Menu Plan (not quite Monday)

A few repeat meals on this week's menu plan. Last week, Dave treated us to pizza out on Thursday, so the Garden Chowder got bumped to Friday, thus bumping homemade pizza to this Friday - makes sense right! And a big thumbs down to the Whole Foods Miso Soup in a carton. Not at all like the miso soup I remember enjoying at a Japanese restaurant a few years ago. Instead of the soup, we just had the whole wheat spaghetti, broccoli and shrimp. I'm still getting yucky shivers thinking about that soup!

Here's this week's meal plan

Saturday - Stew Beef with onions & gravy over organic hulled barley with steamed organic carrots

Sunday - Sloppy Joe's on whole wheat, organic sprouted buns with oven baked fries

Monday - Lentil Chili with homemade Corn Bread

Tuesday - Kale & Tomato Pasta Toss with organic salad mix (using recipe for Spinach Pasta Toss - subbing kale for spinach. You could also add in ground sausage or diced chicken but we're having it meatless this week)

Wednesday - Sue Gregg's Country Creole Peas n' Corn

Thursday - Sour Cream Chicken & Mushroom Pasta with steamed organic peas

Friday - Homemade Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza using Tammy's Easy Pizza dough

A Message of Hope

We certainly need more messages of hope these days!

Town Hall for Hope

Follow our Total Money Makeover journey here.

Whole Foods Shopping

Ever have a week where the grocery budget seems to spiral out of control? I'm having one of those weeks! And that's without having gone to Harris Teeter's WEEK long triple coupon event. I bought some new items this week I normally don't purchase (grass fed beef and raw milk cheddar cheese). And a few splurges (popcorn for Dave and the kids and a kombucha for me). And two trips to the grocery store for milk this week. All together equals one blown budget!

As Dave always tells me, there's no use fretting over it. Just regroup and give it another go next week. Here's hoping for a less expensive outing next week!

Whole Foods:

1 box 365 brand organic microwave popcorn

1 Synergy Grape Kombucha (just had to try it!)

1 Pure Coconut Water

1 Nancy's 8oz cultured sour cream

16oz-365 brand unsalted hormone free butter

1 Annie's organic BBQ sauce

1-365 brand organic ketchup 24oz

5lb bag whole wheat flour

2 loaves whole wheat organic bread

1-365 brand organic mixed berry fruit spread

1-365 brand organic creamy peanut butter

1 Ezekiel's organic sprouted buns 6ct

1 Applegate Farms uncured bacon

2.5lb bag frozen chicken breasts

1 frozen organic peas

1 frozen organic corn

1lb organic rolled oats (bulk)

1 can organic coconut milk

3 cans organic tomato sauce

1 canned pumpkin

3 cans organic diced tomatoes

1 can organic tomato paste

1 container raw wild flower honey (local)

1/2lb dried organic black-eyed peas (bulk)

3lb bag sweet onions

1lb organic green bell peppers

3lb bag organic gala apples

2lb bag organic carrots

1 bunch organic Dino kale

18ct large brown eggs (local)

Total spent: $96.60

Earth Fare $25.80 (1lb grass fed, local beef, 4 bags frozen fruit, 1 brick raw milk cheddar cheese), Kroger $35.05 (organic milk and diapers), ALDI $10.12 (apple juice and white vinegar for cleaning), Harris Teeter $18.50 (more milk!)

Total spent: $186.07

A Green Clean

For the last week, a nagging earache has resulted in all but the basic homecaring tasks being put to the back burner. Needlessly to say, some areas like the upstairs bathroom are now in serious need of attention. Not to mention the mountains of laundry that need to be put away.

A new-to-me blog find, Down to Earth, offers a guide for Green Cleaning the Bathroom. I've got my rags, vinegar, baking soda and elbow grease ready to tackle this feat! I would take before and after pics, but (1) the before would be highly embarrassing and (2) the camera battery is dead :)

More this Old House drama - Now on top of the broken dishwasher and the owl taking residence in the side of the house, the heat stop working! In my non-expert analysis, it seems like it might just be the thermostat (it's blowing cold air while the heat is on). But it will be a few days before we can get someone out to look at the unit. The house is not too terribly cold during the day, but the mornings are still brisk. I think I need a Snuggie LOL!

Missing A Friend

It's pretty gloomy out today and that fits the mood of our hearts around the office. We learned this morning that a dear friend and former colleague passed away yesterday afternoon. I worked with her for about three years. In fact, when I returned from maternity leave after having Ashleigh, I stepped into her position as she retired. She was funny and enjoyed life. And was the wise Mother Hen that looked over us in the department. For two years, she fought Stage 4, inoperable lung cancer. I can imagine those words hit like a ton of bricks when she was first diagnosed. But she didn't let it stop her, didn't let those frightening words get her down. She embraced life as she always had, even taking that Alaskan cruise with her husband she dreamed about before she retired. We're glad her suffering is over, but our hearts are very heavy today. She'll be greatly missed.

Menu Plan Monday - March 23rd

As I mentioned in my Whole Foods post, some of the items of my grocery list would be playing "double duty" in this week's menu. Which means I'm taking some items and stretching them into two meals. Just a small and simple way to make the most out of those hard earned grocery dollars!

For dinner this week...

Saturday - Red Beans & Brown Rice with pork andouille sausage (using 1/2lb of the sausage)

Night Before Prep - soaked dried, organic black-eyed peas
Sunday - The Nourishing Gourmet's White Bean and Kale Pasta with Smokey Bacon (using 1/2 bunch of kale)

*Instead of white beans, I used black-eyed peas since I already had those on hand!

Monday - Shrimp Scampi over whole grain spaghetti (using a portion of the bag of frozen shrimp)

Tuesday - Kale & Tomato Pasta Toss (using the remaining kale and 1/2lb of pork andouille sausage)

Wednesday - Miso Soup with Shrimp, Broccoli & whole grain spaghetti (using the remaining frozen shrimp)

Thursday - Garden Chowder

Friday - Homemade Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza using Tammy's Easy Pizza dough

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie

Whole Foods Shopping

I'm starting to get in the rhythm of making the most of a limited budget while shopping at Whole Foods. Not so much sticker shock anymore! I'll share my tips in a future post, but you'll find it's probably things you're already doing.

Whole Foods

2 loaves organic whole wheat bread

1 bag organic russet potatoes

2lb bag organic sucanat

1 Lakewood organic pure lemon juice

1-32oz 365 brand organic miso soup (was initially looking for miso paste, but settled for boxed instead - maybe homemade miso soup next time!)

1 can 365 brand organic tomato sauce

2 cans 365 brand organic diced tomatoes

2 cans 365 brand organic dark red kidney beans

1 bag frozen organic blueberries

1 bag frozen organic green peas

1 bag frozen shrimp 41ct

1lb fresh pork andouille sausage

1lb Applegate Farms Uncured bacon

1lb organic bananas

3lb organic broccoli bunch

1 bunch organic dino kale

2lb organic rolled oats (bulk bin)

1/2lb organic raisins (bulk bin)

1 bunch organic green onions

Total spent: $72.16

Other shopping - Earth Fare $24.19 (organic milk & eggs), ALDI $8.51 (apple juice)

Total spent: $104.86

Check back for my menu plan post to see how some the items from Whole Foods are doing double duty this week!

Super Saving Saturday is hosted by Money Saving Mom