Monday, January 4, 2010

Eat from the PANTRY month!

Four days into the month... How are things going?? GREAT! I am very excited that Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom are doing this challenge. I was going to do it on my own and when I read that they were hosting this I knew it would be more fun to do as a group.

My goal is to eat out of the freezers and pantry for the next month only buying fresh milk, produce and lunch supplies for my husband. (I am blessed that my husband packs his lunch saving us mega bucks each year.) My normal monthly budget for our groceries and basic household supplies (dish soap, tp, shampoo, etc) is $3 per day per person or no more than $125 per week(family of six including our oldest son that eats like a man). That is $500 per month. This month I am aiming to spend no more than $1/day/person or $42 per week for no more than $168 for the month. I will have saved 2/3 of our normal budget!

After this month of eating from the pantry I will re-stock our surplus the same way I built it up in the first place: watching the sales and buying items at their lowest cost point. Over the next few months it will be built back up to where I like to keep it. I especially value a full pantry since my husband is self employed. It is a priority of mine to keep enough food on hand that we can go a few weeks without a trip to the store.

So what will we be eating for supper this week:
  • Turkey Veggie and rice soup, home made bread
  • Carolina Pork Chops (in the crock pot), baked potatoes
  • Home Made Pizza, salad
  • Roasted Venison and gravey, mashed potatoes, veggies
  • Baked subs, salad, apples
  • Chili, cornbread
  • Breakfast for supper: scrambled eggs and pancakes
For lunches:
  • Chris packs his lunch (sandwich, chips, cracker packs, goodie, rasin box, pop, water and coffee) He sticks to the basic same lunch everyday... makes life simple for me and he claims that it keeps him 'regular'! :)
  • The oldest three kids normally eat the school's hot lunch 3 times a week (at $1.60/day), but this month we will reduce that down to 1 time a week and pack the rest. They will pack pb&j, fresh veggies, fruit, string cheese, crackers, pretzles, homemade goodies and buy the school milk or take a bottle of water.
  • Nate (our youngest still at home) and I will eat our customary left overs or PB&J's.
Breakfast:
  • Cold Cereal (till it runs out)
  • Pancakes and waffles from the freezer (I always make BIG batches and freeze the rest for quick and easy breakfast)
  • Hot Oatmeal
  • Homemade Granola
  • Toast and Peanut Butter
  • Bagels and cream cheese
  • Cold Pizza (if we have any left after homemade pizza night)
  • Homemade Muffins
Beverages:
  • Water
  • Coffee (Chris drinks regular and I drink decaf)
  • Tea (hot and iced)
  • Hot chocolate
  • Koolaid
  • Juice (till it runs out)
  • Milk (supper time for everyone except Robyn and Nate... lactose issues)
Are you participating in this challenge?? If you are will you please leave a comment so I can come and read about your adventure!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Simple Family Supper

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2 comments:

tammi said...

I'm not going to fully commit to playing along, but I'd really like to buy as little as possible, too! I'm not good at stocking my pantry and keeping it stocked though, so I don't have much to choose from in that area! Will definitely strive for more "meat and potatoes" kinds of meals though, since we have a ton of potatoes in the cold storage still and a freezer full of various cuts of pork and venison. Good challenge!

$168 a month.... wow, I'm pretty sure I can't cut it back that far!!

Leanne said...

I probably won't do as well as you, but I'm playing along too!!