Another successful week! Maybe sliiiiightly borderline on bullet 1, as I bought 3 more veggies than I really needed, but still pretty close.
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- Made a spreadsheet tracker thing that Iām happy with. Hopefully I keep up the tracking past Snackuary.
Week 2 grocery totals
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Beverages | 14.48 |
| Breads | 7.78 |
| Cheese | 33.35 |
| Condiments | 5.99 |
| Fruits | 3.99 |
| Grains | 9.88 |
| Pasta | 2.5 |
| Protein | 26.25 |
| Sauces / Spices | 18.35 |
| Snacks | 37.13 |
| Supplements | 87.96 |
| Veggies | 15.66 |
| Total | 263.32 |
Month total
| Baking | 0 |
|---|---|
| Beverages | 40.96 |
| Breads | 22.08 |
| Cheese | 33.35 |
| Condiments | 50.93 |
| Dairy | 2.39 |
| Fats | 56.97 |
| Fruits | 13.98 |
| Grains | 9.88 |
| Pasta | 2.5 |
| Protein | 33.23 |
| Sauces / Spices | 18.35 |
| Snacks | 102.23 |
| Supplements | 283.92 |
| Veggies | 52.6 |
| Total | 723.37 |
- Completed last week
- Tossed a container of spinach that had turned into goop in the back corner of the fridge and two moldy pieces of spice cake that Nās sister sent us at Christmas that didnāt get eaten because the 1st piece that we split was terrible haha
- Didnāt make any convenience foods and in fact bought both muffins and 2 kinds of dip, but did do a deep dive into bran muffin recipes. Need to decide on a recipe and pick up the buttermilk/sour cream/yogurt required so that I can make them.
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1st and 3rd goal 
2nd is more tricky 
After the walk on Saturday we went to a cafe along the way. I was invited to a nice peace of cake and a coffee. I have not bought the bakery sweet, but I ate it 
I think, it is okay 
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on the plus side, I have used up the small bag of celery and half the tomato paste in the freezer, plus some thyme languishing from a mystery produce bag.
On the other hand (which is also a plus I guess) I got some half priced meat at the grocery store and there is now braising happening, so the freezer will have more things added.
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Just got back from grocery shopping. $45 CAD. Means monthly total is around $105 CAD so far. We do have some big food purchases coming up. I am checking out ethnic stores to see if the basics are any more affordable there. I just walked away from a 1 1/2 litre (roughly 1 1/2 quarts) extra virgin olive oil for $40 CAD. 
. We are also low on rice.
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Threw out some lettuce that was going wonky and 2 dead avocados. 
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Week 2 check in: Keeping up with my goal of eating beans every week. I made a big pot of chili with a high beans-to-meat ratio. Still need to find a new recipe to tryā¦
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I did not stay under $100 at Costco but I also didnāt know that their paneer is $20 so that goal was unrealistic anyways. and then I bought kombucha and creamed honey and it all really went to shit. 
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the shadowy one was really happy with the resulting stew. The braise had boiled off basically all the liquid, but the shadowy one likes gravy, so I made a roux, added some balsamic to boil off, and then about a cup of water, then simmered down. A bit of feta to give it a sharp salty funkiness (I was supposed to do gruyere, but I got distracted).
Apparently much better than my standard recipe based on the shadowy oneās commentary afterwards. I didnāt use any stock, just fried some of the tomato paste and some doenjang with the mirepoix and then added water, salt and pepper for the braise. Two more meals of it in the freezer.
A pleasing grocery run with double dipping price match and points (100 points = $1)
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Ugh also found some dead cherry tomatoes in a bowl behind some other stuff on the top shelf of the fridge, which was courtesy my MIL (I never put tomatoes in the fridge!).
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I saved a lot of money yesterday because first I was invited to Pizza at an office lunch (yes, from time to time I see the nice colleagues even being on garden leave) and for dinner a former colleague was in town and paid unexpectedly my dinner at the nice greek restaurant we went to. Great food and great conversations in both cases. And the other half of the pizza will be lunch today. Win-win-win 
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Week 2 check in:
Goals:
-
Eat from freezers and fridge. Yes. Both are looking emptier. We still have a ways to go though! This goal will go beyond January.
-
Less than $75/week on groceries. So far we spent $105 for the entire month. So check that one off.
-
Eat more protein/ less carbs. Iāve cut back on sweets and given leftover holiday sweets away. Iām limiting myself severely. Iāve lost all the weight I gained over the holidays. Iām limiting myself to 4-6 servings of carbs per day, including fruit. Iām using eggs and nut butters as protein, as well as meat. Iām menu planning and that is helping. While I may not eat whatever is on the plan at the specific time and day I plan it for, I will eat it eventually during the week.
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Week 2.5 update?
I know there was 1-2 cash spends on concessions at hockey games, some was Larvaās money because we ate before going and used her wallet since it was an optional snack she wanted, but otherwise:
$42 on cat food (not really part of my expense reduction, but itās funny)
$4 on a pastry after gymnastics
$5 at concessions at a hockey game (that also served as dinner, so not extra food, just extra spend)
$30 for groceries (milk, after-school snacks for Larva, fruit, pasta that may have been superfluous because I didnāt check the pantry, and freezer waffles, which I keep thinking Iām going to make a batch and then donāt, see also: no muffins, pancakes, egg bites)
$11 coffee and a sandwich for me (because I did a hard conversation and then a hard errand, but I did spend 15-20 min walking through Walmart waiting for a prescription and didnāt buy anything except the meds)
We have also benefitted from a couple of lunches at friendsā houses, and I used the last of the bread for Larvaās school lunch today, so more replacement groceries will be needed. Bag of coffee is almost gone and Iām considering cutting coffee afterward, but will cross that bridge when we come to it.
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since the paneer went off in less than 5 days, we are trying āshakshukka but with butter chicken sauceā. I donāt think itās more than the sum its parts, but is fine for a snowy day when I donāt want to walk to the grocery store.
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Grocery shop occurred ($350 down the hatch), nothing else thrown away.
Fiber and water going well, still not tracking protein. All the good tracking apps are paid for the things I want them for and I donāt want them to the tune of $5-10 a month.
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Iām paying for the one I use but it is $10 a year. Much more reasonable
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Iāve been using Chronometer to track calcium and the free version is working well for me.
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Iāll check it out!
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as noted, I got some discount meat and made a few stews. and then I picked up some more discount meat and a veg box ($5!) which means a few things get added, but since we donāt have a move out date yet, I think Iām still in a reasonable space - eg we had sauce for 7 butter chicken meals, and now we have 4 meals worth.
details
Commercial bags
frozen blueberries x3
frozen mango x3 (found bag, not added) x2 + partial (for real this time)
frozen peaches x1
frozen mixed fruit x1
frozen kale (partial)
brussel sprouts (partial)
frozen corn (partial)
frozen cauliflower
frozen green beans x2 x1
frozen broccoli
Ziplocs
roasted peppers (small)
roasted cauliflower (medium)
roasted tomato (large)
melon pops (medium)
added: garlic chives (medium)
Meats
pork belly x6 x4
pork tenderloin pieces x 3 x2
steak x1 / x2 (added) x1
bacon 1kg x2
bacon 375g x1
ground beef 1lb x3 x2
shrimp (partial)
added: chicken thighs x4
added: 4 pork chops
added: chicken breast strips
2 cup meal prep
cauliflower coconut x3 x1
cauliflower coconut red lentil x2 x1
onion soup x2 x1
butter chicken sauce x2 x1
carrot red lentil x1
curried tomato soup x1
added: beef stew x2
1 cup meal prep
shredded pork shoulder x4 x3
butter chicken sauce x3 x2
white beans x2 x1
beef curry x2
beef rendang x1
curried tomato soup x1
1 cup ingredients
stock x2
coconut milk x1
blood orange juice x1
roasted pears x1
added: stock x2
random ingredients
hot peppers
pomegranate seeds
chipotle paste
chopped celery
ginger
chopped lemongrass
tomato paste
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Went a friendās for a big lunch of traditional Brazilian food! Yum! Bought some sparkling juice to go with it. It was just over $8 CAD.
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