Pantry Challenge Week 1

Well, I made it through week 1 of my Pantry Challenge.

I was trying really hard to only go to the grocery store once, but I ended up going twice (I had to grab milk).  I managed to come in under my personal $60 a week (or less) challenge. 

Week one's total came to $52.39, leaving me with $7.61 in Pantry Challenge budget.

I bought everything on my list for the week and added pasta and bread to my stockpile.



Missing from picture is another bag of milk, pepperoni (used in Pizza on Friday)



These two were FREE with Free Product Coupons. I used the sauce to make Pizza on Friday.

 

 This bread was $1.39 each and I used $1.50/2 coupon, making them .64 cents each.
 I price matched it to the Real Canadian Superstores.

Also, hidden somewhere in the first picture was a box of SMART pasta that was priced at $1.00 and I had .75 coupon making it .25 cents (I price matched it to No Frills).

I went to two different stores.

I bought the milk and eggs at Shoppers Drug mart cause it's the least expensive.

(plus I get Optimum points for shopping there)

I bought the remainder of the groceries at No Frills and I price matched several of the products to get the best advertised price.  (I carry the flyers with me to show the cashier, that another store has lower price)

In total I used $4.25 worth of coupons, plus 2 Free product coupons, plus $1.00 store coupon and $2.13 of superbucks (from Loblaws gas station). 

Not bad.  My coupon amount is usually higher than that, but I didn't really see many deals that appealed to me.  I probably will have to grab another bag of milk before the week is out (my kids loooove milk, and I am ok with that). I didn't have to buy any meats this week cause my freezer is full.

So how did you do?

I'm linking up here and here.

Meal Planning - The Pantry Challenge

Happy Day!

First off, thanks for all the nice comments on my weigh loss goals.  So far so good, although I have been tempted to sneak a late snack (I have not given in).  I'd love to hear from anyone else, who is made it priority to get a healthy body back. It's certainly a challenge for me.

Speaking of Challenges...



Basement Chest freezer. Do you see the ice?

Recently I tried to get something into our refrigerator freezer and it was full.  So I dashed downstairs to our chest freezer and it was pretty full too and had a nice layer of snow/ice on the walls (see pic above). Looking at my pantries, cupboards, and extra storage in the basement, I have pretty good stockpile. After reading this post from at Life as Mom I've decided that January is a good month to have a Pantry Challenge.

Here's Fishmamma's Challenge Guidelines:

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Make the Most of What You Have This Month

• For some that might mean digging deep into the cupboards and using up those odds and ends.
• For others that might mean building a frugal pantry, scouting for good sales, and starting to stockpile items that you regularly use.
• Still others might want to give the pantry an overhaul and remove unhealthy items and replace those with more wholesome alternatives.

You get to decide what best fits your family and your life. Shop till you drop or work toward using what you’ve got. This isn’t a “no spend” month — unless you want it to be. It’s a “be mindful about what you have and what you need” month.

We’re working on our kitchen pantries to make the most of the resources at our disposal.

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My own personal January Challenge is the same as hers except that for a family of 5, I'm only spending $60 a week (or less) on groceries (not including pet supplies, cleaning supplies or personal Hygiene items)

Keeping those rules in mind  and my healthy eating plan, here is this weeks meal plan:

3 - Sheppard's Pie & Salad - (we're sharing it with this guy.  It's the one meal I know he will eat.)
4 - Home made Beefy Pasta & Salad - (it's Seikido and hockey night, so they always want Pasta)
5 - Soup (Veggies from freezer with homemade chicken stock & spices)
6 - Chicken Parmigiana with rice & vegetable
7 - Homemade Pizza & salad- (did you see the pocketless pita's in the freezer? They are great for individual pizza's)
8 - Leftovers
9 - Roast chicken, potatoes, veg.

So are you up for the challenge?  I will share with you later this week on how I got organized for my pantry challenge.

I'm linking up at OrgJunkie Meal Plan Monday and Life as Mom's Challenge