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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

2 Days Left and Still Going Strong!



Since I started this whole "21 Day meal plan", I've had lots of friends want to know more. Well, here ya go! First, I must tell you that there is nothing magical about the number "21". That was the number that I came up with, after taking a complete inventory of our freezer, pantry, and refrigerator. I knew that I could feed our family of four for at least 21 days on what we already had in our home, plus one brief, inexpensive shopping trip to Publix. Now, here's the kicker: you MUST get REALLY creative in this process! We're not eating fancy meals and we are eating lots of leftovers and "kid-friendly" food (which is fine with us, since we have 2 kids!). Above, you'll see pasta salad that I made two days ago. We're 19 days into this process, so you can imagine the pantry is a little low! I still had a box of pasta, some deli ham, 1/2 of a bottle of ranch dressing, a can of corn, and some bacon in the freezer, so.......voila! A pasta salad was born! We continue to use our bread machine for our bread-above is a loaf of French bread to go with dinner tonight- add a little butter, garlic powder, and parsley and you have wonderful garlic bread. That last little treat you see, is slightly random too. I STILL had cornflakes leftover from a very large box bought a while back that needed to be used. Part of Addie's "potty treats" have been big, pink marshmallows (side note: Addie has been dry all day!!). So....Valentines Day Rice Krispie treats (really corn flake treats, I guess!) were made!

I've probably spent around $160 total for this month on groceries for our family of four. We have eaten dinner out two times, ONLY because we have had coupons. I am determined to go one more week before heading to the store for our next big shopping trip. This whole process has made me realize how wasteful we can be- both in spending and in throwing out expired  food that we have purchased. We realize what is important- eating a hot meal, at the table, together as a family, whether it be a steak or  the most simple spaghetti you could make! I'll keep you posted on the rest of our week- a produce/fruit/milk trip is definately in order soon!

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