Day 36: My $30 Budget At Trader Joe's

Day 36 Vitals:

Weight:  269 lbs.
Mood:  Exhausted
Water Consumed:  2 Nalgenes
Breakfast:Granola Bars
Lunch: Orange, Peanut Butter Sandwich
Dinner: Tomaote Soup and Toast
Hangry Thought of the Day: Just go the f%#@ to sleep kid!

Hey gang and welcome back.  Sorry for the long absence but I was up at the cabin again this week, with no internet.

So for today's articles I would like to talk about my trip to Trader Joe's.  

We are still good on proteins thanks to our Week 3 trip to COSTCO.  So for another week I get to go veggie heavy.  I also picked up ingredients to make some chocolate zucchini muffins.  I also got a couple of treats for the cabin, namely the bacon ends and the sparkling water.  So let's talk about the big wins for Trader Joe's!

• 2lb Bag of Sweet Potatoes $1.69:  I had the option of potatoes or sweet potatoes.  I went with the sweet potatoes just for a change up.
• 4 bags of frozen brussel sproutes $.99 ea.  Trader Joe's offers up a lot of great selections for frozen veggies and fruits.  I found these ones on sale and can't wait to stir-fry or grill these up!
• 2lb Gala Apples for $2.99.  While not the cheapest I have bought apples, I could still fit this into by budget, and they had a much better flavor then most of the other apples I have eaten in the past weeks.
• Small jar of Peanut Butter $1.99:  TJ's is known for pretty great peanut butter, this will make for some great convenience lunches.
• 1 dozen eggs $.99:  I didn't NEED eggs this week, but I picked them up because they are about $.29 cheaper then most other places.

Trader Joe's is owned by Aldi's.  Its pricing and business model show.  There are a lot of great deals to be had.  I had a BLAST shopping at Trader Joe's.  Not only did I get a lot of food, but I also got a lot of veggies for my dollar, and even a few treats.  It is hard to go wrong in a place like this.  It will be very interesting to to compare my experience with Aldi's next week.

With this weeks purchases I am hoping to make some of the a fore mentioned  muffins, another batch of scones, and stir-fried veggies.  Yum!

Don't forget, if you like this blog please help us in trying to end Childhood Hunger here in the Twin Cities.  Click the link the FINNEGANS logo in the right hand panel, and donate what you can.  Every dollar helps to reach our goal of $2,500 for this GREAT cause where 98% of your dollar will go back to the community!  Thanks for you help!

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Day 17: My $30 At Wal-Mart

Day 17 Vitals:

Weight:  271 lbs.
Mood:  Exhausted
Water Consumed:  2 Nalgenes
Breakfast:  Fried Potatoes and Onions
Lunch:  Hot Dog and peas
Dinner: Eggplant Sauce on Pasta (more on this in an upcoming post)
Hangry Thought of the Day: Seriously Leo, teething AGAIN!

First off, sorry bout the lack of posts over the weekend.  It sort of got away from me with that crazy busy schedule I had.  But alas, I am back.  Today we are going to be talking about my $30 for my week 3 budget at Wal-Mart.  I'll be honest, I don't shop at Wal-Mart often, and for a variety of reasons.  But I can understand how so many people rely on their everyday low prices.  I for one was relieved to have this week come by.

Now part of my strategy is skewed this week because I needed to bulk up on dry goods after Whole Foods Week (Week 2), and prepare for COSTCO Week (Week 4).  At COSTCO I only plan on getting 3 to 4 items, so some of the items I get this week are actually for next week.   If I can focus on getting some veggies out of the way, and maybe even my eggs, I can open room in my budget to focus on getting some good protein like chicken wings next week.  Luckily Wal-Mart made it easy.  I picked up enough stuff for two full recipes (Eggplant Sauce on Pasta, and Beef Stroganoff).

I had enough in my budget left over for five bags of frozen veggies, a pack of tortilla shells, and two packs of hotdogs.  Here were my big wins at Wal-Mart

• Imitation Vanilla for $0.98.  This will be for adding to pancakes, plus I am going to bake some items from scratch to share with people at work to help raise awareness of Project Table for One.
• French's Sweet Mustard for $0.70.  I think this stuff was on clearance, but I'll take it!
• Carrots $0.99.  This was actually for a recipe, but I will use this for soups later on as well.

Over all my shopping experience wasn't bad.  It was a little harder to find the clearance items, and their ad wasn't much help for me this week.  The ad was designed to target families, but as I am flying solo on this project, it didn't much help.  But their everyday low prices are rock bottom.  Say what you will, but I am betting a lot of families who need to stretch their dollar rely on those low prices.  This will be the first week were I think I will have veggies with every lunch and dinner, and still have a couple of bags left over to go into next week.  You can't buy THAT for a dollar...oh wait, at Wal-Mart, you CAN!

So I am off to eat like a king today!

Don't forget, if you like this blog please help us in trying to end Childhood Hunger here in the Twin Cities.  Click the link the FINNEGANS logo in the right hand panel, and donate what you can.  Every dollar helps to reach our goal of $2,500 for this GREAT cause where 98% of your dollar will go back to the community!  Thanks for you help!

You can find us on the web at the following places:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tableforoneMN/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TableForOneMN?lang=en

Please help spread the word of this project!

Day 9: Cooking Hobo Soup

Day 9 Vitals:

Weight:  271 lbs.
Mood:  Everything is Okay!
Water Consumed:  2 Nalgenes
Breakfast:  Oatmeal with Cinnamon
Lunch:  Potato, apple, hot dog, 1/2 ear of corn
Dinner: Hobo Soup
Hangry Thought of the Day: Why didn't Chewie hug Leia?!

My recipe today was inspired by a rustic potato leak soup posted on Whole Foods Site .  It is heavily modified from the original recipe, but it still worked.  I am calling the creation a Hobo Soup, a loose term I use for any soup you can through together from stuff in your pantry.  Here are the ingredients I used:

• 3lbs. of Potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 leaks
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1lb. of ground chicken cooked with 2 eggs (from my previous disaster)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Italian Seasoning
• 1 large container of Chicken broth

I tossed it all into the crock-pot in the morning.  After work, viola!  Hobo Soup.  It wasn't too bad.  Needed WAY more seasoning, nothing a little more salt and some sriracha sauce couldn't fix.  A great game designer named Mark Rosewater once wrote an article about creativity.  He said that (and I am paraphrasing here) setting limitations for yourself breeds creativity.  When we have all the resources we want at our fingertips it often leads to stagnation.  The limits we set for ourselves is where creativity breeds.  I only had so much ingredients to work with, and no coherent recipe to work with, but I still managed to create a pretty fine soup, and one that will last ALL week!  I guess the lesson I am trying to impart is that if you go open you cupboard right now I bet you will find something on yourself that has been sitting there for some time.  This is a luxury most people on SNAP do not have.  Plus it is a waste of resources, you have perfectly good food that is just spoiling away!  Take it out, look at it, and be creative.  Make it into something.  If you are having troubles finding a good recipe head over to Allrecipes.com and type in the item you have left over.  It will dig through its huge database of recipes and help you find some inspiration.  You'll love how you feel for being so creative, less wasteful, and helps with your food budget,

That's all for now!  Thanks for reading.  Please remember that we are trying to raise $2,500 for the Finnegans Community Fund.  If you haven't yet donated please click the big picture of the Finnegans logo to the right of this column.  98% of your donation goes back to the community in the form of nutritious food, right here in the Twin Cities!

Day 4: What do Gwyneth Paltrow and I have in common?

Day 4 Vitals:

Weight:  274 lbs. (weight measured after breakfast, normally before)
Mood:  Tired
Water Consumed:  3 Nalgenes
Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs with onions
Lunch:  Potato, dal, celery
Dinner:  Cheesy Cauliflower, dal
Hangry Thought of the Day:  I really dislike potatoes....

I'm not the first person to accept a challenge like this.  Even celebrities have tried.  Today marks the day I beat out Gwyneth Paltrow.  She lasted 4 days.  Here is a look at what she bought:

It actually looks pretty good, aside from the seven limes.  I wouldn't know what to do with those.  And living in California where food is more expensive, makes this even more impressive.  If you click on the link above you will see she even posted a couple of recipes.  I might have to try them.  I really like the cilantro, I could use some bold punchy flavors like that right now.    

So what would you make out of the above groceries?  What would you add or subtract?  Leave a comment in the comment section!

Day 3: Jalapeno Cheddar Scones

Day 3 Vitals:

Weight:  274 lbs.
Mood:  Enthusiastic
Water Consumed:  2 Nalgenes
Breakfast:  Plain Oatmeal
Lunch:  Cheddar Bacon Scone, Celery w/ Peanut Butter, Dal
Dinner:  2 hot dogs, potato, and Dal
Hangry Thought of the Day:  I had my first craving today.  I was fetching a soda for my friend who stopped over.  I really wanted something sugary at that time.

Quick announcement:  I have been getting some complaints that the pictures are broken and not loading.  If you are not seeing pictures in this post, can you please leave us a comment!  Thank you!

Before we go into today's recipe, we need to talk about this book:  Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown.  It is a free book that anyone can access, and it will teach you how to eat well on just $4 a day.  This book is my go-to and life line on this project.  I went the extra mile and bought the paid version for even more recipes.  So grab a copy of this book, even if you are not on SNAP.  I have cooked about eight items out of this book, and I have not been disappointed yet!

So this is where my inspiration came to make Whole Wheat Cheddar Jalapeno Scones (found on page 30 of the full version of Good and Cheap).  Here is the recipe:

• 1 Stick of Butter
• 2 1/2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flower
• 1 Table Spoon of Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt (I subbed Sriracha Salt) 
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper (Diced)
• 4 oz. Cheddar
• 2 Eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 Cup of Milk
• 1 Egg slightly beaten for the egg wash

1. Place butter in the freezer for 30 min
2. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Grease a baking sheet, or use parchment paper.
3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Using a cheese greater shred the butter into the flour mixture.  Then squish the butter in until the dough is incorporated, but not smooth.
5. Add remaining ingredients (except for the egg for the egg wash).
6. The book recommends making a loaf and cutting it into six wedges.  As you can see I just made 6 - 8 balls.
7. Brush the eggs wash over the scones to give them a nice shiny look to them.
8. Bake for 25 minutes.

Felix helps me apply the egg wash to my scones

So now I have 8 scones for my meals!  Thanks for reading.  Please leave a comment below!  Also don't forget, if you haven't donated yet, please click the Finnegan's link on the right!

Day 2: A Day At Cub

Day 2 Vitals:

Weight:  277 lbs.
Mood:  Enthusiastic
Water Consumed:  2 Nalgene Bottles
Breakfast:  Skipped (please leave some harsh comments as I am not supposed to do that)
Lunch:  Baked Potao with Tuna, and Celery
Dinner:  Jalapeno Cheddar Scone, 2 Chicken Hot Dogs
Hangry Thought of the Day:  What's up with the new season of Daredevil?  I can't make it through one episode without falling asleep!

In today's blog post I would like to spend some time talking about Saturday night's grocery run.  Here are my reciepts.  I spent a total of $29.75 in total, leaving me an extra $0.25 to go into next week.

I was actually really excited about the prospect of doing this.  I felt like an Iron Chef (one of the original ones).  I know I am kind of making light of a somber situation of having to live on what millions of American's do everyday, but I have to keep high spirits too.  For the most part I stuck to my plan.  I wanted to get the ingredients for my dishes.  I picked out three, a cauliflower and cheese casserole, Dal (an Indian dish made of protein heavy lentils), and some cheddar jalapeno scones.  More on these dishes in future posts.

I scored three really big wins at Cub Foods:

• $0.79 Eggs:  I got a carton of eggs on coupon for this low price.  This freed up a couple extra bucks in my budget which allowed one of the two below items
• 2 for $3.00 5lb. Potatoes:  10lbs of potatoes is a HUGE win.  This versatile tuber can be baked, fried with eggs and onions, and added to many soups.  This two was a coupon item.
• 2 Packages of Farmland Deli Style Chicken Franks for $0.99.  Normally $3.99 Cub was clearancing out these items.  HUGE win for my almost meatless week.  I tossed one in the freezer for next week.

So here are my tips for stretching your dollar at Cub:

1. Coupons, coupons, coupons.  Utilize the coupon book and the weekly add.  You can pre-load coupons onto your reward card, or do it old school by clipping them at the door.  These are some of the hottest deals in the store.
2. Look for the TPR/Green Stickers.  These indicate a clearance item, a short coded item, or some other hot deal.  This will allow you to stretch that dollar further.
3. Overall Cub has really good pricing on items, especially in the center store, focused on canned goods and baking ingredients.  Their private label program is very solid, and allows you to save even more.  Keep an eye on your add prices as very often you will see private label more expensive if the national brand is on sale.  Cub's private label program includes Shopper Value, Culinary Circle, Wild Harvest, Everyday Essentials, Super Chill, and more.
4. Cub has really good dollar section.  At my Cub it is located in the GM department.  They offer value spices, and several items in the Shopper's Value line at a great discount.  I didn't need anything from this section, but it is a good place to look if you have a couple of extra dollars to play with for this week's budget!

As an added bonus I got my first "Food Shelf" bonus from work today:

That's all for today folks!  Tomorrow we will talk about some of the recipes I am making tonight including the above mentioned Dal, and cheddar jalapeno scones!  See you tomorrow!

Also the donation button on our Finnegan's Page has been fixed.  Please help by supporting our goal of raising $2,500 for the Finnegan's Community Fund where 98% of your dollar goes back to the community to help peoplei n need get good wholesome and nutritious food!