Part 1: Save Money, Eat Better

Frozen Yogurt Grape Bite

This week brings a new outlook for me: SIMPLIFY.  I really need to simplify things around here.  I recently read an article from a lovely blog: The Peaceful Mom.  This article detailed how this busy mom dealt with money and life with a family of six (!).  It is very inspirational.  This really made me think about my own budgeting. Her budget for groceries is $100 a week.  Well, we have a family of four and it is hard to make it under $100.  Actually, we always go over $100 by $40 (or more) each week.  So, this month I am inspired.  I am going to chop that bill.  Goal: $100 budget for groceries.  Here we go!

I always make a grocery list.  I am a list-maker at heart and the grocery list seems a natural place for me to indulge.  The grocery list has a twin - the Menu list.  While I make a grocery list, I simultaneously make my menu for the week.  When I am done, I plop the menu on the fridge.  There is no order to the menu, just a list of things that we can make (and I know that I will have the ingredients for them) after a long day of work.

Here is the kicker - we are also cutting out High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Completely.  That's right - I said it.  It is in everything.  Well, everything that is cheap.  So my challenge is to stay under $100 and be healthy, starting now. I think I can do it. 

Menu for the week:

Breakfast:
Biscuits and jam or Nutella
oatmeal
Breakfast in a cup

Lunches:
leftovers
peanut butter and jelly sammys
chicken nuggets

Dinners:
Taco Salad
Moe's Burritos with carrots and dip
Sloppy Joe's and salad
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Pizza and salad
Baked Mac and Cheese with broccoli and French Bread

Snacks:
Oatmeal Cookies
Frozen Nutella Banana bites
Cookie Balls
Crackers
Pop Corn
Frozen Yogurt Fruit bites

It seems like staying on a staying on a budget, like this, is all in the snacks.  You can either buy them or make them.  This week I am going to try to make them...

Frozen Yogurt Fruit Bites
 (This fast and easy snack is something that I found somewhere, I did not think of it on my own.  For the life of me, I can not remember where I found it...)

Fruit (I chose grapes and bananas)
Yogurt (any flavor will do - I chose vanilla)
Cookie sheet
Freezer

Dip fruit pieces into yogurt and place on  cookie sheet.  Freeze.  Store in a Ziploc baggie. Eat all day long as a snack!

Frozen Nutella Banana Bites

Nutella
Sliced bananas
cookie sheet
Freezer

Cut bananas and put a small amount of Nutella on top of each slice and place on cookie sheet.  Freeze. Store in Ziploc bag for easy access.

 This is the first of a four part series.

This post is linked to: My Meatless Monday, Melt in your Mouth Monday, Creative Monday's, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday,  Real Food Wednesday's, Whole Foods Wednesday's, Simple Lives Thursday, Simply Delish,