Day 61 I stay in budget but wish I thought ahead more...

 Today I was gone from home a lot.  It was another field trip day.  We had fun.  I wish I had planned ahead for my meals, though. 

The children learn that firefighters eat and sleep at the firehouse for 48 hours at a time.

 

Firefighters exercise while on duty.  The children see their workout room.

These firefighters also do search and rescue, so they have more "toys" than the other firehouses in town.  The children get to climb on the firetruck.

The children race to the fire training tower, and are allowed to go up inside the smoky smelling building.   Exciting.

Along the way, I spoke another mom who was  chaperoning the trip about her meal planning.  She plans ahead at least a week.  Another mom plans ahead for a month!  Wow, I'm impressed.  I've never done that.  This ten for ten for ten project is the most meal planning I've ever done in my life.  That's my confessional.

Last weekend I did take a poll of the other Coug moms about meal preparation.  All but one around our table don't plan ahead.  They just check around to see what they have, and create something on the day of the meal.  I'm with that group.  I guess I'm part of the crowd. 

However, I will say that planning ahead has the value of reducing stressful decisionmaking about meals when hungry or at the last minute.  Reducing stress has been helpful around here.  Just not today...

Here is my last minute meal today:

Notice the whole wheat bread.  Healthy.  And the leafy greens...uh huh, uh, huh. Cauliflower with cheese, a favorite.  Eggs, good protein. 

Not seen is a bit of chocolate milk which didn't get finished the other day.  I had accounted for it as a snack, so it was paid for previously, but people forgot to drink it, so I doled it out tonight, much to everybody's delight.

Noah begged for me to take a picture of his plate.  He was proud of how he had arranged his food.  The salad was sans dressing tonight.  Rabbit food.

breakfast:  frosted flakes and milk

Cost:  $1.75

half gallon milk (with coupon):  .75

one 16 oz box tony the tiger:  1.00

sack lunches:  cheese sandwiches, 2 each person, carrot sticks, lettuce

Cost:  $2.54

1 1/2 loaves my bread:  .65

8 oz cheddar cheese sliced thinly:  .75

23 oz carrots, sliced:  .39

3 heads (one package) romaine:  .79

snack:  bread with butter or peanut butter

Cost:  $.41

1//2 loaf my bread:  .22

1/2 cube butter:  .13

1 oz peanut butter:  .06

supper menu:  scrambled eggs and cheese, cauliflower and cheese, romaine, and toast.   Chocolate milk for dessert, half a cup each.

Cost:  $4.06

cauliflower, two large heads @ .50/head:  1.00

8 oz cheddar cheese, grated, for the eggs and cauliflower:  .75

14 eggs, scrambled:  .79

lettuce:  .53

one loaf  store bought whole wheat bread for toast:  .99

chocolate milk, about 1 1/2 quarts, paid for 3 days ago

additional snack:  chocolate easter eggs from the mark-down bin

Cost:  $.99

yum...

Today's total cost:  $9.76

And it was healthy (and chocolately)