Pearsons Progress

My 5th Week of My Grocery Challenge

Ways I’ve made my money stretch this week:

1. I’ve sprouted, lentils, broccoli sprouts, and alfalfa spouts to add to salads and sandwiches (instead of lettuce)- thanks again to my friend Dana for sending me these!
2. I’m using up all the little guest soaps, and the hotel samples I’ve collected and others have given me.
3. I’m adding sand (from an old construction project) to the back yard patch of dirt, preparing it for a winter garden of carrots, beets, potatoes and lettuce. I’m hunting for the seeds. So far they are not in the stores. I’m also pouring boiling water down an ant hill, several times a day to rid the garden of them.
4. our snacks include popped corn & iced tea
5. we’re having more people over for coffee and muffins or a light supper instead of the main meal.
6. I’m planting as many “pots” as I can of vegetables. I’ll take these to the village with us July 7th.
7. We’re eating one or 2 meatless meals of week. We really liked the lentil/walnut burgers with sprouts, tomato and onion.
8. instead of using the “premix” bread mix I buy for 1.29 as directed, (it’s for bread machines- I don’t have one) I added some more yeast and flour and was able to get two BIG loaves out of it. It’s very nice bread with lots of sunflower seeds.

Starting balance for this week: 9,55€

What I bought:

1.34- vegetable oil

.90- lettuce

2.55- olive oil

.55-hot dogs with cheese

.41-napkins

.69- milk

.95- coffee

1.69- toilet paper

.79- lettuce

.28- 1 cucumber

.25- 1 apple

.25- 1 orange

_____________

10.65-total spent I went 1,10 euros in the hole… grrrr…

* this week was a bit of an “extra challenge” because I ran out of vegetable oil, and olive oil.

** I got the hot dogs for the little girl that is coming tonight with her parents. That is just about all that child eats. The adults are having the last of the lamb chops in the freezer on the barbecue.

*** we are still using meat we have in the freezer. We have approx. 1 lb of hamburger, 4 pk of pork chops and/or loin chops, sandwich meats, like sliced ham, pastrami and turkey ( not very much).

I am having a FUN TIME challenging MYSELF to use up what we already have, while saving some money too.

My menu for this week:

Thursday 26 June-Cheese, bread, olives, salami, lamb chops (last of the lamb in the freezer), pasta salad, green salad

Friday 27 June-Curried carrot soup (reinvented from last weeks cream of carrot), pork picatta (left over from the guest that didn’t show up Monday), stuffing, green beans

Saturday 28 June-Potato cheese soup, Stromboli, salad

Sunday 29 June-Lentil soup, pastrami sandwiches w/ veggies

Monday 30 June-left overs

Tuesday 1 July-Left over potato cheese soup, scrambled egg & ham crepes with a cream mustard sauce, brussel sprouts

Wednesday 2 July- cream of tomato soup, roasted turkey legs (last 2 in the freezer) mashed potatoes, salad

Next week I will have 8,90€ to spend

*my cherry tomato plants have tons of little green tomatoes. Unfortunately my lettuce seeds must be old, because they just won’t sprout! The same with my green beans… they are several years old. I’ll do a replant and see if I can get them going…