You rope yourself into a daily food budgeting diary. That's how.
You're welcome. :)
So this morning, I dropped the Man off at work so I could do the grocery shopping a day early, and came home to this:
Bucktoothed vermin making a home in my front yard, with the world's most patient cat (not ours), waiting to make lunch of them.
I think I got my interest in animal behavior from my father who loved to keep all kinds of animals as I was growing up (German Shepherds, peacocks, parrots, koi, canaries, turtles, lovebirds, I could go on...), because I could have sat and watched that cat watch the holes all damned day were it not for those rascally school children who scared him away...
I suppose it was for the best, though, because had I watched him all day, the groceries I bought today would have sat out and spoiled and fucked up my little budgeting project.
BREAKFAST
Breakfast for me was the last half bagel and huge, honkin slab of what was left of the cream cheese:
It was a little disgusting, that much cream cheese, but there wasn't quite enough for another bagel, and I didn't want to leave a tablespoon of cream cheese sitting in the fridge, just waiting to shrivel and mold, so let's just say I had cream cheese with a side of bagel for breakfast, and it was kinda gross.
The Man's breakfast was a sunny side up egg, some chorizo, and the very last of that Spanish rice.
SAY IT AIN'T SO, SHINAE. Tell us you didn't serve the Man SIX DAY OLD Spanish Rice. :(
Oh, but I did. You know why? Because it was still good, that's why.
And the coffee. Always the coffee.
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| Instant human - just add... |
BREAKFAST: $1.00 total.
LUNCH
As you can see here, as we get to the end of the week, we have to start making sacrifices for the greater good if we don't want to waste. Yesterday's dinner fashioned of leftover Korean BBQ from dinner out earlier in the week didn't yield any leftovers. No leftovers, no lunch.
Given the option of spending anywhere from 5 to 10 bucks on lunch and taking whatever was in the fridge, the Man took one for the team and decided to eat chili for THE THIRD TIME in a week, along with a serving of fresh watermelon.
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| It doesn't look so pretty without the cilantro and avocado... :| |
I couldn't very well send him off with my lunch because it has to do with kimchi, which is downright antisocial in an office setting.
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| Another meal from my childhood: Over medium eggs over steamed rice with a splash of soy sauce and a little bit of kimchi... |
LUNCH: $1.00 total
SNACK
And the Man came home from work hungry, so I made him a snack of PB and apple.
SNACK: $0.50
DINNER
As I've been craving spicy stuff all week, I made nahkji bohkkeum (spicy Korean stir-fried octopus) for dinner using the baby octopi I bought today, half a carrot and half an onion from last week, and a couple of stalks of celery that have been haunting the fridge for weeks. With all the crossbreeding and trait selection that's been going on in agriculture, I can't for the life of me understand why they haven't yet figured out how to grow smaller bunches of celery. I don't think I've ever used an entire bunch of celery in less than a month.
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| nahkji = octopus bohkkeum = stir fry |
Some steamed jasmine rice (which is not the rice traditionally used in Korean cuisine, but it's the default in our house), kimchi, and a really simple and lightly seasoned ginger/garlic chicken broth using the weekly chicken stock as a palate cleanser between bites.
$2.50 for a little over half a pound of octopus, 40 cents for the rice, and maybe $1.50 for everything else I used, and we still have one very generous serving left.
DINNER: $4.50/total, $1.50/serving
This has been an unusual week for us because of the dinner out with my folks on Sunday and because the kids are hanging with my parents tonight for dinner when they would normally be eating with us. But as it stands, we've only eaten out once this week, and cooked or otherwise prepared every other meal.
Saturday: $24
Sunday: $13
Monday: $11
Tuesday: $7
Wednesday: $10
Thursday: $4
Friday: $7
$77 this week out of $92 spent. If we'd stayed home for dinner on Sunday and had the kids been with us tonight, we would probably have used up almost all of what we'd bought, but such is life. On another week, we'll have unexpected guests, or I'll be PMS and blow through everything in the fridge.
We'll be brewing this weekend, so there will likely be extra mouths to feed.
Off to put on my face so we can go grab a pint or something (on the Entertainment budget),
shinae
So, before beginning this project, how much did you typically spend on food items on a weekly basis? From the looks of it, it seems like you guys are eating well! :) Do you feel as though you guys are eating as well as you would be if you didn't have a strict budget?
ReplyDeleteI have thoroughly been enjoying reading your updates on the progress of your project. Looking forward to more meals to come! Good luck!
Mornin, MS!
ReplyDeleteThis has been our budget since the beginning of the year, but in less lean times, I think I've probably spent 30 to 40% more on more drinks, snacks, prepared foods.
I actually don't feel that we would be eating too much better at home if we weren't budgeting like this, but if we had more discretionary income, we'd definitely be eating out more. Come to think of it, we might be eating worse in one way, because we'd probably indulge in more processed/snack-type things because those almost always cost more than whole ingredients and are often harder on the body (or mine at least!).
Thank you, thank you, for reading and commenting. It makes my day. :)
You know, I was thinking about this a little more, and I want to revise my answer. I would definitely buy more raw fish if I had more budget to work with. I love good sushi and sashimi.
ReplyDeleteBut the upside of it is that it tastes that much better when we actually do get to have some. :)
And foie gras. I do miss that from time to time...
ReplyDelete