I've been inspired!

I found a blog that echoes many of my own values (if not yet practices) as far as feeding my family is concerned. The link is: http://purelynaturaleating.blogspot.com. This mother's premise is to feed her family natural, whole, organic foods and to avoid as much processing as possible. I've poured through recipe books, grocery advertisements, etc. I've even come very close to stocking my freezer with frozen meals...largely thanks to the fact that I can get them so cheaply. Reading "Purely Natural Eating" has reminded me to stay dedicated to my values and to continue to find ways of shopping and cooking that work for me and my family. It's a gem I will definitely be following!

Continued...

So, I've been reading other people's blogs about saving grocery dollars. I know that my savings are not as extreme as theirs. Here is my explanation:

1. I don't buy much processed food. This week I got a box of Raisin Bran for 22 cents and a bottle of Pepsi for free. Other than that, the only things purchased from the store's "isles" were two boxes of Barilla Plus pasta, a can of diced organic tomatoes, a bottle of EVOO, flour, brown sugar, yeast, red pepper flakes, and a box of ziplocks (with a coupon.) This explains why I spend more. Interestingly enough, this is counter-intuative to me. I would have thought it would be more expensive to buy a diet of packaged foods, but that is no longer the case due to the abundance of coupons for those products. Darn!

2. While I am a good shopper, I am not yet the expert shopper. For example, it is best to go to many stores to get the best deals; however, I just went to one. This is something I will be working on in the future.

Saving Grocery Dollars

This morning I went to the grocery store. My total purchases came to $112. Guess how much I paid? $60!!!!!!!! I used $12 worth of coupons, a $10 off coupon, and a $30 gift card for transferring a prescription. Now, I could have spent less, thus making the savings proportionately more; however, I chose, instead, to purchase mostly organic produce and organic ground beef. Wonderful savings today! I feel great!

The Dollar Store

All I can say is, "WOW!" Did you know that everything there actually costs only a dollar? They have a great variety of stuff I hate to spend money on: toothpaste (I will NOT pay more than a dollar per tube,) toothbrushes, pregnancy/ovulation tests, greeting cards, gift supplies. I had to run in and out because I was sporting the child on my arm, but I certainly intend to go back...on a weekday, without the child. This is a great place for those of us on tight budgets!

Bad News Bears

I thought I was FINALLY going to have the perfect dining table: china, crystal, cloth napkins, table cloth, and table pad. Ummm, until I made the novice error. I only GUESSED the dimensions of my table. Now, I have a too-short table pad and a too-short table cloth...all to the tune of about seventy bucks, seventy WASTED bucks. Lesson: don't feel rushed in your tasks; it will come with a cost.

Update on Cookware

I did end up ordering cookware from a restaurant supplier. It wasn't until after the order shipped that I second-guessed this decision. Well, today the boxes arrived. I began opening them, and they had shipped me someone else's order! I took this as a sign from God that this was not going to be my solution to the cookware conundrum. I called the company, scheduled the pick-up of these boxes, and canceled my previous order. Maybe Saturday I'll gather my Calphalon, box it up, and ship it back to be replaced...all under warranty. This will save me some serious bucks!

Battle of The Bulge

Tonight I had planned to cook a new recipe for chicken and biscuits. When I read through the recipe, however, I realized that it called for 2.5 sticks of butter AND a good amount of heavy cream. Well, due to the start of the New Year and the appearance of personal trainers on all of the talk shows, I began to question if I really wanted to make this dish. It has veggies, right? Yep, squash and asparagus...but I don't think that's going to cancel out all of the fat. I scrapped my plans.

Instead, I'm watching the season premier of "The Biggest Loser," and I have an appointment with the treadmill from 8pm-9pm. The veggies are great but not when they're dripping in fat. Hmmm, if I could only figure out something else creative to cook for Ryan...

Healthy body, here I come!