Well......

I figured it was time to get back into things a little bit over here.

Due to our financial situation our food budget has been diced and sliced and julienned, so to speak. To give you an idea, where we were once at approx $1100/month for all our needs (food, toiletries and cleaning and paper products) we are now sitting at approx $180-$190/month, yes that is a MONTH. OUCH!!

However, I knew a few months ago that this was going to happen so at each grocery trip I was stocking up on what I could (it had to be stuff we used and on sale) so I have over 4kg of chicken breasts and quite a bit of ground beef. What I need to replenish with this money is dairy and produce and cereal stuffs. I had to make my first list with this budget for this coming week (I'm hoping to go on Friday the 20th) and my goodness has the Lord set up a challenge for me!! I have to work on it a bit more, but when I'm done I will post it. As well as Alyssa and I are working on our menu's so I will get those posted as well. This is going to be a rough ride, and I have no idea if I can make it work (well, I guess I don't have a choice, do I?!?!) but I am going to give it my best.

I will have to look at what things (baking items) I can make ahead of the baby's arrival, as well as any sauces and side dishes. I can't make my OAMC because there is no $$$ in the budget for it right now. However, I can make up sauces and quick meals. We are looking at centering around chicken, ground beef for most dishes. Praise the Lord I can make quite a few meals with those two!!!!LOL

I also have some chicken nuggets, steakettes, and will be getting hotdogs. I know they aren't the most healthiest, but I was looking for quick and easy meal starters. At least those meals aren't so bad once you add some fresh veggies and a starch to it. I have also stocked up on instant mashed potatoes, they will last much longer and obviously take much less time to prepare. Praise the Lord for Hillbilly Housewife and her wonderful recipes for convenience food, like hot chocolate and french vanilla coffee and Hamburger mix (I still bought a couple of boxes for a treat tho!!) Unfortunately, I can't use her $45 budget because of the dollar difference, but the ideas are there and I can take them and go with it.

I've had to make a few decisions too, my kids LOVE instant oatmeal. They go through basically a box (the 8pk) just for one breakfast, however, it is costly, BUT I had to think "is it worth the extra $$ for them to have something they enjoy that is healthier than Sugar Crisp or Froot Loops?". Obviously I could make the oatmeal from scratch, but I have tried numerous times and I cannot get it to taste like the Cinnamon Roll flavour they love and I end up tossing out most of it, thus I'm not saving much am I??
I will be making a big batch of pancakes and pancake mix, they love that for breakfast too, and I also have some frozen waffles in the freezer. Lunchtime, is usually pretty easy, especially with the colder weather nearing. It takes nothing to start a batch of homemade soup in the morning and have it ready for lunchtime. Their favourite is Lentil Veggie soup as well as chicken noodle or rice.

So, as you can see (if any of my rambling made sense!!LOL) I have had a lot to contemplate as well as plan. I'm so thankful for children who are so understanding of our circumstances and are willing to help out and brainstorm food ideas.

I guess the biggest dilemma is trying to keep every bodies tummies full and keep the meals healthy AND stay in an extremely tight budget!!!

I'll be back with a list and our menus as soon as I get them all put together!!
Keep us in your prayers and may the Lord bless!!