Menu Plan Monday- June 16
Shopping for my groceries on Saturday left me feeling literally a bit sick to my stomach. None of the things that I had hoped to find on discount were on sale at all, and in fact, more items on my usual list had gone up in price. I wanted to cry. How can I keep making the money stretch further and further?
My darling husband sympathized and offered that we could bump the budget a little bit, as he understands that the prices really are going up significantly. He said that he appreciates my efforts to keep our budget low, but doesn't want me to be unduly stressed, and would it help if he raised the grocery budget somewhat?
Yes, I'm sure that it would help. I said that we could consider it for next month, though I'm happy to keep plugging away and doing my best to work with what I've got.
I suppose I could have said "oh yes, that's exactly what I need- let's spend more money!". It would have been reasonable, legitimate, and understandable.
In that moment, though, I was reminded of just how very much we have. Sure, it is getting quite tight as I try to prepare very nutritious and tasty food for my family, and get the best deals possible on the highest quality food I can get. I try to keep nutrition as my priority, so long as I can do it within the budget.
But how richly blessed am I, to have making highly nutritious and varied and appealing meals as my main focus? How many people out there are daily faced with the challenge of simply providing basic sustenance, and so many are not even properly able to do that? I often forget what a privileged life I lead, and how truly abundant it really is, even in what I so naively consider a "tight" season, economically speaking.
So this week, despite the items that were not crossed off on my grocery shopping list, I intend to practice cheerful thankfulness, and not allow myself to worry about how I will continue to do this as prices continue to rise. I will rejoice in the abundance that we have, and trust that my God already knows all of our needs!
And on a side note, I should mention that we really enjoyed both the Black Bean Wraps and the Busy Day Mexican Soup that I tried last week. The quiche with kale never happened, as we were invited to a friend's for a bbq today, and so I didn't know to add it into my meal planning, but it's not a big deal.
(Starting this week, I will be planning my breakfasts as I mentioned, as well as my dinners, though our lunches will still be based on leftovers, using up what's in the fridge, etc.)
Monday:
Breakfast- Baked oatmeal with apples
Dinner- Quick Fix Chicken (mayo-mustard type sauce with bread crumbs), asparagus (lightly grilled with butter and dill), and quinoa.
Tuesday:
Breakfast- Smoothie, eggs, and toast
Dinner- Feta and veggie quesadillas
Wednesday:
Breakfast- Baked oatmeal leftovers, fruit
Dinner- Samosas (homemade from Nourishing Traditions), with Raita (yogurt and cucumber sauce)
Thursday:
Breakfast- Smoothies, Cinnamon Scones
Dinner- Breaded white fish, garden salad, brown rice
Friday:
Breakfast- Smoothie, eggs, hashbrowns
Dinner- Mushroom Soup (this is the recipe in Nourishing Traditions and Maker's Diet- if you like mushrooms, it is amazing!), garden salad, homemade bread.
Saturday:
Breakfast- Blender Batter Pancakes with maple syrup, fruit
Dinner- Nachos supreme (ground beef, tomatoes, peppers, sour cream, on organic corn chips). We didn't get to do it the other week, and my husband really loves it. Plus, it's easy!
Sunday:
Breakfast- Oatmeal, smoothie
Dinner- Baked beans (in the crockpot), biscuits, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce
More great menu plans at Organizing Junkie!
Stephanie,
May I ask what your grocery budget is? I think you may have mentioned it before but I can’t remember. Also I think you’re on the west coast, and I’m on the east, but I’d be interested for the sake of comparison. We recently had to increase our budget to $600/month. I was trying to do it on $400, but I just couldn’t do it – I was consistently going over budget every month. And now I’m even struggling to stay under the new amount. I buy organic whenever possible, and if something is not available organic, I try to just do without it rather than buy a non-organic version. I’m sure this is part of it, but I just can’t bring myself to feed chemicals to my family, no matter how tight the budget is. I’m trying to just get more creative while only purchasing organic foods. I think you’ve mentioned before that you’re part of a whole foods co-op – can I ask you how that works? Does that save you money?
Anyway, sorry for all the questions – I know we’re all struggling, and yes, we should consider ourselves blessed that we are able to buy such healthy foods for our family. But unfortunately it’s getting more and more difficult to do that. I love all of your creative ideas. 🙂
Thanks,
Alissa
What a great post – and menu! My husband and I had the same conversation this weekend about raising our grocery budget. And you’re right, when you put it in perspective, we are truly blessed.
Have a great day!
This is a wonderful post and menu! I will definately be back on your blog. I wanted to mention that I am hosting a meme on Wednesdays called Watchin’ What We Eat Wednesday. We will be sharing healthy recipes. I think the people who come could learn a lot from you on staying healthy and on a budget. Learn more about this at my blog.
http://whoareyoudiet.blogspot.com/
I hope you will join us.
I so enjoyed this post! I recently went into sticker shock at the grocery store as well. I’m in the mountain west so we’re a bit less expensive than other places, but it’s getting harder and harder.
For our family of 6 + baby due in 4 weeks, I’m having a hard time spending less than $125 a week, especially now that summer is here and the kids are home full time. I’ll be back to your site to see more of what you do – and steal your ideas!
Blessings~
sara
Yummy menu. The baked oatmeal sounds great. I am always on the look out for good breakfast recipes for my family. As far as the groceries and staying on budget.. I am in Maryland and the prices are out of control here. It’s nice that you have an understanding husband. Have a great week 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! I completely understand your grocery budget frustrations. My husband and I had the same conversation last Thursday. Ugh. I’ve been trying to lower the grocery bills, but it’s just not happening. And with the price hikes, I don’t think it’s going to. I *was* pleased as punch, however, on Friday to discover about-to-spoil organic chicken for half price at the grocery store! I bought every single pack and stuffed them in the freezer right away. Organic chicken thighs for $2.50 per pound? Sign me up!
Great menu. Hang in there with the grocery budget. We went through something similar and my hubby was going to do the same thing, raise the budget. I took the change in the market as a challenge and have actually lowered our budget. Check out the money saving ideas at my site.
I totally hear you on the increasing grocery prices. I make a lot of substitutions for pricier ingredients, but I know that I still spend a lot more on food than a lot of people. What makes this situation worse for me is it seems like the price of everything is going up. Gas, electricity, etc, etc, etc. Hopefully things will turn around soon.
We should do a frugal, healthy meals carnival or something to help us all out. 🙂