Hello friends,
Welcome to my one hundred dollar a month grocery budget week #4 show and tell.
Before I show you the groceries I bought and the meals I ate this past week, I wanted to remind you of the ground rules I set for myself for this challenge.
The Ground Rules
- Start with absolutely nothing in the pantry.
- All my meals {and beverages too!} will be at the studio this month.
- No cheat days, free meals etc. If it’s going in my mouth, I’ll report it.
What’s In My Kitchen
- Hot plate, frying pan, saucepan & basic utensils {no oven!}
- Toaster
- Crockpot
- Rice cooker
- Microwave
The Plan Is Simple
- Start with $100
- Buy food
- Show you what meals I made/ate
Week 1 Shopping Trip
On my first shopping trip I spent $38.89. {What you see above.} I wrote about the meals I made HERE.
Week 2 Shopping Trip
On my second shopping trip I spent $38.58. I wrote about the meals I made in week #2 HERE.
Week 3 Shopping Trip
On my third shopping trip I spent $20.41. I wrote about the meals I made in week #3 HERE.
Week 4 Shopping Trip
I only had $2.12 left for food. So I didn’t even go to the store. I figured I had enough food to get me through the week.
Below Are The Meals I Ate This Past Week
Day 22
Breakfast – Steel cut oats and banana
Linner – Quesadilla
Dinner – Ham fried rice
Beverages – Tea with milk and sugar, water
Day 23
Brunch – 3 eggs, potatoes, peppers and ham
Snack – Apple
Dinner – Split pea soup
Beverages – Tea with milk and sugar, water
Day 24
Breakfast – Steel cut oats, banana
Snack – Warm applesauce, spoonful of peanut butter {no bread} 🙁
Dinner – Ham, applesauce cheesy smashed potato
Beverages – Apple peel tea with milk and sugar, water
Day 25
Breakfast – 2 fried eggs
Snack – Fruit smoothie, spoonful of peanut butter
Dinner – Chicken soup with extra rice
Beverages – Tea, water
Day 26
Breakfast – Smoothie
Lunch – Ham fried rice
Dinner – Scrambled eggs with potatoes
Beverages – Apple peel tea, water
Day 27
Brunch – Eggs, ham, fried potatoes and cheese
Dinner – Split Pea soup, half of a cheese quesadilla
Beverages – Apple peel tea, water
Day 28
Breakfast – Steel cut oats with fruit puree
Lunch – Darn quesadilla
Dinner – Chicken soup with extra rice, applesauce cup
Beverages – Water
Day 29
Breakfast – Breakfast burrito with egg, ham and cheese
Snack – Hummus, carrots, ½ apple, hard boiled egg
Dinner – Chicken, rice and carrots
Beverages – Apple peel tea, water
There are two days to go in January!
And since I don’t blog on the weekends anymore, I did meal prep for today and tomorrow’s meals and snapped a picture before I put them in the fridge.
And here are the meals I plan on eating today and tomorrow:
Day 30
Breakfast – Ham, eggs, peppers, potato and cheese
Snack – Carrots, hummus and my last hard boiled egg!
Dinner – Chicken, rice and applesauce
Beverages – Water {no more apple peels}
Day 31
Breakfast – Steel cut oats and fruit puree
Snack – Apple and peanut butter {there are about 3 tablespoons in there}
Dinner – The last of my split pea soup
Beverages – Water {no more apple peels}
All in all it was another great week in the meals department.
Call me crazy, but I think I ROCKED THIS!
Here’s The Food I Still Have Left
I feel like I barely made it. But I DID! I really had to be careful towards the end so I didn’t end up eating just rice.
And in hindsight there are a few things I would have done differently.
For one, I would have bought the small $0.95 8 ounce bag of sugar rather than the 4 pound bag. If I had done that, I would have saved $2.
Secondly, I would have bought another loaf of bread. Peanut butter sandwiches {or even toast} are quick and filling and super cheap! I got lucky in the second week scoring a loaf of bread for only $0.50.
I would have also bought another 1 pound bag of beans.
I could have bought a bunch of ramen, or cans of cheap chili, or pasta or even a sack of pancake mix instead of fresh fruit and vegetables to help stretch my budget.
But I don’t eat those types of things on a regular/monthly basis.
Instead, I tried to choose foods that I normally buy at the grocery store. Rotisserie chickens, avocados, bananas, eggs, oats etc.
With the exception of big salads, bacon and fancy cheese, I think I came pretty close.
Did I lose weight?
Yes! Half a pound. Which I attribute to no afternoon cookie {or any sweet treat for the last 2 weeks}.
The smoothies have been nice and sweet, but man oh man, a nice chocolate chip cookie or even a donut would have been better.
Did I miss my favorite chocolate, buying pastries, good quality cheese and eating out with my husband {something we do at least once a month}?
YES I DID!!!
Could I have come up with a million different ways to score some free food?
Absolutely. Because HELLO, I’m a pretty resourceful girl. 😉
But I promised you no gimmicks, no bartering, no freebies, no apps, no walking into the store with a bunch of coupons.
Just me, going into an ordinary grocery store, buying groceries and showing you how I’d spend $100 a month to eat basic, wholesome meals.
And I think I did that.
Thanks for following along with my one hundred dollar a month grocery budget series. This was a good learning experience and I plan on doing it again real soon.
~Mavis
Janie says
You did an awesome job!!!
Janie
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Janie! 🙂
Wendy C says
You did rock it! I enjoyed following along.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Wendy!
Brianna says
Yay! I knew you would make it to the finish line and I hope you celebrate with a pastry or two and a good London Fog. I am amazed how your portion sizes are smaller, but sustain you. I would have needed twice the amount of food, but either way $100 or $200/month is reasonably doable for a person. I like that you didn’t fill your plate with a bunch of cheap empty ultra-processed foods, but chose things with nutrition and many whole foods. Your experiment reminded me of my college days. Great job! I knew with your will-power you were going to make it.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Brianna. I’m glad I eat real food too and not having sweets everyday will sure make the pear tart taste even better!! 🙂
Cindy R says
I am impressed with how nutrious all of your meals have been over the past month. It goes to show when there’s a will there is a way and with a few tweaks we all could reduce our grocery bills if we need to.
Lynn says
In hindsight, would you buy more tea bags? You are definitely disciplined. I would’ve caved on the tea.
Mavis Butterfield says
No, I wouldn’t have bought more tea bags. I think I would have just had two cups of tea a day {instead of some days having 3} and have been more strategic about drying the tea bags out.
Meg C says
I’m curious about your honest opinion of your apple peel tea. I’m also totally impressed with your creativity and resourcefulness because I’m reasonably sure that would not have occurred to most other people (me included) to try!
It’s been fun following along, as always!
Mavis Butterfield says
Kari and someone else mentioned steeping the peels… I was shocked at how flavorful the tea was. I may have had something to do with the type of apples. I’ll do a post on it next week.
Sue says
Congratulations! Job well done! Thank you for sharing your journey; no doubt many folks beyond your commenters here will also find it informational and helpful.
Your insights about buying a smaller bag of sugar and getting an extra 50-cent loaf of bread were proof of how seemingly unimportant choices can have a big impact.
How was the apple peel tea?
Mavis Butterfield says
The apple peel tea was good! I’ll do a post and talk a bit more about.
Linda M says
Way to go! I am so impressed! You have shown us all it can be done, albeit difficult and requiring planning and discipline. This is going in my memory bank for future grocery shops. I love how you kept it healthy and proves it can be done.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Linda! I gleaned some things too from the comments everyone was leaving which was fun.
Joely says
Well done. I am sure the HH is very happy to have his dining partner back!
Mavis Butterfield says
That was the hardest part for him {that, and me not making his linner!}. I missed sitting across from him too. It’s the simple things… Sharing a meal with someone that really add to your day. I don’t think I thought about that aspect of the challenge until it had started and I was already commited.
Teri says
WTG Mavis! You rock!
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Teri! 🙂
Christa H. says
Fantastic Job!!! You are very disciplined!
Now have DH take you out to eat to celebrate your goal and for dessert get a pear frangipane tart and a London fog.
Mavis Butterfield says
Totally going to get the pear frangipane tart on Sunday!!
Jody says
I am really impressed! I think you did great!
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Jody!
Deb from Ohio says
You did great, I knew you’d make it! We want to see your Sunday morning breakfast
Could you peel the last apple a little and make another cup of tea? I boiled my peelings for 10 mins, let it seep a little. With milk and sugar it wasn’t bad, def had an apple flavor.
Mavis Butterfield says
What kind of apple did you try? I don’t know if a Granny Smith would be as good as the other apples because it’s so tart… but maybe.
Deb from Ohio says
I think it was a gala, and I used thick peels. A green apple wouldn’t be as good, but it’s worth a try. Def add more sugar. When I saw the original recipe, it called for cinnamon, but it was still good without it
Carla says
This was an absolute FAVORITE series of mine! I’m frugal by nature, but I loved your resourcefulness and dedication. I think both of those are declining or minimal in my general life/grocery shopping. And for the vast majority of the population, they are missing entirely.
Well done!!
Thanks for showing us how it’s done.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m glad you liked this series and thanks for following along. 🙂
suzanne says
Your discipline is commendable wow. Loved the insight to your challenge but I’m really impressed that you stuck to your regular real food diet and didn’t buy the cheap filler carbs. Those donuts don’t count lol. Imagine what you could do with even a marginally stocked pantry. Enjoy your sweets, tea, cheese and first meal out. You and the HH deserve it. Did he lose any weight?
Mavis Butterfield says
He didn’t weigh in at the beginning of the month. But I’ll have him do it next time for sure. He’ll love that! Ha.
Ashley B says
You have great will power! And yes, it’s funny to think if you’d downsized the sugar you could have extended your money, or perhaps if you’d gotten both loaves of bread on discount you could have also extended your money more. Little choices can add up. Great job!!
You inspired me to really utilize all of a roaster chicken I got this past weekend. I am also going to try to use the roaster chicken skin in the water when cooking rice and see if that gives it some more flavor.
Mavis Butterfield says
You are absolutely right. Little choices do add up. Not only at the grocery store, but in everyday life. The rotisserie chicken skin in the rice cooker is a cool trick! 🙂 If you don’t want to use it right away, toss it in a zip baggie and pop it in the freezer.
Marcia says
Yes, you did an amazing job. I’m totally impressed. I totally channeled my inner Mavis today – at the grocery store for a quick stop, I happened to find ham at 0.99/lb. $3.00 off the normal price per pound. I bought a ham. I really want some potatoes, but they are not on sale. I might buy some tomorrow anyway.
Mavis Butterfield says
That’s a great deal Marcia!!
sandy says
First meal: Pickly bits
First food out: Stop at a patisserie
You rocked it! Really interesting -and showed me how much I waste. This was great!
Well done you
Mary says
I have loved this series challenge! Thanks for helping me (at least vicariously ) flex my frugal muscle by watching your smart choices. I loved that you rendered the ham fat! You’re an inspiration!
MZ
Nancy D says
I agree! Mavis is inspirational and resourceful!
Dianne says
Congratulations, Mavis! I would have to say, you are very creative. I would have never come up with most of those meals. Obviously, you were nourishing your body as the weight loss was very small. Also, good for you staying away from processed meals!
Nadia says
I’d like to know what your husband’s food budget ended up like since he wasn’t feeding you in January. Glad you made it through, and looking forward to other challenges throughout this year. Have a good weekend.
Janice says
Well done – it was fun following along. I had no doubt you’d rock this.. you never back down from a challenge – even if it means missing out on tea and treats. I was most impressed with what you got for $20 in week three – that was a lot of food, even if some were the discount fruit and vegetables. Cheese in Canada is very expensive so to get two blocks plus eggs, milk, chicken and taco shells was fantastic!
Jean C says
What an inspiration- your self discipline and creativity is amazing. You inspired me to fish out an applesauce cup just now for a snack – it has been languishing in the fridge because there are usually more attractive options available.
Richelle says
Curious minds want to know. What will eat first the morning of Feb 1?
Jeri says
I loved this! You really put a lot of thought into what you could do with so few choices and still was able to eat well. I would never have thought to render ham fat or to peel an apple to make tea! I have, however, saved 5 tea bags and today made a cup of tea that was a mixture of Constant Comment, orange spice, licorice spice and English Breakfast. It didn’t steep long but it was brown and flavorful and I’m pretty sure that I’ll be able to have another cup of brown tea tomorrow!
Torry says
My husband stopped at a local Safeway and got bone in pork chops for 99 cents a pound! We were both surprised. He bought a package that will make at least 5 meals for the two of us. I really like this type of pork hops and have already planned several meals!
JulieP says
This has been a real eye opener. Well done and change left. Wow! You ate reasonably well, no junk, you absolutely stretched the budget. I agree you could have tweaked it but it’s easy with hindsight to see what you could have improved. We always do a pantry challenge in January and have halved our food budget this month by eating from the pantry and freezers just think how much more I could have saved if I had say given myself £50 in cash for the month (I obviously had a well stocked cupboard to start). It’s been a good series and you absolutely were up to the challenge.
Katy @ Practical Walk says
This was so fun to follow!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
Mavis, you are amazing! I knew you could do this too, even in today’s challenging times. Loved that you used whole foods as well. Your creativity is unmatched and your meals were nutritious. There is a lot to be learned from this challenge. You rocked your blog’s title!! Congrats.
Diane says
I was surprised you used the chicken skin, but didn’t use the carcass and bones to make chicken broth. I love sipping on homemade chicken broth, especially on cold days! Do you ever make that?
I enjoyed the challenge, and it’s a good reminder that we can be very frugal and resourceful if circumstances ever required it.
Mavis Butterfield says
I did make broth. The photo is in week #3. I used it to make chicken soup. 🙂