Project: Food Budget (Wk7) Nick's Family

Veggie Meal-Maker is participating with about 30 other blogs in Project: Food Budget. Follow along as we share food goals, food budgets, and meal-planning strategies. Week 7 updates below:

GOAL: $75

ACTUAL: $76.68

SIZE OF FAMILY:  3 - Nick & Shae (parents) and Paisley (14 months)

FOOD GOALS:  #1Keep dining out to a minimum (end of school year busyness makes dining out temptations all the more strong). Solution: easy, healthy dinners. #2Begin weaning ourselves off a $100 a week budget down to eventually $50 per week. (Shae is staying home with Paisley so we need to trim some fat from the budget). #3Test several recipes this week and MAKE Paisley's baby food ($1 jars add up quick!).

Ingredients for Paisley's food: Organic Peas & Pears

This weeks groceries.

MENU

PROUDEST SHOPPING MOMENT:
While we did have some big splurges with eating out this week (see below) our actual grocery bill was right on! I found that I needed to stay focused a bit more on what was on the list...generally I get a bit crazy-eyed and grab extras that are not on the list. So my proudest shopping moment was staying focused, getting only what was on the list and staying under budget - at least at the grocery store!

BIGGEST SPLURGE/INDULGENCE:
Eating out Tuesday Night and Wednesday Breakfast & Lunch. Tuesday night was kindergarten graduation and since Shae is the first grade teacher (although she wont be next year) her presence was required. Tuesday dinner time came, I hadn't been shopping and the pantry was pretty bare so we went out for burritos. We agreed to split a burrito and while we were walking into the restaurant a man sat at a table with a sign that read, "Food". We decided to get him a burrito but he then mysteriously disappeared so I ended up eating it. Wednesday was a field trip so we grabbed some Jamba for breakfast & ate out for lunch.

Oh and I also splurged on some beet seeds for the garden.

SUMMARY OF WEEK
WIth graduations, field-trips, and end of school year busyness this week was a bit hodgepodged. I was able to try some new recipes and we ate food every meal.

CONCLUSION(S)
Despite the last minute eating out we were right on track with a smaller budget. If we would have stuck to just the grocery store this week we would have been WAY under budget at $45.35!

What are some ways you trim the fat from your food spending?

Looking for some more food budget inspiration? Checkout the participating blogs below...

PARTICIPATING BLOGS

• Emily Levenson
• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Test Kitchen Tuesday
• Fit Flexitarian
• Warm As Pie
• xox, b
• Project Food Budget 2.0
• That's Just Me
• Two Eggs Over Easy
• Eat Whole Be Vital
• Four Happy Violets
• Pgh Dad
• yogabeautylife
• naMAMAste
• Six Dollars a Day
• What da Health?
• French Press
• Veggie Meal Maker
• Eryn Says...