It was bound to happen and I really should have seen it coming. I didn't sleep well and woke up really tired in the morning. I know from past experience that when I am tired, my eating habits go to crap, but I failed to contain the train wreck, and the result was that I went through a lot of food that I shouldn't have which I hope isn't going to come back and haunt me in the last days of this challenge (when I get like that, I need to take a nap or I just keep eating to try and stay awake).
This means that I am going to have to do a fairly big shopping this week to replenish food instead of adding little things here and there. I am going to try and hold out until Tuesday when I will get my weekly flier and see what deals are going to be available — taking that into account, I can decide whether to wait until Wednesday to do it or make the trip on Tuesday.
This is part of a month long challenge to eat well while spending an average of only $1 a day on food. You can find the beginning and the rules of this challenge here
Breakfast
Breakfast went off without a hitch and was the usual fare. I had a bag of oatmeal in the morning to take with my antibiotics and then a bowl of Corn Flakes a couple of hours later topped with a quarter of a banana. I also had a small glass of the spicy V8 juice on the side:
Lunch
I was still holding my own when lunch came around. I decided to use the rest of the black beans I had cooked a couple of days before and a portion of the spicy V8 cooked rice which I mixed together in a bowl. I then put a spoonful of sour cream on the side and a cooked egg on top. I then placed another spoonful of salsa on top of the egg
Dinner
The downfall began about 3:00 pm. I was getting hungry and instead of making myself a proper snack, I finished off the small box of Wheat Thins leaving me with only one left. Still not satisfied, I opened the last box and before I knew it, that was gone as well.
Around 5:00 pm things got busy and I knew I was going to have to go out for a bit and wasn't sure when I would be back to eat dinner. I threw together a peanut butter and banana tortilla using the last of my bananas and grabbed a whole apple leaving me with only 1.5 five left. When I did get back, it was rather late and I started eating peanut butter out of the jar taking it down from half full to only 1/4 full and eating another precious tortilla (I only have 6 left now).
I was ready to eat even more before I came to my sense and made myself go to bed before I had nothing left for the next couple of days.
Still, the loss of the Wheat Thins and a lot of the peanut butter is going to hurt unless I can find another deal on snacks real quick…
This is the current list of what I have purchased:
Money Spent $10.42
Money left to spend: 20.58
Retail Value of everything bought: $310.88
1 bottle Welch's grape & peach 100% juice
1 bottle V8 Fusion fruit / vegetable drink
1 bottle V8 spicy vegetable drink
2 boxes of Caprisun fruit drinks (10 packs)
1 jar of salsa
1 bag of black beans
1 half gallon of milk
4 boxes of Corn Flakes
1 dozen eggs
2 avocados
5 bananas
2 boxes of Quaker Instant oatmeal
14 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
1 package of Knudsen Light sour cream
10 apples
2 lbs of carrots
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
1 jar of Skippy All Natural peanut butter
2 cans of pork and beans
1 bag of long grain brown rice
2 packages of Mission 100% whole wheat tortillas (10 count each)
Donated Food to Food Bank that was purchased with my $1 a day
4 bottles Windex multi-surface cleaner
1 can of Pork & Beans
5 boxes of cereal
50 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner refill
The Beginning ::: Day 10: One Third Done
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It’s amazing the amount of food you have gotten by shopping sales, oyno, coupons, etc. I don’t know how far back your coupons go but if you buy mighty dog (I donated it) dog food using the 5 cans/$3 off and the one can free and do this for 12 cans at Safeway you pay 40-50 cents + tax and get back $2 oyno.
We all have eating days! So what is left?
I know you don’t like to cook, but tortillas are very easy to make. Flour and (I use butter and avoid hydrogenated fats) butter and water and some salt are all you need. You could make a ton of tortillas out of one bag of flour!
I’ve been thinking about your pondering a meat purchase. If you cook a meat that leaves dripping, definitely save them to use for cooking fat later on or to mix up as gravy. Think frontier homesteaders and Great Depression style. Keep a container by your stove for bacon dripping or such.