REAL Good: Week 5

CSA Box: 41.00


beans 
beets
kohlrabi
onions
pepper
potatoes 
tomatoes
eggs
beef roast


Trader Joes: 44.76


Oranges (4 lbs)
Bananas (11..yes 11, and were hoping that lasts til Monday!)
Greek yogurt
White whole wheat flour (MUCH cheaper here than HT)
Honey (24oz)
organic strawberry spread (instead of jelly)
natural peanut butter
roasted cashews (16oz)
raw almonds (16oz)
pistachios (16oz)
sunflower seeds (16oz)
organic raisins


Harris Teeter: 14.76


chopped dates
dried prunes (both for homemade Larabars)
clearance limes
organic milk (2 gal..on sale)


This weeks total 100.52!!  WOOO HOOO!!  Im doing a little dance as I hear Marlin and Dory in my head sing "We did it we did it, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah."  


What meals I made with this weeks bounty are soon to come!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Larabar (oh yes I did)

Yep, you read that right.  And yes, they are as amazing as they sound.  I wanted to make another batch of the homemade Larabars because the last batch lasted a whopping 24 hours.  My boy who is our pickiest eater devoured them!  But this time I wanted to get a little more creative and try something new and different.  So, I made oatmeal raisin bars and shaped them into balls (for little hands).  Since I had some leftover dates and my kitchen was already a disaster from making those and homemade salsa (so so thankful for my food processor these days!) I decided to make another variety.  So glad I did!  I adapted my recipe from this list.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Larabars

2/3 cup dates (if you use dried just rehydrate them for a few minutes in a bowl of water and then drain them)

1/2 cup roasted cashews

1/2 raw almonds

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8-1/4 cup chocolate chips

In a food processor pulse the dates and vanilla until creamy.  Transfer paste to medium sized bowl.  Add nuts and chocolate chips to food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Add to the bowl with the date paste and mix until combined.  If you want to make them into balls just roll them in your hand. For bars use plastic wrap to shape them into squares.  They keep great in the refrigerator for a week...but trust me, they won't last that long!  Makes 11 golfball sized balls.   

REAL Good: What are we eating?

I have had a few people ask us what/how much we are eating in this transition.  I haven't done a great job of keeping track of what we actually eat so this week I paid a little closer attention.

Breakfasts: usually granola, pumpkin muffins, frittata, pancakes, or grits/eggs/toast.  Sometimes there is a special something in there as well (cinnamon rolls or Daddy and E go on a date and bring home Dunkin!), also trying these homemade Lara bars this week!


Lunch: steamed broccoli and peas with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (on homemade bread) and fruit, salads for the adults or (usually) leftovers


Dinners:

Monday: chicken breast, roasted potatoes, beets, parmesan green beans

Tuesday: Quinoa casserole, green beans

Wednesday: 4th!  Organic burgers on homemade buns, oven fries, corn, homemade ice-cream!

Thursday: black beans, rice, veggies, corn bread

Friday: quinoa pilaf, salad, potatoes

Sat: out with friends

Sunday: growth group dinner (we will host once every few months)


Snacks: (usually twice a day)

Fruit, pistachios, cashews, triscuits, walnuts or leftover breakfast if its muffins or granola


Hope this is helpful.  Our grocery week actually leaks into Monday and Tuesday as well, so the "missed" dinners on Saturday and Sunday are made up Monday and Tuesday (which this week will be:  salmon/pan fried veggies, homemade pizza and salad).

Hope this is helpful!!

REAL Good: Week 4

Gulp.  This was not such a successful week.  With the 4th on Wednesday and having some friends visit, this weeks budget was a bit blown.  Sigh.

CSA box: $41.00
beans
cucumber
cilantro
corn
garlic
squash
tomatillos
tomatoes
Whole chicken
hard cheese




HT: $75.56
Hefty ziplock bags
Orbit gum
Toilet paper
Triscuits (2 boxes BOGO)
White WW flour
kidney beans
chocolate chips
coffee
organic apple sauce
organic raisins
organic apple juice
Panko bread crumbs
buddy fruits (2)
organic chicken legs
organic spring mix
organic grapes
organic strawberries
organic butter
organic milk
organic eggs
carrots
organic 1/2 and 1/2

Since this is only about food (and to make me feel better) subtracting the amount of non food items here I spent: 108.93.  I bought a couple of things I wasn't intending on buying because they were organic and on sale (grapes, strawberries, butter, applesauce) and they won't be on sale next week.  Unfortunately, because the grapes and strawberries were so pricey for so little, we ran out super quick.  Alas, a trip to Aldi for bananas and oranges (and pistachios) making our total $118.93.  I learned my lesson.  Lets hope I can make up for this fail next week!

REAL Good: Quinoa Burger Recipe

This was a huge hit with my family last week!  A great way to get some more veggies in (and use up all our zucchini!) and have a vegetarian meal that dosen't feel like rabbit food :)

http://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=156

Week 3: REAL Good

Week 3 has been right on par with the other previous weeks.  I squeaked out of the week just barely over budget and we ate well and even entertained some!

I think I need to be doing these closer to the middle of the week because I'm having trouble remembering what came in our box Tuesday!!

CSA Box: $41.00
fingerling potatoes
regular potoatoes
beans (both yellow and green)
cabbage
cucumbers
Vidalia type onions 
squash. 
over 1 lb ground beef
eggs


HT: $50.08
White whole wheat flour
Oats
Brown rice
organic apple juice
quinoa
spring mix
bananas
organic frozen broccoli
organic butter
organic milk (2 gal)


Trader Joes: $14
more bananas (apparently I live with monkeys)
pistachios
blueberries
oranges
(and something else I'm forgetting)


Total: $105.08 


Its looking like this is a more realistic number.  I would still love to get it under $100 but time will tell!  Now if I could just get some little boy potty trained I would have more than enough grocery money!!