Bunso's Eating on the Cheap

[bunsofaluminum]

Yum, that sounds terrific.

It is very good! The balsamic is a pretty strong flavor, so I put another cup of cooked quinoa in the whole mix, and it's about perfect now. The only thing I would add, if i had some, would be cucumber

[nomikins]

Hey, Buns, do you have room to grow some veggies?

[bunsofaluminum]

Hey, Buns, do you have room to grow some veggies?

I have a little bit of south facing garden room. I grew tomatoes last year, and wanted to again this year, but in April and May it rained EVERY SINGLE DAY (except maybe a few days in the last week of May)

so I didn't plant anything this year. I'd love to have some chard in the yard!


SATURDAY, JULY 9
NEW RECIPE (I'll detail it in another post)

B:
.43 steel cut oats w/dried fruit medley
.40 repeat without blueberries (two servings...this is delicious!)
.83 edited for number of servings

L:
1.14 two servings of quinoa salad
.35 for 1/2 bag of greens
$1.49

this brings my total so far to $2.72 and I'm hungry. I'm afraid I'll be going over $3.00 today. Hm...unless I eat some free food...There's a can of peaches in the pantry that came from the food bank. Hm.
I ended up not eating anything else, but I did nibble on baked corn tortilla chips off and on in the afternoon, which were FREE. Only ate about ten total

D:
.16 two slices whole wheat toast
.17 for 1/2 TBSP Adams peanut butter
FREE strawberry jelly
.33


I edited my breakfast. Initially, I put two servings, twice. That is, one serving of the oatmeal I made comes to .39, not .59 So my total after lunch was $2.32, not $2.72

GRAND TOTAL FOR TODAY $2.65

It looks like the grains I'm choosing are pricey. A day with potatoes as the starch may be the way to keep costs low. BUT...I got a box of food from the food bank on Friday, so I should be eating a bit cheaper this coming week.

[bunsofaluminum]

STEEL CUT OATS W/DRIED FRUIT MEDLEY

.38c for 1 c steel cut oats
.90 for 3 oz dried apricots @ .30/oz
.95 for 2 oz maple syrup @ .48/oz
.15c for 1 TBSP cinnamon
FREE dried fig bits (one cup)
FREE craisins (one handful)
$2.37 for 8 servings of food

and that comes to about .60 per serving. Lookit those free items in there! woot! I LOOOOOVE free food!

I added about .04 worth of blueberries (.50 for 6 oz=.08c per oz) with my first serving

[bunsofaluminum]

With my boy graduating, his child support ended in June. With that pretty big reduction in income, I'm getting rid of my comcast, which includes TV (that won't be missed much) and Internet But i can get online for a little bit first thing in the morning, at my work, and again right after my shift is over. I'll be mostly checking emails, and posting briefly my food costs here.

maybe not on the weekends at all. But I plan on writing down my costs on paper, and I'll post everything when I can get to the internet (at my mom's, e.g.)

anyway, that's what's up. I have the weekend before everything is ended. going to get some recipes onto the thumb drive. I'll also keep a list of things that I want to explore, and hit the library occasionally to look things up (that's what I use the internet for mostly: like an encyclopedia used to be...for finding out stuff.)

I'm looking into cheaper versions of internet access, too.

[bunsofaluminum]

SUNDAY JULY 10

B:
.40 one serving steel cut oats w/dried fruit medley
.06 for 1/4 c homemade almond milk
FREE canned peaches
.46
edit: no peaches after all. Turned out, I was full, so I didn't eat em

L: (planned)
1.14 quinoa salad x2
.70 bag of greens
1.84

D: (planned)
.11 hashbrowns w/two russets and half an onion
.35 half bag of greens
.46

D: (actual)
.16 two pieces whole wheat toast
.74 two servings bean sloppy joe
.90

ESTIMATED TOTAL: $2.76

GRAND TOTAL FOR SUNDAY $3.04

[RAS]

You're doing great on keeping on budget.I will miss you,post when you can.RAS ps I will be praying for a financial breakthru for you.

[bunsofaluminum]

Dial up Internet is generally only about 10 bucks a month, there also used to be free Internet although it's pretty annoying with all the pop ups they have to use to make it free!

Have you checked how much comcasts basic Internet costs? They may have a dial up version.

oh,, that's right! juno! I'm totally going to look into it...no dial-up, though. WILL. NOT. DO. DIALUP. (ever again)

thanks, deb!

[nomikins]

Can you get DSL? That works pretty well. There are always intro deals, so maybe a year at a good rate will help while you get back on your feet financially. Good luck!

[bunsofaluminum]

hm, doesn't look like there's anything free anymore. Dial up doesn't make any sense for us, because we don't have a land line and I'm not gonna add that bill, in order to have cheap internet

eh, we'll make do between free at the library, and a half hour in the morning, and 15 min in the afternoon at work. The kids can access the internet at their dad's, if they want. We'll see how things go. Once I get a handle on my new, downsized budget, I'll know what/whether we can afford.

[sksamboots]

don't forget the library can be your friend. hang in there buns

[bunsofaluminum]

BEAN SLOPPY JOE TOPPING

1.99 for six cups of cooked small red beans
breaks down to .50 per cup, and i used two cups in this recipe for

1.00 beans
.05 for 1/2 onion
.06 for two garlic cloves
FREE for one can diced tomatoes
$1.11 for three cups of soup (3 servings)

that comes to .37 a serving I dashed a drop or two of chipotle tabasco in there (not counting it, cuz I dunno how much the bottle cost me, nor how much a "dash" is)

[bunsofaluminum]

BENEFIT of this finely tuned way of adding up my costs per meal:

I'm stopping between servings, to see if one serving will suffice to fill me up...and oftentimes, IT DOES! so...I'm eating MWL, AND I'm not eating seconds.

(well, I've had some whole wheat toast today, and yesterday...it just tastes SO GOOD...so 98% MWL )

I have to keep it simple and humble and homely and monotonous, in order to keep it within budget, and that is helping me remember that I have all I need FOR TODAY (Jesus says "do not worry about tomorrow, for it has enough worries of its own") It isn't a mega mondo feast, but it is filling and healthful and I think it tastes good.

and, stopping before having seconds keeps me mindful of just how much DO i need? If one serving satisfies, I don't need more, even if it is the most sumptuous food on earth. I can be content with ENOUGH and don't have to go to "TOO MUCH"...it all comes back to contentment. Being satisfied with what I have.

now it's wind-down time, and then bedtime. I think I may be posting a drop in my ticker soon. (I admit it: I cheat and usually only post my downward trends )

[nomikins]

I was wondering when you were going to post a drop. 'Bout time you updated!

[bunsofaluminum]

MONDAY, JULY 11

B:
.34 hashbrowns (2 servings @ .17/serving)
.35 salad greens
.03 salad dressing
.72

L: (planned)
.59 steel cut oats w/dried fruit medley
FREE canned peaches
.59

D: (planned)
.06 two baked russets
.44 creamy cauliflower topping (1/2 c)
.35 salad greens\
.85

estimated total: $2.16

add .37 for banana/strawberry "ice cream"

GRAND TOTAL FOR MONAY: $2.53