Taking the Challenge

Taking the Challenge. 

My daughter thinks I’m weird and my partner is convinced it can’t be done, but my challenge is to feed my family of 3 for a week with healthful, gourmet meals, on 125.00 per week.  That is less than half of what we spend now.  It’s a cool challenge.  I’m excited to use my financial brains alongside my creativity.  It is September 22 and my challenge started 2 days ago. 

Friday I got the special food store circulars in the mail.  All nice and neatly packed in plastic, I open the package containing the sales flyer for every food store in a 5 mile radius.  First I look at King Kullen and notice a $10.00 coupon right on the cover.  I begin to cut it out when I realize that I have to spend $100.00 to get the $10 back.  That won’t work for me, as $100.00 is all I have.  I start to write down on a piece of paper all of main course items I might be interested in and what store had them.  Salmon for 4.98/pound, mahi mahi for 3.99/ pound, Shell steak (for my daughter) 4.99/pound.  These are items I could build a menu around.  I also noted things like fruits and vegetables that were on sale and where.  Part of my challenge was to open as few cans as possible, so fresh vegetables were a must. I sketched an outline of the week next to my list:

Sunday – Salmon

Monday – Beef (I would be working late)

Tuesday – white fish

Wednesday – Veggie meal

Thursday – Tacos

Friday – Beans/pasta

Saturday – shellfish 

Ok so I knew salmon was on sale and Mahi Mahi.  I found Eggplant on sale at another store and taco shells.  Shell steaks were ok, but I know my daughter loves marinated skirt steak, so I would look for that cut at a reasonable price.  

I collect recipes as a hobby and keep them in an accordion file.  I pulled out the file and began to look for recipes that contained the items on sale and were relatively easy to cook.  I selected a few and then narrowed it down by taste and list of ingredients. 

Once I selected all of the week’s recipes, I added the ingredients to the shopping list and did a quick calculation in my head.  Here is the menu: 

Sunday – Korean style Salmon with bok choy and mushrooms, steamed rice

Monday – Grilled beer marinated hanger steak, with broccoli, and sweet potato fries

Tuesday – Mahi Mahi with sweet corn chowder gravy, smashed potatoes, and green salad

Wednesday – Over Stuffed eggplant with a garden salad (pizza night for my daughter)

Thursday – DIY tacos, meat or veggie

Friday – Orzo w/chickpeas and goat cheese, cucumber and tomato salad

Saturday - Grilled shrimp and citrus balsamic vegetables

I put a $100.00 bill in my pocket.  I don’t usually shop with cash.  I like the safety of a credit card.  What if I get to the register and have $112.32 worth of groceries?  With a credit card, it wouldn’t matter.  I can be careless, overrun my budget, and not even notice until the bill is due.  That stops today.  I have a mission, a list, and a $100.00 bill in my pocket.  That’s it.  Stay tuned.  I'll post the shopping list and the recipies for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.