Thursday 1 December 2011

The $21 Challange - Breakfasts and Lunches

Well by the time I got to the end of my post the other day I figured I had waffled on long enough.  I hadn't really thought about the fact that breakfast and lunch did not even get a mention even though they were included in the challenge and the $19.45 I spent that week.

A comment by the lovely Ali over at Mud Pie reminded me that I really should finish the story.

So to recap my shopping for the week was:
Coriander
Olives
Capers
Bread
Rump steak
Ham
Anchovies
Spring Onions

Total spent $19.45

And the Dinners were:
Sat - Pea & Ham soup (this was actually so bad it got replaced with toast)
Sunday - Home made Pizza
Monday - Thai beef salad with vermicelli
Tuesday - Zucchini slice
Wednesday - Penne Putanesca
Thursday - Chicken Stir Fry
Friday - Bacon and Eggs

So to fill in the gaps this is what we did for breakfasts and lunches on the weekend.
Sat - Poached eggs (from the chickens) on Home made sourdough
      - Left over stir fry from the night before
Sun - Porridge with sultanas
       - Toasted Sandwiches
During the week we generally have left overs for lunches and each of us has our own breakfast.  I find it far easier to cook dinner for 4 and have the option of another dinner or lunch the next day.  It also saves on fiddling with recipes to downsize them for two.

I work from home so I tend to have cereal and yogurt for breakfast most mornings.  I had cereal in the cupboard and I have an esiyo yogurt maker that I use to make youghurt using powdered milk, again this was in the cupboard.  During the day I have almonds and fruit or cheese and crackers as snacks and sometimes dried fruit but I find this quite sweet.  Lunches this week were Tuna Salad, leftover beef salad, zucchini slice for 2 days and Penne Putanesca.

Hubby gets up early and has a long day of very physical work so don't be too shocked when you read how much he eats and still manages to stay a trim 78kg. 
At 4am he has 4 slices sourdough toast for breakfast then takes the larger portion of leftovers the same as what I have.  He then adds some raw veggies (at the moment a couple of carrots, some beans, some cherry tomato's and a cucumber, it depends what is in the garden or in season) a tin of baked beans, some baking (muffins or biscuits or Bird Seed Bars) a boiled egg or two, a couple of apples and a container of dried fruit and nuts.
And every afternoon the lunchbox is empty!

This week I did a normal shop for us which is normally about $70 - $110 p/w depending on if there is anything on a bulk special and if I buy any meat.  I don't think we spend a lot on food (even though  the way Hubby eats we are shopping for three) and I don't think we are scrimping either.
In the $21 challange it talks about the average household of four people spending $320 per week on food (maybe even more) and this figure seems really high to me.  I know we have chickens and a vegetable garden and don't eat a lot of processed food but even still....

How does everyone else feel about this $320 p/w?

4 comments:

  1. I menu plan , grow a certain amount of veg, home bake cake+slice or biscuits for the week. I sometimes home bake oat bread which my children eat instead of cereal.
    I may go to the shop once a week, and then a top up shop for fruit/veg/milk later...I try and I say I try to go for the $100.00 shop....I can do it, and its frugal....so on the other trips when I go over it, say for instance we need toiletries and meat, then it will of course by over. So yeah, I think those $350.00 trolleys are the ones that are loaded and I mean loaded with processed, frozen, and convenience meals......if you cook from scratch your trolley shouldnt be overflowing (except when loo paper is on spesh!) and it should be full of healthy looking foods...real foods, not packets!

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  2. This is such a good idea. Thank you for sharing both the idea and your journey with it.

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  3. I agree with Suzanne, the only way you can spend $320 is with a BIG family or lots of processed foods. We spend $50-100 for two people as we produce our own vege, meat and milk.

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  4. Hi Fiona - great post.
    I think that $320 would contain lots of the following - cartons of Coke, bulk packs of chips, dips and lollies. I am astonished how much rubbish trollies hold! I am also saddened when I hear a parent tell a child 'NO you can't have a mango they are $2!!!!'.... and the trolley is full of the above mentioned items!
    I think you are doing well on the challenge, living well, but not excessively. Certainly have chooks and veggie garden helps out a lot.
    cheers Wendy

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