Use It Up January

Each January, I try to prepare our meals with ingredients we already have at home and keep our weekly grocery bill as low as possible for a family of five with varied dietary restrictions and preferences.  Here's my chronicle of this year's Use It Up January which doesn't include every drop of oil or pinch of salt used, but outlines the broad strokes.  Please note that we eat primarily vegetarian here and that much of what others would consider side dishes are main meals to us.

Week 1 - 01/02 through 01/08

Dinner menu: curry, pizza (free coupon) and homemade for Rex and Emilia, dinner salad, Tex-Mex bean soup, roasted vegetables with herbs, artichoke bake, leftovers (subbed with roasted chicken and biscuits)

Already at home for all meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks): onions, canned beans, artichokes, cream cheese, breakfast/snack bars, juices, DFGF breads, ground beef, bread, tater tots, wraps, cereal, milk, flour, sugar, butter/oil, almond pudding, DFGF cookies

Buy: produce, coconut milk, deli meat and cheese, hummus, chips and crackers, yogurt, canned tomatoes, eggs, applesauce

Grocery bill for the week: $77.60

Week 2 - 01/09- 01/15

Dinner menu: sausage and pepper hoagies, orzo veggie soup with chicken, dinner salad, walnut cheddar burgers, crepes, steamed veggies with couscous, dinner out parents (date night - thank you, Special Olympics - cost not included in total) and cold finger foods for the kids

Already at home for all meals/snacks: orzo, walnuts, cheddar, eggs, flour, couscous, fresh and frozen veggies, breakfast/snack bars, juices, tater tots, wraps, cereal, sugar, butter/oil, juices

Buy: produce, sausages, bread, chicken, milk, coconut milk and coconut yogurt, yogurt, orange juice, hummus, cereal, applesauce, tortilla chips, GFDF bread and waffles, deli meat

Grocery bill for the week : $98.77

I spent more this week than I intended because there were so many clearance deals on foods that we eat a lot, like tortilla chips and organic cereal.  I could also not pass up the organic whole chicken for $7.00 when both of my girls love roasted chicken.  We had roasted chicken and biscuits for dinner on 1/8 (I grocery shop on Thursdays) instead of leftovers and used the remaining chicken for sandwiches and soup.

Week 3 - 01/16 - 01/22

Dinner menu: noodle soup, hamburgers, dinner salad, vegetable casserole, spaghetti, potato cakes, leftovers

Already at home for all meals/snacks: carrots, canned tomatoes, ground beef, stuffing, yogurt, juice, cereal, milk, GFDF waffles

Buy: lots of produce, pasta, pasta sauce, orange juice, potato chips, coconut milk, bacon, GFDF pudding, bread and cookies, olive oil, applesauce, bread, eggs, hummus, breakfast bars

Grocery bill for the week: $145.90

The fridge and the pantry started looking a bit low this week, so I had to buy more than in weeks one and two.  Plus my grocery store seemed determined to sabotage my spending. This week they had organic bread on clearance which I promptly purchased and stuck into my freezer.  I also made an adjustment to the menu midweek: due to an unexpected snow day, I did not prepare the potato cakes, but just got some soup from the freezer and heated it up.

Week 4 - 01/23- 01/30

Dinner menu: quiche, potato cakes, dinner salad, lentil burgers with butternut squash fries, steamed veggies with a side, manicotti, pumpkin tomato soup, leftovers

Already at home for all the meals and snacks: pancake mix, eggs, coconut milk, cereal, breakfast/snack bars, bread, butternut squash, DFGF waffles, wraps, ricotta, stuffing, lentils, rice/orzo, DFGF pudding and waffles,  pumpkin puree

Buy: produce, yogurt, DF yogurt, sour cream, deli meat/cheese, manicotti shells, marinara, herbs, cream cheese, GFDF bread, hummus, yogurt, orange juice, shredded cheese, potato chips

Grocery bill for the week: $126.40

Our grocery total for the month was $448.67 which comes to about $15 a day or $3 per day per person. It's pretty impressive for me to see it broken down this way because we ate well, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, a meat dish once a week, many gluten/dairy free products as well as organics.  I should probably do the Use It Up more often, maybe not for four weeks in a row, but possibly one week a month.