Eating Well On $1 A Day: Day 25 – Decisions, Decisions
I have been surprised that now that this challenge is coming to an end, it is more difficult to choose what to purchase with my remaining money. Should I continue to buy basic foods in addition to what is on sale, or since I have enough food to last this last week, should I spend it to splurge a little on the things that I miss? I also have to make the decision of whether I am going to continue the challenge past the one month I decided to try it with that decision having a big influence on how I spend the remaining money. It has been an unexpected dilemma which I hadn’t expected.
This is part of a month long challenge to eat well while spending an average of only $1 a day on food. You can find the beginning and the rules of this challenge here
Breakfast
I started off my morning with my usual instant oatmeal flavored with a bit of the 100% grape / peach juice. It is pretty good now that I have perfected the amount of juice / water mix to put in it.
For my larger breakfast, I had a bowl of Corn Flakes with banana on top, and a piece of whole wheat toast with an egg on top. I also got to use my salt and pepper for the first time (it’s amazing how little things like that can make you so happy when eating on a limited budget). I also had a glass of half water / half grape & peach juice which tastes perfectly fine that way — not watered tasting at all.
The main problem I have is that I now only have one egg (I also used a couple of eggs at dinner) and one package of instant oatmeal left which isn’t enough to last me until the end of this challenge. I could probably get by without buying either and indulging myself a bit, but still not sure if that is a good idea. There are decent prices on eggs this coming shopping week, but no real sales on oatmeal…
Lunch
Lunch was pretty typical with me using the main items I had and finishing up leftovers. I had peanut butter on whole wheat toast, a full apple, the last of the tuna pasta salad and carrot slices with cream cheese:
Dinner
I decided to boil up the last of my brown long grained rise and I used the last of my spicy V8 juice to flavor it. I then took two eggs and scrambled them into half of the rice. I then took an handful of the salad lettuce mix I had, chopped it up and added it in as well with a bit of salt and pepper. Lastly I added a large spoonful of sour cream on the side:
Since Wednesday is the beginning of the new shopping week, I decided not to purchase anything new (besides, I was busy purchasing pantiliners) and hope that some promising sales pan out.
This is the current list of what I have purchased:
Money Spent $21.44
Money left to spend: 9.56 ($2 must be spent at CVS)
Retail Value of everything bought: $542.81
1 package of veggie spiral pasta
1 salt and pepper shaker combo
1 bag of salad
1 package of macaroni and cheese
3 sample packs of Maxwell House Vanilla Carmel Latte
4 sample packages of Wheat Thins Sundried Tomato & Basil
3 packages (small) Fig Newtons
1 jar Miracle Whip
1 potato
1 mystery purchase
1/3 lb ground beef
6 tomatoes
2 broccoli crowns
2 loaves of bread
2 jars of Classico pasta sauce
2 Safeway brand pasta (spaghetti and rotini)
1 celery stalk
2 bags tortilla chips
5 cans tuna
1 bottle Welch’s grape & peach 100% juice
1 bottle V8 Fusion fruit / vegetable drink
1 bottle V8 spicy vegetable drink
2 boxes of Caprisun fruit drinks (10 packs)
1 jar of salsa
1 bag of black beans
3 half gallons of milk
36 boxes of cereal
2 dozen eggs
2 avocados
17 bananas
2 boxes of Quaker Instant oatmeal
55 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
1 package of Knudsen Light sour cream
20 apples
2 lbs of carrots
8 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
2 jars of Skippy All Natural peanut butter
2 cans of pork and beans
1 bag of long grain brown rice
2 packages of Mission 100% whole wheat tortillas (10 count each)
Donated Food / other items to Food Bank that was purchased with my $1 a day
2 Gillette body wash
3 sample packs of Maxwell House Vanilla Carmel Latte
1 Stayfree pantiliner package
1 Kotex U tampon package
5 Bayer children’s aspirin
2 sticks of deodorant
4 bottles Windex multi-surface cleaner
1 can of Pork & Beans
32 boxes of cereal
50 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner refill
The Beginning ::: Day 26: Turkey Franks
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Popularity: 5% [?]
‘Wondered if you donate your extra coupons to your local Food Pantry. The pantry where I volunteered in Texas a few years ago accepted unused coupons (in booklets or cut) at the reception desk. The receptionist cut and/or sorted and filed them in her spare time then left the file container on her desk. This allowed people coming for food to select coupons they might need while they were waiting for their food. We were also glad when people brought in grocery bags and plastic sacks which were always in short supply.