$300 Grocery Experiment: week 1 plans

This week we are starting our $300 monthly grocery budget experiment. It took me quite awhile to come up with a suitable meal plan that I could buy every single ingredient needed for $75 or less. It took some compromising on some ingredients, but I really want to show how my process of grocery shopping and budgeting starts from the very beginning. I hope I give you some ideas and feel free to email me (address found in the "Contact Me" tab above) or leave a comment below with any questions or friendly comments.

To follow is both my meal plan and the accompanying grocery list for everything you'd need to make these meals. I'll share the actual prices for each item later this week.

Planned dinners:

• Spaghetti
• 3-bean chili
• Chili cheese potatoes
• Loaded Potato Soup
• Fried Rice
• Black Beans and Rice
• Enchilada Ravioli

Planned lunches:

• Peanut Butter and Jelly w/ apple, pineapple, grape, or ants on a log
• Leftovers 

Planned Breakfasts:

• Oatmeal with sugar and raisins
• Cheerios with bananas and milk
• Pumpkin pancakes

Planned Grocery List

milk

apples

bananas (per pound)

frozen peas and carrots

pasta

pasta sauce

canned beans

canned tomatoes

rice

bag flour

butter (1lb)

celery

oatmeal

sugar (4lb)

strawberry jam

grapes (2lb)

yeast

pineapple

raisins (20oz)

sweet peppers

chili powder

nutmeg

dozen eggs

baking powder

salt

baking soda

cinnamon

pumpkin

bouillon

brown sugar

oil

bag carrots

cream cheese

sharp cheddar

bacon bits

green onion

ravioli

tomato sauce

sliced olives

cumin

cheerios

bag potatoes

peanut butter

1 tomato

bag onions

Buying all of the basic pantry items added up to such a large portion of the budget that there isn't enough room for the typical American diet amount of meat. However, you'll notice that we are still getting plenty of protein through beans, peanut butter, and some cheese.
I wish there were a little more room in the budget for some additional fruits and veggies, but we're still getting some.

$300 Monthly Grocery Budget: Family of 6

Is your budget tight? Are you looking for real ways to cut your grocery budget. I am a full-time online student, mother to 4 children, ages 5 and under, and wife to a husband that between work and school is gone for 60+ hours each week. I, like you, don't have the time or energy to clip a bunch of coupons and drive to several different stores each week. This month I'm opening my life to share with you that it is possible to spend less, eat well, and not spend all day in the kitchen.
Join me on instagram, facebook, and twitter as I share regular updates and tips on this project. Then be sure to check back here on the blog every week for my meal and grocery plans.

Things you should know:

• This is for a school project on provident family life. I picked all the factors and wanted to find a way to incorporate things I'm already doing with something that will be a small challenge.
• I have a 9 month baby that eats some table foods, a 2 year old that is hit and miss on eating with no real rhyme or reason, a very picky 4 year old, and an always hungry 5 year old that can eat almost as much as a teenager.
• I normally pull foods from food storage, but for this project, I will factor all of the prices in as if I bought it that week/this month and I will use current grocery store prices. I won't necessarily use the same name brand prices, but I will use the lowest price of a brand I would be willing to buy and feed my family. 
• I am only shopping at (and using prices) from 2 local stores: Kroger and Aldi
• I live in central Ohio, where the cost of living is comparable to many, but lower than other areas. To see if this is realistic for your area, compare prices for the same items in your area.
• Recently, I have been spending about $100 at the grocery store each week. So $75 will be pinching. 
• We have chickens that lay eggs, so I won't be factoring in the cost of any eggs we eat unless I need to buy a carton from the store. I will be using our eggs, but calculating them by the store's lowest price.
• I will be showing you both my plans and what actually happens 
• There are some products I will buy/substitute for this project that are slightly different from my usual, because I am trying to make this as applicable to as many people as possible. I'll explain each of these as I go along.

What is your favorite way to lower your grocery bill?

Nuts About Oatmeal Muffins

If you're looking for a protein packed muffin, this is it. I like to have recipes that use some of my lesser used, but still necessary food storage items, so periodically you'll see recipes calling for powdered milk. Feel free to substitute milk for the powder and water using the water measurement.

Yield: 12 muffins
Time: 10 minutes prep time + 25 minutes cook time

Ingredients:
3 C rolled oats
1/2 brown sugar (loose, not-packed)
1/3 C powdered milk
1/2 T baking powder
1/2 C applesauce
1/2 C peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C water
1/3 C walnuts, chopped (feel free to substitute a different nut)
1/3 C cashews, chopped (feel free to substitute a different nut)
1/3 C dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with paper liners (or spray).
Stir together oats, sugar, powdered milk, and baking powder in a large bowl, set aside.
Beat together applesauce, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl.
Mix in oat mixture and water until thoroughly incorporated.
Fold in nuts and chocolate.
Spoon into prepared muffin tins (the batter won't rise much, so fill the tins all the way)
Bake in 350 F oven for 25 minutes.
Enjoy!

This post originally appeared on 5/2/12 @ oneincomefamilyliving.blogspot.com. I wrote, edited, and transferred it here.

Meal Plan Monday: end of October 2014

Another week means another meal plan. I don't have much to report this week other than it's my mama's birthday on Friday and we're celebrating with her on Saturday. Happy Birthday Mom!

Dinners:

• Chicken and roasted vegetables
• Simple No-Boil Pasta Bake
• Quick and Easy Chow Mein
• Black Bean Quesadillas
• Vegetable Soup
• Cheeseburgers and Homemade Fries
• Birthday Dinner for my Mom

What's for dinner at your house?

Loaded Potato Soup

I absolutely love this soup. There's nothing like a warm soup after a long cold day and this stuff is practically addictive. I've modified my recipe quite a bit over the years since I first started making it, so this is the most up to date version. We actually had it for dinner last night and I'll be eating leftovers for lunch today. To see my first two versions, check out my old site here.

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For this recipe you'll need:
3 T butter
2 stalks celery, diced
1or 2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 C chicken broth or stock
1 1/2 C milk
32 oz frozen diced potatoes (did you know you can make your own?)
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 C bacon pieces + extra to garnish
1/4 C chives, thinly sliced + extra to garnish
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, to garnish

 Place butter, carrots, celery, and onion in slow cooker on high heat and allow butter to melt and veggies to soften (about 30 minutes). Then add broth, milk, and potatoes and reduce heat to low. -If you don't have time to wait for butter to melt, either saute everything on the stove first or just add all ingredients and cook on low.

Anywhere from 5-10 hours later (at 5 hours the veggies will be a tad al dente and at 10 the potatoes will be falling apart- I prefer the consistency of everything at 8 hours) add the softened cream cheese and allow to set 10-15 minutes before stirring in. The higher quality the cream cheese the better it will melt and become part of the soup.
Stir in 1/2 C bacon pieces and 1/4 C chives just before serving.
Serve garnished with cheese, bacon, and more chives.

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Do you have any recipes that have evolved over the years?