$100 Grocery Challenge — WEEK 1

Posted on November 7, 2015

Hey there! So if you are following me on instagram you may have seen my post about our November grocery challenge. I had this wild idea to challenge myself to only spend $100 in the grocery store for the entire month of November. Now I do realize that this sounds like an impossible feat. So let me back up by explaining where the idea stemmed from. I’m doing this as a way to force myself to utilize all of my frozen goods/meat and pantry items. You know, like the time I got black beans on sale and so I bought 12 cans. Yeah, we are going to eat them this month. It’s time. So by using my freezer and pantry as the bulk of our meals I should hopefully be able to stay within budget.

Here are some basic grocery budget concepts you should know before we get into the week one results.

Shop your circulars. I thought this was common sense. Until I showed not 1 but 2 people (who shall not be named) my grocery list and they asked how I knew what the price of the apples were going to be. Literally, they asked “how are you so sure you’ll find apples for $.88/lb??” Um, because the grocery store sends their flyer every week and that is what they are advertising. Duh. So if you had no idea about that, start there. If they don’t come in the mail you can look up the weekly ads on their websites.
Stock up when things are on sale. Going back to my 12 cans of black beans. Let’s say for example black beans are $1.09 a can. But once every few months my grocery store makes them BOGO (buy one get one). Well now they are only $.55 each and that’s a great price. I will buy enough cans of black beans to last my family until the next BOGO sale. Therefore I am never going to pay full price for the can of beans. Are you following? It helps to know what your family consumes when shopping like this. I know that my family eats a can of black beans every week. So I would buy enough cans to last a few months. Another example is cereal. We go through a box of multigrain cheerios weekly, so when they are BOGO (and even better when I have a coupon as well), I will stock up on that. Because I know they won’t go to waste.
Shop what’s in season. I cannot stress this enough. I sent my husband to the grocery once and he decided he wanted blueberries. Ok, great. Except blueberries weren’t in season and he didn’t bother looking at the price of them. He paid $8.99 for a pint of blueberries. I about died when I saw the receipt. If you shop the produce in season it will be the cheapest and also the best tasting. You can research what times of year are best to buy pantry items as well. I’m no pro, but I do stock up on baking goods (flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc) around the holidays. Those items typically go on sale during those times.
Meal plan. I do struggle with this but I find when I do it and I stick to it we really decrease the amount of wasted food in our fridge. Plan the weeks meals and shop only what you need to make them. Here’s an example. When you don’t meal plan, you wander the produce section, realize you need onions so you grab 4. If you planned your meals you might know that you need onions for 2 recipes meaning you only really need to buy 2. So you didn’t grab any extra just in case.
Re-purpose your leftovers. I am the queen of this in my house. Once a week I make shredded chicken in the crock pot or grill up a bunch of chicken cutlets. We usually have one simple chicken and veggie meal from it. Then it becomes chicken burrito bowls, chicken quesadillas, bbq chicken sandwiches, chicken salad, chicken ceasar salads, and the list goes on and on.

Ok, I think we have gone over all basic budgeting concepts. If you have others, please leave them in the comments. I always love to read about other ways people have learned to save in the grocery store.

WEEK 1 — What I bought

I did go a little overboard in week one and spent more than I had anticipated and I’ll tell you why. I took a ride to Costco with a friend and their price per gallon of milk was over $1 cheaper then Publix, so I stocked up. Eggs too! 18 egglands best eggs were over a $1 cheaper than 18 Publix brand eggs. So while I did spend more in the first week, I am confident that we have enough eggs for the month and enough milk for the first few weeks. (If you are going to do this just double check the expiration dates so you don’t get stuck looking at a fridge full of expired milk)

Eggland’s Best Eggs: 18 count: $2.99

Gallon of milk: $2.32

Flour tortillas: 36 count: $3.99

Apple sauce: 3 LARGE containers: $6.99

Peanut butter crackers: 40 count: $5.89

Pancake syrup: $.99 ($3.99 on sale BOGO with a $1 off coupon! Can’t beat that)

Diced Ham: $1.65

Diced Ham: $1.64 (These were BOGO as well!)

Nature’s own wheat bread: $1.69

Pretzel sticks: $1.99

Apples: $.88/lb: $1.94

Campari Tomato: $.88 package

Cucumber: $.48 each

Grapes: $1.88/lb: $2.59

Romaine: $.99 each

Bananas: $.59/lb: $1.53

Yogurt: 2/$5: 2 Containers: $5.00

TOTAL: $57.16

Oops!! I was only supposed to spend $25 the first week. So obviously this is going to be way more difficult than I thought. But that’s why it’s a challenge, right??

I spent a lot more than I wanted because I did stock up on the milk and eggs at that great price. Also, I can’t pass up syrup for $1! That doesn’t happen all that often so I had to make room in the budget for that. Also the ham is something we eat a lot of, so I really wanted to grab some at that price. Then I had to also grab some snacks for the kids.

Week 1 — What we ate

I needed to take a good inventory of what was going on in the freezer and pantry before starting this, so I knew things that I did not need to buy. First off, we had leftover produce from the week before so I roasted up all the asparagus, zucchini and carrots before they had a chance to go bad. So immediately I had vegetables to carry us through week 1. I found plenty of canned corn and frozen broccoli so that will help lower the cost of produce. Digging through the freezer I found homemade soups that I had frozen and lots and lots of chicken and steaks.

One night I made an entire steak dinner from pulling a few things together. I defrosted 2 steaks, heated a bag of frozen broccoli, sauteed an onion, and roasted some tomatoes (that were too soft for salads) with some garlic cloves. It was delish and didn’t cost me anything out of my November budget! How good does that dinner look!?

Juliana has been requesting breakfast for dinner ALOT. Happens to be one of my favorites as well. However, at the beginning of this challenge I noticed that we were out of frozen mini pancakes. That is her go-to breakfast food. For dinner I usually serve them with eggs, yogurt and fruit. But I was out, and I panicked! Those boxes are $2.99 EACH! To save myself from completely blowing my $100 on frozen breakfast items, I grabbed the box of bisquick and got busy. By using this squeeze bottle (I can’t find the exact one I have, so I linked a similar set!) I was able to create what felt like a billion mini pancakes. Then I did the math. I know that I paid about $2.00 for the box of pancake mix. I used about 1/3 of the box to make this batch of mini pancakes, so we are talking about $.67 for the batch. I made 100 pancakes!! 100!!! So $.67/100 pancakes VS $2.99/box of 40. It’s a no brainer! That’s what I love about doing this challenge. I’m learning even more ways that I can save.

Another thing that I have been doing is saving all leftovers. Take this morning for example. Juliana requested a BIG breakfast. I cringed, haha. Doesn’t she know I only have $100?! I made the kids some mini pancakes, jelly wheat toast, and a fried egg. Below you can see that even though they wanted eggs, they didn’t eat them. So I stuck them in a snapware container. Later when Joey was chasing me around the house with a box of granola bars, I popped the container in the microwave for a few seconds and he got to finish the breakfast that he left earlier. Otherwise I would have thrown out an entire egg, and I don’t have the time or the money this month for that 🙂 Waste not, want not, right?

We also made omelettes and some quick chicken/quinoa/veggie lunches, using the roasted asparagus and squash, and of course we made some black bean fajitas 🙂

So week one is up. I really shopped towards the end of this week since I had lots of things I was able to use up the first few days of the month. Which means I am starting week 2 with plenty of dairy and produce. So, I’m feeling confident going into the second week. I should probably stay out of the stores altogether. I have enough milk and eggs to carry me through to week 3 that’s for sure! But we shall see what happens. Do you think you could try this challenge? Obviously the only way I can maybe manage it is because we have a full freezer and pantry. I can’t imagine having to eat all of our meals from just $100. There are 4 of us and my kids eat like adults. Holy appetites. But I’m excited to do it this month, and maybe it will be something that I can do every few months, or even 2x a year. Just to really clean out all the food that I have been stocking up on and freezing. Do you have any tips you can offer??? Please leave them in the comments, I’d love to read them 🙂

Wish me luck, Danielle

This Week In Pictures

Posted on October 25, 2015

To my husband, after I’ve had babies…

Posted on October 19, 2015

To my husband, after I’ve had babies,

Can you remember the time we took that vacation. To a tropical island. We joked and laughed and drank fruity frozen cocktails. I wore a bikini and we had sex in the middle of the afternoon. It seems like forever ago. Before my stretch marks and C-section scar. Before I worried all the time about whether or not our babies ate enough vegetables and if they were going to sleep through the night. I can almost remember the confidence I had. Just yanking off my pool dress. Tossing it on the chair like I never needed it. I cling to that pool dress now. Like my life depends on it, I cling to that dress. Just like I cling to the memories of that vacation. Of how I felt so free and comfortable in my own skin. My skin feels different now. Almost unrecognizable. Like I am stuck in someone else’s body. Someone whose body is out of control. Mood swings. Loose skin. Hot, then cold, no hot. Very, very hot. Stretch marks. Whose body am I wearing? Why are they so hormonal? Where is my fruity cocktail???

I didn’t expect these changes. Honestly. I thought I would bounce back. I was young! I was supposed to give birth and hit the beach the next month. I wasn’t supposed to look like this. Or feel like this. I was supposed to look like I was 24 again. The same girl who you dated for years before we got pregnant. The girl who never cared if we left the lights on. That girl never came back. She took my confidence. She ran with my flat stomach. She took all the good parts of me and now she’s gone.

And so I cringe. I cringe sometimes when you try to touch me. When you walk into the bathroom after I shower I panic. Don’t look. Don’t see me like this. I feel so different now. So shy and unsure of myself. I see all those confident moms proud of their “stripes” and of how they look post partum, but I feel embarrassed. I feel uncomfortable in the body that I was left with. After the 2 pregnancies. After waking up 3 times a night for months at a time. Each time eating a cookie on the way to the nursery because it made me feel better. And I deserved to at least feel a little better if I was missing out on all that sleep. I was left with a body that won’t fit in any of my designer jeans. Jeans that now crowd the corner of my closet. Jeans that I won’t give away because I still have faith in myself. I still pray that the old me comes back. Maybe I’ll wake up one day and see her in the mirror. With her wrinkle free forehead and perky boobs.

So meet the post partum me. 2 times over. This is how I feel. But you? You tell me otherwise. Day in and day out, you tell me how beautiful I am. How you don’t even see the extra 15 lbs. You turn your head when I eat the entire bag of potato chips. You never judge me. Never speak a word of my mood swings. You love me just the same. If not more. You have the confidence in me that I lost. You carefully push me to be the best version of myself. This new version of myself. And so I have to wonder. If you can love her…why can’t I?

So that’s where I’m at. Trying to love myself once again. Trying to make this new person the best person. Trying to accept the different parts of me and to appreciate my body for what it has done. It isn’t easy for me. I’ll be honest. It is hard for me to accept these changes but I am going to try.

And so I thank you. For loving me. No matter what I look like or how I feel. Thank you for always thinking I am the prettiest. The best. The sexiest. Even when I don’t feel like it. I am going to work hard on loving myself the way that you love me. Because the way you love me is the greatest way of all.

XO Danielle

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The Life

I won’t be the mom crying at preschool dropoff

Posted on September 7, 2015

The countdown to the first day of preschool is on. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t counting down the minutes until that first day drop off. I won’t be that mom silently sobbing behind her sunglasses as she pulls her minivan out of the school parking lot. I won’t be the mom hanging around in the hallway until class starts because there is nothing waiting for her to do at home. I will however be the one faking a sad face, yelling “I’ll miss you, have a great day” and then shouting joyously as soon as the window closes and I feel safely out of earshot.

Does that make me a shitty mom?

Absolutely not.

My child needs preschool as badly as I do. She needs the socialization. She needs to interact with the other kids in a structured setting. She needs to learn that she has to listen to other adults and figures of authority. And quite honestly, we need a break from each other. There I said it. I need a break from her. She needs a break from me. We need some time apart. Whew, does it feel good to get that off my chest.

Oh, and I don’t feel badly about it either.

We have gone non-stop all summer. Specialty camps. A 2 week trip to Florida. Countless visits to the museum and zoo. Afternoons at the library. Pool picnics and park play dates. You name it, we did it. And I loved it. I loved every second of being able to take my children and do fun things with them all summer long. I will cherish every memory we made this summer.

You know what I don’t love? Taking a shower with someone sitting on the other side of the door reading me a book. Having someone climb in bed with me every night around 2 am, place their head on my pillow and breathe on my face for an hour until they finally fall back asleep. Sharing sips and bites of every single piece of food or drink I make myself. Going to the bathroom in front of an audience. No, I do not need you to wipe me, thank you very much. The truth is, this mama just needs a break.

So I am ridiculously excited for preschool to start this year. Bring on the structure. Bring on the learning. The backpacks full of arts and crafts and little minds full of knowledge. Gone are the summer days of snacking from sun up to sun down because “mamaaaaaa I am just soooooo hungry again…”. Gone are the days of lounging in our pajamas because we have nothing planned. I have never been so excited to pack a little lunchbox and pick out a weeks worth of outfits.

So go on little bird. Fly off to preschool. Have the best time with all your sweet friends. Go ahead and learn something. Maybe ask your teacher “how did I get in mama’s belly” because I am running out of ways to answer that one. Practice writing your name. Draw me a billion pictures. I am going to be as excited to pick you up as I was to drop you off. And that’s a promise.

XO Danielle

I love to connect with my readers on social media, so feel free to share this with a friend, and find me on Instagram and Facebook.

The Life

One year later…

Posted on September 6, 2015

If someone would have asked me where I thought I would be living in my 30th year I would have never in my life imagined myself responding “Birmingham, Alabama”. I would have for sure answered Florida. Maybe New York. Places I was familiar with. Places I had family and friends. But that’s not what was in store for me. So here I am. In Birmingham. With a husband who loves me more then anything and my two sweet kids. And you know what? Life is good. Really, really good.

Let me tell you a little bit about the shock one might have when moving to a southern state. Because no, Florida (as south as it may be) is nothing quite as southern as this.

The people here are nice. All the people. No matter where you are or what you’re doing. They will wave. Say hello. Chat about the weather. Chat about your car. Chat about the kids. Chat about the dinner they made last Tuesday. They will just chat. Nicely. And with meaning. They genuinely care when they say have a great day. And when they ask you a question, they are really listening to your answer.

Things move slow here. Much slower than I was used to. I ran into Target one morning with an hour to spare before preschool pickup. Raced to the checkout with the perfect 5 minutes to go. 15 minutes later I was still talking to the cashier about what ply toilet paper was better and whether or not there was a coupon for it. And oh, the apple fritter bread? Yes, It is delicious but I do have to run. It’s ok though, I just schedule Publix in for the “morning” now.

Ruffles. Ruffles. And more ruffles. To church. To school. To the doctor. To the playground. Let me paint a picture for ya. First day of preschool last year. We pull up and I am so excited for Juliana to meet all her sweet friends. In her denim cutoff shorts, with a graphic tie dye tank and Nike shock sneakers. Standing in line next to what looked to me at first like a bunch of pillowcases (with monograms of course). We stuck out like a sore thumb for the better part of the year. And likely still do. Ok, ok we do. As long as I keep buying her clothes in South Florida we will. However, I must say those embroidered dresses are rubbing off on me. There is just something so angelic and sweet about them. I’m just not sure they pair well with Mini’s sassy attitude.

Speaking of monograms. I do like them. Really, I do. In fact I made this wall hanging, and had my sister hand paint Joey’s monogram in his nursery long before we even knew we were coming to Birmingham. (I swear, I didn’t do that just to fit in). However the motto in the south should be “monogram allll the things”. Because that’s what they do here. Tervis cups, onesies, bottles, keychains, outfits, car windows, front doors, baby blankets. If it isn’t nailed down. They will monogram it. And you know what? Just this week mini asked for her “name letters” in her room, since we have them hanging in Joey’s room and the playroom. She is just such a southern belle.

Weekends in the Fall are sacred. Saturdays are for football and Sundays are for Jesus. There is no other way to spend a weekend in the south if it doesn’t involve cheesy beer dip and church. It’s like southern state law. Know it, learn it, live it. I’m embarrassed to say that I still don’t know the difference between roll tide and war eagle but I can make a good cheesy beer dip and I can pretend to know a thing or two.

People are praying for me. Why? I have no idea. I heard “bless you” so many times when I first moved here it took me a month to stop taking out a tissue to wipe my kids noses. There was no sneeze. Just a whole lot of blessing. And now that I am used to it, and stopped taking Zyrtec, I find it humbling. People who don’t even know me will pray for me. For my family. That’s got to make you feel good.

I saw a saying the other day that stated
“Bloom where you are planted”
And I really feel as though we did. We got planted here and spent an entire year making the best of it. Missing our family and support system terribly and spending a lot of holidays just the four of us. But that’s ok. I have made some really great friends and feel comfortable in the community. Our social calendar has been busier this year than ever. I really tried hard to bloom here and I proud of how settled I feel in just a single year.

So even though the Gambino family can look a little out of place around Birmingham, the city definitely grew on us. We have spent a year creating a little life here. And I’m loving it. We are accepting of the southern traditions and love learning the true meaning of southern hospitality and charm. I just hope the south is as accepting of the Gambino’s with our cut off shorts and sassy attitudes.

XO Danielle

I love to connect with my readers on social media, so feel free to share this with a friend, and find me on Instagram and Facebook.

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