My goal? Feed my family of 10 for $2 per person per day (Spend $140 on food). We have 2 adults, 7 children age 2-10, and a baby on the way. We follow a Feingold diet for one child and a diabetic diet for mama.

I spent:
$182.65 on food (husband bought dessert, spent $17 and lost the receipt)
Average spent per week this year: $114.03

I stocked up on dairy this week - butter, cream cheese, and shredded cheese were all on sale!
I also got an extra ham, because they were cheap and ham keeps for a couple of months in the fridge.

I got:
126 oz. oatmeal, 2 boxes cereal, 8# brown rice, 7 oz. black pepper, 32 oz. Miracle Whip, 48 oz. canola oil, 1.25# sushi rice, 2 jars spaghetti sauce, jar peanuts, 5 boxes Wheat Thins/Triscuit, 2 loaves WW bread, 2 pkg. WW English muffins,

7# butter, 4# cream cheese, 3 doz. eggs, quart plain yogurt, 4 gal. milk, 24 oz. whipped topping, 3# cheese

2/3# tomatoes, 4# strawberries, 2 pints blackberries 3.5# bananas, 4 mangoes, 1.5# grapes, 9# apples, 1 head Romaine, 3 poblano peppers, 1 small cantaloupe, 4 kiwis, 3# carrots, 3# zucchini, 1 pineapple, 10# frozen veggies

2 hams (24# total), 8.5# pork roast

2 frozen meals, 2/3# deli meat, 2 rolls Mentos, Reeses peanut butter cups, 3 bags chocolate chips, 1 bag mini marshmallows, 1 bag Hershey's kisses, 2 packages dessert shells

I shall endeavor (again) to be slightly more adventurous with the lunches since our breakfast is so boringly beige.

We're eating:
(revised on4/15/09 to reflect what we actually ate)

Sun. Apr 12: blueberry pancakes
eggs, fried potatoes, fruit (small meal pre-Easter dinner)
ham, potatoes, brussels sprouts, green beans, salad, fruit tart

Mon. Apr 13: oatmeal
eggs, cantaloupe, mangoes, oranges (this was a fiasco. My 9 yo son put away 5 whole hardboiled eggs (plus 6 orange quarters, half a mango, a glass of milk, and a slice of cantaloupe) before I stopped him - my 2 year old ate 3 and a half! Egg salad sandwiches next time, for sure. I actually got mad at the kids and made them stop eating - I was afraid they'd throw up!) (BTW - Atkins was totally wrong about eggs being more filling than bread, apparently. Must. Have. Carbs. at every meal around here!)
Pasta w/ marinara, Cobb salads (ham and eggs on it; I added white beans for more protein. I always wonder if the kids get enough protein.)

Tues. Apr 14: oatmeal (what else?) or egg sandwiches on toast, bananas
hummus/chickpeas on pitas (the kids really liked that!), apples
hambone soup w/ black eyed peas, cornbread, sauteed chard (husband dear has decided he likes chard again.)

Wed. Apr 15: scrambled eggs, pineapple (if it's all yellow by then) (it wasn't.)
leftovers/sandwiches, grapes, the last radishes from the garden
red bean and rice casserole with okra

Thurs. Apr 16: oatmeal
kale w/ polenta (subbing chard for kale, carrots for mushrooms, and adding more onions)
pork roast w/ green chiles; black bean and corn salad, zucchini

Fri. Apr 17: oatmeal because we're boring like that
curried Indonesian bean stew
Mexican food again! Either lentil enchiladas or tostadas with leftover shredded pork.

Sat. Apr 18: Oatmeal or pancakes (husband dear likes to make big breakfasts; depends on if he has to work or not.)
cheesy noodles w/ broccoli (and ham - maybe - although the prospects are not looking good!)
??? Husband wants to go search out some sushi making stuff; possibly fried rice of some sort or Japanese food.

You may have noticed I've been buying bread again. Yes, it's cheaper to make it (and I do think it tastes better) but I'm tired, durnit! Turns out there's a reason convenience foods are so popular!

I also got a couple of frozen meals within the diabetes guidelines for my lunches, for days when I make mac and cheese or other things for the kids. My previous solution was to cook up something special from scratch, then decide not to bother cooking for one person, then snack on cheese or something that probably wasn't enough calories, then end up eating the leftover pasta from the kids, then whacking out my blood sugar... and yes, I do think Salisbury Steak will fix it!

Also it's starting AC season, and I don't know if it makes sense to run the oven AND the AC at the same time. And I'm too tired to figure out the math right now. I might buy a couple of extra breadpans so I can make a weeks worth all at once - it would be more cost effective that way.

Sometimes you just have to know your limits. 32 weeks pregnant + 7 children + new school books/new grammar program + potty training toddler + husband having odd hours at work + starting a garden = give me a break and buy the bread.

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Labels: cooking, Food Stamp Challenge, menu