Friday: We kept Caleb and Bella today. Katie very nicely provides us with lunch on these days when she finishes her appointments up around noon. We had a nice meal today. We weren't feeling particularly hungry this evening when suppertime rolled around but I was feeling snacky.
I put together a plate of nachos, topped the plate with chicken nuggets and a pile of lettuce and tomato and salsa. Ya'll...That was sooo good! It was still relatively low carb, higher in protein and felt like such a treat. How did I keep it low carb? By carefully counting out my chips (12 is more than you think) and adding the carbs in each portion of food to insure I was within my self-imposed limit. I try to hang in at no more 40 per meal and I try to make sure that my protein count is half that or higher.
Meals: I can't even remember
Zaxby's. Katie and I got a Zax Snack (3 tenders, small order of fries) and John had a Chicken Sandwich.
Chicken Nugget Nachos.
Saturday: All the work we didn't do yesterday, was today's to be done. We hurried through it all and were done before lunchtime.
I scanned the savings emails I get from Krazy Koupon Lady, Hip to Save, Money Saving Mama and noted a few deals on individually bagged chips. Right now, I'm paying about 39c an ounce bag for the chips at the discount store. If I can get them for less on Amazon, I do. It's typical that about this time of year Amazon starts to have these sorts of deals. I think it's meant to be a sort of back-to-school stock-up for lunches. I added two or three of the deals to my Subscribe and Save for this month.
While I was adding things into the cart, I figured I'd go ahead and examine what other items were supposed to ship. I removed several that I knew we didn't need just now and then went to check out our stock of a couple other items. One stayed and three more got eliminated.
An accidental waste occurred. I had a food grade bucket with the gamma lid on it on the back porch that I'd stored excess dog food in earlier in the year when we bought a 40-pound bag. I opened the bucket to pour into the dog food bin and discovered that the food had molded! John and I were shocked at that. We can only think that somehow a bit of moisture got in the bucket. We don't know if it was a tiny leak or what. That food will be bagged and tossed in the dumpster.
I chilled a can of the expired coconut milk. I checked the color and taste when I went to use it. It's fine. I put it in the blender and added in a box of vanilla pudding. It made a much softer pudding mix than usual even though it's just a 13.5 ounce can. I thought it might be slightly thicker. It tasted quite good, and we enjoyed it. Happy bonus, it's low carb and has a higher protein count than milk. Win!
Meals: Bagels and Cream Cheese
No idea...
No clue...where was I for meals today?!
Sunday: Cheese on sale this week at Kroger. I like to get those big 2-pound blocks for $6 when they go on sale, about every four to six weeks. I checked my list before going into the store for good bargains and noted the things I need to buy.
I try hard to stick to the outer perimeters of the store which is where most 'deals' were on my list. I scanned the deli aisles and picked up a rotisserie chicken. It was already 98F (at 10:30) and I thought it would help make a fast lunch when we got home. I found a tub of Alouette herbed cheese spread on clearance, but it was still well within its best buy date. In the produce department, I bought a couple of sale priced items and scanned refrigerated shelves as I walked through the department. I got a package of baby Kale for $1.59. I hope that the baby kale is a more tender thing that fully grown kale.
I went by the meat aisles and bought bacon for the freezer while it's on sale this week. Then I checked the reduced meat section. I picked up a package of rib eye steaks for $25 (each steak nets us two servings of meat so we'll get two fancy meals off this) and a package of two really lovely thick pork chops for just at $5. Both meats are expensive compared to what I buy at the discount store, but the steaks and chops were both cut thicker. These meats are the sort we'd not eat every day, but we do enjoy as a special meal for a date at home. Beyond that I got dairy, cheese, eggs, frozen peas and dog food. The total took up a bit more than the last of the grocery budget for this month. I got the full limit on the cheese (5 bars)
I considered this hard when I got home. I want to buy sugar and flour this month. I want to buy peaches and we'll need lettuce before the week is done but, I'm not going to plan to do any more grocery shopping this month beyond those items. Will I go into the discount store to see what's in the clearance sections? Probably not even though I seldom spend more than $20 doing that. I have two weeks before my new budget kicks in and I feel it's more than doable with what we have on hand.
Meals: Sausage Cheese toast
Chicken, leftover potato salad
Steaks, Oven Fries (using one baking potato for the two of us), Salad, homemade Blue Cheese dressing
Monday: John and I have worked today.
Proud moment...I strained off the apple cores from the homemade vinegar and noted that I had a small 'mother' growing on the top of the cores. I carefully removed it and added to the strained vinegar. What is a 'mother'? It's a naturally occurring growth that has a slightly rubbery texture. If you watch Three Rivers Homestead when she works with her homemade vinegar, you'll note that she has flat discs of mother growing in most of her jars. You can move that mother from one batch to the new one that you're planning to start fermenting. It feeds off the sugar in the vinegar.
I made three pint-sized jars of yogurt which are currently incubating on the counter. I bought a fresh half gallon of milk yesterday. We used what we had on hand already this morning for cereal and then I made yogurt with the remainder. I opened my last jar of the last batch of yogurt this morning hence my desire to make more yogurt right away.
John was in the shower after mowing this afternoon when the skies clouded, and rain began to pour. It's been going on now for a good hour or so. I hurried outdoors and set the back porch plants under the eaves of the porch to get some of that rainwater. Not bad for a 20% chance of rain...
Meals: Cereal Yogurt Toast
BLT and Chicken Salad for me, Club Sandwich for John
Meatloaf, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans, Corn Pudding. If this sounds a bit high carb I'll eat only one serving of the potatoes and corn dish which will put me right at my imposed limit per meal. I also skipped eating carbs entirely at lunch time because I wanted a piece of chocolate with my coffee this afternoon. It's all about balance.
Tuesday: I skipped going to Walmart today entirely. I always end up doing this when I've a planned day out with Mama. I'm so weary by the time the visit is over, and it was so hot, that all I wanted was something cold to drink and to go home. So, I did just that.
I saved a portion of my lunch and brought home to John for a snack.
I bought peaches when Mama requested Peach ice cream. I treated her to the ice cream which was some of the best I've had. I'll definitely get mine from the Pearsons' shed in the future. I couldn't eat all my ice cream, but I had no issues with tossing it since I couldn't get home with it.
I stopped at Dunkin' on my way out of town. I've found I can skip the sweetened drinks, order an iced coffee with milk and it's a lot cheaper than the usual Latte type drinks. And I can ask for decaf, so double win on that. I got John a doughnut while I was at Dunkin'. He doesn't like peach ice cream, but he loves doughnuts.
While out today, I combined a banking errand and taking mail into town to post.
Meals: Smoked Sausage, English Muffins. The English muffins taste good, and the texture is nearer what I want from a muffin but no nooks or crannies.
out with Mama. John on his own at home. He was left with a selection of leftovers.
Meatballs and Rotini with homemade Tomato sauce. John and I couldn't finish our bowls of pasta. It was just too much. We'll have leftovers tomorrow for lunch.
Wednesday: I am having an easy day. I thought perhaps resting would help kick this cold into retreating.
I noted last night that I need to make up a list and reorder my supply of cold medicines. I order all the ingredients listed on a popular name brand over the counter cold medicine except I sub in another antihistamine for the one that is generally included. I have a list of how much of each is required to equal a dose and I combine them and use as they do. The cost of stocking up is less than one package of the cold medicine meant to last 4 days and will give us enough medication to see us through several sieges of cold and flu.
I made bread this afternoon. I'm too weary to consider a new recipe this week, so I just made my usual recipe of bread.
I am so grateful I have an easy menu this week that requires little hard work. It is purely providence that I planned such easy meals! Last night I used an older container of vegetable-based spaghetti sauce and meatballs I'd bought on sale several months back to make our supper. That sauce was a freezer item that was a bit older.
Today I am using half a can each of bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. I put the remainder of the cans in the freezer for another veggie stir-fry dish later.
Meals: John was on his own. I only wanted coffee.
Rotini with Meatballs (Leftovers. I added a bit of cottage cheese to up the protein of the bowls).
Oriental Sauced Chicken Patties, Stir Fry Vegetables, Rice.
Thursday: John has succumbed to the 'cold' as well. He remained convinced it was allergies right up until yesterday and then he suggested it might be a cold...Today he's feeling less chipper than yesterday. I had a fairly rotten night. It's not the worst cold I've ever had. I'm just more tired than anything, not flu-like achy tired, just that I tire out easily.
So I made the soup I promised myself I'd make, but not the Kitchen Sink soup I'd planned. I took the last of that chicken I bought on Sunday and stripped meat from the bones, added in some mushrooms I'd nearly forgotten about in the fridge, celery, onion, garlic, carrot and added in vinegar and broth powder and made a big pot of Chicken Soup. I've enough for us to eat again.
I have been making fresh lemonade for us every day too. I figure that Vitamin C will do us a world of good.
Meals: Toast for John, Peanut Butter Peach Toast for me
Chicken Soup with the last of the mini wontons from the freezer.
????something pre-made from the freezer or more soup. I don't know just yet. I'm in the mood for comfort foods so perhaps I'll bake a couple of those frozen pot pies and bring out the cranberry sauce...Oh that sounds good!
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1 comment:
Found one of those hiding zucchinis in the garden, now the size of an infant. I made zucchini cheese sausage soup, which my husband inhaled for three meals! I also made a zucchini cake that was a new recipe that was less greasy than a lot of zucchini desserts are. Finally, I used the last of it in zucchini latkes, enough for two meals. I kid you not, this one vegetable from the only zucchini plant I have, fed us for 6 evening meals! I also harvested scallions that for some reason have grown to the size of small onions, so I chopped and froze them for use this winter. I left some in the garden for summer use; I wish I had kept notes on the variety because I more than got my money's worth out of that packet of seeds. I am very, very lucky that my husband is not picky and will eat the same meal for days in a row because it saves me work to just keep giving him leftovers. I also make freezer meals but in my experience with cheese containing soups, the thawed results have a texture difference I don't like. My garden is smaller than it used to be, the energy is just not there like it was even when I was 60, but I am more selective about what I plant so the yields are not really smaller than they were when the garden was bigger. I also use every last thing---you can cook broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and pumpkin leaves like other greens so they are a good addition to soups. I used to throw that stuff away but if I am going to plant less, I am going to wring every last morsel out of what I do plant. 58 degrees here, so we are not suffering from the heat like you are.
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