This Week on the Dining Table.....the Nov. 3rd to Nov. 9th

The "I Wouldn't Spend Money on This" Edition.......

This was a free after rebate tv dinner from "Real Good".  It was more than double the price of a Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice one(never seen this brand go on sale)and about as thrilling as the others.  The BBQ sauce was strange tasting too.   I'll pass on this next time.  I wish my store carried their plain bagged chicken.  That I could have dressed up to be edible.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

1. Sunday--Leftover Brisket, Green Beans, Mac and Cheese(Hubs only)

2. Monday--Catfish, Leftover Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Something from the Freezer

4. Wednesday--Something from the Freezer

5. Thursday--Something from the Freezer

6. Friday--Something from the Freezer

7. Saturday--Leftovers

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Leftover Brisket, Green Beans, Mac and Cheese(Hubs only)

2. Monday--Catfish, Leftover Green Beans

3. Tuesday--can't remember

4. Wednesday--I had a free after rebate TV dinner

5. Thursday--Rotisserie Chicken, Carrots, Au Gratin Taters

6. Friday--late lunch(I had a Salad and Strawberries later)

7. Saturday--So memorable I can't recall it lol

If your meal plan is just "something from the freezer" it's hard to go off plan. lol

I probably had a salad and strawberries(had a lot of strawberries)on Saturday and Hubs cut into his massive pot of chili.  Tuesday's dinner is lost to the mist of time. ;-)

We had a rare food waste last week.  I uncovered some collards in the freezer that were freezer burned so those got pitched.  I can't remember the last time we had any food waste beyond that. 8-)

What got taken out of the freezer last week....

*  Beef Brisket

*  Catfish

*  Don't remember

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  Ice Cream Cones

*  Chicken Biscuits(there was a deal)

                    

Last week we spent $175.79 grocery shopping(not counting the days in November).

Total shopping comes to $649.97 for October.   There are 0 shopping days left in October.

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $266.37 on Ibotta in October.

I've earned $3.00 on Shopmium in October.

I've earned $0.01 on TaDa in October.

I've earned $32.11 on Checkout51 in October.

I've earned $118.69 on Aisle, etc. in October. (Haven't gotten my Nature Valley rebate yet from June.)

I've earned 28,510 points on Fetch from food shopping in October.

I've earned 11,572 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in October.($46.28)

I've earned 6,679 Points on My Points in October.(not sure what the conversion rate it here)

I've earned 2,644 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in October.($26.44)

That is $420.16 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/Swag Bucks/TaDa/The Insiders were I earn,  gift cards)on $649.97 of grocery spending so in reality it's $229.81 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending(but I do count any rebates on those items) so it's a win/win--the food bank gets a large donation of goods and I get a lower grocery bill.

My savings percentage for the last week was 33.39% and the monthly savings total for October comes in at 44.33% spent.

Leftovers going into this week.....leftover carrots, au gratin taters, catfish, chili and the leftover rotisserie chicken got turned into chicken salad.  All of this will be lunch fodder as there isn't enough of any item for meals for 2.

Here is this week's food plan.....

1. Sunday--Tuna Subs

2. Monday--Chicken Strips, Squash and Onions

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Sweet Potato Fries

4. Wednesday--(Look Away Anne!)Liver and Onions, Mashed Potatoes, Beets

5. Thursday--Cheeseburgers, Sweet Potato Fries

6. Friday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

7. Saturday--Beef w/Stir-fry Veggies

I can easily see what's in the freezer now and make a plan.  We have everything for these meals(except provolone cheese for the subs).  Except for the cheese mentioned we need nothing from the store this week.  I may still go and cherry pick some deals since Thanksgiving is near and there will be stock-up deals and pick up some more items for the food bank too.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week? 

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

   The "WTF?!?" Edition....

I've been meaning for some time to take a photo of this to share with y'all.  This monstrosity is at the discount grocery outlet I go to sometimes.  It's a giant banana lady with bananas on her head ala Carmen Miranda.  There's a button and when you push it(please don't!)this thing plays the Chiquita Banana Song.  They display their bananas under it(when they have bananas).  And 9 times out of 10 they have no bananas so she should sing this classic song from the 1920's.....

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On-

This is what was planned....

1. Sunday--Leftover Mac and Cheese w/added Ham, sauteed Cabbage

2. Monday--Leftover Stroganoff, Rice, Spinach Souffle 

3. Tuesday--Seafood/Mushroom/Asparagus in Pastry w/Cheese Sauce, side Salad

4. Wednesday--Chicken Chow Mein w/added Veggies, Rice, Crunchy Noodles
5. Thursday--Leftover Beef Stew and Biscuit

6.  Friday--Not sure what ExCB wants for his Birthday Dinner yet on his day off, Cake

7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Leftover Mac and Cheese w/added Ham, sauteed Cabbage

2. Monday--Leftover Stroganoff, Rice

3. Tuesday--Chicken Chow Mein w/added Veggies, Rice, Crunchy Noodles

4. Wednesday--Scallops/Mushroom/Asparagus in Pastry w/Cheese Sauce, Spinach Souffle 
5. Thursday--Leftover Beef Stew and Biscuit

6.  Friday--Chinese Take-Out, Cake

7. Saturday--FFY(I had a bowl of strawberries)

Last week saw 2 nights of home cooked dinners, 4 nights of leftovers/planned overs or FFY, 0 night of frozen pizza and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.

Mostly everything planned was cooked/served except some meals happened on different nights.  The seafood in pastry became just scallops in pastry since the sea legs I took out of the freezer had burn and smelled "funny" so those got tossed.

What got put into the freezer last week....

* 2 lbs. raw shrimp

* 1 carton of ice cream

* 1 hunk of coho salmon

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  1 lb. of Scallops

*  1 package of Pastry Shells

*  1 Spinach Souffle

We spent $68.12 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week-2 small trips to Weis, 1 trip each to the Produce market, the Bread Outlet and Walmart. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $211.97 for February.  

There are 0 shopping days left in February.

I've earned $84.67 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $00 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $4.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.

I've earned 11,766 points from shopping on Fetch in February.

I've earned 6,001 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in February.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in February.

My savings percentage for last week was 56.01%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for February and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 58.76%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week--beef stew, biscuits and scallops in pastry..  Hubs ate the chow mein and mac n' cheese w/ham for lunches and finished those off. 

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Tossed Salad

2. Monday--Chicken and Dumplings w/Carrots

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie
5. Thursday--Leftovers

6.  Friday--Broiled Salmon, Sweet Potato Wedges, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Cheeseburger, Fries(maybe), assorted leftover side dishes or a Salad

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Maybe some milk.  That's it as I bought salmon and sweet potatoes last week.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  Not such great deals here unless I go to the discount food outlet.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

**NOTE**
Today is the last day to enter the February Giveaway.  Go to the link on the sidebar under "Current Giveaway" to place an entry.
*******************

The "Just Not Feeling It Still" Edition................

This sinus/ear thing still has me not feeling like eating anything the fam wants to eat.  My taste buds are still off so it's been more soup, noodles, fruit, hot tea and Jello for me mostly.  I ate one piece of pizza last week, Hubs pork chop meal, the pork tenderloin and some rigatoni.  Besides dairy(cheese)I've been trying to stay away from anything with tomatoes in it as it seems to be an HS trigger food for me.  This makes me very sad as I love tomatoes... 8-(

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

This is what was planned for last week.......

1. Sunday--Frozen Pizza(Hubs/Ex-CB, soup for me)
2. Monday--Chicken Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole(using leftover roast chicken)
3. Tuesday--Pork Chops, Veg TBD, Noodles or Rice of some kind(Hubs is cooking this)

4. Wednesday--Leftover Beef Pie

5. Thursday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Veg TBD

6. Friday--Leftovers?
7. Saturday--Leftovers?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Frozen Pizza(Hubs/Ex-CB, soup for me)
2. Monday--Chicken Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole(using leftover roast chicken)but I had something without cheese
3. Tuesday--Pork Chops, Brussels Sprouts, Mashed Taters(Hubs cooked this)

4. Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(I had soup)

5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sammiches, Sweet Potato Fries

6. Friday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers(I had Beef Pie)

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/FFY or TV dinners, and 0 night of Eating Out/Take-Out.
Mostly what was planned happened except I got cheap discount sticker panko-ed pork cutlets at Weis so we had those instead of Spaghetti on Thursday because the Spaghetti got moved to Wednesday.  My remaining sweet potatoes went bad so we had to sub reg. french fries that night too.

That was the extent of the food waste-those 2 sweet potatoes.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* Nothing

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 1 bag of Meatballs
* 1 frozen Pizza
* 1 bag of Broccoli(from our garden)
* 1 bag of Brussels Sprouts

3 small trips to Weis(PMITA)Markets this past week in the amount of $45.82 brings my February Grand Total spending on food to $367.58 so far.
I've earned $88.37 in Ibotta rebates too in February so far.

My savings percentage last week was 55.41%(without Rite-Aid trips)and February's monthly savings total comes in at 49.27%(w/out R-A).  

I have 5 more food shopping/spending days in February.  I "plan" on getting some canned tomatoes(sale at Weis and I have Qs that will double to $1.60)and cup o' noodles that will be .01¢ OOP after Ibotta rebate but that's it for this week.

Leftovers going into this week.....Beef Pie(2 helpings), Chicken Broccoli Casserole(1 helping), Spaghetti and Rigatoni(lots), Meatballs and Meat Sauce(lots), some Brussels Sprouts and 2 Pork Chops.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Stuffed Jumbo Shells, Salad
2. Monday--Ex-CB birthday meal out
3. Tuesday--Chinese dinners(from freezer)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Chicken Parm, Salad

6. Friday--Pork Teriyaki Stir Fry(and rice for some)
7. Saturday--Leftovers of FFY

What needs buying for this menu? Maybe some Mozzarella for the Chicken Parm is I use what I have on the Stuffed Shells.
The spaghetti and rigatoni from last week's menu? I can always count on Hubs to finish up any pasta dishes for lunches. lolz

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "The Holidays are Over and It's Time to Get Back to It" Edition--

I saw this on Facebook somewhere and it so describes me. lolz
Unfortunately it's time to get back into "real life" and that means cooking from scratch and meal planning around here.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week.......

1. Sunday--Roast Chicken, Collards
2. Monday--?
3. Tuesday--?
4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--?
6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--Leftovers

A whole lot of ?s as we were not home so there was no plan.

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Roast Chicken, Collards at brother's house
2. Monday--Barbecue Dinner Out
3. Tuesday--Taco Salad at brother's house
4. Wednesday--Chili's Out(I had a burger and salad)
5. Thursday--Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner at son's apt.
6. Friday--Late Lunch at a Diner out(I had liver w/onions, mashed pots, broccoli and salad)
7. Saturday--Leftovers(I had 2 dinner rolls with prime rib on them)

We ate 10 meals out(3 dinners, 5 lunches, 2 breakfasts)and had cooked at home meals(just not our home most days)7 times.

As for my grocery spending last week......no trips for food as we were on vacation but I did pick up a few things at 2 different Walmarts to bring home(Chinese veggies, G2 Gatorade, tea), so I have spent $19.01 of the January food budget so far this month.

Leftovers going into this week......Prime Rib Roast leftovers and Rolls.  These are the leftovers College Boy didn't eat while we were gone......what is wrong with that boy??, not eating prime rib! lolz

Here is this week's "food plan"--

1. Sunday--Chicken Parmesan, Brussels Sprouts
2. Monday--Steak Sandwiches(using leftover Prime Rib)
3. Tuesday--Haddock Loins(fish), Mixed Veggies, Cole Slaw
4. Wednesday--Beef Stew w/Beer(using leftover Prime Rib)
5. Thursday--Lasagna, Salad
6. Friday--Fried Shrimp, Cole Slaw, Steak Fries, Corn
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 2 meal of leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu?
Carrots, Salad Greens, Cabbage.  I bought cottage cheese a few weeks ago for a lasagna and I have shrimp, fish, chicken and shredded mozzarella in the freezer.  I'll use up some "long in the tooth" potatoes with the steak fries and in the stew.
We also need milk.
$12 should cover what is needed.

I haven't even looked at the grocery store ads yet this week.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?

Sluggy

The Plan for Food Spending in 2015

Food Spending.
The bane of my existence. 8-)

Here is a list of what I have spent since 2010(the year I started fully tracking where all the food/toiletries monies went).  Not too scientific as the number of persons being fed varied during these years from 5 to 2, depending on kids at college or not, and kids moving out or not.


2009--$6,254.84 +(I didn't track rebates and gift cards received that year)
2010--$2,291.67 + ($841.73 rebate checks/ $563.99 gift cards received)
2011--$3,080.59 + ($433.22 rebate checks/ $76.00 gift cards received)
2012--$4,196.36 +($67.48 rebate checks/ $5.00 gift cards received)
2013--$4,560.82 +($80.99 rebate checks/ $15.00 gift cards received)
2014--$4,989.49 +($44.54 rebate checks/ $10 gift cards received)

A little explanation of these figures--
I started couponing and deal hounding seriously in Feb. of  2009 so my full year's spending in food was even more than shown that year.  Yikes!
Obviously 2009 was the year I started stockpiling and learning how to coupon in earnest and by 2010 I had a system and ramped up the rebating.

As you can see a combination of rising food prices, a dirth of rebate deals/gift card deals in each succeeding year and a bit of "food lifestyle inflation" and even though I am feeding less people now than in 2010 my food costs have inched up every year since then.

LOOKING AHEAD for 2015.........
With some planning and watching the pennies better we should be able to keep the food/toiletries/paper goods/cleaning products spending at $4800 or less in 2015.
Here's how I am going to do that--

*  Buy Less.  Since we are looking at selling this house and moving within the next 2-3 years I will start reducing the size of our stockpile.  This means using up more of it in 2015 so I'll need to buy less.  Less $ spent + Less stuff to move=Success!

*  Seek out the best deals I can find on what I need to buy.  Stick to my price book principles and think twice before splurging on items I "want" but don't "need".  Make better decisions with the food dollars.

*  Preserve our garden harvest.  We need to get serious about the garden again and can or freeze what we grow.

*   Make more of an effort to find rebates to send for to offset food spending.  Around 2010 saw the end of the Glory Days of rebating/refunding.  Add in that in PA we can't even do the liquor rebate deals most of the rest of the country can participate in. sigh.

*  Food Waste.  While we have minimal food waste most months I could do better.  I will do better.  Successful meal planning goes hand in hand with food waste(or the lack thereof).  By planning you are halfway to eliminating the waster.  8-)

I am hoping that with these measures I can get the spending down below $4800, even though I was $200 over that in 2014 and food prices are predicted to go up 2-3% in 2015.

So what do you spend on food/toiletries a year if you track those expenses?
What measures do you take to keep your food/toiletry costs down?

Sluggy
 

This Week on The Dining Table

This Week on The Dining Table

Here's what was planned last week--
Sunday--Broccoli/Chicken Quiche
Monday--Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Fresh Baked Bread
Tuesday--BLT Sandwiches(garden tomatoes)
Wednesday--Eggplant prepared some way?, Tossed Salad
Thursday--Broccoli Casserole, Caprese Salad(garden toms)
Friday--Green Beans, Leftover Quiche
Saturday--Leftovers

We didn't get around to the Eggplant, Caprese salad or Broccoli Casserole.  We had burgers one night and ate green beans another night as well as Friday and had an Asian Salad.  We also got Chinese take-out one evening.  Items we didn't eat are getting moved to this week's menu.

  

As for food spending last week.....as reported a couple days ago in the August Food Spending report I spent $125.05 on groceries.  Most of that was for stuff to eat this week.
 

No food waste this week thank goodness.

  

Leftovers going into this week?  1 quiche which is getting cut in half and wrapped and put in the freezer for another time.  We only need half of one to feed us all for 1 meal.  The second London broil I got on the BOGO sale that we aren't cooking today is also getting cut in half and wrapped for the freezer.  Again, we'll only need half of it per meal/week.  I still have eggplant, cukes and green beans from the garden to cook this week.  The only cooked/served last week food here still is 1 loaf of the bread I made.

Here's this week's meal plan---
 

Sunday--Hot Dogs on rolls(leftover), homemade Pickles
Monday--London Broil sandwiches with mushrooms and onions, Salad
Tuesday--BLT Sandwiches(garden tomatoes)
Wednesday--Leftover London Broil & Green Bean stirfry
Thursday--Eggplant Parmesan, Caprese Salad
Friday--Tacos, Corn
Saturday--leftovers or Fend for Yourself Night

On the shopping list......We splurged on lobsters at $6.99lb. for lunch on Monday so I've spent $30.54 already this week.  Still needed for this menu is fresh mozzarella, salad greens, turkey deli meat and nothing else that I can think of at the moment.
I'm figuring about $25 more for food spending this week, not counting any good stocking up deals.

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy. 
  

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

This Week On The Dining Table

This is the "Not Doing Much Cooking" Week.

 

Here's what was planned last week--

Sunday--Potato Crusted Flounder, Roasted Potatoes and Onions, Brussel Sprouts
Monday--Tacos, Corn
Tuesday--Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad
Wednesday--Chicken medallions, Spinach, Squash or Zucchini
Thursday--Pork Chops, Green Beans(from last Summer's garden), Mashed taters, Applesauce
Friday--homemade Pizza-maybe barbeque chicken pizza(using more of that mozzarella cheese & cooked chicken), Green Salad
Saturday--Leftovers

 

We were good with this plan until Wednesday.

Thursday and Saturday we had Sausage Sandwiches(one night w/Coleslaw, the other night w/Corn on the Cob).  The local market had a new brand from NJ on special for $1.99 lb. so I picked up a few packages.  Making those was quick and easy and didn't involve the oven and I jammed 2 pkgs. in the freezer for later.  Friday I took the rest of the chicken breast meat from that 8.5lbs. I got for less than .99¢ lb.(After using some for fresh chicken sandwiches for lunches....), and made chicken and dumplings.  I threw in baby carrots that were getting old that needed using up.

 So Pork Chops and Pizza are moving to this week's menu....again. lolz

 

 I spent more anticipated last week because of the sausage patties on sale, the son wanted a frozen pizza and I hit the produce stand in town on Saturday morning and spend an additional $10 on fresh produce.  So last week,  I spent  $56.36 on  $83.78 worth of groceries at 1 store & 1 produce stand.

If I don't buy any more groceries until Thursday, August 1st, I will have spent $357.86 for food in July.

 

**We did have some food waste this week.......Sluggy hangs her head in shame.......

We hardly ever have food waster anymore here so I'm not too broken up over this happening.  I just don't want it to become a regular thing, ya know?

A small portion of Coleslaw and a bigger portion(2 maybe?)of Fajita filling mix went to Food Waste Heaven last week.
  

Leftovers, that are still aok, going into this week's plan......1 portion of Lasagna, 2 sausage patties, 3 helping of Chicken & Dumplings.

 

This week is Band Camp so #2 Son won't be here for dinner all week.

I can't eat Thursday, due to Colonoscopy prep(yuck!)so I am not cooking and Hubs is on his own.

(I told him to get fast food because I don't even want to smell food cooking that day. lol)

 

(I've made bold the leftover items I've used in the menu below.)

 Here's this week's meal plan--
 

Sunday--Leftovers or Whatever you can Find in the Fridge
Monday--Leftover Lasagna for me, Sausage Sammies for Hubs
Tuesday--Chicken & Dumplings
Wednesday--Pork Chops, Green Beans, Roasted Taters
Thursday--Fend for Yourself night, I can't eat. eek!
Friday--Probably Chinese Take-Out as I won't feel like cooking but will be ravenous lol
Saturday--No Clue yet....maybe that grilled Pizza I never made ?

On the shopping list for these meals--turkey deli meat(for my lunches), bread and possibly more fruit.

There are a few Catalina deals at Weis PMITA Markets this week I might be tempted to do(Unilever and Purina)but I'm not sure yet if I will.  I might hit up the bread outlet this week as we are low on all bread products.

 

I'm figuring about $20 for the list above.....more if I do the Catalina deals.

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy.  Not much cooking or shopping going into August.

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

Food Waste=Lost $$

And this is just one thing wrong in this country.

I watched this segment on the national news the other night on Food Waste.
Go check it out HERE.
Go ahead.....I'll wait.

My thoughts......
First off, they seem to have no clue what they actually spend on food for a week.
I think they pulled that $300 number out of the air, because then they go on to think it extrapolates out to up to $1500 per month.
Yah.

Second, the husband is a financial planner.
Hello?!?
You work as a money professional and you don't seem to operate with a budget on a personal level, you have no clue how much money is going to your food expenses AND you are allowing on average 13 POUNDS of food to be thrown away every week?!
Would you want this guy to be advising YOU on how to take care of YOUR money? lol

 Third, have these people never heard of LEFTOVERS?
Obviously they've never had to eat them before given the amount of money they make.
How difficult is it to take Taco Meat and incorporate it into something else?....or take Squash Soup and remake it into a sauce or blend it into some kind of baked good?.....or take leftover produce and do ANYTHING with it?  Heck, she could have even just taken those greens and juiced them.

The report went on to quote that the average monthly food waste costs in the US today amount to $190 per family.  Using this figure, a family would throw away a whopping $2,280 worth of food every year and I would bet that most of that food was still perfectly edible!

Good Googley Moogley people!!

I've seen "experts" say that a family/person should be spending between 9-15% of their income on food.  They didn't say whether that was on their gross or their net income.  Somewhere in that range seems to be the accepted happy place for food spending in the US.  Is your food spending falling within this 9-15% range?
I find this method of figuring how much to allot for your food very flawed.  It might sound reasonable for a family on the lower end of the income scale. But a family with 2 wage earners making over $100K per year?  The lower end of 9% would see them spending $18,000 a year on their food needs or $30,000 if they allotted 15% of income to food expenses. 

I'm not making a judgement call on how much families spend on food here.  I get it that people on the lower socioeconomic rung of the societal ladder have to spend more of a percentage of their income on food.....that's just the way the math works.

I'm just saying that if we all were more vigilant on NOT disposing of perfectly edible food, imagine how much of the food we need to REBUY each week to feed our families wouldn't have to be purchased again, saving each of us part of our income.
Now add up that say, $20 a week we throw away, and multiple it by a year of weeks.......the weekly food we waste and don't think it's a "big deal" to our budgets......it starts to really add up to serious dollars.

Serious dollars over the coarse of a year you could have spent on other priorities in your life--paying down debt, socking away into an emergency fund, beefing up a fund so that your next cars didn't have to be financed......the list goes on and on.
I'm not saying to cut down on the type or amount of food you buy.  Just use ALL of what you buy.  Don't waste anything!  It would be like found money(the money you were spending to rebuy the food you let go to waste). Found money to put toward other goals in life!

Stop overbuying food you aren't planning on preparing to save for later(canning/freezing/dehydrating).
Get a handle on portion sizes so you aren't cooking more food than you need for a meal.
If you do end up with leftovers, find ways to incorporate them into new dishes.
Clean your fridge/pantry so that you can find the foods in there that need to be used up by a certain date.
If a food does go bad on you even after all your steps to avoid it, make it do duty in your compost pile(if applicable)and grow something.  Compost is the "saving grace" for food waste.

Have a look at this TED talk too....


Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday...May 25th Edition Quick & Easys

The Meal Plan for last week?

I never got my act together in time to post it.

It was a crazy sort of week due to the fact that the support staff at the high school & middle school here was on strike, so I had 3 teens home at noon each day.

What a blessing and a joy!<---total sarcasm

I sort of made the Meal Plan up 2 days at a time as we went through the week, pulling most things from my stockpile or freezer.

The highlights were the LOBSTERS(a treat for $5.99lb. at Shop Rite!),Corned Beef/Cabbage/Carrots/Potatoes, Lasagna, Pizza-all from the stockpile or the previous week's shopping, except for the head of cabbage and the Lobsters. But sometimes, life is like that...the not planning ahead thing. It's at times like this, that it's a great thing to have a stockpile to pull from instead of having to run to the grocery store every night. Having a 'store' here that I've purchased everything at a low cost to rummage through sure beats being in the 'real store' rummaging for tonight's dinner at RETAIL prices!lol

As far as last week's Meal Plan, let's just start fresh this week, shall we?

The FOOD WASTE report for last week....with daughter dieting and #1 son no longer in wrestling season & #2 son becoming a mercurial eater, I really need to scale back how much I cook. There were so many leftovers from the previous week and a bit more this past week(but not as much as the previous week, at least). The doggies have been eating lots of leftovers with their kibble! I sure don't like spending all this money & then feed our food to them. Scaling back is what needs doing here.

I did spent some time cleaning the fridge 2 weeks back & again 2 days ago. I still need to get the bottom half done later this week. Which leads me to the Food Waste this past week, which was some old food items dug out of the back of the fridge Sunday. I did feed the leftovers we didn't consume to the doggies but the old jar of roasted red peppers(what a waste...I love those!), an old opened jar of spaghetti sauce & 1 looooong expired yogurt were unfit for even dogs and pitched out.

The only items I need to buy for this week's menu are the salad/sandwich greens & a tomato..oh and some sliced cheese as #2 son is still on a grilled cheese sandwich kick.

This week is chock full of standard meals for my house, with not much fancy stuff or experimenting. No baking from scratch either. I have much cleaning and organizing to do as relatives are coming soon, so meals are simple and quick here this week. No expensive meats or ingredients this week either so most of what I'm serving is pretty low cost.

Did I say 'this week' enough times for you in that paragraph?lol

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Grilled Yellow Squash

TUESDAY-Baked Fish, Mushroom Rice, Brussel Sprouts w/Bacon

WEDNESDAY-Spaghetti & Meatballs(Beef or Turkey), Salad

THURSDAY-Club Sandwiches & Soup(might be Homemade Clam Chowder)

FRIDAY-Tacos, Corn, Spanish Rice

SATURDAY-Chinese Out for Lunch, Leftovers for Dinner

SUNDAY-Chili, Cornbread

DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Watermelon, Ice Cream, Chocolate Brownie Cookies(from the Pepperidge Farm Outlet)

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's Website.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday May 11th Edition Easy Week!

The Meal Plan for last week went off mostly without a hitch, except for the Scallops & Fish. They just didn't happen...(what is it with me and seafood??lol).

And the Pork BBQ happened Sat. instead of Fri. The Pork BBQ almost didn't happen at all. I tried 3 times last week to locate a pork rump or shoulder to cook down but none of the grocery stores here had ANY Pork roasts....just some spareribs and chops.

I FINALLY located a 9.5lb. Pork Shoulder on special for .99¢ lb. What a great deal that was!! So I cooked that hog low and slow over 1.5 days and we'll get 3 or 4 meals out of that. Whatever doesn't get eaten this week will be frozen to have next month. The dogs are certainly loving all those lovely pork drippings, fat and scraps I saved for their dinner bowls.lol

As for the FOOD WASTE report for last week....we had a few grapes (that #1 son took when he was sick and didn't eat, but couldn't put back in the bag), a piece of lamb that never made it into the doggies food bowls, and about 4 overripe getting moldy strawberries hidden in the bottom of the container of strawberries I bought.

I really NEED to do a 'take everything out and scrub down the fridge' badly! Especially before the hubby's relatives arrive in 3 weeks for #1 son's graduation. Perhaps I'll get to that this week. Hubby will be in Canada for a work conference half of the week, so meals for most of this week will be quick, easy and lowkey. I don't foresee stocking up the fridge with groceries, so it will be a good time to do that scrubdown.

The Bargain Meal this week would have to be the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup. I'll probably use about $7.00 in ingredients, which I already have here. My kids can each eat 2 sandwiches so there's almost an entire loaf of bread($1.99 on sale) and 3/4lb. of cheese($3.75). The soup(2 cans)are the cheapest part of this meal...2 cans I got at Target on sale for $.54 each($1.08 total). Add 1-2 tablespoons of butter(.10¢) & applesauce on the side(.14¢ at Target on sale)and you've got a filling meal(double helpings for 4)for $7.06 or $1.76 per person.

The only items I need to buy for this menu are the large Mushrooms for the Parmesan and Romaine Lettuce for the Caesar Salad and either Graham Crackers or a ready-made Graham crust for the Key Lime Pie and the weekly milk pick-up. Another eating from the Pantry/Stockpile Week for us.

I'll post a recipe for the Stuffed Waffles and the Bourbon Bacon Scallops later in the week, after I've served them, so check back.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Leftovers(tons of odds & ends in the fridge to eat)

TUESDAY-Meatloaf, Broiled Potatoes & Onions, Creamed Spinach

WEDNESDAY-Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup

THURSDAY-Breakfast for Dinner...Stuffed Waffles

FRIDAY-Burgers on the Grill, Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob

SATURDAY-Mushroom Parmesan, Caesar Salad

SUNDAY-Bourbon Bacon Scallops, Stir-Fried Veggies, Rice

DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Carrot Cake, Key Lime Pie, Oranges

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's Website.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday May 4th Edition

The Meal Plan for last week was like trying to nail Jello to the wall.
Since I wasn't feeling well, Hubby helped out a bit on tuesday w/Tacos & wednesday w/the Beef Pie. I slept through most of thursday & friday and I can't for the life of me remember what we ate. I KNOW we ate but WHAT is beyond me.lol
Saturday we grilled steak, squash & red peppers and sunday was brats, dogs & corn as planned. Grilled veggies is turning out to be my favorite way to fix most any vegetable.

The Mac & Cheese with Ham, the Bourbon Bacon Shrimp and the Pizza never happened, so we'll see those items this week.
We have Track Meets and a Band & Chorus Concert this week, so the plan is not very inventive and a few crockpot or easy 'throw-together' meals are included.


As for the FOOD WASTE report for last week. First, let me plead sickness...
I can't be expected to achieve 0% Food Waste while delirious with sinus.lol

We had to throw out a corningware dish full of sweet potato casserole leftover from Easter. This just makes me sick!
I had fixed baked sweet potatoes for Easter dinner but #2 son loves them mashed with all that sugar, cinnamon & marshmallows on them. I gave in and made him a big dish of it. He hardly touched it!
Ugh

So it got pushed to the back of the fridge.
I had plans to either dump it into the brownies I made &/or mix it into the dog's food bowls over the course of a few nights.
Daughter ended up making the brownies without my imput(OR the sweet potatoes)and being sick, I wasn't the one feeding the dogs this past week...so they didn't get the SPs in their bowls.

It seems I am the Lone Keeper of the Leftovers in this house, so when I don't use the leftovers, they go to waste. The kids won't touch them unless I hide them in something else. The only Leftover-eating helpers are hubby and the dogs.

I'm thinking about instituting a Leftover Night one day a week. No new food cooked....just find something in the fridge to eat. Everyone fends for themselves....except hubby. I'll heat up his leftover for him. ;-)
Good idea? Let me know what ya'll think.

The Bargain Meal this week would have to be the Rigatoni. No meat so it's the natural low cost pick. Pasta for $1 box, sauce cheaply made or jarred for $1.50, mixed salad greens(with carrot) for about $2.00, dressing $1.00 small bottle, homemade garlic bread for $1.00 loaf (including garlic & butter)=$6.50 for the meal or $1.08 per serving.

I bought Cabbage & Swiss Chard last saturday so the only items I need for this week's menu is a Pork Shoulder for the BBQ, rolls & the pizza fixings I never bought last week. I'm figuring I'll be able to pick up some pork quite cheap, due to the hysteria over Swine Flu & hogs. I'll be picking up milk, bread, strawberries and some fresh produce this week as well and anything I find for cheap for the freezer stockpile.
Speaking of the freezer....2 Saturdays back I got the coolers out and took a hammer to the ice build-up in the big freezer. It took about 3 hours to finish but after loading up the coolers with what was in the freezer, I was able to turn off the freezer and perform my 'Manual Defrosting/DeIceberging' on it. The freezer went from a jampacked with frozen food glacial landscape to a half-filled 'chill chest' with room for more food items.
I'm not looking to cram it full but I have space if some bargain presents itself this week in my travels.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week. I'll post a recipe for the Bourbon Bacon Scallops after I make one up on thursday.lol

MONDAY-Pizza, Tossed Salad
TUESDAY-Macaroni & Cheese, Ham or maybe ham chunks mixed into the Mac & Chz, Swiss Chard
WEDNESDAY-Rigatoni & Sauce, Salad, Garlic Bread
THURSDAY-Bourbon Bacon Scallops, Cheese Polenta(grits), Collards
FRIDAY-Pork BBQ Sandwiches, Coleslaw
SATURDAY-Baked Salmon Teriyaki, Stir Fry Veggies, leftover Mac & Chz(if there isn't any, broiled Potatoes & Onions
SUNDAY-The Cook's day off!!! Maybe if they get hungry enough THEY'LL COOK!lol
DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Strawberries-fresh or in Strawberry Shortcake

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday April 20th Edition

I'm a day behind blogging here so excuse my tardiness on the Menu.

The Meal Plan for last week went well. Crab Cakes were enjoyed by all FINALLY! The Mystery Meal turned out to be LAMB I marinated and grilled out, leftover asparagus from Easter dinner and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I picked up the lamb for cheap in an after Easter sale at the grocery store. I never see lamb on sale here, so I jumped on that deal. Sunday we grilled out burgers and dogs since the weather was so nice instead of having Calzones. Calzones will happen Next week....maybe.....if ricotta is on sale.

I'll be posting later in the week about a new treatment for French Toast I made last friday AND my recipe for Lena's Chicken & Zuchinni so check back. My BEEF PIE recipe link is below.

We have very little in the way of leftovers generated from last week's meals....only a tiny bit of chili, beets & a hot dog.

Food Waste this week was about a cup of mixed veggies in a cheese sauce. It was a leftover from 2 weeks ago that got pushed to the back of the shelf in the fridge. This is something I don't feed to the dogs so out it went since the sauce made it not so good for composting.
Speaking of composting....Hubby threw out some veggie scraps instead of composting them. He caught heck from me for that!lol

Still eating mostly from the pantry stockpile/freezer this week, except wednesday's main course is being bought on wed.-frozen pizzas. (It's a sale and the last day for the sale.) Since I have no room in the freezer for those big unwieldy boxes, they will be eaten that night for dinner.lol Outside of some fresh produce I need to pick up, everything is on hand here for the weekly menu.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Lena's Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuchinni, Rice
TUESDAY-Pot Roast, Carrots, Onions, Beets, Potatoes
WEDNESDAY-Pizza, Salad
THURSDAY-Beef Stroganoff(leftover pot roast), Rice, Tuscan Veggies
FRIDAY-Bourbon Bacon Scallops, Cheese Polenta(grits), Spinach
SATURDAY-Cheese Ravioli, Salad
SUNDAY-Beef Pie

DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Brownie, Brownies & more Brownies, Strawberries

My Bargain Meal this week is the Beef Pie. Replace the dough topping with Cornbread. That makes it a 'lighter' twist on the Shepherd's Pie idea. I also don't use potatoes in mine. The cornbread is enough carbohydrate and you get plenty of veggie with the onion, carrot & green beans, so the potatoes aren't needed to balance the dish. I'll be making both beef and turkey versions on Sunday, as daughter is not eating red meat any longer. Go see the recipe HERE


Ingredients....
1lb. Ground Beef...$1.69(gotten on sale)
1/2 lb.Carrots......$.50
1/2 lb.Green Beans....$.75
1 med. Onion.....$.25
2 cans Tomato Soup...$1.08(Target .54 ea.)
2 boxes Cornbread Mix...$1.00(on sale .50 ea. last week)
2 Eggs.....$.00(free eggs last week)
2/3 cup Milk.....$.30
1 bouillion cube...$.08

Ingredients Total...$5.56

Serving Cost....$.93 each for 6 Generous Servings.

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday April 13th Edition

Last week's menu pretty much held as written last Monday.....except for the CRABCAKES! Seriously, these crabcakes are becoming the running joke around this house. The family is now accusing me of not even having crab in the house! It's all just a cruel joke I am pulling on them, getting their hopes up for yummy crabcakes every week.lolol

I scaled back on Easter Dinner yesterday, having everything except the made from scratch beans, creamed spinach and salad. It was just the right amount of food. I sent 2 plates home with the relatives and we had just a small amount of leftovers....some of which were finished today or tonight.
I cooked Chili on saturday-2 pots of it....1 w/ground turkey for daughter and the other crockpot was regular ground beef chili. Late saturday night I plopped the ham in one of the crockpots and cooked it overnight. The only thing I had to run the oven for was the sweet potatoes, rolls & cake and pie. I should have put the sweet potatoes in the other crockpot when I put the ham on instead. That would have saved energy, as the swt. pots. take a long while to cook. The rolls and cake/pie went into the oven as soon as the swt. pots. came out. Doing all your oven baking at once saves electricity/gas as the oven is hot already, so you save all that preheating energy.

I cooked ahead the boiled eggs(for deviled eggs)and made the macaroni salad on saturday too. The veggies(asparagus & summer squash)were simply grilled outside. I placed a layer of foil on the grill, sprinkled some EVOO and placed the veggies on the foil. The squash got a few shakes of seasoning while grilling and the asparagus got some sea salt sprinkled on after plating.
So simple but so good and refreshing. No drowning of veggies in sauces this year! ;-)
While I grilled, hubby baked the rolls and sliced the ham, putting the pie and cake in when the rolls came out and we sat down to feast.
Oh well.....there is always next time to plan better.

The only Food Waste this week was a small lime. It somehow got hidden under the red leaf lettuce at the bottom of the produce drawer. I found it Sunday morning when I was rummaging around in the fridge for veggies to put in the macaroni salad.

Still eating mostly from the stockpile/freezer this week.
Since I picked up that 10lbs. of chicken unexpectedly last week, the only items needed for this menu that we don't have in the house are Ricotta Cheese, Pepperoni, Salad Greens, Carrot, Cuke, Sour Cream and I might need more flour(have to check that). I'll be baking Bread for the Garlic Bread and French Toast & making the Calzone Dough from scratch on thursday.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Kielbasa on Rolls, Onions, leftover Corn
TUESDAY-Crab Cakes, Fries, Harvard Beets
WEDNESDAY-Homemade Burritos, leftover Homemade Chili, leftover Grilled Asparagus/Squash
THURSDAY-Homemade Chicken Parmesan, Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread
FRIDAY-Breakfast for Dinner....Capn Crunch French Toast, Veggie Frittata, Sausage
SATURDAY-Mystery Meal (This keeps the family guessing and let's me use something up from deep in the recesses of the freezer.)
SUNDAY-Homemade Calzones-like I use to buy when I worked in Brooklyn

DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Brownie, Brownies & more Brownies, Grapes, Mandarin Oranges, Ice Cream

My Bargain Meal this week is the Kielbasa on Rolls w/side dishes.
Ingredients....
2lb. Kielbasa BOGO 2 for $3.99 (Cut into 3 pieces each.)
2 Large Onions sauteed $.50
1 pack of Steak Rolls $1.50
Mustard $.30
2 tablespoons Butter $.06
Corn(leftover) $.00
Macaroni Salad(leftover) $.00
Ingredients Total...$6.35

Serving Cost....$1.06 each for 6 Generous Servings.

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday.
Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy