Whatchaeatin'? {March 16 - 22nd}

My, my, my. We are on a tight budget this week. 
  
Confession: We keep getting caught by the same red-light camera on Kingshighway. Last time, it was me trying to scoot across the intersection when the light was a little more on the red side than the yellow or green. Shame on me. And this time, it was Matt not stopping before turning right at a red light. Those suckers are expensive, and thus our budget is getting trampled by these tickets. I don't mind paying them, because I was in the wrong, but it would be nice to see how paying these pricey tickets are benefiting our city. 

As I sat down to do this weeks menu, I was saddened, yet excited by the challenge of only having $80 to spend on groceries. 8 days, 3 meals a day, plus snacks. Facts: 1) Our frig still had some unused veggies from last week, 2) Last night was CSA Thursday, which brought some more greens into our lives but knocked our cash down to $40, 3) Hello, Challenge. Game ON. 

Lightbulb! I could use this opportunity to let you in on my thought process of how I make things work. 

Now, let me be upfront about some things before we get started. Back in January, I made a "New Year's Revolution" to resist shopping at box stores/big chain stores. $40 at say, Walmart, would go a long way. But most of those purchases would be overly processed, not locally sourced, and not what I would consider "food" these days. Shopping at local, smaller stores, has allowed me to cut down my impulse purchases, and pretty much halt my binge eating. Seriously. 
  
True, the prices are higher, but I have learned to spend wiser, enjoy my food, and stop taking food for granted. Not only that, it has been such a joy walking into the stores I frequent and hearing, "Hi, Courtney. Whatcha in for today?" Um...I don't know about you, but no one greeted me by name at Target, Walmart, or Schnucks. 
  
Judge me if you must, but I really enjoy it and would like to share with you all how I go about selecting a menu and shopping with cash in my pocket. 

a.) Assess what is left in your pantry and frig.

 5 potatoes, 4 yellow onions. 

 Frozen bananas for smoothies, one fruit pop.

 1/2 jar peanut butter, about a cup of popcorn, nutritional yeast flakes, 1/2 bag of dried cranberries, 1/2 cup of pecans, 2 packages of yeast, maple syrup, steel cut oatmeal (not pictured), honey, and spices.

Green Invasion: spring mix, green leaf lettuce, spinach, green beans, 2 1/2 multi-colored peppers, one small bunch of kale, pears, 4 apples, 2 oranges, one bunch of carrots, blueberries, fresh pasta from CSA, foccacia bread from CSA, companion bread, pie crust, diced red onion, leftover black bean soup from last night, 1/4 gallon of milk, jelly, parm cheese, bbq sauce. 

b.) Based upon what I have in the kitchen, I start looking around for recipes based upon what I have + buying as little as possible to form a menu. This is where it can get tricky, and time heavy. I look at recipes on a daily basis...so I typically have something in mind when I see what I am working with. My suggestion to you is to start looking where it is most comfortable for you. 

• pinterest recipes 
• cookbook recipes 
• other blogger recipes 

c.) Plan it out on paper. 

Boring menus make me sad. Since breakfast and lunch are going to be repeated for the most part, I try to make dinner something special or different. 

d.) Write out your grocery list, plan out where you are going to shop based on your budget, and make the magic happen. 

Based on my needs for this menu, I am going to shop at the Italian store on The Hill and pick up fresh items at Local Harvest. 

      This is my grocery list: 

• eggs
• milk 
• 8oz small pasta 
• frozen peas 
• polenta 
• 2 cups pasta sauce 
• 2oz shredded asiago cheese 
• 1/2 cup of walnuts 
• 4 vegan sausages 
• 1 dark beer 
• bananas 

 After two stores, Di Gregorio Market & Local Harvest, I am back home with my goods and $7.04 under budget. Did you catch that? Under Budget!      

$12.06 @ Di Gregorio's on The Hill: polenta, shredded asiago cheese, pasta, and pasta sauce. $20.91 @ Local Harvest: eggs, milk, little guy of yogurt (not on list, but I found something fun and cheap to do with the blueberries we have left from last week), vegan sausage, frozen peas, walnuts, and bananas. I forgot my i.d. in the car and it was pouring outside, so I didn't get the dark beer, but I could always pick that up while I am out tomorrow or later today on my run to the library. 

Our menu:  
Friday: egg sandwiches 
              homemade pizza & salads 
              wedding reception (!) 
Saturday: smoothies and oat bar 
               pb&j, fruit 
               black bean soup 
Sunday: homemade pear poptarts 
                leftovers and salad 
                fresh pasta, spinach pesto, focaccia bread
Monday: oatmeal, peanut butter, banana 
                 leftovers, salad 
                 italian eggs over spinach & polenta 
Tuesday: oatmeal, peanut butter, banana 
                 leftovers, salad 
                 dublin coddle w/ vegan sausage, green beans 
Wednesday: oatmeal, peanut butter, banana 
                 leftovers, salad 
                 cheezy pasta & peas, salad 
Thursday: oatmeal, peanut butter, banana 
                  leftovers, salad 
                  pancakes and eggs 
Snacks: green monster smoothies 
               apples/oranges 
               popcorn 
               frozen yogurt dipped blueberries