March wrap up, and April budget

Blogging regularly is getting kind of hard. I've been going to the gym five times a week for about an hour each time, and that takes up a lot of what little free time I have. I'll keep doing what I can.

Tuesday was the last day of March. We ended the month at $463, which is $2 under budget. I made whole wheat macaroni and cheese with hot pepper jack and cheddar with Greek yogurt added to the sauce, and red and green bell peppers for dinner.

For a the Month of April our budget will be $410 because Winter will be gone for 8 days for Spring Break. Wednesday Jeremy and I went to Grocery Outlet. We spent $66. We bought another bag of whole wheat pasta, a pound of dates, sliced Monterey jack cheese, herb goat cheese, a quart of plain Greek yogurt, almond milk, whole grain tortillas, two bags of frozen turkey burgers, salsa, two small bag of sprouted whole wheat flour, some sparkling water and energy drinks, tofu, cauliflower, Oreos, two boxes of cereal and cereal bars, frozen strawberries, three dark chocolate oranges, hard boiled eggs, and some other stuff.

For dinner on Wednesday I made thin whole wheat spaghetti, tofu, bell pepper, and cauliflower sauteed in olive oil, and peanut sauce.

Thursday I had leftovers for lunch and dinner, and Jeremy and I went to the gym. We also spent $11 at Yogurtland after I got off work, and spent $18 at QFC on apples, bananas, carrots, organic whole grain bread, and bagel thins.

Breakfast: two scramble eggs with hot pepper jack in a whole grain tortilla
Lunch: leftover tofu, veggies, and noodles with peanut sauce
Dinner: leftover chicken and lung bean deal with plain Greek yogurt
Snacks/desserts: homemade cranberry apple walnut granola bars, plain frozen yogurt with strawberries and mango
Beverages: water, and lemon lime sparkling water

September is almost over

We picked up a few things from QFC yesterday. Ginger sesame salad dressing for $2.44 (on sale with coupon), a container of mild salsa for $1.99 (reduced for quick sale), a cucumber for $.99 and three bananas for $.99.

We have $5.99 left to get us through this Tuesday, but I'm not concerned at all. Compared to the last few months we actually have a lot of food left in the house. So much so that rather than worrying about making those last few dollars stretch until the end of the month, we are actually stocking up on a few things in preparation for next month,

I have been thinking about how we will do our budget for October, which will be different from usual since I will be in San Diego for six days for a prenatal massage certification class, and then the following weekend we are all going to Texas to visit my mom's side of the family. I have decided to budget only based on the number of days each of us is home, and out of town meals will not be counted against the food budget. We will do what we can to reasonably minimize how much we spend while out of town, but sticking to a budget of $5 per person per day while not at home would be extremely difficult. I'd like for us to able to fully enjoy our time away from home, and not worry too much about what we are spending.

So that means next month we will be budgeting $390. I am leaving early in the morning Oct 1st, so Winter and Jeremy will need to do some shopping while I am gone. We have lots of leftover soup in the freezer, and a pretty good stock of frozen chicken breast, frozen fruit, rice, pasta, and quinoa to help them out as well.

Yesterday I got up early and made pasta sauce in the crock pot. I used two 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, two 7.4 oz boxes of tomato sauce, one finely grated zucchini (Winter doesn't like the texture), two turkey and pepper jack sausages, granulated garlic, Italian seasoning, two tablespoons of olive oil, and 1/3 cup of red wine. I love making pasta sauce in the crock pot because the flavors get really rich after slow cooking all day, and boiling pasta when you get home is very fast. The zucchini cooked down completely, and I couldn't really tell it was there. I was concerned the turkey sausage would be weird, like having hot dog slices in spaghetti sauce, but it turned out great.

Breakfast: apple spice flavored Greek yogurt
Lunch: turkey sandwich with dijon and lettuce, last of the pinto beans with shredded hot pepper jack cheese, nectarine
Dinner: spaghetti with turkey sausage spaghetti sauce
Snacks/desserts: oatmeal cookies, cashews
Beverages: coffee with vanilla coconut milk creamer, water

Meals and snacks for 06-22-14

Jeremy made dinner

Jeremy made dinner last night. His recipe is a closely guarded secret, but I know for sure there was chicken, brown rice, reduced fat sour cream, and an entire jar of salsa. I liked it, anyway.

After dinner we walked to Yogurtland on Broadway. I stumbled upon this website called Raise.com, where you can buy previously loved gift cards at below face value. I bought a 10$ card to Yogurtland, because we either go there or to Menchie's once a week on average. It cost me $8.80, and the shipping was super fast. We spent $10.92 total, so after the gift card discount it was $9.72. I'll be keeping my eyes open for more Yogurtland gift cards on there. Jeremy got the new raspberry lemonade sorbet topped with pineapple and mandarin oranges, and I got peanut butter cookies and cream with cookie dough balls and chocolate sauce.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: French toast with cherry pear compote
Lunch: coconut Greek yogurt, had boiled egg, cherries and strawberries
Dinner: Jeremy's chicken, salsa, sour cream and rice stuff
Snacks/desserts: frozen yogurt with toppings
Beverages: Crystal Light, water

Jeremy had French toast for breakfast also, and I think he had lunch, but I'm not entirely sure. He did mention drinking one of the energy drinks that was on top of the fridge.

Today I am working the late shift at the airport, so I won't be cooking anything. Just eating some leftovers, maybe make a sandwich for work. Whatever.

Jeremy is at his kidney doctor now. He said he's getting referrals to begin the transplant process. That must mean his GFR has dropped to 20 or below. It's kind of good, but I don't know that we are financially ready for this. I don't know if we would ever be. He is also supposed to get surgery to remove a cataract in about 6 weeks.