Food Cost Breakdown February 2017

I love checking my bank account and being shocked by how much money we have saved in the last two months- almost $2000!  We've done it by eating out of the pantry and staying home.  I have easily saved enough for the greenhouse of my dreams and we will shift the rest of it over to our next homestead improvement.

 

Animal Care

The hens are laying eggs again!
 Dog Food - 24.79
Chicken Feed - 28.99
Chicken Scratch - 15.29
 Sunflower Seeds - 28.69
 

Total Animal Care -$97.76

Food

 Fruit snacks - 10.89
Tuna Fish - 13.29 (most of it in long term storage)
Cream - 8.99
Ketchup - 10.98 
Cheddar cheese - 31.98
Mayo - 9.78
Milk -54.31
Sparkling water - 27.85
Ginger Ale - 5.00
Ruffles -14.18
Cheez-Its - 9.38
Tortilla chips - 7.29
Reeses - 14.49
Bananas - 4.36
Spinach - 6.99
Ranch dressing - 10.49
Pineapple Juice - 7.29 (Canning project)
Peeps Candy - 1.69

Total Food Cost -$249.23

Health Care

Cough Drops - 13.39 (bulk package)

Total Health Care -$13.39

Household Items - $0.00
Bath Tissue - 22.99
 
Total December Food Cost - $383.37

We did it!  What an improvement and you can see that we had several snack attack splurges!  We ate a lot of home canned veggies and fruits because the fresh produce in the store didn't look very fresh.  I was able to can up two cases of BBQ sauce with the ketchup and juice that I bought and we did spend a bit on cough drops and ginger ale when the flu struck the house.

   

Food Cost Breakdown - January 2017

A new year and goals!  I am still striving to keep my food cost under $500 a month including animal food and I added healthcare products as well.  This should keep our total household budget under $1000 a month which includes all bills, fuel costs, clothing and entertainment.  I keep myself motivated by putting any saved money from the food budget or total household budget into a savings for something I really want.  Right now I am saving for a green house and more Tattler canning lids.  I don't beat myself up if I go over and I can't control, nor would I want to, my husband.

Animal Care

Grit - $1.62

Total Animal Care -$1.62

Food

Cheddar Cheese - $31.98

Flour - $16.56

Milk - $24.79
Coffee - 29.96
Ground Beef - $12.34
Eggs - $24.26
Marshmallows - $1.48
Candy for School rewards - $57.89 (we all snack on these and I can't control my husband)
Cookies - $6.52
Almonds -  $3.23
Bananas - $9.16
Apples - $3.70
Green Beans - $1.38
Hamburger buns - $1.88
Poptarts - $13.58
Egg Nog - $7.94
Yeast - 4.39 (in long term storage)
Coconut Oil - $19.99 
Garlic Powder - $4.99 (in long term storage)
Butter -$16.38 (canned and in long term storage)
Olive Oil - $28.99 (in food storage)
Hamburger $87.96 (canned and in long term storage)
Tomatoes - $7.49 
Lettuce - $2.79
 Ruffles - $15.38
Ice Cream cones - $1.79
Ice Cream - $13.59
   

Total Food Cost -$450.29

Health Care

Total Health Care - $0.00

Household Items - $0.00

Total December Food Cost - $451.91

I have to admit that I am a bit skeptical about this number and I am wondering if the handsome hubster forgot to get me a receipt or two.  Until he unearths it I am counting this a victory and will add $48.09 to my greenhouse fund.  

   

Food Cost Breakdown for November

Canning and Food Storage
Evaporated Milk (case) $25.92
Popcorn 50 lbs $32.59
Mints $11.49
Pepperoni $13.09
Corn (case) $9.48
Kerrygold Butter (to can) $31.56 
Garlic granulated $6.39
Brown Sugar $25.80
Clear Jel $9.50
Pecans $21.46
Vitamin Gummies $46.17
Red pepper Flakes $13.51
Black Pepper $13.39
Toothpaste 6.79

Total cost of food toward Food Storage $267.14

Pet Supplies
Cracked Corn $15.11
Dog Food $55.88
Total cost for pet supplies: $70.99

Monthly Groceries
Milk $67.91
Ruffles $30.36
Fruit Snacks $9.99
Poptarts $5.00
Ranch Dressing $10.19
Orange Juice $4.29
Lunch Meat $12.7
Tillamook Cheddar Cheese $52.48 (we have 2 big blocks for December)
Egg Nog$29.47
Cream $19.58
Apple Cider $2.69
Pumpkin $8.79
String Cheese $19.98
Cream Whip $8.99
Blackberries $6.49
Capri Sun Juice $11.09 
Candy $41.97
Corn Tortillas $5.59
Flour Tortillas $11.29
Flour $7.69
Garlic granulated $6.39
Sharp Cheddar $12.29
Pepper Jack $10.19
Yogurt (for starter) $1.39
Ice Cream cups $3.58
Ice Cream Bucket $13.59 
Coffee 31.99
  
Total cost of monthly groceries $445.96

Household Items
Toilet Paper $22.99
Total cost of Household Items $22.99

Total September Food and Household Cost: $807.08

All I can say is WOWZA!  Way over this month and I mean way over!  In my defense I will say I see reflected in this is the holiday shopping for meals and candy to be given as gifts.  Mainly I see that I need to stop sending my hubby to do the shopping because he loves to spoil us and he has with candy, chips and ice cream. 

Food Cost Breakdown for October

Canning and Food Storage
Grapeseed Oil 23.69
Mashed potato flakes 10.39
Mayo (case) 29.94
Ketchup (case) 21.96 
Kerrygold Butter 31.56 
Mozzarella cheese 11.99
Heavy Whipping Cream 17.98
  Total cost of food toward Food Storage $147.51

Pet Supplies
Chicken scratch 20.99
Pullet Grower 20.50
DE 17.99
Cracked corn 6.99  
Cat Food 19.69
Dog food 24.49
Cat Litter 8.99  
Total cost for pet supplies: $119.64


Monthly Groceries

Milk 50.33
Egg Nog35.96
Bread13.78
Heavy Whipping Cream 11.99
Reeses 30.36
Noodles 11.49
Yogurt for starter 1.39
Corn tortilla 5.59
Flour tortilla 11.29
Onion 1.19 
Flour - organic 14.69
String cheese 9.99
Cheddar Cheese  35.06
Oreo cookies 7.79
Almonds 17.89
Sparkling water 22.29
Cheez it 4.69
  
Total cost of monthly groceries $285.77

Household Items


Total cost of Household Items $0.00

Total September Food and Household Cost $552.92

A little bit over but I'm OK with that.  Most of that reflects items in food storage from our Costco run  and my hubby beloved eggnog.  

Menu Monday - Week of August 29th

Here's is my menu ideas for the upcoming week.  I'm pretty terrible at following menu plans but I do like to start off the week with an idea of what is available, needs to be cooked and would please my family.  I have everything I need already purchased and in food storage.

Breakfast:
Steel cut oats cooked in my wonderoven (upcoming post on that).
Yogurt - Homemade in the crockpot
Eggs and toast

Lunch and dinner:
Sloppy Lentils
Chicken Fried Tofu dipped in BBQ sauce
Beans

Snacks and desserts:
Fruit Crisp
Banana Bread with chocolate chips made in my bread machine

I did follow last weeks plan completely with the addition of a pizza I made but that was still made out of food storage.  Not sure if we are eating out of food storage again next month.  It all depends on a eBay case that we may have to refund.  

Frugal Friday - How I Started My Food Storage

When time are tight financially it's hard to think about starting or adding to a food storage plan.  I know it can be difficult just to bring in groceries for the day, never mind thinking a year from now.  Here's how I did it on my limited income and hopefully it can help you out as well.

I just started.  Even if it's one can of green beans, grab it and say this is for food storage.  It is wise to have your food storage or extended pantry set apart from your food that you are currently using or planning to use.  For years my storage was in my bedroom and stuffed in a bathroom we weren't using.  Not very romantic...

I'm not saying don't use it if you need it.  Of course, use it if you ran out but when you make out your next shopping list out, try to replace it and forget about it until another need arises.  Each time you go shopping, add another can.  Don't forget to save some containers for your storage.  I like to re purpose ice cream buckets and glass jars for my items.

Buy only what you will eat!  This is so important.  You know your family and buy what they will enjoy eating.  I made the mistake of buying a huge bag of split peas.  Turns out I only like split pea soup once every year or two and my family doesn't like it at all.  It would have been better to buy another bag of beans or lentils with that money.  I found it's best to make a list of what you regularly buy.  Work on an item until you have enough for a week, then a month and finally a year or more.  There are some spreadsheets available online to get you started but make sure you personalize it so you don't end up with unwanted split peas.

Pretty soon you will have a stockpile of your favorite foods and something magical happens.  You get to start shopping in your own pantry.  My pantry resembles a small store now and I freely use it BUT I replace each thing monthly and before it's completely gone so I can have the opportunity to replace it when the item goes on sale.  This will save you money to reinvest in the pantry.

Part of my pantry

Menu Monday - Eating Out of Food Storage

Here's is my menu ideas for the upcoming week.  I'm pretty terrible at following menu plans but i do like to start off the week with a loose idea of what is available, needs to be cooked and would please my fam.

I should start out by saying we do not eat like a traditional family.  I place that blame on the mechanic.  The man completely refuses to eat at set times of the day.   Typically he has a smoothie in the morning before work and will eat his next meal after he is finished for the day.  Sometimes that is at 5:00 p.m. or it may be 11:00 p.m.  

Stormy is a challenge as well.  She just hates to eat and would rather not be bothered by it.  Many a plate has been set before her just to remain untouched.  No amount of bribes, treats or threat of punishment will change her mind.  Therefore I simply feed her when she asks for it.  That being said, she really only likes  to eat about 4 different items at a time and they can change without notice.  I keep her favorites stocked up and ready to go.  Right now she is eating noodles with butter and cheese, white rice with butter, peanut butter and honey on toast, cheese, smoothies and this morning she shocked me by eating my french toast so there is a chance that may go in the rotation. 

What works for my family is to just to have food ready.  At all times I like to have in my fridge beans, noodles or rice, a side veggie and a main dish.  I also make sure we always have bread and a baked good made and smoothie ingredients.

Here is what I plan to have ready  this week for whoever is hungry at any given time. 

Breakfasts:  eggs, oatmeal, yogurt and smoothies

Main Dish for Lunch or dinner:  egg salad sandwiches, Sloppy Lentils, stir fried rice, beans and lasagna.

Side veggies:  frozen Normandy mix, pickled beets, and spicy carrots are ready to go

Baked good or snacks:  My "Kind" Bar (knock off recipe) with walnuts and dried cherries and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  We also enjoy popcorn, hot buttered bread and peanut butter and jelly on bread

Part of my canning pantry

More of my pantry

I already have all the ingredients needed for the week.  I'm planning having two kitchen days where I cook and restock the fridge and the rest of the week will just be a manner of eating the leftovers.

Frugal Friday - Easy Crockpot Beans From Scratch

We love eating beans!  They are nutritious, delicious and cheap.  But that is only true if you cook your own beans.  The store bought canned  beans are expensive and not nearly as nutritious or delicious.  I'm pretty baffled about why more people do not cook their own beans because it's easy but it intimidates the best of cooks.

If you have a crockpot you are golden!  It's possible to cook beans easily without a crockpot but with one is the easiest way I have found.  I make at least two pots a week and we always have beans available to eat in the fridge.  So easy to make burritos, beans on toast, beans and rice or a quick pot of chili if they are ready to go.  My all time favorite way to eat them is folded in a corn tortilla with some rice and cheese and fried until the tortilla is crispy.  

Here's my easy, fast and cheap way to make a great pot of beans.

1.  The night before measure out the amount of beans (any type)  you want to cook.  I cook three cups at a time.  Sort the beans by picking out any stones or deformed beans.  Most bags of beans today are very clean without stones but if you are picking up commodity beans it may be a different story.

Sorting Beans

2.  Rinse the beans in a colander and put in a large bowl.  Cover beans with water, making sure you have twice the amount of water to beans because they will swell up.  I like to add a splash of apple cider vinegar in there.  Soaking your beans overnight helps them to become easier to digest (less gas for you), more nutritious and faster to cook.  If you forget this step you can still cook them.

Soaking beans with a splash of ACV

3.  The next morning, I drain off the water and place the beans in the crockpot.  I cover with fresh water and add my spices.  I typically use 1 1/2 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp pepper, 1 tbsp chili powder or cumin, onion and garlic (fresh or powder).  .  We do like it spicy so make sure you season according to your taste.  I set my crockpot on high and let it rip along all day.

In the crockpot with onions, garlic, salt, pepper and chili powder.

By dinner time I know I will have beans ready.  This pot will last us 3-4 days but if not eaten I will freeze the leftovers or feed to the chickens.  Tonight we will have these beans on toast with some fried eggs, cheddar cheese and hot sauce.  

Beans are ready to eat or use in recipes.

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A lovely pot of pintos and black beans ready for the week.  Whole foods cooked straight from my food storage.

But I Can't Afford to Buy Organic...Myth Busted!

I am here to dispel the myth that a family cannot feed their family whole, organic foods and keep on their limited budget.  I live in a very expensive state to buy food, especially organic and my budget is $500 for a family of three but I feed four (you know, the adult son that has moved out but shows up at mealtime...).

First, I will acknowledge that the organic label is just that a label.  I know that it can be manipulated and I also acknowledge that the well intentioned farmer may be growing a contaminated crop.  I have to leave that in the hands of the Lord and vote with my money to buy foods that are hopefully closer to what was created for us than the man made junk. 

(Confession:  We do occasionally buy junk food, especially on road trips and around birthdays and holidays but the goal is to not consume it as a daily part of our diet).

The past couple of days I have taken a picture of everything I ate and offered to my family.  It was cheap, healthy and fast.  I don't believe I have spent more than 45 minutes a day cooking and cleaning for us.

Breakfast- Homemade (in the crockpot) yogurt with chia seeds, sunflower seeds and rolled oats.  The only thing I bought for this meal in August was the milk.  This meal is delicious and packed full of probiotics and a great way to eat seeds and nuts that we should be eating everyday.

Eggs on toast and a smear of butter and a sprinkle of pepper flakes.  We raise chickens so we have unlimited, fresh eggs.  If at all possible I think everyone should raise their own chickens for the fresh eggs.  Eggs are so healthy for you and the better life the chickens have, the better eggs you get to eat.  Currently our small flock of 8 banty hens give us 6 eggs a day.  I also make my own bread in my trusty breadmaker.  Total cost of this meal for the month of August is the smear of butter.

Lunch

Because we have an abundance of eggs, I often eat them for lunch as well.  Here is my cheap but satisfying version of a breakfast burrito.  Egg fried in butter or coconut oil, wrapped up in a flour tortilla with a sprinkle of cheese and placed back in the pan to brown and crisp up a bit.  I usually eat a side of veggies with it.  Impact on my budget was a bit more.  I did buy the tortillas and cheese earlier in the month to make my hubby smothered burritos for his birthday. I really would not consider the flour tortilla to be a whole food.

Beans on homemade corn tortillas.  I made these tortillas a bit thicker because I wanted a tamale taste to my meal.  Very easy to make, just some masa, baking soda and water.  We always have beans in the fridge and a bit of cheese and hot sauce satisfied my craving for mexican food.  Normally I would eat my beans over toast. The only item I bought for this meal was the cheese.

Dinner

Leftover Pizza - I heart pizza.  Pizza is my favorite.  I made homemade pizza a couple days ago and saved up this slice for a quick dinner.  Again, I already had everything in my food storage and only purchased the cheese this month.

French Toast - I had every intention of eating a bowl of white chili and rice that I had made the day before for my husband but I was having a sweet tooth attack so I whipped up some french toast.  So easy to do when you have all the fresh eggs you can eat and homemade bread just sitting there.  I covered it with some homemade rhubarb syrup.  Please consider making your own syrup.  It is as easy as boiling water and sugar together.  If you want a flavored syrup, use fruit juice instead of water.  You can add your own flavors or extracts as well.  I use organic evaporated cane juice for my sugar.  The syrup will last for months on your pantry shelf.  This meal was essentially free for me to make this month and came entirely out of food storage.

Snacks

I have been trying to limit my snacking.  This week I made an applesauce cake (flour, sugar, applesauce, eggs and spices) and helped to eat the rest of the ice cream, which is junk of course.  I don't plan on buying ice cream again until Thanksgiving.  I also enjoyed some fresh hot bread with butter.  No cost to me this month to snack, aside from the butter that I had to buy.

Drinks

I am not so great at tracking everything that I drink throughout the day.  Typically its espresso, water, my vitamin mix, sparkling water and an occasional Zevia soda. I did buy our coffee this month via Amazon's Subscribe and Save.  It's a bit pricey but it is one of the places I will spend a few more dollars for a superior product.  The Zevia soda is also a treat and comes via Amazon but I don't believe that I will continue buying it.  I enjoy sparkling water just as much and it is cheaper.

So as you can see, I have eaten really well for just a few dollars.  It does help that I have a food storage plan.  Having food storage really helps on months that you need to save money on.  For us, this month we had to pay property taxes.  To take the sting out of that cost we simply eat out of our storage and only buy fresh foods such as dairy.  We are gathering fresh veggies from the garden but did buy some kale for smoothies.  We are also eating fresh berries and rhubarb this month instead of buying fruit.  Not much of a sacrifice at all.  At the end of the month I will post how much I spent on groceries and what I bought.  

If I can do this in the middle of Alaska, I know you can do it too.  Whole, organic foods do not have to be expensive but they may require a bit of extra work.  In my next post I will share how I cook from scratch for my family, spending as little time as possible in the kitchen and spending very little money.

Lovin life and eating well!