No time to spend on this today. too much to do from now until bedtime. Dinner was really easy tonight. I had five chicken thigh fillets and 8 people to feed. It's amazing what a bit of bashing and crumbing can do to stretch meat. We had plenty of crumbed fillets to go round, with mashed potatoes, corn, peas and salad. I did do some sort of dessert if you can call it that. I was busy making mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for school, so we ate some of those. Cupcakes are a quick and simple. Basically two eggs, butter, flour and milk made 42 mini cupcakes. This should be heaps, but we ate 24 for dessert. I have to make more now, since a bulk lot is required for a class break up at school on Friday and I have a meeting tomorrow night.
Just for your information, I didn't do any shopping tonight, so by my vague calculations, I have spent about $221 on food and other groceries this week. That would be fairly typical.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Tuesday - big dinner day
Well I am sitting here still contemplating the dishes that have to be washed. We had nine for dinner tonight. Three extra always poses a bit of a challenge. However, we did enjoy a nice home cooked meal. I arrived home from work at 5.30pm and we ate at 7.30pm. Unless you are more organised than me and prepare earlier, cooking everything from scratch is definitely time consuming. So what did we have.
I cooked a one kilo beef pot roast - which a great because they cook themselves, and a small leg of lamb. Both were seasoned with a bit of garlic. The meat component cost about $13, which is a lot for us, but there were nine people at the table. I made a salad from lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and carrot, and the vegies were steamed broccoli, honey carrots, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes (3 kilos worth). I also boiled everyone an egg, which for some reason is considered a treat. I didn't cook dessert, mainly because I ran out of space in the oven.
Lunch was three school lunches, and sandwiches for my husband and myself, and brekky was toast and juice only, since we ran out of milk and I had to leave early and a there wasn't time to do a cooked breakfast. I have promised my littlies that I will make them scrambled eggs with bacon tomorrow to make up for it.
I did go to the supermarket today. I spent $7.65 on three loaves of bread and 3 litres of milk. If we run out of anything during the week, it's milk and bread. I could certainly buy more bread when I do the weekly shop, but I have limited freezer space.
I have to sign off now, because I have to bake for tomorrows school lunches.
I cooked a one kilo beef pot roast - which a great because they cook themselves, and a small leg of lamb. Both were seasoned with a bit of garlic. The meat component cost about $13, which is a lot for us, but there were nine people at the table. I made a salad from lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and carrot, and the vegies were steamed broccoli, honey carrots, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes (3 kilos worth). I also boiled everyone an egg, which for some reason is considered a treat. I didn't cook dessert, mainly because I ran out of space in the oven.
Lunch was three school lunches, and sandwiches for my husband and myself, and brekky was toast and juice only, since we ran out of milk and I had to leave early and a there wasn't time to do a cooked breakfast. I have promised my littlies that I will make them scrambled eggs with bacon tomorrow to make up for it.
I did go to the supermarket today. I spent $7.65 on three loaves of bread and 3 litres of milk. If we run out of anything during the week, it's milk and bread. I could certainly buy more bread when I do the weekly shop, but I have limited freezer space.
I have to sign off now, because I have to bake for tomorrows school lunches.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday
Hey, Monday already. Sunday was a blur of fun. We were out all day, so the only things eaten were toast and cereal for breakfast and toasted sandwiches and cereal for tea. Not good I know, but I was exhausted after being out all weekend.
Today was better. More like normal. The usual breakfasts were had by all. this includes cereal - rice bubbles or cornflakes, porridge and toast. Juice and coffee and tea were the beverages of choice. We only buy two bottles of juice for the week, so it is for breakfast only.
School lunches by three and I took lunch to work.
Dinner was spaghetti bolognaise. We had seven for dinner tonight, since there was one extra boy floating about at dinner time, so we fed him too.
I have worked out that over the course of a normal week I serve a minimum of 42 dinners, make 22 school and work lunches, make 25 breakfasts, and feed anything up to 10 people at each meal on the weekend (excluding breakfast). We use at least four dozen eggs in a typical week, about 20 litres of milk, eat 10 loaves of bread, consume 1 kilo of bacon, 1 kilo of cheese, and no meal that includes meat is made with less that one kilo of the stuff (except stir fry, but that's about 700 grams of chicken). Fruit consumption includes about 3 kilos of apples, 3 kilos of oranges, 1 kilo of bananas, and this week because it was affordable, we have pineapple, apricots and nectarines. Vegetables include broccoli, fresh corn, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, cucumber. We always have onions and garlic in the house.
That's enough of the number crunching for tonight. I am looking forward to summer and the plums getting ripe, because then we can make enough to last until next spring. I have to start doing more baking again too. I have got lazier as the year has progressed. Time to change me thinks.
Today was better. More like normal. The usual breakfasts were had by all. this includes cereal - rice bubbles or cornflakes, porridge and toast. Juice and coffee and tea were the beverages of choice. We only buy two bottles of juice for the week, so it is for breakfast only.
School lunches by three and I took lunch to work.
Dinner was spaghetti bolognaise. We had seven for dinner tonight, since there was one extra boy floating about at dinner time, so we fed him too.
I have worked out that over the course of a normal week I serve a minimum of 42 dinners, make 22 school and work lunches, make 25 breakfasts, and feed anything up to 10 people at each meal on the weekend (excluding breakfast). We use at least four dozen eggs in a typical week, about 20 litres of milk, eat 10 loaves of bread, consume 1 kilo of bacon, 1 kilo of cheese, and no meal that includes meat is made with less that one kilo of the stuff (except stir fry, but that's about 700 grams of chicken). Fruit consumption includes about 3 kilos of apples, 3 kilos of oranges, 1 kilo of bananas, and this week because it was affordable, we have pineapple, apricots and nectarines. Vegetables include broccoli, fresh corn, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, cucumber. We always have onions and garlic in the house.
That's enough of the number crunching for tonight. I am looking forward to summer and the plums getting ripe, because then we can make enough to last until next spring. I have to start doing more baking again too. I have got lazier as the year has progressed. Time to change me thinks.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Saturday
I wasn't home at all today, haven taken my youngest daughter shopping for a graduation dress. The necessity of travelling by bus to Melbourne (because it is cheaper than the petrol it would take in the car), meant we left at 6.50am and have just made it back.
So I am not at all aware of what was eaten today. We are not home again tomorrow, so I might wait until Monday to write again. The only thing I will say is that eating out is very expensive. One doughnut cost us $2.60!! I can't believe it, although it may be quite normal. Anyway, that's enough for today.
So I am not at all aware of what was eaten today. We are not home again tomorrow, so I might wait until Monday to write again. The only thing I will say is that eating out is very expensive. One doughnut cost us $2.60!! I can't believe it, although it may be quite normal. Anyway, that's enough for today.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Shopping Day
Hey everyone, it was shopping day today. I spent a total of $216.44 . $37.96 at NQR, $114.75 at ALDI, $24.15 at Safeway and $39.58 at Coles. According to everyone, we have just about everything we need for the week, except I forgot to buy mayonaise, which will cost about $1.19 at ALDI. NQR was fantastic since they had twin packets of mango yoghurt for 0.41 cents each and aero mousse for the 0.44 cents each. Since there are six of us in the house, this type of bargain makes it easy to get something for everyone.
This is the split:
Dairy $15.45
Eggs $ 4.58
Meat $37.13
Fruit/vegies $25.79
Deli $ 5.94
Bread $14.04
Grocery $39.80
Treats $10.87
Pet $7.54
Cleaning/other $34.90
Lunchbox $14.92
Frozen $5.48
Total $216.44
Dinner tonight was as simple as I could make it because it has been a long week and I am tired. We had a chicken, cut into as many pieces as possible, since one chicken doesn't really meet the needs of six people. On the table were sliced tomatoes, cheese, olives, chillies (really hot for me), lettuce, rolls, rankfurts, grated carrot and boiled eggs. Everyone ate what they felt like. It would have been really easy to make a quiche as well, but I was feeling lazy and had to take someone home in the middle of the preparations.
School lunches were made, and breakfast was porridge for me, semolina porridge, toast and left over chicken from last night. Lunches for those at home included fruit and leftover stir fry from last night.
That's enough for today I an getting hassled for the computer. See you tomorrow.
This is the split:
Dairy $15.45
Eggs $ 4.58
Meat $37.13
Fruit/vegies $25.79
Deli $ 5.94
Bread $14.04
Grocery $39.80
Treats $10.87
Pet $7.54
Cleaning/other $34.90
Lunchbox $14.92
Frozen $5.48
Total $216.44
Dinner tonight was as simple as I could make it because it has been a long week and I am tired. We had a chicken, cut into as many pieces as possible, since one chicken doesn't really meet the needs of six people. On the table were sliced tomatoes, cheese, olives, chillies (really hot for me), lettuce, rolls, rankfurts, grated carrot and boiled eggs. Everyone ate what they felt like. It would have been really easy to make a quiche as well, but I was feeling lazy and had to take someone home in the middle of the preparations.
School lunches were made, and breakfast was porridge for me, semolina porridge, toast and left over chicken from last night. Lunches for those at home included fruit and leftover stir fry from last night.
That's enough for today I an getting hassled for the computer. See you tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Well, it's day 2. This morning the three littlies had scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast and juice, and I had porridge. They took lunch to school, which was the usual sandwich, fruit, a muesli bar, mini bikkies and one other thing I can't remember. The annual school picnic was on so my husband packed sandwiches and tea to take with him. Tonight I cooked chicken and vegie stirfry, with a home made honey soy marinade for the chicken, as well as steamed dim sims, rice and hokkien noodles. No dessert tonight - I was feeling lazy. I took bread to work and made peanut butter toast for lunch.
I did have to buy a few things tonight after work. They included 3 litres of milk, one loaf of bread, snackabouts, mini biscuits, 3 litres of juice and one kilo of rice. All up I spent about $14 on that, and shopped at NQR and Safeway. So that takes my total for the week to $214.
I did have to buy a few things tonight after work. They included 3 litres of milk, one loaf of bread, snackabouts, mini biscuits, 3 litres of juice and one kilo of rice. All up I spent about $14 on that, and shopped at NQR and Safeway. So that takes my total for the week to $214.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Over the past year I have heard so many people tell me that they can't eat fresh food because it costs way more than other types of food. I am here to tell you that you can, and you can do it within a tight budget. Each week I plan to list my shopping and what I paid for it in total, and what I cooked during the week. In this way you will see that you can eat well on a budget. In fact in our house, I think be eat better on a budget.
Since this is the first posting, and I can't remember exactly what I bought to eat, I will tell you that I spent about $200 on food and other grocery items. The cost of food has clearly gone up over the past few months, especially meat, which would be the single most expensive item on our table. During the week, I buy milk and bread as needed, and other sundry items if absolutely necessary. I hate shopping, so I tend to do it as little as possible.
To stick to this amount every week, I have to shop around. I am very lucky that I can shop at Aldi, NQR, Safeway and Coles for different things. It takes longer, but we can have more variety this way.
So far this week on the evening menu we have had:
Saturday- this was my night off, so everyone made their own dinner
Sunday night - pot roasted beef with brocolli, carrots, corn on the cob, quiche and a pasta bake,
Monday night - lasagna, mashed potatoes, salad, and boiled eggs
Tuesday night - roast lamb (a really little one), brocolli, carrots, quiche, and some other strange cabbage dish (not made by me).
During the day on the weekend everyone ate what they felt like - so this usually means rolls, sandwiches, (toasted or otherwise).
School lunches are made everyday, and include a sandwich, fruit, some sort of school snacks depending on what's on special, and hopefully some small cake I have made at home.
There is no secret to eating well, except that the vast majority of it has to be cooked from scratch. Heat and eat can't feature on our menu, except on very rare occasions, although I do buy one bag of frozen chips per week for those nights I am really tired.
The catch is time. To cook from scratch every night means that a lot of time is spent in the kitchen. But this is time to talk to everyone, and find out what has happened at school, work, or about things that might be bothering someone.
The benefit is sitting down at the table with everyone to a nice meal, and continuing to talk about the day. During dinner the T.V and all other distractions are turned off. We prefer it this way.
I will let you know tomorrow what we had for dinner. At the moment I am thinking stirfry.
Since this is the first posting, and I can't remember exactly what I bought to eat, I will tell you that I spent about $200 on food and other grocery items. The cost of food has clearly gone up over the past few months, especially meat, which would be the single most expensive item on our table. During the week, I buy milk and bread as needed, and other sundry items if absolutely necessary. I hate shopping, so I tend to do it as little as possible.
To stick to this amount every week, I have to shop around. I am very lucky that I can shop at Aldi, NQR, Safeway and Coles for different things. It takes longer, but we can have more variety this way.
So far this week on the evening menu we have had:
Saturday- this was my night off, so everyone made their own dinner
Sunday night - pot roasted beef with brocolli, carrots, corn on the cob, quiche and a pasta bake,
Monday night - lasagna, mashed potatoes, salad, and boiled eggs
Tuesday night - roast lamb (a really little one), brocolli, carrots, quiche, and some other strange cabbage dish (not made by me).
During the day on the weekend everyone ate what they felt like - so this usually means rolls, sandwiches, (toasted or otherwise).
School lunches are made everyday, and include a sandwich, fruit, some sort of school snacks depending on what's on special, and hopefully some small cake I have made at home.
There is no secret to eating well, except that the vast majority of it has to be cooked from scratch. Heat and eat can't feature on our menu, except on very rare occasions, although I do buy one bag of frozen chips per week for those nights I am really tired.
The catch is time. To cook from scratch every night means that a lot of time is spent in the kitchen. But this is time to talk to everyone, and find out what has happened at school, work, or about things that might be bothering someone.
The benefit is sitting down at the table with everyone to a nice meal, and continuing to talk about the day. During dinner the T.V and all other distractions are turned off. We prefer it this way.
I will let you know tomorrow what we had for dinner. At the moment I am thinking stirfry.
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