Wanted to report back regarding Plan to Eat and general search for a way to save money on groceries:
Plan to Eat
Second round of grocery shopping went even better than the first. I split it up between two stores (Wal-Mart and Meijer), took advantage of online coupons and made appropriate notes in item descriptions, and came home happy in the knowledge that we have food for a week. There's a huuuuge relief in having a quick answer for my sister and husband asking "What's for [meal]?" "What're we having tomorrow?" "Do we have any snacks?" I love it!
Storage Solution Addiction
Picked up a couple packages of various sized tupperware and rubbermaid containers the other day (thank you, Household Needs envelope in the budget). One big shelf is now where all the empty and matched up containers go. Makes it very easy to send Eric to work with a lunch or dinner if there's all these appealing containers to put them in! ;) I also got a big set of Mainstays containers which now house cereal, goldfish, and flour respectively. It's definitely not going to get stale and looks a whole lot better than the half-full bags and boxes.
Breadmaking
Guys we eat SO MUCH BREAD PRODUCT. Carbs galore. When we first started tracking grocery spending we were spending over $50 in two weeks on just rolls from Sam's Club. With that in mind, I determined to make our own bread. My mom did that once in a while when we were very little, and it was always the most delicious when warm and smothered in peanut butter. Mmmm. My sister and I loaded up on supplies with a jar of quick yeast (very important to know which kind you are getting-- I go with the quick rise vs traditional), oil, vegan butter, and the giant bag of flour. We researched recipes and tried a couple with mixed results (I am a terrible baker) before landing on a good one. My littlest sister loves to bake and sent me a recipe from one of her books that she's always had success with, and oh man is it delicious. I checked the meal plan and then made this week's worth of bread product, and think I have a new weekly task. :)
Grocery Goal
My goal is to find one thing each week to replace with a thriftier option. This week it was bread. Next week it's pizza sauce. After that, maybe instant oatmeal? Always trying to improve.
Nerd update
My sweet husband did get a Nintendo Switch and loves it. Between the beautiful Zelda and the joy of the multiplayer Bomberman game (Sister B is kind of cut-throat in gaming), it's well worth blowing his gaming budget for the next couple of months. We also went over to my parents house this weekend and played World of Warcraft with my dad and brother (and later Sister B). Pretty sure it's everything my dad has been looking forward to since Vanilla WoW when we run dungeons in a family guild. Years of having a crowd of kids gathered around watching you play for hours on end has finally paid off. I haven't heard my dad or husband laugh like that in a long time.
Hope your Monday is going great! <3
