our meals this week

We're on a tight budget. We paid off all credit card/vehicle debt two years ago and have not used any credit cards in that time. It was hard at first. I felt like we didn't have any money but now it is so freeing. We don't buy it if we don't have the money - as simple as that. We now have a growing savings account and are adding at least $500 to it a month with my businesses. We finally have enough money saved to buy Brian a used car when our van dies (which will be soon I'm sure).

We can credit our generous God who provides for all our of needs and many of our wants as well as following the Dave Ramsey plan. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to take control of their finances, especially his Total Money Makeover book. Get it at your library.

Anyway, part of living within our budget means we can only spend $750 a month on groceries and household items (laundry, cleaning supplies, toothpaste, shampoo, etc). I'm sure many of you can put me to shame and live on way less and I would welcome your tips. This money feeds all 8 of us comfortably (including my low-carb diet). We make almost all of our food from scratch and don't buy prepackaged meals or snacks and rarely go out to eat.

So I had $100 left over this week for groceries. I wrote out a meal plan for dinners and we went shopping at Winco. I only spent $76 (of which a couple of $$ were for some candy since Grae was with us) so I have some left over to buy milk, eggs and whatnot this week. (we go through 3 dz eggs and 6 gallons of milk a week).

Breakfasts for the kids are usually oatmeal, homemade pancakes or muffins or cereal if I can get it for under $1.00/lb. Lunches for the kids are sandwiches, mac -n-cheese, yogurt with sunflower seeds/fruit, leftovers, etc. I'm a little different in that I low carb. So I eat 2 eggs with ham & veggies for breakfast. Lunch is a low carb tortilla with cheese, avacado, lettuce or just a bowl of cottage cheese. You get the picture.

Dinner tonight:
Low Carb Lasagna (made with roasted zucchini instead of noodles. Yes the kids eat it and like it.) Side salad. Grapes for the kids and blueberries for Brian and I.

Wed:
Bean and Bacon soup with white beans I bought yesterday. I LOVE white beans. *I better get them out so I can soak them tomorrow.* Homemade bread for the family. None for me. Throw some type of veggie in the soup as well. Maybe chopped peppers, broccoli and carrots?

Thurs:
Low carb quiche (just no crust) with sausage, bacon and broccoli. Homemade pancakes or french toast for the family. Low carb bread french toast for me (so good!). Some type of fruit.

Friday:
Leftover bean soup with turkey sandwiches on homemade bread. Lettuce, tomatoes, etc.
Salad?

Saturday:
Leftovers or whatever the kids fix.

Sunday:
Too stuffed from eating a big meal at church. Brian sometimes makes fried potatoes and we have it with cheese and some type of deli meat.

So that's my plan. I didn't have to buy any household items this week. I'm still super stocked up on free toothpaste, shampoo and enough free deodorant to last for another year. Thanks to the Grocery Game (http://www.thegrocerygame.com).

So now that I've typed for like 30 minutes, I actually need to go prep for dinner. I have to roast the zucchini first and let it sit to drain. Oh and need to finish diaper laundry or Molly will have nothing to wear when she wakes up. Oops.