hotdogs and ramen

Have you noticed a shocking lack of hotdogs on our 10for10for10 menu?  I couldn't bring myself to save money by serving my children hotdogs.  So far, I have avoided them altogether.  Why, you ask? 

Well, just turn over the package and read the nutrition info for a reality check about hotdogs.  It will read something like this:   180 calories per serving, 170 from fat.  Or, if you buy the 10-packs, it might say 130 calories each, 120 from fat.   I can't bear to feed straight fat to my children, just to save money.  I can do it for a fun experience once in awhile over a fire.  I'm ok with that, just so I don't confuse hotdogs with actual meat, which my kids need to grow and be healthy.

Ramen, on the other hand, has had a useful place in our married life.  It is one of the few foods which goes down well for me when I am pregnant (which obviously means I've consumed quite a bit of ramen over the years).  I've had less temptation to use ramen lately since I have read it's nutrition labels as well.  Ramen has a high fat content, so I've mainly stuck to regular pastas and noodles instead.  I do recognize its speed of preparation and palatability, as well as its cheap pricetag, but since I have been avoiding Costco's temptations like the plague, I haven't picked up any ramen lately, and you don't see it in our menu. 

As I think it over, we really have been eating a low fat diet!  I've had the good fortune of finding cheap butter throughout the whole project, so we haven't been without tasty forms of fat, but in small quantities only.  Not much fried food, excepting a couple of days of fry-bread treats.  We don't eat margarine at all, no partially hydrogenated fats, so it's "real-butter-or-bust" around here.

Can you believe that we've been doing this for 66 days?

I was right to try the dollar-a-day eating project for a longer period of time.  We've hit the spot where the novelty has worn off.  Eating on a strict budget is a drag.  But not in the way you would think...

I'm trying to figure out exactly what makes it a drag.  It is not, repeat, not the food.  That is the funny thing about it.  The food has been good.  It has been varied.  It has been healthful.  Tasty.  Satisfying.

So wherein lies the problem?  I think maybe it is that the strict plan puts a crimp in spontaneity.  By its very nature, it forces thinking ahead, and sometimes that brings about a kind of rebellion!  The little voice saying, "What if I want a night off? or what if I want beef tonight, anyway?" 

But the hungry mouths are always asking, asking, for their next meal and with only 10 dollars in hand per day, pretty much that is going to mean the meal must be prepared from scratch.  Home-cooked is the cheapest, hands down.  Waaaayyyyy cheaper even than McDonalds or pre-made meals from Costco or the grocery store.

Maybe it is something more.  Food is at the center of most of our social experiences.  So, maybe the strict food budget has cut us off from some of that kind of outlet for relating to others.

 Not having a coffee in my hand, while all the other moms chatting around do, may have a dampening effect on the conversation.  Others might feel awkward if I am always  declining picking up a bite to eat while they do...I might just be imagining this, but I don't think so.

Or, not dropping by the bakery to have some tea and a macaroon with my kids...I miss that.  I forgot how much until Hilary treated us to a trip to Essensia.  All we ate was a baguette, shared, with butter, and a chocolate macaroon each, with tea, but the visit which accompanied the food, that is what I have been missing.  Some dedicated time together, away from home, just for visiting...

The social aspect of food demands that I think more about our approach to cheap eating, so we don't alienate ourselves from others.  I hadn't anticipated this at the onset of 10for10for10. What do you think about this aspect?  I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Did I mention the other day about my twins experience going out to lunch for their friend Julia's birthday?  Well they had a great time.  And Julia's mother allowed each of the kids to choose anything they wanted from the restaurant menu, anything at all.  Making their choices was part of the fun!  There were no choices under $10, a number which is pretty much branded in my kids' minds forever. 

After an excited explanation of their party and food, we got to talking about the restaurant food, and they realized that the food bill for their party must have been higher than the amount that has been feeding our whole family for more than half a month.  It dawned on them that we really are eating cheaply around here.  Amazingly cheaply.  It wasn't that expensive a restaurant, either, just an upscale burger place.

The flip side of that is that it was a food experience was the focus of the fun of their party, another example of how we use food beyond just nutrition...

Overall, the pros have been outweighing the cons when I think about eating on a dollar a day.  It hasn't been impossible by any means.  Intense, yes.  Time intensive, especially. (With the blog, even more so, which I wouldn't give up for anything.) Difficult, in many ways, yes. 

For instance, sometimes the kids just want to bake cookies, or something like that, because they want something fun to do.  It's a big deal to have to say no because of a budget.  I don't like the do-without angle of the budget.  We can live without cookies just fine.  It is the feeling like we are living without cookies (or you name it) that is the problem for us.

I guess that is similar to going through withdrawals.  Well, we are going through spontaneity withdrawals, treat withdrawals, red meat withdrawals, Micky D ice cream cone withdrawals, Costco withdrawals.  We are curbing ourselves, and feeling the feelings of being curbed.

We are also enjoying the pocketbook benefits of a budget, I might add here.  They are real, not just academic.  Doling out money for school field trips or filling up the gas tank to go to Spokane doesn't take us to the end of our budget quite so fast these last two months...and I like the trade-off.

I must speak for myself here.  Maybe I could take some time to interview my children individually to get their take on the project.  We have almost all angles to get perspectives from, as far as age and maturity levels, I mean.  Sounds like a good idea...

Day 65 Monday in which I teach again and have fast food, budget style

I am teaching a new Childbirth Preparation class series that began tonight.  When I teach on week nights, it means I am away during part of supper and all evening.  Life can be more stressy at home when our regular evening routine is messed with, and our Monday's will be more stressy for the next six weeks.

For me teaching childbirth preparation is refreshing, because I get to share such an important time in the lives of expectant couples, helping them along the way to becoming parents.  I thrive when I am teaching.  I still remember what a profound effect my first childbirth teacher had on my life at that important juncture, and I always pray that I will really be able to meet the needs of my clients/students/parents.  As I prepare them, I try to impart a realism and also an idealism, a vision for themselves to be the best parents and spouses they can be.

And then I come home to the reality that is my own family.  There is a lot more actual realism than idealism in life.  And I have large amount of reality happening here on a daily basis, that is for sure...homework to be finished, forms to sign, stories to be listened to, teeth to be brushed, notes to write, dishes to be done, lunches to be made, hurt feelings to mend, groceries to put away, disagreements to be hashed out, garbages to put out, dogs to be let out, blogs to write, or not write, because I am pulled too many ways....

Food was chosen today completely by simplicity of preparation.  Feed the masses the food groups as quickly as possible.  Rodger decided it wasn't enough for him, so he bought some pizza by the slice on his way back to work from the dentist, too.  This made me feel inadequate, but it made me more sensitive to think of his needs and wants, too.

breakfast menu:  cold cereal and milk

Cost:  $1.99

one box honey smacks:  1.00

half gallon milk:  .99

sack lunches:  peanut butter and jam sandwiches, carrot sticks, romaine, gogurts

Cost:  $4.70

1 box gogurt, 8 servings, marked down:  .99

6 oz peanut butter:  .38

7 oz jam:  .43

fred meyer's bread, 1 loaf:  .88

24 oz carrots:  .41

1 head romaine:  .26

one slice pizza for Rodger from the shop:  1.35

snacks:  toast and butter

Cost:  $1.01

one loaf bread:  .88

half a cube of butter:  .13

As long as I keep running across marked down orange juice, we'll keep drinking it.  This one came from Fiesta Foods.  Usually I find bargain OJ at Albertsons.

There was extra bread from the last loaf, already accounted for, which we used to dip in our stew.

supper:  beef stew, bread, and orange juice

Cost:  $4.24

6.8 lbs potatoes:  .68

1 lb package fried beef:  1.57

2 oz beef soup base:  .50

4 carrots, 24 oz:  .40

1 tablespoon onion powder:  .10

half gallon high pulp orange juice, close dated:  .99

Today's total cost for 11 Boothies:  $11.92, we are over by 92 cents.

Day 64 Sunday has an extra Boothie. Hilary is visiting while her husband is in Maryland.

Hilary caravanned with us from Spokane, and we get to enjoy her company for a few days!  She came to church with us, visited my class in the afternoon, and potlucked with us at the Platt home in the evening. 

While I was gone teaching, the girls showed Hilary how we make our homemade tortillas, and fixed a nice taco dinner.  They were nice enough to save me some...

For supper we got invited to our friends' house.  They were already planning spaghetti, so we brought a huge romaine salad to complement it.  The fam created this salad while I was still teaching, and dressed it up with sliced radishes and cucumbers and shredded carrots.

breakfast for 11:  cold cereal and milk

Cost:  $2.20

Sunday dinner:  tacos

Cost:  $3.74

one batch tortillas:  .80

refried beans, one can:  .50

beef strips, 1 lb:  1.57

1 romaine lettuce, shredded:  .26

3 oz shredded cheese:  .29

4 oz salsa:  .32

our contribution to the potluck:  green salad, enough for 30

Cost:  $2.00

4 heads romaine:  1.05

4 radishes:  .15

2 cucumbers:  .66

2 carrots, 8 oz:  .14

snack for my class, which we ate the remainder of:  one dozen day-old donuts

$2.99

Total cost today:  $10.93 with 11 people

extra treats on our trip

I packed some trip food to eat along with the pesto rolls.  We took a bag of peeled baby carrots and two bags of marked down easter m & m's.  This will come from my slush fund.

Cost of car snacks:  $4.18
bag of carrots:  .99
2 bags m & m's: 3.19

M & M's make a good car treat  a) because they are chocolate.   Chocolate that melts in the mouth, not the hands, and, b) there are many little pieces, so they can be doled out along the way, and the snack can be strewn out over the miles and made to last just about the whole trip.

Carrots are a palate cleanser and guilt reducer.  Their crunch gives us something to do, too.

Day 63 I am gone with the kids, Noah falls off the bed

I shared a bed last night with my two little kids who like to drape themselves across the bed and/or me.  I must have been waked up 40 times.  Noah crashing to the floor at 1a.m., well, that really bolted me awake.   Anyway, I'm putting them on the floor next time!

After Jane's party we headed for home.  The homesters fixed us a chef's salad because I really had a hankering for my leafy greens.  It was ready when we got home around 7:30pm, and we told stories of our adventure and heard stories of Kate's and Trudy's Haiti fundraising event, and Rodger's Bootcamp for new dads.

It turns out that even though they are grown up, the three left at home didn't eat fruits of veggies while I was gone.  Trudy did get some vitamin C with orange juice, good girl, True.  So the chef salad was good for them, too.

They went hog wild with the salad.  I really must have sounded like I needed my greens!  They were not chinzy.

The grated cheese was sprinkled over salads.

Hard boiled eggs provided plenty of protein.

This was easy to make and easy to eat.

Kate won the decorative salad award.  Isn't that pretty?

daytime eating while I was gone:  eggs and toast, peanut butter sandwich and milk, bread and cheese

Cost:  $1.14

5 eggs:  .30

half a loaf my bread:  .24

peanut butter:  .06

cheese:  .10

milk:  .20

eating for travelers:  leftover cinnamon rolls

Cost:  contained in the total price of the rolls below

supper menu:  chef salad and bread

Cost:  $3.99

4 heads lettuce:  1.05

1 huge carrot:  .11

20 eggs:  1.00

1 1/2 loaf bread:  67

8 oz cheese:  .75

5 oz dressing:  .15

milk for tea:  .26

Total eating:  $5.13  plus half of the charge for the rolls (I charged the other half yesterday)  $4.48 = $9.61

Day 62, in which I travel over 400 miles in 24 hours

In preparation for the upcoming birth of my daughter Jane's first baby, most of my children and I drove two hundred miles after school to attend a baby shower for her.  We spent the night at Ray's parents' home and had a really nice time. Then we drove back today.

I made a big batch of cinnamon and pesto rolls for the party. Some of the dough I formed into a loaf for the Boothies who had to stay home.  We also ate some of the pesto rolls along the way, so we wouldn't have to stop for dinner.

That is a seven foot table...just to give you a sense of scale.  I had already whacked off enough dough for three huge loaves before rolling it out. 

The rolls turned out so big that I cut them in half for the ladies.

Awwww...

Diane made this lovely quilt for the little grandbaby.

One of the girls used my camera to get a shot of Jane's baby lump, so here it is.

I'm not sure how to calculate the cost of our 10for10for10 expenditures, so this is how I'm going to handle it---I'm figuring the whole cost of the huge batch of rolls into our budget. We were fed by our hosts Diane and Len, which was part of their hospitality, so I can't count that into our budget, but even though we didn't eat all the rolls ourselves, I will charge our budget for this contribution to the party and our travel meals.

We ate the usual breakfast and sack lunches, then after school Sarah I picked up the younger children and headed out of town.  We munched on pesto rolls along the way, and gave some out at school to the girls, friends and Rodger.    Many hours later, at Len and Diane's home, we were served a really nice spaghetti dinner. 

The next morning we frosted 24 cinnamon rolls for the party, and still had 20 pesto rolls left to serve as well.  Len also made beautiful little mini quiches, and Diane served fresh fruits and veggies for the luncheon.  We had fun getting Jane ready with all kinds of baby supplies.  The children are getting excited to become aunts and uncles.  For me, it seems weird to almost be a Grandma. 

I've had to teach alot since I came home, so haven't had much time to write.  I'll finish the post asap.  Check back... 

breakfast menu:  cold cereal and milk

Cost:  $1.75

one box cereal:  1.00

half gallon milk:  .75

sack lunches:  peanut butter sandwiches, raisins and marshmallows, carrot sticks, pesto rolls for Rodger

Cost:  $3.80

one loaf white bread:  .99

peanut butter, 5 oz:  .30

jam:  .40

marshmallows, 1 bag:  1.00

3 oz organic raisins:  1.30

pretzels, bags of 16 each:  .54

16 oz carrots:  .27

supper, everybody gone but Rodger, he eats chees sandwiches and cold cereal with milk, the big girls eat pesto rolls and steak at a friend's house, we eat pesto rolls, then spaghetti at Diane's home

Cost for Rodger's cheese sandwiches and cereal:  .55

Cost for half the batch of rolls (I'll add the rest into tomorrow's budget):  4.48

Total daily cost:  $10.58