What's for dinner? A Red Robin meal on a Taco Bell budget.

It was brought to my attention by a newspaper article last month that our grocery budget is less than we'd get if we were on food stamps.  I was surprised.  There was a 2 adult and one tot home that got $375 in food stamps for a month and they were complaining it wasn't enough for them to buy food.  Without explaining my opinions on the failings of our food stamp and welfare system....if it were possible...wouldn't it be great for anybody receiving tax payer money to pay for their food....to receive a required class on budgeting, nutrition, and meal planning?  $375 really should be enough money to buy wholesome food for 3 people for a month.  But it does take some work.

We budget $350 a month for groceries for our family of four. That's for all food and all meals as we've pretty much cut "eating out" from the budget as we're in the adoption process. We don't buy much organic food, but I'd confidently say that we eat pretty wholesome food and avoid many processed or junk foods.  I've decided to chronicle grocery spending and dinners for the month of January.  Mostly just for fun and also for accountability.  This past year, especially, it has been really important for us to stick to a budget so we can save as much as possible for the adoption.

Today we went to WinCo and spent $100 and got a LOT of food.  Enough for about two weeks. I have plenty of staples in the pantry and freezer so between that and our new groceries, I can make a good amount of food for my little family. Praise God.  It's so easy for Americans to have access to food.  We take it for granted!

What helps me stick to a budget and be organized is printing out a blank calendar for each month to plan meals.  This one is partially filled out already. Depending on what's going on that day I can plan more easily. 

As I'm filling in meals on the calender, I am checking the cupboards, fridge, and freezer to check and see what ingredients we already have and adding ones we'll need to the grocery list.  Yes, I do categorize my list like this.  Shopping with a 2 and 4 year old requires me to be organized and quick in the store for my sanity :)  Yes, I know I'm old school.  I've seen people walking through the store with their lists on an iPad, but I just prefer a piece of paper. If I need to fill in a couple more meals before it's grocery time, this forces me to be creative with the food in my cupboards.  And yes, we do make a couple runs for things we run out of....like BANANAS!!

We got all of this minus the beef and plus two bagels, greek yogurt, frozen stir fry veggies, two avocados, ketchup, and a bag of spinach for $100. I'd say the "worst" things (most processed) foods would be our treat of low fat ice cream and whipped cream.  I like buying out of the bulk bins when possible as it's usually cheaper than buying on the isles. 

 For January, I'm going to post pictures of all my dinners, at least weekly.  I'll include what we ate and also how many Weight Watcher points it was- just for fun-.  My hubby and I do count points for Weight Watchers.  It's a nice accountability for me to maintain my weight and for him to continue losing weight (40 lbs in 2013!) Plus it helps the grocery bill, too, as we just don't eat as much as we used to- which helps balance out the fact that the boys are eating more than they used to lol. 

I'll also include a running tab of how much we're spending on food.  I want to stick to $350 a month.  I want to show that it's possible to eat wholesome and good food on a budget.  Sometimes that's hard- especially when food allergies necessitate us buying (expensive) goats milk and gluten free bread for our tot. You may notice that our dinners are gluten free but I really try to avoid buying a lot of "gluten free" products if possible because they are so expensive.  We do buy a few things but finding alternatives has been a money saver for us.  Aaron and Alex are the only ones that have to eat gluten free but, for simplicity's sake, we all eat the same for dinner most of the time. 

One thing to mention is that we have a separate "Hospitality" fund in our budget that allows us to bring people meals or pay for particular hosting expenses, etc.  We love being able to do this without having to worry about going over our tight grocery budget. 

Weight Watchers Points:  9

My January 1st Dinner:  Ham steak, Spinach salad with mandarins and sunflower seeds, Roasted root veggies (yellow sweet potato, parsnip, and carrots). Beverage: Water- a free and 0 point drink :)