Penny Pinching

One of my hopes in creating this blog was to start saving money on our grocery bill...making meals from scratch, not buying processed foods has to be cheaper, right?  I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I can't seem to get our weekly grocery bill under $140 (yes, this includes alcohol, cat food, litter, cleaning supplies, diapers, etc) and sometimes it's been as high as $160! OUCH!!!  Ideal weekly grocery budget would be around $100!  Am I totally off budget?  I know I should be able to go cheaper!  Ok, so the OCD side of me compiled an itemized list categorizing each item we buy, how many items, and the price of each.  CRAZY, I know, but hear me out...It was actually pretty eye opening! The majority of our "food" budget was actually being spent on beverages,  35% to be exact!  Coffee (both whole bean and k-cups)-beer-juice-soda-rice milk-coffee creamer-whole milk!  That's pretty ridiculous considering it's mostly empty calories!  So, it's time to start cutting!  Beer - OUT!  K-cups - OUT!  Buy 1/2 as much coffee (whole bean) and pre-portion it out for the week (our normal coffee "measuring" procedure was to stumble half asleep to the coffee maker, take out coffee bag, pour the "appropriate" amount of coffee into the basket, and start...needless to say we would get the coffee jitters after one sip). Buy non-dairy coffee creamer (instead of the flavored liquid kind).  I think this should help.  You're concerned we cut out everything fun, not to worry, we are substituting rum for beer!  More bang for our bucks ;-).  Ben has also cut out his cheetos from his lunch (sorry babe), and we are trying to buy seasonally, as those produce are always cheaper (not to mention better for the environment)...After a very meticulous grocery list and strategic meal planning, I only spent $109.90!!!  HUGE SUCCESS!  You're concerned our meals are all beans and rice - WRONG - we have a menu full of gourmet and delicious meals!

Breakfast:
Serina's Brilliant Whole Grain Waffles (these waffles are so yummy!  I'll be sharing her recipe shortly)
Steel Cut Oats with Apples, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Vanilla

Lunch:
Zucchini Bread and Cheese
Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches
Bananas and Applesauce

Dinner:
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with steamed Broccoli and Carrots (this will be 2 meals)
Chicken Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons
Roasted Chicken, Baked Potato, and Steamed Broccoli
Pesto Sandwiches (Mozzarella, Pesto, Tomato) on Homemade Bread and Roasted Sweet Potato, Carrots, and Zucchini
Burritos and Applesauce

Snacks:
Watermelon (I know, totally not in season, but it's Max's FAVORITE)
Air Popped Popcorn
Graham Crackers
Hot Chocolate

So, this might date me a little bit...OK it'll date me A LOT!!!...during this blog I couldn't help but remember an old Roseanne episode - I hope you enjoy Home Economics.