From the store to your plate

I just need to say that I haven been SO busy but I miss you all so much. I also really miss blogging. Blogging keeps me accountable, it keeps me aware and it keeps me connected to the people who support me the most. I think my google reader has like... 500 unread blogs?! OMG I have no idea how I'm going to get through that, but I will.

I wrote a really good blog last week about the upcoming holidays and how I'm planning to attack them, but I never posted it. Sigh! So don't worry, I'll probably re-vamp that entry today and post it. I plan to have my Boston trip and 5K recap up this week too. I would love to do it now, but I don't have my camera cord at work. Damn!

I also have been thinking of new ways to improve my blog. Since I don't really enjoy recapping every meal and every day of my life, I've been thinking of a few new series to start on the blog. I don't know why I'm not much of a recapper.. I guess I just don't feel like it's an adequate use of my time, you know? I was there, I saw what I did and most of it doesn't seem that special to share with the internet! But I've been thinking about starting a "Meals to eat cold" series, since I'll be in desperate need of these meals when I'm taking night classes next semester. I also thought I might start a series on budgeting and saving money. This is something I've been working on very hard in the past year and after speaking with Heather this weekend about it, I decided I might have some great tips to share! Also, I somehow managed yesterday to only spend $75 on groceries for the week (mostly just food for me, but some for Matt too!) and have a TON of food, so I'm feeling pretty proud and excited about my new budgeting tactics.

So that is what is on my radar right now. Also, you know, just getting back on track. I had not tracked my food for a solid week, week and a half before yesterday. Yesterday was a little rough because we had almost NO food in our house, so I had to rely on eating out for breakfast, lunch and snack. I had a hodge podge of leftover items that had to be eaten ASAP for dinner and made a big pot of chicken chili (if it's good, recipe to come soon!) that I'm having for lunch today. I also batch cooked a lot of rice. I'm really excited.

So here are the things I bought yesterday. I first researched what was on sale at a few local markets and picked the market that had what I wanted. I also kept my options flexible while shopping. Instead of being specific about exactly WHICH fruits/veggies I wanted to buy, I looked around the market and picked the ones that were cheapest. I also did this with cheese and granola. I bought my granola and some dried beans from the bulk sections (SO much cheaper!) rather than buying them pre-packaged. This allows me to get as much as I want, rather than being limited to what is in the bag.

At the "farmers market", Spouts (I LOVE this store) I spent $30 and bought:

Dried kidney beans

Dried pinto beans

Granola

Pepper jack cheese

Hummus

Cheddar popchips

Boneless pork chops

Chicken tenders ($1.97 a pound! I bought  ~4 pounds and froze most of it)

Acorn squash

Pears

Honeycrisp apples ($.99 a pound!)

Tomatoes

Lettuce

Red bell pepper

Red cabbage

Then I went to wal-mart to buy the other staples. I spent $45 and bought:

4 lbs baby carrots (for our dog, she eats half dog food/half carrots twice a day.. on sale though $1.25 a pound)

Celery hearts (should have bought at farmer's market but forgot)

2 loaves bread

Bananas

Asparagus (I wasn't planning to buy this but it was on sale for $1.88 a pound)

Frozen corn

Skim milk

Canned tomatoes (for chili)

Enchilada sauce (for chili)

Dill pickles (seriously been craving these)

Chili beans (for chili)

Sliced ham (for Matt)

Shredded 2% cheese

Sliced 2% cheese

String cheese

2 bags brown rice

Grapenuts

Turmeric spice

It looks like we like cheese a lot, huh!? :) The pepper jack above is for me for hummus sammies. The string cheese is a great snack. The shredded and sliced 2% is mostly for Matt, though I will use a little bit.

So I bought ALL of this yesterday for $75. I was VERY pleased with myself and excited all at the same time. I have some great veggies to eat this week and have already made rice and beans for the week too. I bought some chobani earlier in the day so I can have yogurt/granola for breakfast. I have a plan, I have the right food and I have the will to cook. It looks like it'll be a great week!

I also hope (this week maybe) to start showing you guys what exactly I buy, and then how I use it to make meals. I think so often people tell you the things to buy (or the things they buy) but don't show you what they actually bought or how they put it all together. I can tell you that fruits and veggies are great for you until I'm blue in the face, but I think if I don't SHOW you how to use the produce, it doesn't really help you all.

Now what to do with my acorn squash... I know I'm going to stuff half of it. The rest, I'm not sure yet. I'll get back to you on this!