- not on your life. It's all experimentation.

// Have a plan for what you buy. 

I can't stress enough the importance of meal planning. Once you get more used to it, you just know in your head what meals work + what foods you'll need to make them. But until it becomes second nature -- write it out on a piece of paper and write you list from it.Try to choose meals that utilize the same ingredients, like how we have potatoes for fries AND put them in our veggie stew AND use them for a side on breakfast-for-dinner night.

// Invest in a good spice collection.

I don't know what we'd do without our spices. They can make two completely same meals taste entirely different. Our favorites are curry powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme, dill, fenugreek, rosemary, and -- oh, who am I kidding? -- we like them all!


// Consider making your own bread. 

Sometimes I joke with Stephen that I feel like we have to mill our own grain for everything we eat. We make virtually everything from scratch, which sounds exhausting and possibly insane -- but it really pays off for us. Plus, it doesn't take nearly as long as it sounds. We have a basic 5-minute naan recipe that we use to make bread to accompany meals on-demand, and this way there isn't any waste -- moldy bread -- at the end of the week.

// Keep it in sight. 

The tendency I have with buying things in larger quantities is to put them in the back of the cupboard. Forget they are there. I have done it more times than I'd like to admit, even when I have had the best intentions. It can be helpful to write out a pantry list somewhere in your kitchen and cross off items as they dwindle -- because you'll also see what you still have!

// Freeze meals ahead. 

If you're worried something won't keep, make it into a soup or other meal you can freeze and reheat the next week or more into the future. I also think freezing might help us save even more money AND time -- because shopping every three weeks or even monthly for the big stuff could then be possible. This is something I'm currently working on and hope to write more about soon. We love our upright freezer. One of the best purchases we've made.

// Learn how to substitute ingredients.

This tip can be handy if you have more of something left over than you thought you would. In muffins, you can use applesauce in place of eggs or oil, for example. You can also swap ingredients out of veggie burgers like crazy to fit your taste and available ingredients. I will try to write a post specifically on swapping sometime soon. It's one of the most useful skills you can develop in the kitchen. An easy way to start is stick with similar ingredients (garbanzos for canelli beans) in similar rations.

// If you have babies + toddlers, skip the kid-specific stuff.

We got roped into buying the special yogurts and snacks for a while, but we have resisted since the beginning of the new year. IT IS SO EXPENSIVE! Ada eats what we eat generally, though I do try to make some meals more kid-friendly and appealing to her. And while we occasionally keep around a few packets of baby food, we are considering buying reusable pouches to fill with our own purees when we're out and about.


A couple of you have asked us about our organics-buying policy. We actually covered it on Writing Chapter Three around this time last year. Here's that series of posts:

Buying Organic: Weighing the Costs
Organic Grocery Haul: $112.72
Organics: Responding to Reader Comments
Organics: Moving Forward

If you have any other questions or suggestions, let me know! I also wanted to share a few things from the comments section in the last post.

• Allison shared: Why You Should Shop with a Cart, Not a Basket
• Kristina suggested "to boost frugalness, make stock instead of buying it. I usually make mine out of trimmings-- a few weeks' worth of saved carrot peels, potato skins, parsley stems, celery leaves (I save them in the freezer) plus leek greens or an onion or two, a teaspoon of peppercorns, some thyme and a bay leaf. Fill up your biggest pot with water, throw everything in, and simmer gently for about an hour. Then strain and freeze. It's essentially free this way, which is awesome."
• Shannan shared: "I usually make a big list of meal options and then make a grocery list of what we need in order to make those meals. That way, when we get home from work, we don't have to try and think of something to make. I pull out the list and we decide what to eat from there!"
• Kim added: "Usually the second week becomes a clean out the fridge, freezer and pantry week. I make a few big meals that I can freeze like pasta fagoli. Pasta is so cheap that is makes for good fill in meals. I also keep baked cookies and breakfast foods in the fridge and freezer all the time so we aren't tempted to buy many snacks."

Thanks as always for all your tips + tricks!

MORE RELATED POSTS

Shop for TWO Weeks
Ongoing Grocery Saga + YOUR Tips
How Low can we Go?
$60 Sweet Spot
Eating Well Need Not Cost a Fortune
Grocery Bills: Progress
Grocery Bills: Even More Progress
Grocery Bills: What's Up Now?
Slashing Grocery Bills: We're Going Strong
Grocery Bills: Major Fail!
How to Store Bulk Foods
Cooking and Baking on a Budget: How To
How to Bake It Vegan: Common Substitutions

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...

Grocery Savings: Shop for Two Weeks

Confession: We fell -- hard -- off the wagon with regard to budgeting for food. We were doing better than we thought financially through the last half of 2012, so we didn't feel the pressure to pinch pennies. We were also busy with the holidays + traveling, so stuffing our faces with whatever tasted good was just . . . easy and comforting.

I'd say we were spending around $90 a week at the store.

Still "good" by most definitions. But now that we have to buy a new-to-us car, I'm back on the budget wagon. I have allotted $100 a week for groceries/entertainment with $65 going toward food and $35 otherwise. But, of course, these numbers can flex as necessary. Things are tight, but that doesn't mean we can't eat healthy, filling foods -- and even be creative with them!

It's taken me quite some time to put some of the grocery savings techniques you guys/gals gave me into practice. But now that I have some experience, I thought I'd tell the world: Shopping two weeks at a time is where it's AT for saving with grocery budget and wasting less food.

It's a trial I had been meaning to test myself with for months years . . . and finally got around to it in the last month, month + a half. And now I'm a convert and would like to try shopping for an entire month in the near future!

Shopping two weeks at a time (and possibly for longer periods) can be tricky, though. It requires meal-planning, awareness (to avoid wastefulness), and some serious practice. It's well worth the effort. Not only do we save money this way -- our last weekly bill figured to be $60 -- meal preparation is so much easier!

Some examples of items we buy in 2-week quantity . . .

• Vegetable stock, 32 ounce carton x 2 -- sale
• Plain low-fat yogurt, the 32 ounce container x 2 -- sale
• Whole tomatoes, 28 ounce can x 2
• Apples (comes in a gigantic 8 pound bag)
• Carrots (another gigantic bag)
• Onions (yup -- big bag)
• Potatoes + sweet potatoes (same thing)
• Cabbage
• Beets
• Almond milk x 2 cartons
• Shredded mozzarella x 2 packages -- sale
• Tofu x 2 packages -- sale
• Peanut butter, 2 pack (lasts us longer than 2 weeks)
• Bag wheat flour 
• Bag bread flour
• Frozen peas, bulk bag
• Frozen strawberries, bulk bag
• Beans, lots of beans

There are several items we do like to buy fresh each week. Bananas, for example, get pretty funky after a week in my experience -- but they are a staple for us year round. Spinach, kale, and other salad greens are also difficult to store for long periods of time.

And no matter how many eggs we buy, we always seem to be running out.


Here's where it gets confusing: Shopping two weeks at a time doesn't necessarily mean we won't go to the grocery store again next weekend. I know that sounds like it's defeating the purpose, but I assure you -- it isn't. It's just our happy compromise.

We go back armed with ONE of those baskets versus a cart and stick to the list. I also write down how much we have "left over" from the budget so I don't feel tempted to buy extras. Sometimes I write it in gigantic numbers colored in with bright markers. Whatever works, right?

Having meals prepped ahead of time is the key here -- because when I go back to the aisles, I have our stores fresh in my mind. I know, for instance, that I have some awesome pizza dough + everything we need to make it great already at home.

So, I keep walking past the temptations.


To make shopping every other week work for you:

• Make your list. Identify which foods you normally buy and which ones would work with this method. Canned foods and dry goods are an obvious choice; produce can take some experimentation.
• Simplify your shopping list in the process. Which foods are nutritional necessities and which are bonus?
• Get creative. Try to find a multitude of ways to use the same foods. If you buy 8 pounds of apples, for example, you need to know how you're going to use them ahead of time. I'll be covering more about this in my next post either tomorrow or early next week.
• Remember your budget. Buying times two can save a lot -- that's for sure. But if you're not careful, you might over-buy or buy the wrong things. The worst is when you just can't use up everything -- but that doesn't typically happen if you have a plan and cook ahead of time.
• Make a 2-week meal plan + consider designating specific cook days. (That terminology makes me think of Breaking Bad.) I'll be writing more about this in my next post, too, but you could even go ahead as far as a whole month if you have the freezer space.
• Shop around. Consider checking out bulk stores, but don't obsess. In my experience, the prices at Sam's club/BJs/etc. aren't dramatically better on the whole -- for some things, yes, but for others certainly not. 
• Keep your eyes open. Instead, keep your eye on the sales at your grocery store. Often they have 2-for-less type deals, which is when we bulk up. Even better, figure out seasonal sales. My MIL recently scored a gazillion beans for us on the super cheap with a can sale.
• And be flexible. Sometimes we go with a list, but end up seeing something else is on sale -- a similar ingredient or one that I could easily swap, like chickpeas for kidney beans.

Buying two weeks at a time has allowed me to spend just $60/week on food. Not only that, we have spent far less time scrambling around every night for dinner. Lunches are grab-and-go -- which is especially helpful with a half-the-time-hungry pre-toddler running around the house.

In my next post on this topic, I'll give you a sample of my two-week meal plan, as well as a specific shopping list, to show you how it all works. I'll even link to some of my favorite recipes. It may seem overwhelming, but meal prepping on the weekend is awesome.

Do you shop every other week?
Or even less frequently? 
How do you make it work?

RESOURCES

Grocery Produce that Lasts the Longest on Forbes
Buying in Bulk on Huffington Post
Two Week Grocery Plan on The Vanilla Tulip
Vegan Shopping Guide on PETA

MORE RELATED POSTS

Ongoing Grocery Saga + YOUR Tips
How Low can we Go?
$60 Sweet Spot
Eating Well Need Not Cost a Fortune
Grocery Bills: Progress
Grocery Bills: Even More Progress
Grocery Bills: What's Up Now?
Slashing Grocery Bills: We're Going Strong
Grocery Bills: Major Fail!
How to Store Bulk Foods
Cooking and Baking on a Budget: How To
How to Bake It Vegan: Common Substitutions

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...