PD Day - Whats to eat

Today, we had a PD day and I had to work from home, so we went for simple.


This morning we had oatmeal, (0.27$)
with brown sugar (0.05$)
and applesauce (Free from Grandma)
With milk to drink (1$)

Lunch:
Peanut Butter Sandwiches (0.75$ for bread, 0.50$ for peanut butter)
Banana (0.73$)
Apple Juice (0.50$)

Dinner:
Tuna Melts with Vegetable Soup
Tuna: (1.17$)
Bread (0.75$)
Cheese(1.37$)
Pickles (0.35$)
Vegetable Soup (0.33$)

Total spent on meals today: $6.54

Went Grocery Shopping. Spent $35.11 on milk, eggs, cinnamon, rice, syrup, and bread, leaving 14.89 for meat and vegetables. Since we still have plenty of left overs in the fridge, I'm going to carry that money over for next week.

I'm making overnight pancakes for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Dinner, August 9, 2010

 Beef Taco Bake for Supper

1/2 lb ground beef 0.88$
1 can tomato soup 0.33$
1 C salsa -0.75$ but actually free from Grandma
1/2 C Milk - 0.12$
1C Cheddar Cheese 1.49$
Bag tortilla chips 2.49$ but actually left over from a party we had so I consider them "free"

Preheat oven to 350F. Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat. Move to 2 quart baking dish. Add soup, salsa, milk and 1/2 cheddar cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Serve as chips and dip.

Serve with Apple Juice
1.00$

Total Cost of Meal:  7.06$
Cost for Me: 3.82$

In order to maximize my savings, I buy as big as I will possibly use. 

Welcome!

There is a way to feed your family. It is healthy, and cheap. Just follow along.

I will show you how, giving you my menus, purchases and how much I spend on everything. My goal is to remain under 50$/week for a family of four. It is possible, and it is healthy.

To do this, I will be dividing the grocery budget into 4 - one for each food group. That gives us 12.50 per week for dairy, 12.50 per week for produce, 12.50 per week for grains and 12.50 per week for meat, averaged out.

Lets take a look how that works

12.50 per week for dairy:
We need in total 8 servings of dairy per day - 56 servings per week
- 2 gallons of milk per week - 32 Servings at 8.28$
- 2 large tub of yogurt per week - 12 Servings at 5.18$
- 1/2 block of cheese per week - 12 servings at 4.98$
Total per week: 18.84 - over by 5.94$ per week We will need to adjust this

12.50 per week for produce
We need in total 24 servings per day - 168 servings per week
- Large bag frozen veggies - 32 servings 5.19$
- 2 large applesauces -16 servings 3.19$
- Fresh Fruit - 56 servings - 7.84$
- Fresh Veggies - 32 servings 4.72$
- Large bag frozen fruit  - 32 servings 5.19$
Total per week: 26.13 We will definitly need to adjust this

12.50 per week for grains
We need 21 servings per day - 147 servings per week
For grains, we will be cooking a lot from scratch. Examples include pancakes, muffins, cookies etc.
- 1/4 flour bag 1.49$
- 1/10 rice bag 2.59$
- 1/4 Instant Oatmeal 2.24$
- 1/4 bag potatoes - yes technically they are a starch 1.25$
This will also need to include things like yeast, oil etc. Occasional purchases 1$ per week
Total per week: 8.57$



12.50 per week on protein
We need 7 servings a day, 49 servings a week
- 2 C Peanut Butter per week -15 servings 1.00$
- 18 eggs per week - 9 servings - 2.99$
- 1 chicken - 14 servings 5.49$
- 2 lb beef - 12 servings - 3.49$
Total per week: 12.79$ Pretty Darn Close

Total for the week: 66.33$ - off by 16.33 or 33%.

Now, in all honesty, I don't think my family will eat  168 servings of fruit per week or 147 grains per week, so this will probably adjust quite a bit. The prices I have listed are the actual retail prices in Alberta - no memberships required.

We follow the Canadian food guide with regards to our portion sizes, should anyone have any questions please refer to http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php