Being frugal

We have been eating from the pantry mostly all this month.

I have changed my shopping to focus on using coupons with sales or mark downs. I have now started my routine "route" in the store at the clearance rack that is on the far side of the store.

I have a friend that is making me a grocery price sheet (he calls it a data base)that will also show me lowest paid and then will allow me to use it to make a running inventory of the pantry etc with a possible buy on sale and need to buy now spot on it for my grocery list. He is getting ready to retire in the next year and is looking at doing this kind of thing for individuals . Works for both of us.

I have dehydrated the last of the eggs except for what we will  use in the next month, if needed I will dehydrate more so we don't lose them. I used the dehydrated ones in my baking this week.

I've used mostly of what we have at home for fighting this sickies that we have been battling. I know I will have to be checking coupons and sales to replace what we have used up.

My doctor wanted me to see a specialist for nutrition other than the one that is local and Free for us, our ins would not pay it and the costs was hundreds. So the FREE nutritionist contacted the one the doctor wanted me to see and they suggested a study course. It usually runs around $500....that was on sale online for 50% off.Another nutritionist just happened to have the catalog with the code for 80% off and then I got additional 20% off the total because I ordered more than one course and it totaled over $100. I ordered courses (not covered by ins) that my two doctors have been wanting me to change my lifestyle to. Works better for me because now I don't have to drive 1 hr each way for the classes AND I have a DVD and book that I can use, not just a 4 week class of twice a week. I used the money we saved from eating from the pantry to pay for it.

I ordered the seeds I need for this year using sales and coupons. I have some of the lettuce seeds I gathered last year to replant this year.

Blessed Be

Day 25 of Pantry challenge

We have one more week from today of this challenge. I pretty much can say we will be eating out MAYBE tonight because we have a coupon for a free meal for one at the local restaurant due to my birthday last week and it expires tonight and we are next to nothing on the dog food. I think Rascal's ball is eating also since I find it in the bowl several times a day.

Other than that the menu is planned out.

Thoughts so far, I bought Chinese out of the grocery store freezer section when I first got sick (still am but getting better every day and I hope I didn't just jinx myself) I counted that the same as eating out because usually I make my own Chinese except egg rolls and pot stickers ...that's on my to learn list. We ate out after going to Sam's club to get baking supplies using a coupon for 50% off one meal , we used it at lunch and got the cheapest meals on the menu since we like everything there it wasn't a hardship at all. Last Friday we got take out after going to the store and running errands and found ourselves struggling to finish the errands...and BOTH of us was horribly sick. The local butcher shop smokes ribs on Friday for their lunch special, we got that and it fed us for 2 days, which we both spent covered up and hacking.

Lessons learned so far....when I am busy processing produce , we run for fast food, when I am sick we run for fast food, IF Hubby is sick, I make soup LOL....Taco Bells, Wendy's , Subway and pizza (with chef salad, we eat the salad BEFORE we eat the pizza)is our stand bys, sometimes it's fried chicken from a local restaurant (bets KFC ) though it doesn't beat Mel-O-Dee's in New Carlisle OH.

SO to combat that I now have sub buns and lunch meat in the freezer, taco supplies of assortment (Hubby is a crunch wrap and I am tostada,Mexican pizza, hard tacos, soft tacos, etc) Hamburger patties I formed and froze along with those buns. AND I dug out my Tightwad Gazette that has a  5 min pizza crust recipe. I can make the crusts in the morning and prebake( I prebake anyways) and just add the topping later that day.

For some reason we usually eat salad when out or ordering pizza but I struggle to put it on the table regularly. I think it's because we don't add the same ingredients to our salads. SO on that line I will be planning an area in the frig for "salad" toppings when the lettuce starts coming in a couple months from now.

What did I buy this month?

Dairy:Milk( on sale bought 2 times as much ), heavy cream( marked down), half and half (marked down), buttermilk (on sale),butter (OUCH), cottage cheese,yogurt,sour cream, some sliced cheese (that was half off for the freezer and frig).

Dry goods: tostadas(on sale),assorted sizes of tortilla wraps(coupons), Sub buns (coupon plus 50% off) hamburger buns (marked down, note this is now on my to make my own list).

Meat: bacon (coupons and marked down and on sale SCORE,) ground pork (coupon and marked down) bulk sausage( on sale and coupons).

Veggies: ice berg lettuce (cheapest), green onions, ( I use both green and white parts) celery, carrots, colored bell peppers (green one trigger my Crohn's)

Fruit: Avocados (on sale)

Stock up: 25 lbs of all purpose flour, 25 lbs of granulated sugar, 2 lbs of yeast, 13.5 lbs baking soda, 35 oz of corn starch, 60 oz of baking powder36 oz sea salt,2 gals of white vinegar, 1 gal of canola oil, 3 lts of olive oil, 5 lbs of yellow corn meal,25 lbs of parboiled rice, 8- 30.65 oz coffees (on sale and with coupon for each)4-6 lbs 9 oz (#10) cans of tomato sauce (on sale ...possible pasta sauce or pizza sauce), baker's special dry milk and easy roll dough improver.

What we saved on food , we spent of stocking up non food I now have enough laundry soap(well , the stuff to make the laundry soap) and dish soap to go a year. I have enough body soap, shampoo and conditioner, lotions, and dental items to go 6 mos.

There are things I see I need to be taking care of more (which being sick all winter and worse through this month isn't helping) and some things that just need to go away. I did quit buying Velveeta mac and cheese and Hubby has requested that it be stocked. He uses it like Hamburger helper when I am sick (NOW he tells me).

Blessed Be