Dissension in the ranks...

Over the weekend my family revolted on me.

While away on my weekly shopping trip, my husband was at home with the three kids.  He, during this time, had to change a messy diaper.  While he was doing this, he sent me a picture of the diaper and complained that the reason for the mess was because of the food we've been eating.  He also told me to bring home food.  Now.

So, as lofty as my ideals were, I've set them aside for my sanity.  I caved and brought home Taco Bell which was summarily devoured as we watched "The Great Muppet Caper" on VHS. 

I've decided to continue the experiment on my own.  I will eat on $1.50 a day for the next 2-3 days.  I'll see how long I can last. 

I will say that we have learned a lot in the few days that we've done this.  My husband constantly fighting back "But we're not poor!"  I've found that living in the US gives us an advantage.  We have access to clean, healthy food that often goes on sale.  We can have variety in our meals because of sales.  You CAN eat for a small amount each meal, day or week, as long as you have access to supermarkets with large variety and good sales. 

I went heavy on pasta products this week, thinking it would be a large amount of what we ate.  I could have saved a few of those dollars and gotten some meat or some fresh veggies. 

If nothing else, I've definitely learned to shop smarter for myself.  That smarter shopping will hopefully allow me the extra few dollars that I can then "pay forward" by donating to our local food shelf. 

So wish me luck, dear readers.  For I embark on the journey alone from here on out. 

Remember, follow me on twitter @camp3082 and keep reading!

Snacks....

My kids are used to having snacks at their finger tips.  We always stock the house with yogurt, cheese sticks, fruit snacks and granola bars.  (All healthy items of course)

So since we didn't have room in our budget for any of these items, I set out to do a "swap" for granola bars.  I'm taking approximately 6 cups of the cereal we purchased, some of the marshmallows and some butter to make cereal bars.  If I had my druthers, I'd throw in some raisins, but I am druther-free this week.

This treat is simple to make - following the recipe to make Rice Crispy Treats.  And it will take the place of the granola bars we can't have.  There is plenty of cereal left over for breakfasts this week, and maybe some lunches.  I'll be cutting the treats into bar shapes. 

Ingredients
6 cups of cereal
4 cups mini marshmallows
3 TBSP butter

Directions
Melt butter in a large sauce pan.  Add marshmallows and heat on medium until completely melted, stirring constantly.  Add cereal.  Spread mixture onto a greased cookie sheet or waxed paper.  Press down until mixture covers the pan.  Allow to cool.  Cut into squares. 

Any leftover marshmallows we'll use to have an indoor campfire.  We "roast" the mini mallows over a lit candle using toothpicks.  It's fun and the kids make memories, one thing I hope will come out of this experience. 

Day 1...

Today was day one of eating on the challenge.  Here was our menu for the day:

Breakfast

Cereal with Milk

Lunch

Egg Salad sandwich

½ banana

Dinner

Hot Dog Noodle Soup

 

Here’s how I made the soup:

Ingredients

2 packages Ramen Noodles, beef flavor

1 cup canned peas

4 Turkey hot dogs, sliced

Directions

Prepare noodles according to package directions.  Add hot dogs and peas and allow to simmer until warm.

Thoughts for the day

I did not eat breakfast today, but the kids and my husband did.  They ate their normal breakfast, so it wasn’t much of a switch.

For lunch, it was odd not to have side dishes.  Normally, we’ll have some canned pineapple or peaches as well as some sort of treat like chips.  Today we just had the sandwich and a half of a banana.  It felt odd, but I ate slow and drank a lot of water to keep me full. 

The dinner menu did not go over so well.  My daughter had two bowls, but she was still hungry.  My 6 year old did not eat the soup, and was scrounging around for food while my husband put my other son to bed.  My 3 year old son did NOT eat dinner.  He’s a picky eater and will only eat certain things.  I’ve been instructed, in the past, by my pediatrician and his service providers that if he skips a meal here and there, he will be OK.  That he will eat when hungry.  So don’t think I am starving him on purpose, he chose not to eat. 

My husband has already said that the experiment is over.  But I’m going to try to stick it out till the end of the five days.  I think we can make it.  And we are getting the word out about this project. 

Remember to check my updates on twitter @camp3082. 

Have a great evening!

Shopping day...

So this is my haul from the grocery store.  Using the guideline of  $37.50 (which is 7.50 per five days for five people in my family) from the Below the Line Challenge (www.livebelowtheline.com), I was able to purchase the following:

3 jars pasta sauce
3 boxes angel hair pasta
2 packages turkey franks (8 each) 
2 dozen eggs
3 cans Chef Boyardee (with meat)
3 cans veggies
2 boxes mac n cheese
6 packages Ramen
1 head iceberg lettuce
4 3/4 pounds bananas
1 package frozen rice and veggies
1 package of marshmallows
1 large package "cheerios"
1 loaf of bread
1 jar of Peanut butter (doesn't appear in the picture)
1 package breakfast sausage (doesn't appear in picture)

This was the total cost of the haul, with tax.  My supermarket had some awesome sales this week, and I was able to get a jar of pasta sauce for free.  That helps out a lot, meaning I can use the sauce with some of the other items purchased.

The 3 dollar surplus I'm chalking up to butter, salt, pepper and other spices.  You can't buy this stuff in small quantities, so I'm giving myself 3 bucks worth of leeway.  

Stay tuned for Day 1 menu and recipes.  

Please check me out on twitter @camp3082 for more up to the minute updates and photos.  Thanks for reading!