Grocery Challenge Scoop

Many people asked me about the menu I chose to go with and what my grocery list was. So, here's the scoop:

Grocery List~

Milk (Skim & 2%, 1 gal. ea.)

Tub of Smart Balance Margarine

18 count eggs

4 lbs. Ground Turkey

1 14oz. Can Salmon

1 lb. Pinto Beans

1 lb. Kidney Beans

2 packages hot dogs

1 package Bacon

1 lb. Turkey Sausage

1 28oz. Can Baked Beans

Box Mashed Potatoes

4 x Canned Green beans

4 x 8oz. Tomato Sauce

40 oz. Applesauce

1 Can Pineapple rings

1 Head Romaine Lettuce

1 Large Bag Carrots

1 regular bag frozen Broccoli

Celery

Saltine Crackers

3 x Mac & Cheese

Molasses

Smart Balance Oil

Brown Sugar

Peanut Butter (Simply Jif)

Jam

1 Box Sugar Free Jello

1 Box Sugar free Instant Pudding

Apples

Bananas

My list this week also included a bottle conditioner, a loufa and a splurge on $2 Chinese Frozen lunch. It is not all whole foods, but I think I was able to get a good balance in there. Now, what you need to know is that I have all the other staples on hand, and so they were not included on my list or in the budget. They are constantly rotated through our food storage.

Menu~

(This is my typed copy of my menu, stapled to the needed recipes from the website for instant access.)

Sunday: B(breakfast)- Bacon, eggs, muffins, Milk; L(lunch)- Grilled Cheese, Green beans; D(dinner)- (We go to Grandma's house, but there is some stuff on Hillbilly Housewife's website menu that you can apply here.); S(snacks)- Leftover muffins, cinnamon toast.

Monday: B- Choice of Pancakes, waffles or homemade granola & milk (these choices remain constant throughout the other days on the menu as well.); L- School Lunch= PB&J, Jello or Pudding & school bought milk (already paid for on their account), Skylah, Myself & Shawn= Cheese or PB&J sandwiches, celery/carrot sticks or leftovers; D- Navajo Tacos (I used the pintos for this recipe. Look up Navajo Tacos online for a basic dough recipe and apply toppings selected. I also made my pintos into refers and had enough to carry through to next week's Navajo Tacos.); S- Popcorn (I keep huge containers of this stuff on hand as a staple for snacks.), Muffins, Cinnamon Toast.

Tuesday: B- Choices stated Monday; L- Choices stated Monday; D- Salmon Patties (recipe on website), Rice, Canned Pineapple, Broccoli; S- Popcorn, Cinnamon Toast.

Wednesday: B- SOS; L- SOS; D-Cowgirl Beans (recipe on website) & Rice, Cooked carrots, corn muffins; S- Cinnamon Toast & Popcorn.

Thursday: B- You guessed it! L- Yup! D- Meatloaf, Green beans, Mashed Potatoes, Muffins; S- Cinnamon Toast, Popcorn, Muffins.

Friday: B & L- SOS; D- Hamburger Pinwheels (recipes can vary, but there is one on the website), Mac & Cheese, Salad or Green beans; S- Popcorn, Cinnamon Toast.

Saturday: B- Sorry, nothing special this morning, unless you were conservative on Sunday with the bacon. Then you can have at it! L- Mac & Cheese w/ Hot Dogs sliced into it, veges, Milk; D- Red Beans & Rice (recipe on website), Corn Bread, Salad or other vege; S- Leftovers from week, popcorn, muffins.

(Some of my homemade Granola (I used the website recipe, but it turned out sticky, so I baked it 12 minutes longer which seemed to help. Try out any basic recipe you want. Have fun with it!!))

Big thing is that the bread is made (notice it was not on the list). I make 3 loaves a week using our staples. This method was obviously applied using food storage staples. However, even though I keep a 3 month rotation of canned foods, I elected not to use them during this trial period so I would get a more accurate count. I reserved a spot in my pantry for this weekly purchasing, and then we are using refrigerator stuff so it won't go bad. I had stuff like a big brick of cheese from Sam's Club, so cheese was not needed for purchasing. However, some things this week will carry over to next week, and so if I need to buy more cheese I should be able to swap it with something on the list. Let this be a guide instead of a set-in-stone kind of deal. Get an idea of what works for your pantry and household.

This has been fun so far. I was offered a steak when I was at a friend's house this week picking up Skylah from playgroup and we were finishing lunch there before we left. I turned her down because I thought it would only be fair that I stick to the budget. How far can I push myself???

Well, let's just say that the first week is not quite done and I already informed Hubby that he owes me a Steak Dinner if I am successful!! That would be like half of a week's budget!! Crazy!

If you have anymore questions, let me know! "Recipe found on website" means go to Hillbilly Housewife for them. When you are on the homepage there is a link down on the left side for $70 Weekly Budget. Click there. When you see that page, scroll down and there should be links to all of her meal recipes.

PS~ The Cowgirl Beans with Rice was a big hit with my family! They loved the flavor.