This Week on the Dinng Table

  The "Weight Loss is the Focus" Edition.                                            

This photo is for Kim.  In our time in Belfast(in Northern Ireland  but what I refer to as "Fake Ireland") the bus dropped us off by the town hall which had a full blown Spring market going on, on their grounds.  Besides the souvenir and hard goods vendors there was every type of tempting food.  Dinky Donuts was one of the temptations I had to dodge.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned the first week.......

...*Sunday to Saturday there was no plan. Duh.

And here's what actually happened........\

1. Sunday--bowl of green beans(lightly sauce)

2. Monday--another bowl of green beans(lightly sauced). 

3. Tuesday--a small Caesar salad with Chicken and Feta

4.Wednesday--1 cup of yogurt

5. Thursday--half of a restaurant Walnut, Cranberry and Spinach Salad with a Balsamic vinagirete dressing on the side 

6.  Friday--3 Chicken fingers from Zaxby's

7. Saturday--the other half of that salad from Thursday

I guess you'd call this an extreme intermittent fasting deal with many supplements to keep all my innards working and healthy.  So I have been less than focused on Kitchen stuff.  Hubs has always taken care of his own breakfast needs,  I have been helping him at Lunch with ideas for meals he'd enjoy that are easy. I know one lunch he ate light, 2 lunches were canned chili with or without Burritos and he was sick and just had hot tea and Mucinex another 

For dinner, well 3 of the 4 TV dinner he bought are gone, he was still on the hot tea and Mucinex. then  the two meals out/take-out he had were different items than me.

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

*  4 TV Dinners

Last week we spent $54.33 on grocery shopping.  Hubs made a stop at Walmart and then on Thursday we went to arrange for a carport to be built and right by there was an Ollies*Good Stuff Cheap!)and I had a 15% off discount offer and it was expiring yesterday so we picked up a few foods items there-mostly sauces, spicesbut a few convenience type stuff for  Hubs while I continue this reduction journey.  Total to $54.33 for June .

There are 18 shopping days in June

I've earned $0 on Ibotta in June.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in June.

I've earned $0 on Coupons dotcom in June.

I've earned $0 on Shopmium in June.

I've earned $0 on Kroger Cash Back in June.

I've earned 240 points from food shopping on Fetch in June.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in June.

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in June.Tuesday, a bigger Caesar salad and half od a Muffeletta sandwich on Thursday. a Zaxby's chicken sandwch with fries and a Coke and I didn't notice on Friday nor Saturday.

That is $0 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $0 of grocery spending so in reality it's $0 in food spending after the 5 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 43.78% and the monthly savings total for June comes in at 43.78% so far spentl

Leftovers going into this week...chicken fingers

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

1. Sunday--2 Chicken strips from Zaxby's

2. Monday--Some sort of Veggies TBD

3. Tuesday--a piece of salmon

4  Wednesday--Daughter's cooking(hopefully There's made a veggie dish)or more leftover Chicken Strips or yogurt or 

5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--Probably half a bag of veggies

7. Saturday--The other half of the bag of veggie,

I also drink, water, iced tea(unsweetened), hot tea with lemon and honey and the odd zero sugar soda or Zero sugar Powerade/Gatorade and keep my stomach full and it also keeps me hydrated. I  I mostly stick with the water or unsweet iced tas with lemom added.

This one minimeals per day where I change between vegetable matter and a lean protein and a yogurt cup when these other meals won't suffice.  There also is a regime of supplements I am currently on, either to maintain my body's condition or were already taking them for various conditions.

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Well Hubs beat it to the grocery store unbenownst to me on Monday(going rogue)and mostly purchased tv dinners and bags of frozen veg there because he is still eating 3 x a day.

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 deals on food at your stores this week?  I confess that I don't need to buy anything right now nor have I had any desire to read the ads.

Sluggy  

Eat Your Heart Out Anne! hehehe

Since the touring company of "Six" won' t be coming to your area for another year, and I've rubbed it in your face that I saw it in the West End recently, 8-P, the least thing I could do is post this clip for you Anne, of the Opening Number from the Olivier Awards(England's version of the Tony Awards here)from 2019.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the June 9th Edition

 Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are very few Frugal wins this past week and not everything here wouldl be considered frugal but here goes......

*  Hubs did some minimal grocery shopping this week for himself as I am on a minimal food plan to move these unbudgeable pounds off.  Usually a cruise sees me gain 10+ lbs. which I can take off within the first week back.  This time I only gained 7-8 lb. and there were gone again in 2 days time.  Now it's doubling down time and another 5 lbs. are in the rear view mirror in the last 3 days.  We aren't stopping until enough is off so I can be approved for knee replacement surgery.  Taking no prisoners time!

*  After being forced to stay onboard due to an unexpected last minute tender I made the most of it and did lots of activities plus since it was the warmest day of the cruise I took a dip in the pool........

 

Hubs had just returned from the Wales shore excursion and snapped this photo.  I looked at the drunk people next to the pool in the hot tub and called them a bunch of pussies for not even trying the pool.  I think the whole trip me and one other gentleman even went into the pool the whole cruise.

*  Having a wonderful Hubby who was able to climb to the top of Caernafon Castle and taking great photos for me, including this shot from the very top of one of the parapets.......

 

*  I won a large branded tote bag and a t-shirt on the cruise(plus 3 sets of those little hotel toiletry bottles from 3 hotel stays. 

*  My happy place(one of many)in Cobh(cork)at the gift shop....

A few of these Guiness branded items *may* have made their way into my luggage home. ;-)

*  I found money!  

We only strolled through the casino one time and I fouund an abandoned machine with 6 cents of credit not cashed out so we cashed it out and took it to the casino desk and I "found" .06¢.

Total Found in last Week.... .06¢
Total Found this Year.......$2.10

That's all for this past week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

Pride Month All the Time

Hubs and I made it to Cork, Ireland a few days ago-the land of my paternal lines except for my 3 x Great Grandfather, which DNA testing indicates he may have been originally from Germany.  Crossing the street in the downtown of Cork I noticed this crosswalk....

I thought my friends who don't do Facebook where I posted this photo originally might appreciate seeing it.  Post pandemic, the Pride flag was painted fittingly on Patrick St.(or Padraic in the Gaelic)in 2022 for #Pride Cork(which was celebrated in July that year).

I am happy to report that the crosswalk is still there thought "it be needin' a refresh".

As the article HERE says(if you can't get it to load)...."Cork was the first city on the island to formally raise the Rainbow Flag on a civic or public building and the first to illuminate its City Hall in rainbow colours. The design of the new crossing is unique to Cork, incorporating as it does both the 6 bands of the traditional Rainbow Flag and also the progressive chevron representing people of colour, transgender and intersex identities."

I am proud that the home of my paternal ancestors is a safe space of acceptance as am I.

So go see Cork, Ireland, if the fates and with ya!

Or as my distant Virginia cousin, singer William Kenneth "Big Kenny" Aplphin on my maternal sied, part of the country duo BIG and RICH has as his motto "Love Everybody".

 

Inclusive Sluggy 

Food Spending.....the May 2023 Edition

Onward to May's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for May 2023.

I have posted May's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in May.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $18.75

Value  $37.50

Savings  50.00%

KROGER

OOP  $85.68

Qs/Ads  $63.86

Value  $149.54

Savings  42.70%

SUPER 1

OOP  $56.98

Qs/Ads  $46.54

Value  $103.52

Savings  44.96%

WALMART

OOP  $128.70

Qs/free Gift Cards $46.60
Value  $175.30
Savings 26.58%

********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at Dollar General at 50% and Super 1 at 44.96% .  My worse rate was  Walmart at  26.58%. 

I shopped at 4 different stores in MAY.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in May................$235.11

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$230.75

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$465.86

TOTAL Savings of ............................49.54%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....not bad since we weren't home for 2/3 of the month.  I picked up some deals(meat)in May for the Summer.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 2..42% in May 2023 to 49.54% compared to the April 47.12% savings average.  

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,882.46 on groceries/HBA /paper goods in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,117.57

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$3,537.60

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,420.03

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................40.39%

The average per month amount spent is $423.51 in 2023 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD to June 2023...I have already taken off any weight gained on the trip but I am continuing to restrict food intake to get down to the BMI needed by the surgeon to get my knee replacement.  Hubs will mostly be fending for himself the rest of June, especially as there is a family crisis he is going to PA to deal with so I haven't a clue what he'll be spending.

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in April?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy