Day 16 - Easy Peasy Food

This morning I got a text from a friend saying that there was free breakfast at Subway... (I know - more fast food right?)  So subway started serving breakfasts recently and as a part of a promotion you could get a free sandwich for breakfast (sorry today only) - nothing to purchase.  yay!

Then later I ate some snacks... one easy peasy snack to make starts with this:

Then just add about 1/5 lb Velveeta (about a 1/4 of the box) and the whole can of Hormel Chili (there is also a vegetarian version).  Let it melt in the crockpot on high for about 1 hour.. mixing intermitently and then voila... your done!

It tastes delicious, looks okay, but is completely bad for you health wise! 

The other thing I made was Chicken Burritos.  

First I marinated the chicken in this (all measures are approximate):

-1/3 cup olive oil

-2 tbs vinegar

-1/2 cup hot sauce (taco sauce would be fine to for a milder taste)

-1/4 tsp cumin

-1/4 tsp paprika

-1/2 tsp chili pepper

-1/4 tsp or less of black pepper

I let the chicken soak in this for about 1 hour - 1/2 hour is enough. 

I fried the chicken until completely cooked, then added:

-1 cup cooked rice

-1 cup corn 

-1 can of Rotel 

Let that simmer in a covered pan for about a half hour... and voila!  - You have Chicken Burritos.  Throw that on a tortilla or you could even eat plain... and then add whatever fixing you like.  We added tomatoes, black olives and iceberg lettuce. 

Second easy recipe of the day.  (Sorry no final photos today)

Day 15 - Vodka Cream Sauce sort of

First off I was browsing the food blogs and found this recipe on the Pioneer Woman blog.  I really love her recipes and while they are not always "cheap" they are usually affordable or made with easy to find ingredients.  I decided to try this recipe, but ended up make a number of adjustments (per usual).

Summary of Adjustments:
-didn't use any sugar.
-used sea salt instead of "regular" salt
-whole milk instead of half-n-half (used roommates (with permision) whole milk - instead of our organic soymilk)
-different seasonings (we used basil, oregano, italian seasoning and garlic)
-we also added chicken - which we grilled on the "George Forman" first.
-and we started with whole canned tomatoes which we then diced instead of "pre-diced"
-we didn't use blue cheese
-oh and we added some vodka...

and...

It turned out.

It was more than fine... the roommate says it was "superfine"

DH and I love creating thing in the kitchen together... I think that is the funnest part of this experiment. 

Update: I rode the new bike today - it was great!

Day 14 - Another Night Out

So we took advantage of our free meal tonight... which is 3 out of 12  - I don't know if anyone else is noticing the trend here, but the first week we went out Friday, next week Thursday, this week Wednesday... I think we are going to have to start heading in the other direction before too long here.

In other news, we were out tonight because I went ahead and purchased a new bike, since you know we are saving all this money on food (lol).  I am really excited about doing some biking with the hubby and I think it will be a great way for both of us to get in shape.  Even though I am a "healthy weight"  - I could definitely stand to be more physically fit.  The thing is I don't understand going to the gym.  I feel like I spend the whole time wondering why I am there - it's so dull.  (Yes, I know I am supposed to be getting in shape, but I never truly get over the boredom factor).  Going on a bike ride sound thrilling and purposeful though. 

Here's the bike I bought   

Day 13 - more fast food, but otherwise a good day.

So somehow in my not that busy life (I only work part time right now). (However, in fairness to myself I had two back to back commitments.) I found myself without time for a decent lunch, so I told myself that I of course had no other option but to get Taco Bell for lunch. In case you are wondering I got the $0.89 (or $0.96 with tax) Beefy 5-layer burrito.  In case you have never had this before, I recommend avoiding it.  My husband introduced it to me a while back, and there has been no turning - this thing is soooo additively good.  Ugh -Good, but bad and cheap food, I don't know if I will ever move on from you.

For Dinner, we grilled up some of the chicken we bought

 And then I made mine into a sandwich

 You might notice that I take a lot of photos of partially eaten food - that's because I usually don't remember to take the photo until after I took a few bites (om nom nom nom).  I guess you know I'm actually eating this food though. 

Anyway my in-laws came back from the Philippines today and brought back these munchies.  So far we just tried the shortbread cookies - which were pretty good.  I'll update as we try the peanut brittle.  We received some strawberry preserves too but they are not pictured.  

 Interesting treats

One more thing - We pass a Dairy Queen on our way home from the in-laws and both of us were like "Ice Cream sounds good!".  It also is not very budget friendly, but I remembered I had a $1.00 off coupon so we split a medium mint oreo blizzard, which came to $2.97.  In a way this is a win too, because normally we both would have gotten our own, so this saved us money and calories.

Day 12 - Mexican Breakfast

Today somewhere in the mix My husband and I both missed lunch... oh well costs less I guess.

Anyway, we went for an early dinner, late lunch instead.  I had found a recipe online what seemed like a while ago, and have taken to calling "Mexican Breakfast", but basically I borrowed and then translated this recipe from the 99 cent chef into my own creation.  Just so you all know I am not so ignorant that I think all mexicans eat this for breakfast or anything like that.  Here's a picture:

Anyway, I've made this before, and hadn't realized until now what affordable and reasonably healthy meal it is.  We liked it a lot, and it is easy enough to vary so we don't get bored, not to mention pretty hard to screw up cooking arena (though I don't mind a challenge). 

The brand of re-fried beans we used for this is "Rosaritas", I don't normally think about what brand of beans I buy, but these tasted noticeably better than others I have had.  Does anyone else notice significant taste differences between various "cheap" foods?  Like a better brand of "chick peas" and so forth.  Let me know!

Day 11 - Random Food

Today I went shopping again.  I wanted to get the cheap eggs, they were down to $0.68. 

Shopping Photo

Shopping Summary

-$0.48 - 2lbs of bananas

-$10.00 - 4 boxes of cereal

-$0.68 - 1 dozen eggs

-$1.79 - Angel Food Cake Mix

Total - $12.95

It turns out that buying a mix for angel food cake is cheaper than buying all of the ingredients.  

Oh... and here's a picture of the cake: 

It looks and tastes good.  

Otherwise today we just ate a lot of random food.  We ate some more yogurt.  My husband made a rice and bean dish that tasted pretty good, and we had about half of the taquitos.  I also made a grilled cheese/tomato/hummus sandwich which was delicious.  

We are running low on a few things.  No more lunch meat, the yogurt is almost gone, and bread and cheese are bit lower than usual.  In combination with that we are bit high on our average per day - granted that is a bit of a skewed way to look at it, as food is usually purchased in advance.  However, all of this is to say that I think we are going to start having to get a little more creative than we have been soon.  

Day 10 - Visting the farmer's market

Today my husband made me breakfast for me and one guest...

French toast and scrambled eggs

Then I went to the farmer's market and picked up this grub...

I love having tomatoes around, and the bar is a "Driving Force" Energy Bar made by a local. It was $5.00 for the tomatoes (expensive in MN), and $2.50 for the bar.  (total : $7.50)

Though these aren't great bargains, I certainly think that I managed to curb some spending.  There are so many wonderful foods at the farmer's market that it's really hard to do.  They had this liquid chocolate... and tasty cheese... luckily my friend picked up the cheese

... and was kind enough to share.  

This cheese was aged in a cave... the lady selling it told us all about it. Has anyone had cave aged cheese before.. it is to die for.

Tonight I basically followed Pioneer Woman's recipe for chicken fingers.  It was really easy to make.  I didn't have any buttermilk so I used our organic soymilk, and I added black pepper as well as (quite a bit of) seasoning salt.  They turned out pretty well.

   
 ... and they were delicious. 

Day 9 - The husband is cheating!

Okay - hold your horses, it's not what you think, but he might of picked up this!

lol - I couldn't resist using that as my title... and according to him - beer doesn't count!

Anyway, today we made hamburgers.  mmm! We started with some ground beef.  I picked this up at Costco a while ago.  It's all natural, grass fed meat, which I am trying to do more of, but it probably cost me at least $3.00. 

We also used some on-hand seasonings, and two eggs. 

This is what it looks like right before we mixed it up.

with our fingers...

looking good! 

Now add some bread crumbs 

and mix some more so it looks like this:

Press them into burger shapes (I used a "burger press", but that's not neccesary)

Grill them up! notice we also are grillin' our beans.  

When you are done with cooking them on the grill - you can melt on some cheese.  

(I might of had a rolling rock too)

YUM!

So I added in the $3.00 for the meat in this meal - although it was quite possibly more, to be a bit more "realistic" about costs of freezer food.  So now average spent per day is $7.50 - though we could easily eat without spending any more for a while... so I think that should go down. 

I should add here that despite his "shenanigans" with the beer... DH has been super supportive of this whole process.  I don't talk about what he eats on here as much.. but a lot of breakfast cereal and sandwiches - a man of simple tastes my friends.  He even made me dinner tonight (I was just the photographer) - and I think earlier I might of even seen him operating a vacuum... although maybe that was all just a dream... ;-)  

Day 8 - Losing a Bet... sort of.

Today I ate leftovers from yesterday's taco meal for lunch.  It was still pretty good for round 2.  Do you know how some food doesn't microwave well? - this wasn't one of those.

I "lost a bet" with my husband on whether or not he would actually make it to the gym - well he made it (good for him!), so we went to the restaurant of his choice tonight for a "freebie meal of the week #2".  That is 2/12, in case you are wondering how I am keeping track of this.  The restaurant is called "Fogo de Chao" and if you google that, you will basically learn that we took care of any calories lost at aforementioned gym.  You will also learn that it's not even remotely vegetarian friendly... my husband is practically a carnivore.. so no surprise here.   A meatatarian as he would say.

Anyway, so I lost a bet - but really we got to eat out so I guess I'm not complaining

Short post for today... no real news.  One question though - I am wondering about posting other "metrics" on this site... I don't want to bombard people with data (which I assure you I am totally capable of doing), however one request was made to keep two tallies... total cost spent under "The Rules" and actual cost of food eating... as in estimating all the cupboard and freezer food - as an FYI.  Thoughts? 

Food Storage

I have talked on here already about my shameless noodle hoarding, and the fact that we are able to "cheat" on the five dollar day plan by eating from our cupboards and freezer.  So in defense of these behaviors Food Storage is a great way to save money in the long run.  Most the food we eat lasts a long time. Sugar, Legumes, Lentils, Flour, Wheat... and more will last for years!

However, I do think at there is a point where this goes to far.  What is that point? I'm not sure. At The Happiness Project, she warns against Overbuying, as well as under buying. I guess I'm looking for a happy medium. 

A woman in Utah - has a business explaining how to save money by storing food.  (She has some good "cheap" recipes too - so you can link to her blog in the far right side bar -including this one Lasagna Soup).  Anyway, I was watching this video where she explains what, how and where to store your food...  



To me this seems extraordinary, I mean setting aside the fact that she recommends 1 years worth of food storage (where does this come from?), some comments see to be a bit strange like 8lbs of salt/person? There is no way we consume that much salt in a year (or want to) - not to mention pineapples or ketchup.  Also, I don't exactly have the space for this "years supply", and I live in a house... what about people living in 1 bedroom apartments or smaller spaces?

Do you guys store Food? How much? Do you have particular items that you always stock up on? (ahem.. like noodles?)

Day 7 - A Free Meal!

The other day I received a coupon for 2 free meals this week from the establishment in which I am employed.  How cool is that! I was allowed to spend up to $6.60 at the Lunch Room Cafe.

At first I wanted to get a salad, but the only proteins they had in the salad bar are these:

Anyhow, I guess you would call these items "meat", but there is just something about ultra-processed "meat" products that makes me queasy.

So I decided to go for today's special instead which was Veggie Tacos with Black Beans:

I asked for all the toppings, but was not quite expecting to get THAT MUCH CHEESE... oh, I also the pop was included in the meal, as well as the Grandma's cookies.  Try as I might I could not eat all of this, so I took one taco, and one cookie for a future meal. 

For Dinner I had Pizza leftovers from yesterday,  and Hubby had some too.  I also munched on the strawberries.   

Shopping Analysis

Other than a quick run to the local Asian Market in our area, I have not been to the real deal grocery store since we began this challenge.  Even before entering the store I noticed some changes in how I approached the shopping experience all together.  For one - I usually use some coupons, but it's more like abuse than use.  This time I carefully went through my coupons and really thought about whether or not I would actually eat this item, and not only that but if I truly needed it.  I allowed myself a few luxury items, but mostly kept to the basics.  This meant - no cookies, no extra crackers (we have plenty) , no extra noodles (plenty of those too).  Skipping the noodle coupons got me questioning the true value of this experiment... as ordinarily I would almost always purchase discount noodles as they are a staple in our diet - as well as the fact that they tend to last indefinitely.  However, at this time - we have more noodles than days left in the 90 day experiment so I skipped them.  (I'm sure a few of you just rolled your eyes as I just openly admitted that I am fanatical noodle hoarder.)

Anyway, 'nuff about noodles!  This is what we got:

 ALL together!

FYI: - fruit in the background is not ours - it belongs to one of the roommates

This is the list: 

Two packages Arnold Buns: on sale for $1.88 each or $3.76 total -->  I thought these were a remarkable deal, and DH and I love the Arnold brand bread because it is HFCS free! 

Bob Evans Italian Sausage $3.33 after $0.35 coupon - This was probably a bit of an indulgence.  

4 cans Blue Diamond Almonds $9.96 after $2.00 coupon - this was also a bit of an indulgence, but I think we can justify it if we eat a only small amount each day.  These little things are favorites of ours.  

Gold-n-Plump All Natural Chicken on sale for 2 for 4.00 - The per pound deal on this was to tough to pass up.  

Iceberg Lettuce - $0.69

Driscoll's 2lb Strawberries - $4.99 - mmmm... STRAWBERRIES - my roommate confirmed this was an okay deal too

Pepperoni 8oz - $3.59 - this was from the deli and was surprisingly cheaper/oz than the Hormel brand, which was even on sale.  It was also enough for two pizzas

Frozen Spinach -$.95 - I picked this up, because it is a pretty much a favorite vegetable of ours, however I was otherwise unimpressed with prices in the frozen vegetables section.  In the past I have been able to get these for $0.47

Jose Ole Taquitos - $3.99 (after coupon) While these were a decent-ish deal, they are fairly processed [and by fairly I mean very], however I thought they would be a good option for convenience eating.
Cottage Cheese - $2.49 - for use in the Lasagna or just eating. 

Dozen Large Eggs - $1.58 - skipped Extra Large or Jumbo

Coffee Creamer - $2.04 - This is certainly a luxury item, but with the coupon it was reasonably priced. Also, it is still way cheaper than electing Caribou or Starbucks. 

So .. GRAND TOTAL : $41.36

Which means as of today the average spent/day is $8.14 - this is "too high", but I'm not worried because well for one I've got a "few tricks up my sleeve" and for two we just went shopping... so there are plenty of days left before the next trip to even things out.

To purchase all of these 21 items I had a handful of coupons at the register.  Some were in store and some were manufacturers coupons.  Do you guys use coupons?  This last time when I handed over my coupons I felt like the cashier was visibly annoyed with me.  What do you to avoid this from happening? or Has it happened to you?  Also, if you do use coupons - how do you keep track of them all?  I seem to struggle at the store to maintain them in my cart.  They need a coupon slot in the cart I think.

Day 6 - Pizza !

I DID make it to the store today... we "needed" pepperoni for the pizza, and I picked up some other things too.  In total I spent $41.36, which I added to the total, but I will talk about what we spent more tomorrow.


Anyhow, onto the pizza.  At the store I learned that buying a whole pepperoni link in the deli section (unsliced) is actually cheaper than buying it pre-sliced anywhere else.  So we improved our quality of food (for less money) by learning how to do something as simple as slicing.

We used a Pillsbury pre-made dough for the crust, which we then brushed with olive oil.

 We let this cook a little in the oven before adding all of the ingredients.

For the sauce we used plain tomato sauce

I

 We added cumin, oregano, "Italian Spices", and some basil to get this:

Looks pretty good.

My side is black olives, Italian sausage and sun-dried tomatoes, DH's side is pepperoni and cheese... just the way he likes it

WE ate most of this before I remembered to take a photo... but it was delicious. 

In other news, My husband remarked to me the other day that he has lost 3lbs since we started this. He has been hoping to lose some weight, and he was worried that eating cheap would not be conductive to weight loss... well so far so good.  I don't think I've lost any... but then again I don't want to.   (FYI: I am a considered a healthy weight.)  Anyway, I think there is something to be said for avoiding the "American Restaurant" portion size.

Day 5 - McDonald's and thoughts on fast food.

So as I was driving to work this morning - I realized half way their that I had forgot to bring a lunch... and I am not one that can forgo lunch.  Trust me - the results aren't pretty (mood swings, headaches... you get the idea).  So I had to figure out something... Luckily, I had brought a fiber one bar, but that wasn't going last all day.  and... well... I went to McDonald's.

 Dun... Dun... Dun!! 

and I got a McChicken for $1.07 after tax. Notice the trace amounts of lettuce.

So while fitting this into our food budget is perhaps doable... this still got me thinking about the how I feel about fast food in general.  A few years ago I watched  Super Size Me, and I was in college at the time and Morgan Spurlock himself actually came and spoke to us all.  I was so inspired that I literally warded off ALL McDonald's for a year.  However, then I started enjoying conveniences, and ease, and relative cheapness and almost unwittingly slipped back into consuming McDonald's again.  So... I started thinking what are the pros and cons of fast food consumption.  Let's be honest, I don't think we can blame fast food for all of our health issues.  However, it's true you won't get skinny if it becomes part of your daily consumption - despite various campaigns.  I think the secret here is moderation.  Did you know the Big and Tasty McDonald's sandwich is under 500 calories... not bad?  The trick of course is that you can't have the fries and a soda too.  Also, I will add that my McChicken was only about 300 calories... which is roughly equal to a Lean Cuisine (which is considered healthy - though that's debatable)... and equally as filling.  I got hungry again early afternoon, just like how it happens with Lean Cuisine.  Which is why I had these right away when I came home: 

 mmm... Chips and Salsa  

Later - we had a friend come over for Shrimp Scampi - this turned out great... and we had a great time.  Eating out of the cupboards has been great so far... however, we are having to learn how to adapt our recipes.  Today I used clementine juice as opposed to lemon juice.  I pretty much never make anything from the recipe exactly, so this was nothing new.  I think that recipe substitution is a "key" making budget friendly meals.  What do you think?

Also, I'm curious what your thoughts are on fast food?

Day 4 - Chai Tea Latte or something like that.

So I've said this before, but I feel we are coasting a bit this first leg of the 90 days, as our cupboards were pretty stocked, though it's been fun anyway.. and I for one am noticing the benefits of no fast food.  We are running low though on fresh foods, and I am hoping to get to the store soon.  

This morning I was thinking about delicious Chai Tea Lattes.... mmmm.  I was like what really is in those, well Chai Tea - which I have, Milk - which I have, and probably something sweet... sugar - which I have.  Notice the theme here: I didn't need to go to Caribou or similar to have Chai Tea.  Or buy even buy this stuff.  This is how I made it myself for - round numbers here - less than $0.30

Steeped Tea until it became a dark brown color - I am using Good Earth Decaf Chai Tea (Chai Tea normally is caffeinated)  - This should only take a few minutes tops... if you have a easy place to store the tea bag, you can use it twice.  Also, if friends are around 1 tea bag is plenty to steep enough tea for at least two people.

I left room in glass for about 4 fluid ounces of milk - I used soymilk, but half-n-half is the "preferred choice" here... however not the low calorie option.  I also added 3 teaspoons of sugar.

So was it good - well... It took me a few cups to get this right.  I actually started experimenting with this yesterday - 1st one was a little too bland (steep tea longer), and the 2nd one was a little too sweet (use less sugar), but when I made some for my friend this afternoon - she said it was delicious. 

You want about this color of creaminess when done.  mmmm

Other eats for today were:

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothie - frozen raspberries, yogurt and a banana

Grilled Cheeses - Tomato, a couple slices of deli meat and of course cheese (and bread) These were very tasty.  I am hoping cheese is not going to become forgotten when start having to live on the "real 5 dollar day" plan. 

I also munched on some homemade hummus and crackers while I was writing this. 

Day 3 - Leftovers and Events

I started out the day with my traditional coffee - homemade, with organic soymilk and about a teaspoon of sugar, and then I zoomed off to meet Jen, A Prior Fat Girl at the Challenge Obesity 5K.  I also met Mary @ Fit This! Girl, and Cyndy @ Healthy Heart Journey and others too.  I volunteered to take photos of the event and have to say I am most proud of the way some of them turned out (you can be the judge).

2010-04-17 Prior Fat Girl Run

So while I was here I told some of the people about our challenge (ie.eating for $5/day or less)... and then while we we're waiting for the runners to come around... Jen's dad bought me a coffee (Thank you so much by the way!).  However, this was a bit of an unintentional consequence of sharing that information.  I don't intend swindle people into purchasing food for me.

When I cam home I had leftovers from last night.

  Before I doctored it












After I doctored it ! (added spinach and a tomato)









And my husband had a sandwich:

 

Then I headed to meet some people at this cutish coffee place called "Java Train."  They had a huge menu of selections, including Izzy's ice cream.  I ended up choosing Pomegranate Oolong tea for $1.88, which is pretty expensive (considering my budget). 

Then on the way back I passed Kim's Oriental Market, where I intended to just pick up some rice paper, but they have a $10 minimum when you use a credit card.  So....

I got wasabe, rice vinegar (we are almost out) and the rice paper as well for $10.08, but I was subsequently tempted by all these:

Luckily, I escaped out of the store...

I came home my husband and I ate leftovers from the fridge again for a snack, and we also ate these delicious asian rice salads, that the hubby worked up:

Delicious... and was probably the first thing with a reasonable amount of vegetables in it.  

Phew... I feel like we are eating a lot!

Anyhow, I notice one thing after I made up this blog - many of the of expensive items I decided to forgo (pictured and unpictured) at the store many of them were unhealthy... My observation is this:  If you have to make critical decisions about what you can afford to eat... things like sweets and extras quickly become undesirable options as compared to the much needed "real" food