Skinflintstones--Bringing it Up to Date, Day 26

Well, I tallied the bills from the past two and a half weeks. I've basically kept shopping the sales, stocking up on non-perishable or freezable loss leaders, and only buying the necessities instead of luxury items. The walnut substitution in the pesto was OH SO AWESOME, by the way. I put it on pizza one night and dressed up some spaghetti and shrimp with it another. For dinners we've just been eating what's around the house, but DANG we go through sandwich bread quickly around here. When I find it for less than $2/loaf, I stock up and freeze . I could spend more in gas and visit the thrift store twenty minutes away, but what's the trade-off there?

My thinking on eggs: We eat a lot. I'm going to stop buying them at the Superfresh. I'm sick about the poultry industry in the U.S., disgusted at the poor conditions for the laying hens and the inferior nutritional quality their feed creates in the eggs, and I've decided it is worth it to pay extra for the on-site free-range eggs from Highland Orchards. I don't know what they feed their hens--I will ask next time I go--but I do know they can range the farmland there. The hens and the eggs are healthier. It really is worth it to me.

Interesting fact: Both the Rite Aid pharmacy (24hr) and the Target sell a gallon of whole milk for $2.89, $1 less than does my grocery store.

So, add to the $63 from Day 7,
7/16: $30 (party food minus cake, which my parents paid for)
7/20: $22
7/23: $64
7/27: $27
7/28: $3
7/30: $6
8/1: $33

Running Grocery Total for Day 26: $248
I'm doing pretty well considering houseguests, a birthday party, and two emergency caffeine-detoxifying, medicinal dark chocolate candybars ($5). Remember that I'm not counting paper goods. I am trying hard to keep those costs down, too, but I'll work more diligently on that next month. Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, D had to buy lunch for himself today, I bought the babysitter and me some subs for lunch last week, and D brought home a take-out pizza the other night. These are three hits to the wallet that I guess I am willing to live with. If we were hand to mouth, though, we wouldn't let them happen, obviously. (Not to mention we couldn't afford a babysitter.) We are a terribly lucky family to have what we have. Praise be.

I just dug up, oh, about a dozen potatoes from the potato patch. And how many seed potato chunks did I plant back in early spring? Oh, about a dozen. This is such a non-payoff that I don't see myself trying potatoes as a food crop anytime soon. It was purely an experiment this year--my first attempt. I didn't treat them very well, and as you just read, they are returning the favor. Digging up measly potatoes is no one's idea of fun. Live and learn, right?

We are eating lots of things from the garden, pantry, and freezer still. Black beans and rice, pasta y fagioli soup, tonight will be green bean and tofu stir fry with rice with potstickers and some miso soup. I think my husband is getting a little tired of cheese sandwiches for work lunches, but we lately seem to eat all of whatever I make for dinner the night before. I guess he's so hungry from his puny lunch that he eats his usual dinner helping plus lunch leftovers at the same time. Also, the kids are eating more and more, which I need to get into my thick head. I've already learned to double the amount of pasta I cook at once. They are crazy for any sort of noodle, but I can't give N any sauce with tomatoes in it because it makes his eczema worse.

That's it from the hot country.