I am starting to really get a hang of this! Here is this week’s damage:
Budget: $75
Actual: $75.28
| Amazon Fresh | Qty. | Extended Price ($) |
| Baby Apple Medley | 1 | $3.99 |
| Yellow Onion | 1 | $0.69 |
| Baby Carrots, Organic, 1 lb Package | 1 | $2.29 |
| Fiesta Frijol Pinto Beans, 32 oz | 1 | $3.59 |
| Fiesta Garbanzo Beans, 16 oz | 1 | $1.39 |
| Fiesta Light Red Dry Kidney Beans, 16 oz | 1 | $1.59 |
| Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Chips | 1 | $3.29 |
| $16.83 | ||
| Trader Joe’s | Qty. | Extended Price ($) |
| Mediterranean Hummus | 1 | $3.99 |
| Dark Roast Coffee | 1 | $4.49 |
| Mini Milk Chocolate Bars (2Chili made me) | 2 | $3.58 |
| Herbed Goat Cheese Log | 1 | $2.49 |
| Bananas | 3 | $0.57 |
| Large Cage Free Eggs | 1 | $2.57 |
| TJ’s Mini Shredded Frosted Wheats | 2 | $5.98 |
| 12 Grain Crackers | 1 | $1.99 |
| Low Sodium Veggie Broth | 2 | $3.98 |
| Firm Tofu | 1 | $1.29 |
| Greek Yogurt | 1 | $2.79 |
| Organic Fat Free – Gallon | 1 | $5.69 |
| Organic Green Bell Pepper | 2 | $2.99 |
| Strawberry Preserves | 1 | $2.99 |
| Dried Bing Cherries | 1 | $3.49 |
| Almond Butter | 1 | $4.99 |
| TJ’s No Salt Marinara Sauce | 2 | $4.58 |
| $58.45 |
Total: $75.28
Menu for the week:
- Monday: BBQ Seitan Sandwiches with Home Fries
- Tuesday: Easy Veggie Lasagna
- Wednesday: Lentil Loaf with Balsamic Glaze (from Emily Levenson) with Broccolini
- Thursday: Leftover Lasagna
- Friday: Pasta with Arugula Pesto (long bike ride planned for Saturday = yay for carbs!)
- Saturday: Enchiladas, 2Chili Style
- Sunday: Leftovers
Observations for the week:
- I realized when I was entering my receipts that one reason we are able to come close to the budget is I don’t buy that many fully processed foods. That’s a good thing, and it’s lighter on the pocketbook too. I’d say we’ve been falling into the 80/20 rule: 80% “ingredients” and 20% ready-to-eat, or pre-packaged.
- The baby apples from Amazon were a bad purchase. That is the one downer to buying produce online – you can’t tell exactly what you are getting. There turned out to be 5 baby apples (about half the size of a normal apple) for $3.99. So, not the best value.
- One big money saver for us is bread. I have been making our bread for about a year now – and that has turned out to be a huge saver. Bread without HFCS in it is pretty expensive to buy, but cheap to make! This is the bread that is 2Chili’s favorite. I either make a French loaf or put it into a pan and have a traditional loaf out of it.
Budgeting bloggers represent! Here are my partners in budgeting – check out how they’re doing:
- Emily Levenson
- Maria Marz
- Veggie Converter
- Low Budge Veg
- Dairy-Free Cooking
- Motor City Girl In the Steel City
- Veggie Burgher
- Baked Beans and Broccoli…Vegetarian Budgeting
- Sweet Rehab
- The Happy Cactus
- The Vegetarian Salmon
- Newly Vegan
- Always Sick and Tired
- Veggie on the Cheap
- MeloMeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day
View Comments (4)
$.28! You’re getting this down to a science. Think I’m going to have to try the lentil loaf myself. Had an Amy’s loaf thing and it made me realize that the “loaf” is an awesome possibility.
How come the pinto beans are so much? And those are dry? I would think even TJ would have those cheaper. Weird.
Oh, yes, definitly make the lentil loaf – it is awesome! My finicky 2Chili ate it up and then some. I blended up the lentils in the food processor and the final result looked just like meatloaf.
The pinto beans are dry – 2lbs! I wish TJ’s would carry dry beans, but alas, they do not (at least ours does not). I prefer dry beans over canned, so I can control the salt factor, plus they’re cheaper and make less waste.
so glad you guys liked the lentil loaf!! i have that on our menu for this week again. haven’t made it in a while.
have you tried doing a lentil loaf sandwich with the leftovers?
Yes, thank you for the recipe! I ended up freezing the leftovers so I could bring them out next week. It’s a little trick I play so 2Chili thinks he is not getting leftovers. Ha! I am going to make your white bean chili this weekend – have all the ingredients on hand, and I love white chili!