Hope you had a great Sunday! It snowed a little here and that was nice. I know many get sick of winter, but I don’t. 

I did the 70 minute Yoga Downoad today. You should check it out if you can. It’s a donation class based on the idea of “practicing compassion.” I think this important and something I’ve been working on with others. Sometimes people easily annoy me and I need to remember to be more comassionate and patient with these people. We’re all only human with lots of flaws and imperfections.

For dinner I made Caitlin’s Black Bean Burger Patties, but I added some added wheat gluten for extra kicks.

I froze the leftovers and want to start making more and more veggie/bean burgers on my own. They are much cheaper and more delicious than lots of boxed varieties. 

Oh, I should share that before dinner I had some of these delicious Krinkle Cut Kettle Chips and they are fabulous. Look at the spices.

 

Food on a Budget Week 3

Week 1 Total: … $131 (first week in empty apartment)
Week 2 Total: … $99.25
Week 3 … $58.86!!!!

 

This makes me so happy I can hardly take it. It is possible to not go broke and buy good food!

Whole Foods
Kettle Chips Krinkle BBQ … $3.50
Mesculun Lettuce ($7.99/lb) … $1.52
Whole Foods Wheat Lavash … $2.49
Silk Light Soymilk … $3.00
Bob’s Mill Gold Flax Meal … $4.99
6 Stony Field Farms Yogurts … $4.00
Whole Wheat Flour … $ 2.99
Veggie Broth … $3.39
2 Clif Bars … $1.48 ($.50 off coupon)
2 Clif Builder Bars … $1.83 ($.75 off coupon)
1 Mojo Dipped Bar … $.79 ($.50 off coupon)
Go Green Bag Refund … $.20 off
Total … $31.56

A & P
5 Vitamin Waters … $5.00
1 Bottled Water (it was a thirst emergency) … $.50
3 Pears ($.99/lb) … $3.00
5 Bananas ($.59/lb) … $1.20
3 Oranges ($1 each) … $3.00
Tomato … $1.17
Cucumber … $2.50
Birds Eye Pepper Stir Fry … $2.54
Boars Head BBQ Chicken Breast … $ 4.75
Boars Head American Cheese … $1.56
Total … $24.30

Most Expensive Item: Ground flax. 

Biggest Bargain: Clif Bars w/ coupons.

What I Learned: Bananas and oranges were cheaper at Trader Joe’s than at A&P. The vegetable broth was much cheaper at Trader Joe’s than at Whole Foods Maybe I’ll make Trader Joe’s more of a regular thing?!?!

Live and Learn: I saw the Soy Milk on sale at Whole Foods for $3, so I picked some up. Sadly, it was on sale for less at A & P ($2.50). Gotta check the sales first!

Bun in the Oven: In an effort to save money I’m making a loaf of wheat bread instead of buying bread this week. Like the bean burgers, homemade bread is so much cheaper than the store bought version. So, my question for this week is … What do you make for yourself instead of buying at a store that saves money?

Mark and I are about to watch Burn After Reading, so we’ll see ya later.

Oh and if you commented on the video Mark posted, thank you. He didn’t make it, so it’s okay to provide negative feedback. The responses have been interesting for sure. If you get a chance and didn’t already, please check it out here. You can feel free to comment anonymously! 

I have so much to talk about! I know this is a lengthy post, so please use the headings to read about the parts your interested in. I don’t want to be a bore. 

Brunch

Today is Mark’s dad’s birthday, so Mark and I went to his parents’ house for brunch. There was lots of great fruit and coffee covered nuts of some sort. 

 

 

As a general rule, I do not eat things that are as big as my head.

 

So I had half a wheat bagel from Hot Bagel’s Abroad in Bloomfield (the picture shows half of half) with fresh Peanut Butter (something I miss now that I am on a budget) and fruit.

 

Award Show Exercise

At the gym today I was reading the February issue of Fitness. On page 18 are some exercises you can do while watching awards shows this season.

(1) When a mom is thanked, jog in place quickly for 10 seconds then jog with knees high for 10 seconds and repeat 3 times.

(2) When a celebrity is not pleased with the host’s joke, do 10 tricep dips.

(3) When a speaker is cutoff, hold a high plank for one minute.

Usually, I just sit on my butt when I watch T.V., but  I’ll try if you try! 

Budget Shopping

Week 1 Total: … $131 (first week in empty apartment)
Week 2 Total: … Total Week 2 … $89.25

Last night we went to Trader Joe’s. 

 

Edited: I saw Meghann posted groceries and listed prices and I thought that might be helpful here too. If you see something and think I overpaid, let me know!
Whole Wheat English Muffins … $1.49
Laughing Cow Cheese … $2.99
TJs Chunky Salsa … $2.29
TJs Speing Mix Salad … $1.99
Chicken Vindaloo Rice Bwol … $2.49
Cicken Massaman Rice Bowl … $2.49
TJs All Natural BBQ Sauce … $2.29
Basil … $2.69
Dozen Large Eggs … $1.79
Vegetable Broth … $1.99
Organic Whole Carrots … $.89
Chicken Sausage Spinach Fontina … $3.99
TJS Chocolate Chip & Nut and Fruit Bars … 8 @ $.49 = $3.92
TJs Fat Free Yogurt 6 oz. … $.79 * 3
Organic Ketchup … $1.99
Whole Wheat Fiber Bread … $2.49
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough … $.99 * 2
Garlic … $1.69
Onion Trio … $1.99
Eggplant … $1.54
Spanikoptia … $3.99
Mozzerella … $4.29
Tomato Pizza Sauce … $1.39
Oranges … $.39 * 4 = $1.56
Apples … $.49 * 4 = 1.96
Bananas … $.19 * 5 = $.95
Baby Spinach … $.1.99
Parsley … $1.69
Plain Organic Non-fat yogurt 32 oz … $2.99
Roma Tomatoes = $3.51
Total … 69.68

Today I went to a small Farmer’s Market for spices and a lime and spent $4. Those big bottles of coriander and cumin were only $1.99. I also went to ShopRite to get a few other things like Mark’s deli turkey and the total was $16. 

 

Cumin … $1.99
Corriander … $1.99
Lime … $.25
Total … $4.29

Whole Grain Penne … $1.34
Manny’s WW Tortilla … $1.59
.5lb pound turkey breast … $2.11
Chi Chi Green Chili … $.99
Ricotta Cheese … $1.66
Pinto Beans … $.99
Salt … $.47
Stella Parmesean … $4.40
Unsalted Butter … $1.67
Total … $15.28

Week 2 Observations

In general, I think the $89 is pretty good. We are still buying staples like salt, ketchup and BBQ sauce, Parmesean cheese, etc. I was able to get fairly inexpensive ketchup and BBQ sauce ($2.29) at Trader Joe’s that does not contain HFCS! Now I can say that our cupboards have most of the things I need most often! 

Mark was a little wary when I told him I wanted to go to Trader Joe’s because he thought things would be more expensive than at ShopRite, but I think he saw that is not quite the case when you compare quality versus price. For example, he was able to get Trader Joe’s Rice Bowls for $2.49. He can take these for lunch or when he eats second dinner at 11:00 p.m. A much better option than the $2.00 Lean Pockets from last week!

Most expensive items: The parmesean cheese was $4.40, but I use it all the time. It goes on top of everything. The mozzerella cheese for our pizza was $4.29, but we still have more than half that we will be able to use. Both the Trader Joe’s Chicken Sausage and frozen Spanikopitca were $3.99, but I think it was worth it. One sausage went on Mark’s pizza and the other three are frozen for another time. The Spanikopita will be a dinner at some point and $3.99 for dinner for 2 people is not bad at all!

Best bargains: Whole bag of organic carrots from Trader Joe’s for $.89 and a dozen large eggs from Trader Joe’s was $1.79 and at Stop & Shop last week I paid $1.99!

Thanks for the tip: I took some comment advice and got a bag of dried pinto beans for only $.99. Thanks for the tip everyone. Now who can tell me how to cook ‘em?

Question: Alright, so as you can see, we shopped at three different places and it took me a long time to decide what things to get at which place! How many places do you shop for your groceries? About how much time do you spend at the market each week?

General Mills Pound for Pound Program

Remember when I posted that I was sick of weight loss resolutions? Well, in response to my post, Samantha Klein from General Mills emailed me to let me about one way the weight loss frenzy can be the catalyst for good. She explained that while 130 million people are overweight in the United States, 35 million Americans are at risk of hunger. She thought Mark and I and our readers might be interested in the General Mills & Biggest Loser Pound for Pound Challenge, an initiative that encourages Americans to lose weight and feed the hungry. Here is what Ms. Klein wanted me to pass on to you abdout the Pound for Pound Challenge.

· For every pound dieters lose, a pound of groceries will be delivered to a local food bank based on the ZIP code of participants.

· The new Pound For Pound Challenge gives Americans the opportunity to fight the hunger crisis and help families in their neighborhoods by simply pledging to lose weight and get healthy.

There are three ways to participate in the Pound For Pound Challenge:

(1) Pledge to lose weight at www.PFPChallenge.com or www.biggestloser.coand for every pound you lose, General Mills will donate 10 cents to Feeding America – enough to provide one pound of groceries to a local food bank.

(2) Mail-in the Pound For Pound lids and seals from specially-marked General Mills products. For every lid or seal mailed in, General Mills will donate 10 cents to Feeding America. Brands with the Pound For Pound lid or seal include Yoplait Light®, Cheerios®, Honey Nut Cheerios®, MultiGrain Cheerios®, Total®, Fiber One® (Cereal, Bars, Muffin Mix, Pancake Mix, and Yogurt), Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™, Chex Mix® 100 Calorie, Warm Delights® Minis, Bisquick® Heart Health®, and Cascadian Farm® (Cereal and Bars).

(3) Donate directly to Feeding America by visiting www.PFPChallenge.com.

I think this is a great program because I know some people are trying to lose weight in order to live healthier lives. Why not sign up and help people who are less fortunate while you’re trying to improve your life? Better yet, people who do not need to lose weight can also participate! Please check out the program!