Day 6 - $2 A Day

Today was a state holiday. Usually attended by BBQs and special food. But, Gordon had his annual summer gig, which is accompanied by a huge party with lots of food and fun to go with the music, and KC had to go to work, so the BBQ was delayed. Instead, I came up with this.

Day 6

Kid 1: "What is that?"

Kid 2: "It's some sort of casserole with whole wheat waffle batter poured on top."

Me: "I know it looks bad, but it's surprisingly decent for a thrown together meal"

Kid 3: "Seriously. What is it?

Me: "Enchilada casserole."

And, the nearly free meal made from beans, rice and other ingredients counted in previous meals was a great success. After breakfast, beverages and our thrown together meal we we left us with $5 for the evening. Ice cream cones anyone? I won't sick you out with a pic. Just trust, it looked disgusting and tasted spicy, savory, and was so great, everyone had seconds.

Day 5 - $2 A Day - Budget Blown

We blew our budget today with an emergency stop for Jimmie John's sandwiches. $15.35 for three subs we shared. Tomorrow is another day.

Breakfast

None! Gordon ran out the door when his ride showed up just a bit early.  Kids slept late.  I went to the doc and then to a friend's.  she fed me lovely blueberry pancakes with coconut syrup.  BACON on the side. It was awesome. Kids slept way past breakfast which is fine by me. My kids run so hard during the school year, summer is about catching upon personal persists, family time and SLEEP.

Lunch

Gordon was working a half day, but missed his train home and ended up walking a couple of miles to meet us at a Barnes and noble by his work. Kids were just getting up, and I was on my way home from my friends when I realized we needed to take a little ride to go get him. I'd promised Barnes and noble today for book browsing and we just had to leave. I made an executive decision that given the time crunch and the fact that no one had eaten we should pick up sandwiches and share them. Kids were so overjoyed they hurried and got their chores done and we were out the door in plenty of time to meet him. 

3 sandwiches - $15.95

Dinner

Although we had already blown the budget for the day, we resisted the urge to ignore the budget entirely . I was sorely tempted by National Hotdog Day deals promising fully loaded $1 hotdogs and free fountain drinks. We didn't do it. We wanted chocolate milk and mozzarella sticks. It is easy to tell yourself, "since we already blew it, might as well go big."  We resisted that very powerful temptation. The road to hell may be paved with bargain items we really don't need. Instead, we had cold cereal. 

Day 4 - $2 A Day

      

      

Today, everyone got up late, so we really only had 2 meals. I felt myself getting edgy and anxious before dinner.  I'm due for my quarterly migraine/hormone shot. It could have been that. Or, I was just hungry.   Either way, I probably should have had a snack. All the kids seemed fine today.  The waffles for brunch were served pretty close to noon, were made of whole wheat, and seemed to carry everybody (except me) just fine until dinner. No real contention or longing not to be on experiment.  Although, there were a few mozzarella references, everyone was really happy we had cheese and sour cream with our dinnerl.  

Of note:  Hannah made most of the evening meal herself.  I chopped onions, peppers, and cilantro. She made Spanish rice, seasoned black beans, and semi-fresh salsa (canned tomatoes, everything else from the garden or the fridge). Quote of the day - "You know, cooking is just adding a bunch of stuff together in a container or a pan, mixing and stirring, adding here and there, and maybe heating it up until it tastes right."  Yep! So, take credit for your mixing, stirring, spicing-it-up contribution, girl!

Brunch - 

Whole wheat Waffle mix - $0.85

Syrup - $0.50

Strawberries - $1.25

Brunch total - $2.60

Dinner -

Chips - $2.30

10 corn tortilla - $1

Sour cream - $1

3 cans blacks beans - $1.95

Cheese ($2.60x.5)- $1.30

1/2 onion - $0.25

1 bunch cilantro - $0.70

1 can rotel - $1

1 can diced tomatoes - $0.65

1/2 lb cabbage - $0.17

Leftover rice - free

Spices and Peppers - free

Dinner total - $10.32

Daily total - $12.92

Day 3 - $2 A Day - The Bad News and The Good News

                         

        

The Bad News.

I  heard the following several times today....

"If we weren't on experiment I would...."

"I wish we weren't on this experiment then I would..."

What would you do?

I would buy Diet coke...

Popcornopolis...

Sugar cookies...

And that was just me!  

The girls said:

I would get Chocolate milk...

Cheese cake...

Starbucks smoothies...

Goldfish....

Jimmy Johns Sandwiches right now...

I wouldn't wait an hour for dinner....

Turns out when a treat-trained family turns treat-limited, people get a little wistful and grumpy.  We also learned we all need to be better abt eating our meals, rather than getting up too late, or getting too busy, and skipping them. 

The Good News! 

Hannah and I went to this awesome market that someone runs out of their garage. We found some great deals on fresh produce. We bought 9 lbs of food for $4.  I'll try to figure out the math below. Also, we bought milk and cereal today. And, when we figured our daily total after dinner we realized we had extra money left to in our budget today.   So, we went for 50 cent ice cream and soft drinks at the market. While we were there they announced strawberries $1.50. We got those, too and everyone felt much better. 

Breakfast 

3 servings frosted flakes -  $0.36

1 serving fruit loops  - $0.15

3 cups milk - $0.45

Breakfast Total - $0.96

Lunch

Leftover pasta - free

Leftover curry - free

1 cup raw veggies $0.25

Dinner 

1.5 1bs broccoli (1 lb/$1.50) - $2.25

1/2 lb cabbage ($2/6 lb  = 0.33/lb) - $0.17

1/3 lb carrot straws ($1.30/ lb) - $0.43

1/2 red onion - $0.25

Oil for stir stir frying 4 oz - ($2/32 oz) - $0.25

4 packages Ramen noodles - $0.80

Leftover spaghetti noodles - free

2/3 gallon milk - $1.50

Dinner total - $5.65

Daily meal total - $6.86

Congratulations!  This was our first $1 per person day so far.

So we went and got treats to celebrate.

Treats

3 soft serve cones - $1.50

2 soft drinks -$3

Strawberries on sale -$1.25

Treats total - $5.75

After dinner, treats, and a movie, Hannah found herself hungry again. So, she had a bowl of cereal. 

Cereal - $0.15

Milk - $ 0.15

Hannah's midnight snack total - $0.30

Daily total - $12.91

Goal - >$14

Yay! 

Day 3 - $2 A Day - Field Notes

                  

Today, I wanted to give a clearer picture of some of the challenges we face with food and budgets.  So, I interviewed my kids.  It's not just all cheap glam food and easy gourmet over here, in case you were under any illusion.  I feel like they provide a pretty accurate representation of how things are.

Note:  As quotes go, this is close. My kids talk faster than I can type. 

Me:  Hannah, you are in charge of this experiment. What are you learning?

Hannah (12):  Budgeting gets easier as you go - cause when you first jump into it you are so used to eating whatever you want, whenever you want and you don't have to worry about the budget or keeping track of all that stuff. Then you hit $14 a day and think, "Well I can do that. $14 is kind of a lot of money."  But, what you don't realize is how much you have to cut back on snacks, and write down every cup of milk or glass of juice,  and you have to get your dinners so they are nutritious but fit into the budget. You can't just buy ice cream or popcorn u less its on the list and in the budget.  It is hard at first, but gets easier with practice.

Me:  KC, What is our worst food habit?

KC (17): Soda. We spend a lot of money on it compared to how much we spend on everything else.  And, it's like the worst thing we put into our bodies on a consistent basis. 

Me: Caleb, what is your guilty pleasure when it comes to food and budgeting?

Caleb:  Well, like, what do you mean?

Me:  i mean, what do we do regularly that maybe we shouldn't do as much?

Caleb (14):  that's exactly what you asked KC.  Soda.  That's it. 

KC:  no, she asked me about our worst habit.  Shes asking you about something we do that maybe we should consider it a little better.

Caleb: Hmm.  Maybe, Mozzarella sticks from Arby's. 

KC: Ikea chocolate, 

Hannah: Vegan Ice cream

Me: fancy ice creams, pricey cheeses - but I buy them on managers special. 

Caleb:What?  Those are not guilty pleasures. I feel the same attraction to mozzerella sticks as i do to el pollo loco.

Pause. Pause. Pause.

KC: Attraction???

We all burst out laughing. 

Hannah:  Weird.  So, would you say you love mozzarella sticks more than you love your family.

Caleb:  I would trade six family members for six mozzarella sticks any day

Hannah: Rude!

Caleb:  Hey, the first album I ever write is going to be called "I 'd Sell My Soul for Mozzarella Sticks." 

KC moves to my dresser where an opened Ikea chocolate bar is waiting for her.

KC:  Caleb,  how do you feel about this?

She waves her hand game-show-model style over the candy bar.   He laughs.  Then she looks at some of the stuff on my dresser.  

KC:  Mom, we can't have these kinds of magazines in the house.  What is this?  Slow Cooker Favorites?  You were raised better than this. 

Me:Brennan, what do you think is our worst eating habit?

Never to throw anyone else under the bus in a judgement he makes or the values he espouses he considers my question. 

Brennan (Married to Marissa 1.5 yrs) : Well, for me. I'd have to say carbs. I think I eat more simple carbs than I should and I wish I could get the filler I need from more than just bread or rice.  Carbs are just energy.  I think I could turn to more nutritious sources and I don't always do that.  

Me:  That's funny 'cause Dad said that very thing just a coupla days ago. 

Me. Marissa, what have you learned about budgeting for food as a newlywed?

Marissa (married to Bren 1.5 years):  Just that there are lots of different ways to do it that work. When we had more funds for food we could buy food storage, and that was great. Then, later when we had less money we went two months without really going to the grocery store. It was hard not to have fresh very often, but we were okay. What we've found we like best is when we have a small food storage, pasta and grains and spices, and we can just go to the market and buy fresh stuff on the day we need it. That way we don't have any waste and we actually save money doing that.  We've gotten really flexible about food. We're good cooks so I feel like we will always be okay. 

I loved all of these answers. They are revealing of our strengths and our weaknesses.  Some foods are more nutritious, some are more attractive. ;)  This is real life here in the Fralick family kitchen.

Missing Notes from Hannah's First Day

 

                                    

Hannah and I did our grocery shopping last night for today's meals. Were pretty sure we failed already, because even though we count seven for the sunday meal, our grocery store receipt alone was $12.50 and we're pretty sure we need more than $1.50 worth of ingredients from our fridge and pantry.  We may have to do some serious shuffling in order to make the day work - Like ditch the coconut milk and only use one can of garbanzos and tomatoes instead of 2.

We don't have any hard core rules for our experiment other than this:

1.  We can only spend $2 per person per day one food.

2.  Most food must be purchased the night before it is need and as few items as possible should be borrowed from the fridge, freezer, or storage.

3.  Any food drawn from the fridge, freezer, or storage must be factored in to costs for the day.

4.  leftovers get discounted, i.e. if you only use 1/2 of something you bought for $2.50, you only have to deduct $1.25 for that day. 

5.  Spices, home grown produce and eggs, and the change jar are all free game for supplementing. 

Day 2 - $2 a Day

                     

Today, Hannah and I went to the allergist. She endured some pretty good poking and prodding, so we got a shake and a diet coke (i endured watching her being poked and prodded) from McDonalds when we were done. It's a good thing it was a low budget day. Our first treat cheat fit in no problem, but we weren't sure it would. We decided to declare it either way, just to keep ourselves honest.

Hannah had a major hand in every portion of the meal tonight beginning with the plan. She made the bread with only minimal final resting place help from me. She sliced all zucchini and insisted on making the marinara on her own. KC helped her with dredging and I did the frying, but she was master chef. I love that when I tell her, "Make a chiffonade," whether for basil or chard, she knows exactly what to do.

What we've learned so far - 

1. Hannah says, " Pasta is way easier than curry." I ask, "like between the marinara and the masala sauce?" Caleb responds, "The whole shebang." Hannah agrees. 

2. "It is great that we can use so much of our own stuff," Hannah adds. meaning, the most nourishing parts of our meals were from our garden or hen house. This would be really hard to do in the winter unless you had a greenhouse. Also, chickens. 

3. Leftovers are key. Because we didn't divide the cost of yesterday's dinner for multiple meals Several of us ate free lunch figured from curry and rice leftovers. Tomorrow will be the same except with pasta and sauce.

Breakfast - 

Eggs - free from our chickens

2 granola bars $0.40

2 Cups Milk $0.20

1 Cup Choco Milk $0.20

1 Cup Juice $0.20

Breakfast total - $1

Lunch -

Curry Leftovers - free lunch- already accounted for

1 Cup Milk $0.10

1 Cup Juice $0.20

Cup o noodles $0.50

Lunch total - $0.80

Dinner -

Homemade whole wheat bread 

    3 cups flour - $0.30

    1 tbsp yeast $0.05

    Salt and water - free

    Butter $0.25

    Jam from the neighbor, traded for eggs - free!

Sautéed chard 

    Rainbow Chard - free

    4 tbsp Butter - $0.25

Zucchini Parmesan

    Zucchini - free 

    1 cup flour (1/3lb) $0.10

    Parmesan cheese $1

    Egg & Spices - free

    1/2 cup Oil for shallow frying - $0.50

Marinara - 

     1 can tomatoes $1

     1 can tomato paste $0.50

      Herbs from the garden - free

1 lb Pasta - $1

1 cup homemade ranch dressing $0.50

3 cups chocolate milk $0.60

Dinner total - $5.90

Daily meal total - $7.85

McDonalds Cheats on Family Funds - $3.85

Daily total - $11.70

Goal >$14

Totally met!

P.S. After all meals were enjoyed and cleared away, KC chose to treat us all to half-price creme brulés from her work. If we counted it we would be $1.50 over budget. She said we shouldn't have to count it because it was her personal money, not family funds. A gift. Moral ambiguities and true confessions. You judge for yourself how you would handle it. Feel free to share your thoughts.