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!

Preparation...

http://www.pricechopper.com/savings/weekly-flyer/168?page=8

I think I picked a good week to try this challenge.  My supermarket is having a big sale on a lot of items, many of which are $1 each.  At this sale, I can get at least two different kinds of meat, pasta by the box and sauce, which may also include meat.  It may not be the kind of meat we are used to, but it is meat.  This is the challenge a family living below the poverty line faces.  Feed them lower quality food, or don’t feed them. 

There are some sales on fresh produce this week as well.  A head of iceberg lettuce is $0.99!  Vidalia onions are also the same price, per pound.  Bananas are $0.59 per pound, and can be used for snacks or meals. 

Canned peas, corn and green beans are part of the 10 for $10 sale, and a can of peas will feed my family of 5 with some leftover for the next day.  Chef Boyardee canned foods are also 10 for $10, and they claim to contain part of the daily servings of vegetables.  Some are even made with whole grains.  In a pinch, these will work, but I worry about the sodium levels. 

As I scour the circular for foods, I’m noticing that I may be able to make this work, but that we won’t be able to eat healthy for the week or get the items we are accustomed to having.

For instance, I’ve developed lactose intolerance, so I’ve started drinking almond milk.  That won’t fly this week because it is too expensive.  My son is a picky eater, and will only eat certain foods like baby ravioli.  He might be missing out on a few meals this week. 

So I’m working on my list, which I will share in the coming days.  I’d love some feedback on the selections I’ve made. 

Also, if you are interested in taking the Below The Line Challenge, visit this website

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/us

A challenge has been posed...

I received an email today that suggested I take part in the Below the Line Challenge.

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/us

The challenge is supposed to raise awareness for Global Poverty, noting that people who live below the poverty line live on less than $1.50 a day for food.  So for 5 days, participants use that amount to feed themselves.

I'm a bit skeptical about doing this, but also I'm a bit excited to see if I can meet the challenge and what doing the challenge will teach me.  I've got three young children who eat a ton.  As I type this, my son is eating fruit loops cereal that he spilled on the floor.  At least he's not wasteful.

But feeding them on $150 a week is challenging, now you want me to take 1% of that number to feed each of us per day?  Daunting, yes.  Impossible?  Not sure.

So I've decided to take on the challenge.  I'll be honest and tell you that this will work in theory, but it may not work in practice.  I would have to completely take every piece of food out of my house and give it away for my kids NOT to find the food we've got lying around.  And we've got lots.  So I'm going to make up a shopping list for the five days.  I'm going to make up a daily menu and blog about each day.  I'm going to do my best to stick to that list for the kids.

Though it may not be exactly as the challenge asks, I'm sure any effort taken is going to make me and my family more aware of poverty in this world.  And that's really the point, isn't it?

So join me on this journey, which will start, for me, on Friday April 26th.  The actual challenge starts on April 29, but personal commitments prevent me from starting on that date.

Wish me luck, friends!

Coupons

I love coupons just as much as the next person - though not as much as the crazy people on Extreme Couponing. Saving money is fun.

Today, I had looked something up on line, and the website offered me a coupon that would basically entitle me to a free can of Chef Boyardee. Unfortunately, I would have to download the coupon printer.

I'm leery of downloading stuff off the Internet for fear of viruses. But it seems like every coupon I'm interested in requires a download. Why can't they just allow me to print the darn coupon off? But no if I want to save money, I have to spend time. Time downloading programs. Time searching for coupons on different sites. Time that I just don't have.

For now, I'll stick with the coupons that come in the mail or the ones that are emailed to me. Today I got an email from my local supermarket for $5 off a purchase of $50 or more. Score! I spend $50 easily on weekly groceries. My mom has also started to set aside her coupons from her paper (after my brother who lives with her cherry-picks his favorites). I've found some good ones in her paper, and since my store doubles coupons up to a dollar, I can get some stuff for free. BONUS!

But what are some other ways to find coupons, cause I need some help!

Be wary of coupons...

Recently I received a catalog advertisement from Fashion Bug. Being plus sized in the area I live means that I have to do my shopping online unfortunately. That is if I want anything that is fashionable. I was happy to see that there was a $10 coupon attached to the flyer. I was about to go to the online website to look for clothing when I spyed that the coupon did not apply to online merchandise.

The moral of the story? make sure to read the fine print in your coupons BEFORE you shop. Finding out a the register that your coupon is not good is embarrassing and will cost you money. Whether you are at the clothing store or the food store.

I think a lot of companies who offer coupons do it misleadingly. I can't tell you how many times I've misread a coupon thinking I only had to buy 1 product when in reality I had to buy 2 products. Careless coupon shopping will cost you money from your food budget. Coupons are great, if they apply. Oh, and check expiration dates too.