Can't believe the prices? Here's some proof and ideas for your shopping this week...

50 cents for that?

You can do it, too.

If nothing else, my blog can show you how to have a company meal, and a nice one, for an affordable price. 

Remember, every meal is a "company meal" around here.  We are feeding 10 people every time we sit down!

 That is a lot of dishes, too, believe me.

I have been in a lot of stores this week.  I have a huge baking project coming up for the big school fundraiser auction.  200 lbs of flour, 50 lbs of sugar, etc, etc, you get the picture.

  So, I have some good deals for you.

wow, tasty, awesome

affordable cold cereal.  Safeway has some even cheaper this week.  A 16 oz box of Oat Squares, which we love to snack on, is only 1.00 if you by 5 in the same shopping trip.  We bought 20.

cottage cheese is good protein, and ups the protein content in bread, too

a decent price for beef

This sauce is cheaper than the plain tomato sauce, and it's ready to go.

I'm not much of a coupon shopper, but sometimes Fred Meyer has some coupon deals that I just can't ignore.

 Plus, they have the best price for canola oil around, even better than Costco, and, unlike Costco's, I can fit it into my cupboard.

Happy shopping.  It's not hard to shop on a budget.  With a goal in mind, in my case, the goal of not spending much money, it is fun to see what you can do.

I've gotten so I love finding I can live without all the "good deals" in the store.

Day 25, with scrambled eggs for lunch

I love daffodils

     Last night I put it out to the kids whether they had any ideas for school lunches, and one daughter insisted that she had a great idea.  So it is in our lunches today.  Scrambled eggs in rice.  Different.  But I decided to take her suggestion, since I asked for it.  Nobody complained.

     Breakfast was simple.  Cold cereal and milk.

breakfast menu:  cinnamon life cereal with milk

cost:  $1.75

1.00 for the box of cereal, and .75 for half a gallon of milk

Lunch:  scrambled eggs with rice, applesauce, orange juice

cost:  $3.65

14 scrambled eggs:  1.18

2 tsp oil, for scrambling the eggs:  .02

soy sauce and oyster sauce to flavor the rice: .10

3 cups (before cooking) rice:  .96

one quart applesauce:  .40

1/2 gallon orange juice with pulp:  .99

afterschool snack:  dry oat squares, one ounce each

cost .69

supper menu:  mashed potatoes and chicken gravy, green salad and dressing

cost:  $3.33

5 lb potatoes:  .50

1/4 chicken, with its broth:  .99

gravy packet:  .33

salad, 2 hearts romaine: .88

2 carrots, to decorate the salad:  .10

salad dressing, 3 oz:  .19

Today's total eating cost:  $9.09

we are saving up for something good, I think---Salmon.

Does eating for a dollar a day leave anything out of my food life?

Yes.   Chocolate.

 I'm going to have to think of a way to amend that.

      The children have gotten their chocolate fix because the same bride whose leftovers came our way had a tin of hot chocolate mix she sent us.  It was only about half used up, so there was enough for everyone to enjoy hot chocolate at least once.

     It was a nice reprieve.

But not as nice as real chocolate.

M & M's are on sale this week, maybe we'll have enough in the slush fund for some.

 Or maybe brownies would do the trick.  We'll see.

Day 24, with violin lessons and a trip to Fiesta Foods!

   Tuesdays are always on the road a lot for me, and out of usual routine.

Here's Noah at his violin lesson.  Look at that beautiful bow grip.  Perfect.

Linda Peterson, his wonderful violin teacher, is not only amazing as an instructor, I also learn parenting skills from her every time I watch her interact with the children.  I am honored to know her, and privileged to have my children under her guidance.

Today's eating experience began with hot cereal here at Boothieville.  It seemed to go with the chill of the morning.  Thinking of the food groups, I added peaches to the meal.

 breakfast menu:  hot cereal, milk, tea, canned peaches

Cost:  only $1.54

rolled oats, 4 1/2 cups dry:  .54

5 cups milk:  .50

1 qt peaches:  .50

      Lunch was a pleasant experience, patterned after last night. 

sack lunches:  mashed potatoes, beef and gravy, sliced bread, mandarin oranges

Cost:  $4.05

5 lbs potatoes, mashed:  .50

gravy packet:  .33

roast beef tidbits:  1.57

flour for thickening:  .10

1 loaf homemade bread:  .30

1 tbsp butter: .05

10 mandarin oranges:  1.20

afternoon snack:  1 loaf bread with a hint of butter, eaten on the way to violin lessons

Cost:  $.33

Supper menu:  black beans over rice, green salad, bread and butter

Cost:  $2.44

This was a very simple meal, fast and easy, because the beans were already cooked ahead, and the rice cooker did it's magic while I cut the salad and we set the table. Simple is okay, especially on Tuesdays, for me.

thats a pretty good salad for $.64.  Leaf lettuce heads were 5/1.00 all week at Fiesta Foods, which you will see more of as you scroll below...

 (3/4 lb before cooking) black beans:  .30

1.5 lbs rice:  .96

1 heart romaine:  .44

1 head green leaf lettuce:  .20

1 carrot: .02

onion porder: .02

1 loaf my bread:  .30

1/2 cube butter:  .20

      The fun today began when Rodger and I took a trip down to Fiesta Foods, a huge new grocery store around here.  It's a cultural experience...take a look.

if only I had a need for lemons...I won't, until this summer's farmers' market, where we make lemonade, but look on...

I've never considered cactus for Boothieville's menu, but obviously other families do

to the left you see massive numbers of jalapenos, lower center has pasillas galore

whoa, look at these!  There are so many packages of them that I know it's not just the science teachers buying them.  They cost the same as my purchase below, chicken tenders.  Was it hard to choose between the two?  Wellllll....no  There are some cultural gaps that I do not understand. Chicken feet for the same price as chicken tenders? 

these were my choice

how about tripe...?

if I wanted to make steak and kidney pie...

Now for the most inspiring part of the shopping trip:

The virgin and the store thank me for coming...how about that?

my shopping bag...

my favorite purchase of the night---Tillamook butter for .99!  What?  99 cents?  I got 9 lbs of it.  Yay.

Today's total eating cost at Boothieville:  only $8.36  cha ching!

 

Day 23 Yes! Beef!

     I spoke with another mother during the weekend wedding festivities about my 10 for 10 for 10 project.  One of her first reactions was, "But my family really loves meat!  I don't know how I could do it!"

     Well, we are carnivores around here, too.   And I've had a hankering for beef.  Here's how I worked it into our day today.

     First, let's back up to last week's shopping.  I happened by some decently priced beef roasts on sale.  I was actually looking for some affordable hamburger meat, which is not easy, and noticed that the roasts were cheaper by the pound than the ground beef.

     Beef roasts have another advantage over the ground beef---they are not 30% fat.  Or even 23%, like the "lean" ground hamburger.  These roasts were completely trimmed.

     So, here's what I did.  I asked the butcher to slice up the roast for me, in thin slices---very thin slices.  Around our area every grocery and supermarket provides a slicing service for roasts.  It's part of a Mexican tradition for Carne Asada, and so there is often a line back in the meat department of ladies waiting to get their beef sliced up.  I asked the meat cutter to slice it even thinner than for carne asada, and here's why:

     Thin sliced meat goes farther in a meal.  More people get more bites of meat.  More eating pleasure from the same amount of beef.  Just the same as nibbling small corners from your chocolate bar rather than wolfing the whole thing right down.

     So, I take the sliced up roast and further prepare it before frying by cutting it into narrow stips, like stir-fry.  I brown and fry the beef, then salt it and divide it up into meal-sized portions and freeze it up for later.

     There is nothing like walking in late, with a hungry family waiting, and being able to pull together a quick and yummy meal because you have the meat all prepared and ready to add to vegetables or gravy in short order.

     For 10for10for10, I just make equal portions from the roast, and then divide the total price of the roast by the number of zip-loc packages I have portioned out, and I immediately know the cost of the meat for a meal.  I like to simplify my calculations.  So, for this roast today, which cost $6.28, I made four portions, each costing me $1.57.  Next time I get one out, I know it will cost me $1.57 again.

     Here's a quick overview of our food day:

 breakfast menu:  cold cereal and milk

cost:  $1.75, because milk is cheap this week

choice today of toasted oats, oat squares, or life cereal, measured out:  1.00

1.2 gallon milk:  .75

sack lunches:  cheese sandwiches, orangejuice/lemonade mix, sliced carrots, celery sticks, dry oat squares for school snack

cost:  $2.34

.4 lb cheddar cheese:  .60

1 loaf my oatmeal bread:  .45

1 qt lemonade, 1qt orange juice, mixed:  .60

carrots:  free, given to us by unknown bride rather than thrown away

celery:  gift from same bride, to whom we are thankful

11 oz oat squares for munching:  .69

after school snack:  canned peaches, a favorite around here

cost:  $.50

1 quart jar we canned ourselves, yum

(so, don't tune me out about the home canned stuff, I know you can't can at this time of year, but good prices do come up...I just saw large 29oz cans of peaches for only .88 at bi-mart last week.  Keep your eyes open and you can find good prices) 

Maybe we can talk about canning sometime.  I'd love that...

 

     dinner menu:  roast beef and mashed potatoes the 10for10for10 way, petite peas, sweet corn, bread and butter

You can see, in the picture above, that even with everybody served a plateful approximately this size, there is plenty left in the serving dishes for seconds.

cost:  $5.12 for 10 people! and worth it, believe me

roast beef tidbits:  1.57

5 lbs potatoes:  .50

1 lb frozen petite peas: .98

1 lb frozen supersweet corn:  .98

1 au jus gravy packet:  .33

flour for thickening gravy:  .07

milk for mashed potatoes: .19

1 loaf fresh bread:  .30

1/2 cube butter:  .20

look at that heaping bowl of mashed potatoes

and all those happy kids

and all those happy kids

and look at that that silly loaf of bread, shaped by a happy kid (happy that they were about to eat bread, that is)

and, such beauty in the colors.  My mom used to insist on a variety of colors in the meal, I remember that.  Presentation is part of the effect of a satisfying meal.  Plus, the taste of that corn lived up to the package label.  It was super sweet.  Amazing.

Today's total:  $9.71

 added bonus:  I got unsolicited thank you's for the meal over and over, all evening.

This simple dinner was a winner.

Day 22, Sunday, with a potluck and a donation to the snack fund

     This morning I made my donation to the church snack fund.  I didn't forget.  $5.00 gone and my concience feels better.  The church's provision of healthy snacks really is a great service before the service, so I feel good helping to keep that up and running.

     What does it mean to be "thoroughly equipped for every good work?"  Well, there's some thinking to be done meditating on that one.   Our bible lesson today was simple at church.  About the bible being the book for me, just like the children's song B-i-b-l-e. 

     Well, what struck me is the equipping aspect of the concept.  We equip ourselves for a backpacking trip, we equip ourselves before taking a baby on a vacation trip, we want to be properly equipped for an interview or whatever---just fill in the blank.   But being thoroughly equipped for every good work, wow, that deserves taking time to wrap your mind around...

     How does food affect us and our lives?  That can be answered in both a simple, practical way, and on a very philosophical level.  I'm going to think about that question, too.  I seem to have to deal with food a lot, don't I?  It's relentless, multi times daily.  It affects us, no doubt about it. 

     I keep having a recurring visual in my mind of a video I saw recently.  It showed a woman from Burkina Faso, a friend of some friends of mine.  She was showing how she makes "To," (pronounced toe) every day. 

     As she makes the toe, you can see how routine the process is for her; she never skips a beat or blurps a spill of the mix out of her kettle as she stirs and boils it over the fire she is simultaneously adjusting.

     So, what is toe?  It is an African version of corn meal mush, that's what.  First the woman, along with a friend, pounds her dried corn kernels in a hollowed log to soften and break them up a bit.  Then they take them to be ground.  Then they hike out to find firewood (a daily chore for the women and girls) this day, several miles journey.

(this is not the same mother I saw, but you can see the tedious nature of grinding and sifting corn here)

     Now, finally, they are equipped to do the task of making the meal, which includes boiling the water over her fire and adding the fresh corn meal until the consistency is just right.  She then whacks a large dolop of the toe over into a huge bowl, lets it cool just long enough to form a skin, then another dolop, and so on, until her whole family's meal has been spooned out in this same way.  Her technique allows each family member to pull their portion out of the bowl separately, already in portion sizes, without the pieces sticking together.  Tricky, huh?

     So why do I keep playing this video over and over in my brain?  Maybe my eyes have been opened just a bit more.  I've seen another mother, far away, feeding her family.  I've seen her efforts, her every day efforts, and have been challenged by them. 

     I'm grateful for what I have available for my family.  She is grateful for what she has available for her family.  Maybe that's what gets me.  Would I be?  I pray for her to have healthy food for her family.  I am glad I don't have to eat cornmeal day in and day out, every day, without reprieve.

    But, I want to be able to have been thankful, were that to be my daily allotment.  Could I be, knowing what others around the world are eating?  I don't know yet, to be honest.  I have never been tested in that way.  But I do know this truth---Godliness, with contentment, is great gain.  Praise God for this woman, patient in hardship.  Everyday hardship.  "Give us this day our daily toe."

     Our Sunday morning found more Boothies on time than usual, although a couple of Boothies hurried out the door without their breakfast.  It was another beautiful day to walk to church, and nice not to be late. 

 Breakfast menu:  life cereal and milk

Cost:  $1.38

life cereal:  1.00

half a gallon of milk:  .38

(milk was 1.50/gallon this weekend)

       A visit to my sister's place produced some nice green salad, a veggie tray of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and celery, a fruit tray with melons and pineapple, and a large round chocolate layer cake. 

       These things, along with a loaf of my bread and half a ham made a good showing for us to bring to the potluck/business meeting after church, thank you Eileen.

  Lunch menu:  potluck, our contributions from home:  loaf of bread, butter, sliced ham.  From wedding:  huge cake, salad, veggies, fruit

Cost to us:  $3.85

loaf of my potato bread:  .45

cube butter:  .40

1/2 a sliced ham:  3.00

(I'm not sure that the cake all got eaten at the potluck, but I didn't want to take any home, so we left it for others)

Supper menu:  french toast, jam, tea with milk

Cost:  $2.23

our last loaf of white fluff:   .39

14 eggs: 1.16

1 quart milk for tea:  .38

jam:  .30

Today's total spending:  $7.46    

      

Day 21, a wedding and three weeks of 10 for 10 for 10

  Saturday morning we ate and sorted seeds and put everybody through the shower in preparation for our friend Laurene's wedding.  Since I was up relatively early, I got a hot shower.  We should have thought to bathe some children last night, because our hot water tank cannot handle 10 showers in a row.  Well, at least not 10 warm showers.  You snooze you lose around here!

     Finding wedding clothes and shoes, etc, dressing, fixing hair took up the morning, so we had peanut butter sandwiches and got in the car.   Early to the wedding.  A red letter day.  Half an hour early to the wedding, and our choice of seats!

 Kate sang during the bride's and groom's taking of the communion, which was beautiful and meditative.  We waltzed to fantastic live music performed by a family quartet, and it was all over too soon.

Check out this picture and the one below.

This is not a pillow, it is the wedding cake!  Cool, aye?

Breakfast for the boothies:  cold cereal and milk

Cost:  the usual, $1.88

one box cold cereal:  1.00

half gallon milk:  .88

plus, leftover mashed potatoes for Charity, already paid for

Lunch on the go:  peanut butter and jam sandwiches

Cost:  $.99

1 loaf white store bread:  .39

peanut butter:  .30

jam:  .30

Snack:  a Pie Social at the wedding, plus sparkling cider and veggie trays galore

 Cost:  N/A

I caught one of my children eating from her plate of vegetables at the wedding reception, and took a picture to prove it.  So, we did get our fresh veggies today.  Good choice, Christiana...I must confess, I had some delectable cheesecake, as well.  My favorite.

Supper by Rodger, thank you Rodger:  scrambled eggs and buttered toast, applesauce

Cost:  $2.04

one dozen eggs, scrambled:  .99

one large loaf potato bread:  .45

half a cube of butter:  .20  

quart of homemade applesauce:  .40

Today's total:  $5.08 

Also, tonight I got a call from my sister about some leftovers from another wedding, so hopefully I'll have some interesting food for the potluck tomorrow.