Saturday, May 4, 2013

Feeding a Family of 6 for $10 A Day: Week 1


We decided to give serious cash dieting a try this month. I'm out of work once May ends and that's terribly frightening. Add to that, we have a big family who likes to eat at regular intervals. I mean, like, often.

The rules aren't too difficult around our house when it comes to food. We eat meat, though we've cut way back. Gluten shows up more often than some would like. Sugar sneaks in. So does serious carbs. We're a work in progress is what I guess I'm trying to say...

The key to eating well on the cheap is menu planning. (Barf.) I hate planning. I hate budgeting. But when my husband and I don't do this sort of thing, we do this funny "race to outspend" each other until the last dollar has flown the coop and there's still eight days left in the month. Enter my  month-long challenge to feed my family of six on $10 a day.

I give myself a break when I already have something on hand and don't beat myself  up too much and don't add it to my total. I will let you know where the item was on hand. I also live in a part of Houston where grocers get away with charging us a lot more for our food than in other parts of town. Stinks. But I'm too lazy to drive through the traffic to save 10 cents on a gallon of milk. So the point is...you might actually get away with spending EVEN less if the grocers in your neighborhood don't suck!

Week One Menu

Saturday 5/4/13
Breakfast: Blueberry Yogurt Spinach Smoothies (need a recipe? see HERE ) ($1.50)
Lunch: Grilled Ham and Cheese Paninis ($3.20)
Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas ($3), Re-fried Beans ($0.56), brownies (had a mix on hand)
Total: $8.26


Sunday 5/5/13
Breakfast: French Toast ($3.50)
Lunch: Tacos ($1.45)
Dinner: Barbecue chicken ($3), cornbread ($0.50), green beans ($0.76)
Total: $9.21



Monday 5/6/13
Breakfast: Blueberry Yogurt Spinach Smoothies ($1.50)
Lunch: Mixed green salad ($1.75), grilled chicken ($2.10) with avocados ($0.50)
Dinner: Zatarain's Red beans & rice ($1.79), green beans ($0.76), applesauce ($0.93)
Total: $9.33



Tuesday 5/7/13
Breakfast: Blueberry Yogurt Spinach Smoothies ($1.50)
Lunch: Mixed green salad ($1.75), grilled chicken ($2.10) with avocados ($0.50)
Dinner: Turkey Meatballs ($3), Gravy ($0.15), Egg Noodles ($1)
Total: $10


Wednesday 5/8/13
Breakfast: Blueberry Yogurt Spinach Smoothies ($1.50)
Lunch: Mixed green salad ($1.75), grilled chicken ($2.10) with avocados ($0.50)
Dinner: Pancakes! ($1.75)
Total: $7.60

Thursday 5/9/13
Breakfast: Blueberry Yogurt Spinach Smoothies ($1.50)
Lunch: Mixed green salad ($1.75), Feta Omelet ($1.75)
Dinner: Grilled Cheese ($2.25)  and Soup ($1.60)
Total: $9.35


Friday 5/10/13
Breakfast: Blueberry Yogurt Spinach Smoothies ($1.50)
Lunch: Sandwiches ($1.25), Pretzels ($0.60), Green Apples ($0.45)  and Peanut Butter
Dinner: Homemade Pizzas ($6)
Total: $9.80



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1 comment:

  1. Good job... It really is possible to eat well, on a budget, BUT it's not easy... That's the problem I guess.. Anymore, we want easy...

    ReplyDelete