The Bostonian Transplant

Sunday, March 9, 2014

March 9...$1.99 Spent, $1.74 consumed

So, even after canceling the paper for a few weeks, I am totally going through shopping withdrawals. I looked at the ads online and it is killing me that I cannot buy anything. There are some St. Patty's day items and crafty things I want to buy and some seeds for my garden. I have to return some yarn that I didn't use for a project I just finished so since that was money already spent, I might be able to purchase some items next weekend with the store credit and maybe, just maybe, that fix will be just enough to hold me over until April. Also, hitting up Trader Joe's (TJs) for spinach for tonight's dinner took some restraint, I so wanted to buy some Shamrocks and chocolates!!

Breakfast ($.59): hash browns made with 2 potatoes ($.26), homemade Old Fashion Quaker oats w/ blueberries ($.13), coffee and milk ($0), strawberries (.$20) in leftover coconut milk.

Lunch ($.29): was more like a snack since I had breakfast around noon. PB ($0), celery ($0), apples ($.29)

Dinner ($.86): after working out at the gym, stopped by my local TJs for some spinach, totally forgetting that Sunday's are the worst days to shop at TJs b/c it is packed. I felt silly standing in the long ass line for just one bag of spinach ($1.99), and normally I would walk in, see the crowd and walk right out saying forget it, but I needed spinach for dinner. Spinach ($.66) w/ strawberries ($.20), mandarin orange and honey goat cheese ($0). Brown bread toasted w/ a pickle and a microwave and toasted frozen TJs veggie burger- my least favorite kind b/c it doesn't cook well and is super high in fat, but I had it in the freezer so I cooked it ($0).

March 8...$5 Spent...$.96 consumed

$5 worth of produce

So, I had depleted my fruit stash (with the exception of a couple mandarins and oranges still in the fridge), so I decided to hit up Haymarket for my weekly produce. For those not in Boston, Haymarket is like a farmers market, except it's like about-to-spoil or spoiling produce that can't be sold in the supermarkets. So it is super cheap compared to the items sold in grocery stores, but you have to be careful what you pick or are given because some items are bad. This is what $5 bought me.

$1- 2lbs of strawberries (This would cost be $5 or $4 on a good sales week for the same amount, HOWEVER, I ended up tossing about 1 container worth of Strawberries when I got home b/c they were too ripe or bad to consume). Cost per strawberry = $.04

$1- 1 pint of blueberries, totally good all the way through and will last me probably a little over a week. Again, this would cost close to $4 in the grocery store. I usually eat about 25 blueberries as a serving, so I'm going to guesstimate the cost of the servings as roughly $.13 a serving.

$2- 7 apples, I would pay more than double the price if I bought them at the store. These are all bruise-free and I got to select them myself. Cost per apple $.29

$1 for the garlic as I was completely out and it's cheaper than the grocery store. Do I use all that garlic, yes, I'm pretty good at adding pressed garlic to dishes. Cost per head $.20

I had a late breakfast of oatmeal and coffee before heading out to Haymarket. I then had a late lunch of leftover spaghetti with veggies and sauce, brown bread and the rest of the spinach and arugula mix ($.63) w/ honey goat cheese and strawberries ($.20) and blueberries ($.13) I just bought. I then made popcorn from kernels I had for an evening snack since I didn't have dinner due to the late lunch.

Lunch

March 6 & 7... $0 Spent, $.63 Consumed

March 6th: Breakfast [not shown] was left over coffee cake and coffee. Only the spinach & arugula mix was consumed that came from items purchased this month, everything else was leftover or stuff I had on hand prior to March 1st.

Lunch [above] was leftover brown rice, steamed frozen broccoli and tofu with a mandarin orange and lemon lime seltzer from work. ($0- all leftover items I had on hand before March 1st)

Dinner [above] was leftover veggie, lentil, barley soup ($0), spinach and arugula salad ($.63) w/ dried Craisins, mandarin orange and honey goat cheese ($0).

Friday, March 7th: Breakfast [not shown] was Grape Nuts cereal with milk thawed from freezer, last of my coffee cake and coffee ($0). Lunch [not shown] was leftover homemade chili, Trader Joe's Greek Nonfat Plain Yogurt w/ fresh fruit from work, a mandarin orange and countless items sitting out from meeting breakfasts ($0). Nothing consumed came from items purchased this month.

Dinner: [below] pasta with frozen vegetables and sauce, brown bread with butter and leftover glass of wine from Sunday. ($0)

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

March 5th...$0 spent, $.75 consumed

Back to work today. Of the money spent yesterday at the grocery store, I consumed about $.75 worth of food bought, everything else was leftover or food I had on hand.

Breakfast: leftover coffee cake, scone at work and tea [no photo]

Lunch: leftover homemade veggie, lentil, barely soup with a mandarin orange and a lemon lime can of seltzer. [looked very similar to yesterday's lunch]

Chocolate was consumed this afternoon- I can't wait for all the chocolate to be gone from the office!

Dinner: spinach and arugula ($.627) w/ honey goat cheese (given to me by a friend who doesn't like it), Craisins, small red beans (from dried bag I cooked over the weekend) and a microwaved potato ($.125) and a leftover homemade honey cornbread muffin.

Dessert: I opened a box/bag of mint Oreos that have been sitting on my bar for a few weeks now.

March 4th: $4.38 Spent

I stayed home today with a chest cold but did go to the store b/c I was craving potatoes. I bought:

1 5lb bag of russet potatoes for $2.50. With 20 potatoes in the bag, each potato costs $.125
1 6oz bag of baby spinach and arugula for $1.88. The bag says 2 servings, but I turn that into 3 servings so about $.63 a serving.

Total dollars spent: $4.38
Cost of purchased food that was consumed: just under $.13

Breakfast: tea and oatmeal made with old fashion oats and Craisins [no photo]

Lunch: leftover homemade vegetable, barley, lentil soup; microwaved potato ($.125) and a mandarin orange with tea.

Dinner: I had some homemade popcorn and two slices of homemade sourdough bread thawed from the freezer. [no picture]

March 2nd and 3rd.... $0 spent

Sundays are my "shopping" days. I get my delivered Sunday paper, I sit with my cup of coffee and breakfast and sort the paper making sure I look at the ads first. Then I plot what I want to buy from Target, Michaels, AC Moore and others. Not being able to spend money on items at these stores took away some enjoyment from my Sunday morning ritual and I was forced to actually read the contents of the paper and drool over the items I want (don't need) from the ads. I decided to put a hold on my paper until March 30th so I don't run into the weekly temptations to spend money.

I stayed in on day 2, so no money spent. Breakfast (or rather brunch since I didn't eat until noon) was homemade coffee cake w/ coffee and a mimosa using week old champagne and OJ.

Dinner: brown rice, corn (from the freezer) and I found a box of the veggie buffalo chicken nuggets buried in the freezer that I cooked.

Not pictured were items consumed during the Oscars: homemade popped corn, melted chocolate and strawberries (friend brought those over) and wine.

~~~

Monday- First day of the month at work and I usually bring my lunch, so nothing was different.

Breakfast: leftover coffee cake, tea & scone from work [no picture]

Lunch: leftover Thai coconut noodles w/ tofu and broccoli, mandarin orange, Greek yogurt and frozen mixed berries both items I had on hand. [no picture- looked much like Saturday's lunch]

(Chocolates sitting around the office were consumed in the afternoon along with a never ending cup of tea thanks to a sore throat)

Dinner: after coming home feeling crappy with a sore throat, dinner was ramen noodles and some homemade sourdough bread (from the freezer and toasted) with butter and more tea.