What's for dinner? Week 3

Week 3:  #Feeding your family on a budget  # $350 a month

January 15th:
Country style ribs (a la crock pot), Kale chips, Spanish style rice, roasted root vegetables (carrots, parsnip, and sweet potato).  WW points-12

 

 

 

 

January16th: Breakfast for dinner while Mommy teaches a class.  Potato quiche (we had n accident in the oven and that explains the funny look lol), gf pancakes, whole wheat waffles, bacon, and fruit salad.  My hubby took a picture of his dinner for me haha!

 

 

January 17th:  Mexican chicken tortilla soup (a la crock pot with potatoes, carrots, and zucchini) and apple slices.  This is so yummy!! If I am feeling ambitious, I'll make a batch of homemade tortillas and fry them up to garnish the soup with.  As you can see, tortilla chips had to suffice for this one :)  WW Points-9

 

January 18th:
We were able to get away for a night as a family to the coast using some family's time share.  It was a treat! It would only work if we kept our budget really slim- so we packed food to make dinner and breakfast at the hotel.  For some reason I always enjoy making dinner at hotels.  Something about using a clean kitchen perhaps?  Who knows.  This is brown rice pasta as Homemade Mac and Cheese with meatballs, mixed veggies (carrots and peas), french bread with marinara, and applesauce.  Nothing from scratch as we were away from home and I wanted little prep, but obviously cheaper than eating at most restaurants, fairly wholesome, and pretty yummy! I had packed milk for the boys in small containers and we made enough ice and ice blocks at home to get the food to the hotel.

 

 

 

 

January 19th:
After eating a very heavy lunch at the coast before we headed home, both my husband and I were craving produce to detox.  So a spinach salad with mandarins and sunflower seeds did the trick wtih a blueberry, strawberry, banana, and spinach smoothie.  Made sandwiches for the boys but this was all we wanted! WW points: 4 

                 

January 20th: 
Homemade tortillas with chicken (a la crock pot with salsa, cumin, and broth), mayo coba beans (cooked in my favorite bean pot from Mexico (above), and tomatoes/lettuce/onions.  I may have been ravenously hungry and forgotten to take a picture of my food, but this was Aaorn's "seconds" that he let me take a picture of haha!  I like to try different kinds of beans.  I find them in the bulk section at the grocery store.  Bulk meaning the bins you scoop- not in mass quantities.  Mayo coba beans taste like a mild pinto and are tasty!  

January 21st:
We had plenty of leftover beans and chicken, so day two of this meal morphed into something different for everyone.  I made a little batch of gf encniladas for Aaron, the boys had mini burritos in (storebought) corn tortillas, and I found two crunchy taco shells in the pantry.  I also made some Spanish style rice, corn, and blueberry/pear fruit bowl.  WW- 12

January 22nd:    Teriyaki chicken and vegetable stir fry on brown rice.  Anything teriyaki makes my husband happy.  WW Points: 7

January 23rd:   Breakfast for dinner while Mom is teaching.  Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes/waffles, and a smoothie ready to blend (blueberries, bananas, and spinach).  We generally use rice milk for smoothies just because it's a milk that everyone in the family can drink so it's just easier!

 

 

 

Well, we are up to $343 for groceries now with one week left!  This is when it gets challenging and when I have to be creative with lunches and snacks, etc. Dinners are already planned thankfully. We re-stocked on apples and bananas today and got more goat milk for Alex so we should be good to go. Seven dollars leaves enough for one more banana run (did I mention I live with 3 monkeys?) It's good to raid the pantries and see what you can make with what you have.  I found a can of pumpkin today and the boys and I made chocolate chip pumpkin cookie bars.  Very good. We have meat in the freezer, a pantry full of rice, quinoa, beans, lentils, pastas, etc.  We will be just fine.  And, as the month comes to a close we are getting closer and closer to our adoption funding!  The phrase "A penny saved is a penny earned" really does ring true during this time for us!!  

Speaking of lunches, this is my favorite lunch to eat.  A friend got me hooked on whole wheat pita with hummas, feta cheese, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  7 points of goodness!

 Alex loves plain zoi (greek) yogurt with Adams peanut butter mixed in (TONS of good fat for him!).  The boys also love avocados, cheese, fruit, and what you see below is what I call a "snowball".  It's dates and walnuts pureed together and rolled into a ball through unsweetened coconut.  Mateo has taken to eating pita with hummus on it too amazingly! Sometimes we'll eat leftovers, brown rice pasta, sandwiches, homemade pizza or muffins defrosted from the freezer, or whatever I can muster up. 

Until next week!