$50 Bucks

That is how much I spent in groceries last month.

I didnt use a debit card, or swipe my credit card one time.

Twice a month, Andy "pays" me enough money for food and groceries. In September, there was a bit of a snafu with the money and when Andy only gave me $50, I looked at it and thought it would be fun to see how long I could make it last. Well, I rationed it out and it covered 30 days. I went to the grocery store ONE TIME during the month. And other than that, I did not step foot in a store for an entire 30 days. No trips to Wal Mart for "just one thing" no late night runs to the grocery store for "just milk".

I often ask myself if I could live as a pioneer. The hardest thing for me to give up would be food. I could go without a shower, with out electricity, I would love to live off my garden and sew my families clothes. But the food...I would struggle with that. I love cooking and trying new recipes. If I were a pioneer I am certain that Curry and Naan would have never been served, and chocolate chip cookies would not be a regular treat in our house.

I understand that pioneers diets were limited, because their income and resources were. They didnt have a supermarket 5 minutes away that held millions of half prepared items inside. I thought it would be interesting to see if I could really get back to the basics, so I limited my income and resources for a month.

Granted, this can not happen every month in my house, our cupboards and freezer were full of random items that have now been used up and will not go to waste.

I buy a lot of items in bulk, so we have plenty of grains in this house. Wheat, spelt, millett, rice, various types of beans, ect. I used the bulk grains we have on hand and it seems like I barely dented my supply. I ground my own grains for biscuits, breads, tortillas, cookies, etc.

Even Maggie got homemade foods, ground or prepared right here in our own kitchen. She has been eating solids for about 3 months now and to date, I have purchased 1 box of rice cereal at the store. She eats millet, barley, and rice fresh ground from the organic bulk stuff I have on hand. And fruits and veggies pulled from our garden and shared from friends.

The biggest thing I did was simplify and MAKE everything from scratch. When I made chicken enchiladas, they were made with homemade tortillas (CHEAP and EASY!!), homemade cream of chicken soup (CHEAP and EASY!) white beans bought in bulk a few months ago (CHEAP!) and served with chips made from homemade tortillas (CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!!) and tomatoes from our garden (FREE!). Once I sat down and calculated the cost of that meal, I was astounded. It cost me less than $2 out of my pocket to make a 9 x 13 pan of chicken enchiladas, which fed us dinner and lunch the next day.

Here is a little summary of what we consumed:

breakfasts:
1. 12 grain cereal (no cost, purchased a few months ago. 50lbs of organic grain cereal only cost me $27, why doesnt everyone eat this stuff? I swear I am never going to get to the bottom of the bag!)
2. whole wheat pancakes and homemade syrup (no cost for anything, all items were on hand.)
3. scrambled eggs and toast from homemade bread (no cost, all items were on hand, we get eggs for free from my father in laws chickens)
4. blueberry muffins (no cost, all items on hand. I have 15 lbs of blueberries in my freezer that need used)
shakes/smoothies (cost of milk to make kefir, all other items on hand from bulk purchases in the past.)


lunches:
1. leftovers
2. peanut butter and jelly and applesauce (no cost. homemade bread, homemade jam, natural peanut butter purchased in bulk last month that needed to get used. homemade apple sauce)
3. quesadillas (homemade tortillas. cheese purchased from the store. Served with homemade salsa)
4. chips and salsa (No cost. homemade chips, homemade salsa.)
5. egg salad sandwiches (no cost. homemade bread, free eggs, condiments on hand)
6. salad (minimal cost, I used veggies from the garden, but had to buy some leafy greens)

dinner:
this was really the only place I spent money. I had to buy a few items to help me complete some meals. I always served fresh fruits or veggies on the side, which for the most part cost me nothing.

1. chicken enchiladas (almost no cost. everything was on hand but the cheese. I canned my own chicken last summer so I used that, made my own corn tortillas, made my own cream chicken, used chilis from my garden, served with garden tomatoes and homemade salsa and chips)
2. ham and bean soup (no cost, I got a ham bone from my mother in law and used beans and spices that I had on hand. served with homemade corn bread)
3. chicken noodle soup (almost no cost. all garden veggies, 1 chicken breast, homemade egg noodles and homemade rolls)
4. spaghetti (no cost. no meat. I had everything on hand. I rummaged in my food storage and found a can of spaghetti noodles that were nearing its expiration date, so we used them up and served them with home made sauce and tons of garden veggies and homemade bread sticks)
5. some nights we ate peanut butter and jelly
6. Brazillian Beans and rice (no cost. no meat. all items on hand)
7. Chicken roll ups (minimal cost. 1 chicken breast, homemade rolls, spices, and soup used)
8. Biscuits and gravy with eggs (no cost, no meat. homemade biscuits and pan gravy with fresh eggs)
9. pancakes (no cost. homemade pancakes, homemade syrup. served with homemade apple juice from a large apple harvest)
10. Macaroni and cheese (minimal cost. everything was on hand, but I did buy cheese and used it for this)
11. Minestrone with homemade rolls (no cost. All garden veggies, homemade chicken stock. Homemade herb rolls)
12. Salad (minimal cost. free garden veggies but I did buy leafy greens. I used old-ish bread to make croutons)
13. chicken fingers and fries (homemade chicken fingers and oven baked fries using spuds from the garden)
14. Sitaw, a traditional Philippino food. (minimal cost. brown rice, green beans from the garden, chicken and spices all on hand)

snacks:

1. apples (free from our trees)
2. veggies (from the garden)
3. hard boiled eggs (from the Father in Law)
4. Zucchini Bread (Zuchinni from the garden, all other baking items on hand)
5. carrot cake with no frosting (Carrots from the garden, all other baking items on hand)
6. bread and butter (homemade bread)
7. granola bars (homemade with items on hand)
8. popcorn (I bought a 25 lb bag of organic popcorn for $15 a few months ago and we are working our way thru it)
9. blueberry muffins (leftovers from breakfast)
10. Shakes/smoothies (cost of milk to make kefir)
11. cookies (no cost, all items on hand)
12. homemade pretzels (no cost, all items on hand)
13. applesauce (no cost, made last summer from a large apple crop)

I have to say, with all that homemade stuff, last month was not even hard. Meals were not extremely time consuming. It was great to really use the basics when feeding my family. For bulk items, I think if we had some wheat, beans, flour, sugar and butter on hand we could fare just fine. (sound familiar? FOOD STORAGE!!!)

This month I purchased butter, milk, cheese, chicken, and bananas, milk and a few other small items. Otherwise, I just used stuff I had around here. And my supplies are still full. I still have tons of grains and butter and chocolate chips.

Anyone can cut back their grocery bill this way. Cook your own food. Grow a garden. Get as basic as you can when preparing meals. Skip the box of Bisquick and find a recipe for biscuits and pancakes, homemade tastes so much better anyway. Make your own tortillas, and let your kids help. My boys love rolling out the corn dough and pressing it. Make your won syrup, sure it has sugar in it but its nothing compared to the stuff Aunt Jamima makes, and the taste surpasses store bought stuff too. Its easy and its cheap.

I think I will try this again in a few months. I am always over buying and keeping extra stuff in the freezer and cupboard. This helps me to use it up and get creative and forces me to hone my cooking/baking skills.