The uphill battle of January

January always seems like the longest month of the year. I am always still dealing with the large volume of additions to my home, the weather is bad, the children (and dogs) are restless, the bills from holiday excess come in, and then you start to break your resolutions. Will I ever learn to make doable resolutions? I am such an optimistic person and plan to stay that way. I would rather plan more than I can do, and get more done than if I didn't try.

I have kept up with this journey of working to feed a family well or a budget. My families diet is of good quality, and our food budget is doing fine. I could still work harder to cut costs, and will continue to do that. I will start (next week) to see which meal was the most economical in price. I have realized that it is not a bargain if I will not cook it, my family will not eat it, or it is not good for us. A bargain to me is getting something that is on sale, nutritious, and delicious.

This week's menu was a struggle. It is work to make a menu from the sales papers. However, it does keep mealtime interesting.

Lucky- We spent $18.27, saved $18.14 (50%)
Meat:
3 lbs of beef rib eye steak ($3.88 lb)

Vegetables/Fruits:
6 lbs of navel oranges (3 lbs for 99 cents)
2 lbs of bananas

Safeway- We spent $52.87, saved $50.87 (49%)
Meat:
2 Jimmy Dean premium sliced bacon (2 for $5)

Dairy:
2/ 18 count Lucerne large eggs (buy 1, get 1 free)
2/ 8 oz. Lucerne soft cream cheese (99 cents each)(coupon)
10/ 6 oz. Lucerne yogurts (10 for $4)
Butter (salted variety)

Cans/boxes
Cheerios

Other
6 oz (at least ) mini chocolate chips
1 bag of walnut pieces (no on sale, buy a larger bag to put in freezer for oatmeal recipe)

Vegetables/Fruits:
12 large Hass avocados (2 for $1)
5 lbs red roma tomatoes (47 cents a lb)
5 lbs sweet fuji apples (78 cents a lb)

Beverages:
4 Minute Maid orange juice (2 for $4)

Raleys- We spent $72.78, saved $39.47 (35%)
Meat:
6 lbs R Everyday split chicken breast ($1.69 lb)

Dairy:
2/ 4 pack of Dan Active drinkable yogurt (2 for $4)

Cans/boxes:
2 Full Circle organic peanut butter (creamy) ($3.99 each)
Quaker old fashioned oats ($2.50)

Other:
2 Sara Lee bagels ($2.59)
1/ 17 oz. Star Olive oil ($3.99)

Vegetables/Fruits:
4 lbs of red pears (99 cents a lb)

Frozen:
15 Birds Eye steamfresh vegetables ($1.49 each)

Beverages:
2/ 18 packs of Pepsi ($4.49 each)(coupon limit 2)

Nugget- We spent $51.92, saved $30.33 (27%)
Dairy:
4 Land O Lakes sliced cheese (2 for $5)
Sargento shredded cheese (Monterey jack) ($2.99)

Cans/boxes
4 Wacky Mac noodles (4 for $5)
4 Pacific Foods organic broth (chicken) ($2.99)
4 jars of Francisco Rinaldi pasta sauce (2 for $3)

Other:
4 Oroweat bread (2 for $3)
1 package of Jumbo Seeds ($1.29)

Vegetables/fruits
2 Organic Girl salads (2 for $5)(spinach)
2 lbs of red peppers (41.97 a lb)
2 lbs of italian squash (97 cents a lb)

I spent a total of $195.96 for a week of groceries for a big family ($32.66 per for the week, $4.66 per day, or $1.56 per meal). This is an interesting way to look at my spending amount.

This week's menu includes a treat night with steak for dinner. Every once in awhile I have to make something to tell my amazing husband that I love him. Nothing does this like steak.

I am going to mentally extimate the cost of each meal and add that data. I estimate that $76 dollars of our spending is for dinner, which means $120 in other meals. I am spending more on breakfast since that is the meal that I am focusing on trying new recipes this month.

I also stocked up on some staples that will be in future meals, which accounts for at least $27 dollars. (pasta, pasta sauce, and frozen vegetables - I love the steamfresh vegetables due to the ease of cooking them).

Next week, I will plan from the cupboards. I wonder if we could skip a week of major shopping. It would be neat to do that every 3rd or 4th week.

Monday (18th)($16.00)
Steak, veggie, and baked potatoes

Tuesday (19th)($9.00 the broth is organic)
Bean soup (didn't make it last week)

Wednesday (20th)($9.00)
Grilled cheese and tomato soup (I will use my tomatoes to make a tomato soup in my new Vita Mix)

Thursday (21st)($11.00)
Roasted chicken breast, steam vegetables, and bread and butter

Friday (22nd)($9.00)
Chili (with ground turkey), and fresh fruit

Saturday (23rd) ($12.00)
Chicken noodle soup

Sunday (24th)($10.00)
Breakfast for dinner- muffins (make extras for next week’s breakfasts and snacks for the girls), bacon, scrambled eggs. 1