December 23, 2024

At Home with GCH: Freezer/Pantry Challenge – Final Week Update

February 28, 2013 by

Challenge

 

We made it to Week 4!  Yay!! Are you still with me?  If so, I’d love to hear what your biggest challenge was?  How did you deal with it?

I have to be truthful and say that I blew this last week, and purchased snacks for our foster boys, instead of making them myself.  My only excuse is that I was so absolutely exhausted, I just wanted convenience!  Convenience spoke LOUDLY to my ears, and to my wallet!  But even with this, we still only spent an additional $13.75 for snacks and milk this last week!  Not too bad!

TOTAL SPENT ON GROCERIES FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY: $204.02. Again, this was without meat purchases.  BUT, I will say this…that may seem like a lot to spend for groceries if we are not including meat, but if you could see how much food I have left over not only in my freezer, but in my pantry, you would see that I still have a few weeks worth of groceries left over!  So seriously, I think we did pretty good!! 🙂

I still have 2-1/2 cases of canned vegetables left over.  We still have tons of potatoes, rice, and pasta left over.  We have at least a couple of weeks of cereal left over.  I will need to purchase tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, and things like that…but overall, I still have a ton of groceries left over!  So the total of $204.02 will carry over into March and save us money during March as well! 🙂

The other thing I would like to add to this is that on the 13th of this month, we added two more mouths to feed!  We have the pleasure of having two of the most adorable little foster boys in our home, who will be staying with us for a while.  So our meals went from 1-2 meals a day for my husband and I, to three meals a day for all four of us, and two snacks a day for the boys!  So not only did we spend less, but we fed more!

So, in conclusion, this is what we found during this challenge:

  • Less money spent / more money in our pockets
  • Better planning
  • Less splurging
  • Less stress in what to make for dinner
  • Healthier meals
  • We were happier with more meatless meals
  • Fun to experiment w/more recipes
  • Didn’t eat out as much because our meals were planned ahead of time
  • Convenience foods don’t have to happen often but, when they do, they don’t have to cost a fortune!

I’m glad I did this challenge this month.  I learned a lot!  I will definitely do this again in the future.

Visit me again next week on Wednesday, when we start a new series titled “All Things Green“!

 

His Blessings,

Christi

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If you would like to send Christi an email in regards to this blog, you may send it to:

Christi@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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At Home with GCH: Freezer/Pantry Challenge – Week 3

February 21, 2013 by

Freezer Pantry Challenge Header

 

Are you excited that we only have ONE more week left of this challenge?? 🙂  How have you done, so far?  What has been your biggest challenge?

For us, this past week, we still only needed to purchase milk and fresh produce.  We’ve been doing pretty good actually.  My trip to Aldi’s at the end of last month to stock up on canned goods and such, really helped!  I’m actually enjoying finding out just how little we can spend on groceries, and still eat good!

This last week we spent $$24.78 on groceries.  So altogether we have spent less than $200 for a family of four for this month.  I still have enough canned goods, rice, pasta, and such, to make it clearly two weeks into March.  Again, we’ll continue to buy our dairy products and produce, but other than that, we really won’t need anything else.  The boys are almost out of snacks, but I have all the ingredients to make Chocolate Chip Cookies…so no problem.  We’re almost out of juice, so I’ll have to figure out what to do there.  Hoping I can make what we have last through the end of next week! We’ll see!  Plan Your Work…Work Your Plan!!  Right?!?!

Instead of sharing our meals for the last week with you this week, I want to share a recipe with you that I made this week.  It was very good!  The first thing I thought when I took the first bite was, “I should have taken a picture, so I could have posted it on the blog!!!”   But that’s okay.  It’s good either way, with or without, a picture!  So here you go!

Creamy Vegetable Soup

5 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced

1 dozen baby carrots, sliced

1 can whole kernel corn

1 small green pepper, diced

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 box Low-Sodium Chicken Stock

2 tsp minced garlic

1 small can of Cream of Chicken Soup

1 small can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

salt and pepper to taste

 

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all ingredients, with the exception of the cream soups, into a large dutch oven and cook on medium-high until vegetables are tender.  Add in cream soups and stir until smooth and creamy.  Heat through.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits, and serve!  This soup goes great with a large green salad made with all the trimmings, and some good ‘ole homemade bread!  It’s perfect for a cold Wisconsin winter night! 🙂

So, please add your comments below about how you are doing on the challenge. I really do want to read them!! 🙂

 

Blessings on Your Day,

Christi

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If you would like to send Christi a private message in regards to this blog, please email her at: Christi@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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At Home with GCH: Freezer/Pantry Challenge Update – Week 2

February 14, 2013 by

Freezer Pantry Challenge Header

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope you have planned something special for you and your Sweetie!  My husband surprised me early this year and gave me a card, a HUGE mug filled with the cutest little bear and chocolates, and a live miniature rose bush!  Totally took me by surprise!  He’s usually the one who forgets holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries!  When I saw his gift, he looked at me with much excitement in his eyes and said, “LOOK!! I remembered!!”  Boy did he score some major brownie points!! 🙂

With Valentine’s Day in mind, did you all remember to plan for this special occasion while planning your meals for the month?  My husband works that night, so our Valentine’s dinner (Yes, candlelight and all) will be tonight!  He doesn’t know it yet, so it will be a surprise to him!

How have you done this week with the Freezer/Pantry Challenge?  Have you been able to stick with it, or has it become a real challenge?  So far, this week, the only thing I’ve needed to purchase is milk and fresh produce!  I’m pretty happy about that!  I haven’t had the desire to go out and purchase more because I truly want to stick to this challenge to the best that I can. I really want to see if this can be done!

In talking to others about this challenge, they are telling me how EASY I am making it for all of you.  They’ve been through some challenges that doesn’t allow you to purchase anything throughout the month.  They are required to use exactly what they have on hand, and nothing more!  Now THAT would be challenging!  Maybe one day I’ll be ready for that kind of challenge.  🙂

One thing I am learning about this challenge is that I am also seeing it pour into other areas of my life.  I am becoming very aware of how we are spending our money.  It’s making me think before I give in and say “Yeah, let’s just go out and eat tonight.  I don’t feel like cooking!”  I’ve even told my husband that Papa Murphy’s Pizza will have to wait until next month, OR hey, here’s an idea….how about we make our own pizza!!!  What a concept, huh?  LOL  It’s been awesome seeing how we are working together in this now.

Here is my Menu for this week

Thursday: Soup / Salad

Friday: Scalloped Potatoes w/Ham

Saturday: Date Night

Sunday: Soup / Salad

Monday: Pancakes, Sausage Links, Scrambled Eggs

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad

Wednesday: LEFTOVERS

Here’s my total grocery bill for the last week:  $21.70

How is this challenge working for you?  Are you feeling challenged?  Are you working through it?  What are you doing to try and stick with the challenge?  I would love to see your comments below!!

Have a GREAT day, ladies!  See you next week!

Christi

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At Home with GCH: Meal Planning 101 – Pantry / Freezer Challenge

January 28, 2013 by

This week, I am blogging TODAY, only because I would like to challenge you to something. Then I will be back on this blog again on Thursday, February 7th, to see how you are doing! Some of you may not like this challenge, but let’s take a serious look at this, and see what we can do.  If you have followed along with me for the past month, you should have freezer meals on hand, and your Pantry/Freezer lists updated.  Right?  So this challenge shouldn’t be too difficult for most of you.  I know some of you may be a bit behind, but now would be a great time to get caught up with this series.

I would like to challenge you to a Pantry/Freezer Challenge, for the entire month of February (just 28 days).  You will be limited to just what is in your pantry and freezer!  So you will have to be creative!  The Pantry/Freezer Challenge is a great way to trim the budget, keep close accounts on what you have, and rotate your current stock to avoid waste.

Each Thursday, I will come back here to update you on how the Challenge is going on my end, and I would love to hear how it’s going on your end as well.

 

What this Pantry/Freezer Challenge is NOT:

  • It’s not about NOT buying ANY groceries for the month of February.  You will need things, such as milk, eggs, bread, fresh fruits/veggies, etc.  This challenge is only for the bigger items, like meat, canned vegetables, staples, etc.
  • It is not about living on beans and weenies for the entire month.  It’s about going through what is in your pantry and freezer and making meals with those ingredients until you run out, and it becomes time to go grocery shopping again for the big stuff.
  • This Challenge does NOT include times you go out to eat.  It’s only about what is eaten at home.

We want to see how long we can go before we have to go buy the main grocery items that we typically would.  We also want to see how much money we can save this month!! 

 

What this Pantry/Freezer Challenge Is:

  • It’s about saving money!!  I read today that the average family of four spends $151 a week on groceries; that’s over $600 a month on groceries; almost $7,500 a year!  Wow!  Think of the savings that we would accumulate each month if we could do a Pantry/Freezer Challenge in our homes, at least one week a month! Think about it, one week without groceries equals a yearly savings of $1,812 (based on the above average).
  • It’s about being focused on what you have on hand already!
  • It’s about using what we already have on hand, so we don’t let food go to waste!
  • It’s about being good stewards!

 

How this Challenge works:

  • If you haven’t already done so, you will need to make a list of every single thing that is in your pantry and your freezer.
  • Plan your meals for each week according to what is on your Pantry/Freezer lists.
  • ONLY go to the grocery store when you need things such as milk, eggs, cheese, fresh fruits/veggies, paper goods, cleaning products, etc.
  • Keep track of what you are spending on the minimal amount of groceries that you will purchase.
  • Check in on our blog each Thursday to let us know how you are doing.  In checking in, I also want to hear how much you have spent for groceries, in the prior week.
  • Plan leftovers into your menu planning!
  • If you eat it, write it down.  Keep a food journal to go back to at the end of the month to see what kind of meals you actually did eat for the month!  You may be surprised!
  • EMAIL ME IF YOU NEED MORE RECIPE IDEAS!

 

CARE TO JOIN ME?

I’m looking to find a few people who are willing to take on this Challenge, with me!  Are you up for it?  If so, comment below and let me know you’re all in!  Then send me an email (listed below), so I can have a way of contacting you through the week to see how you are doing.

Now, since I typically blog on Thursday’s for At Home with GCH, I switched days with another blogger for just this week, so I could get this message out to you in time to accept this challenge, if you so choose.  With that said, that means that I will not be back again, until Thursday, February 7th.  Thursday is my normal blogging day.  I will check up on you then to see how you are doing, AND give you an update of how I am doing with the challenge, too!  Are You Ready?  Here we go….

 

Let’s do this together!

 

Have a GREAT week, Ladies!

Christi

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To contact Christi in regards to this blog, please email her at: 

Christi@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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