Sorry for such a long blogging break. We are going through some stuff, and like last time, most of our meals ended up being hotdogs, spaghetti, carrot sticks, microwave potatoes or burritos, and sandwiches as well as a couple of meals gifted by family and friends. Trying to get back on track this week. The weather is warming up here, so this is probably the last week of oven meals for us.
I'm glad I was able to stick to our budget while we were working through things, but that is mostly because we were gifted a few meals. Convenience foods are so much more expensive than homemade, except box mix mac and cheese, I maintain that is one convenience food that actually saves money. We could not have stayed on budget without help. On the surface, convenience goods seem like they cost less. The rice dishes for $1.25 seem like a good deal, but they are barely 4 servings, if they stretch that far, and they have no nutritional value. To make the same style of rice dish costs more initially, but once you buy all the ingredients, it works out to be less per serving as you get many more servings. It's more of a long game type savings. But convenience foods have their place. They are less expensive than eating out, and about the same nutritional value.
When we have had to lean heavily on convenience foods, I try to make sure we are still getting fruits and vegetables. It doesn't matter if they are fresh, frozen, or canned, any fruits and vegetables are better than none. Convenience foods have their place, and needing to rely on them sometimes is ok. Short term reliance isn't a bad thing, especially if it makes getting through whatever we are dealing with easier. Homemade is best, but no guilt for doing what we need to do to get through. When life is hard, we do what gets people fed, and by making sure fruits and vegetables are involved, we can spend no time worrying about it and use that energy somewhere else.
If you have any tips using convenience foods to enhance your budget, please share! I love to learn new things!
Here is our menu for this week, including a barbecue we attended for Memorial Day. I hope you had a great weekend, sorry I didn't have time to share ideas for budget friendly picnic and barbecue ideas. My most commonly shared dishes are usually pasta salads or coleslaw. This time someone beat me to the salads, so I volunteered to bring a cupcakes. These don't have to cost a lot, but can be a very pretty addition. Have a great week!
Monday-
- Breakfast- Oatmeal, Peanut butter and banana smoothies blueberries
- Lunch- Sandwiches, crackers, carrots and cucumbers
- Dinner- BBQ- we brought chocolate cupcakes
Tuesday-
- Breakfast- Fried egg, toast, blueberries
- Lunch- Ham and cheese roll ups, crackers, carrots and cucumber
- Dinner- Cheesy White Bean and Tomato Bake, rice, corn, bread and butter
Wednesday-
- Breakfast- Peanut butter toast, blueberries
- Lunch- Leftovers
- Dinner- What we called Johnny Marzetti growing up using canned tomatoes, peas, bread and butter
Thursday-
- Breakfast- egg, toast, blueberries
- Lunch- Sandwiches, pretzels, cole slaw
- Dinner- Fake jambalaya, green beans, garlic toast
Friday-
- Breakfast- Oatmeal, Peanut butter and banana smoothies, blueberries
- Lunch- Leftovers, crackers, canned peaches
- Dinner- Black bean burgers, scalloped cabbage, carrots
Saturday-
- Brunch- Fried bologna and egg sandwiches
- Dinner- Sheet pan dinner Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Broccoli using frozen broccoli
Sunday-
- Brunch- Pancakes, homemade pancake syrup, scrambled eggs
- Dinner- Salisbury steak, Mashed potatoes, corn, bread and butter
Have a good week!
~ Sarah
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