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Eating Out Hiatus Challenge Plus Meal Planning

June 17th, 2011 at 09:46 pm

Anyone care to join me on a no eating out challenge? I'm aiming to start tomorrow (Saturday) and go for two weeks without going to a restaurant or getting any takeaway or delivery from one. It's been getting out of hand lately and I'd like to get it back under control.

I've decided to start posting meals and meal costs again because that was such a good tool for me when I was doing it before. DH is away so it's just me and 2 kids and sometimes Mom joining us for dinner.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs (free from chickens)
pancakes ($1)
Real Maple syrup ($1)
Fresh strawberries ($1)
Milk ($1.50)

Total: $4.50

Lunch:
Clam chowder ($1.50)
Chicken Noodle soup ($1.50)
Bananas (.50)
Sweet potatoes (.50)
Fresh cherries ($1.50)
Water

Total: $5.50

Dinner:
Homemade fish sticks
--cod fish ($4.79)
--panko, flour, corn starch, eggs for breading (.50)
Onions and Bell Peppers ($2)
Corn on the cob($2)
Milk ($1.50)

Total: $9.79

Grand total $19.79

My goal right now is to keep meals to under $20 a day. Because of DD's pre-diabetes and DS's allergies, I no longer have the luxury of keeping things under $15 a day. And with the rising cost of fresh food due to gas prices I simply will do my best with the sales, buy produce in season, and hope $20 a day will do it. That's about $600 a month. Far cry from the $450 to $500 I was doing, but also still better than the $800 we were spending last year.

Posted in Goals, Meal Planning | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Eating Out Hiatus Challenge Plus Meal Planning”

  1. jerry Says:
    June 17th, 2011 at 10:24 pm 1308349479
    1308349479

    Planning our meals is our insurance for our budget. But, eating at home can lead to spending a lot, too. You have to plan budget-conscious meals and then you can save a lot. I will join your challenge!

  2. crazyliblady Says:
    June 17th, 2011 at 11:42 pm 1308354163
    1308354163

    I will have to agree with Jerry that planning meals and eating at home will be much friendlier on your budget. Also, because of your family members' health problems, it is much easier to eat within one's required diet when eating at home. I do a lot of cooking usually on Sunday morning, like making baked chicken for DH and also making pasta salad, egg salad, stews, and soups, etc. to eat throughout the week. Partially, this is a cost saving measure to make sure we don't have an excuse to eat out for lunch or dinner and also make it easier to conform to a dairy, soy, gluten, and msg free diet. Today, I went to a supermarket and got a great salad off the salad bar. If you have trouble finding affordable, allergy free foods, try www dot vitacost dot com.

  3. PNW Mom Says:
    June 18th, 2011 at 03:02 am 1308366173
    1308366173

    I would love to but we have an out of town soccer tournament next weekend.....no way to avoid meals out Frown

  4. rob62521 Says:
    June 18th, 2011 at 04:03 am 1308369805
    1308369805

    I have noticed my grocery bills have gone up too...good luck with your challenge. I can't join you -- we have some plans already made, but look forward to following your progress!

  5. omegaking Says:
    July 12th, 2011 at 06:02 pm 1310493738
    1310493738

    great your post

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