Cheaply Green Saturday Tip 1

Money Spent: $0

Amount in Food Eaten: $.45

Breakfast: Cereal ($.25)

Lunch: Dumplings at work ($0)

Dinner: Pasta Salad ($.20)

Today is Mike and my 1 year anniversary - whoa!!

I babysat the kids I used to nanny for today - had a blast hanging with them at the park.  Just a short blog today so I can spend time with Mike, who is sadly a little feverish (and not in the disco kinda way...) 

So, I'll leave you with a tip:

Cookies in blender.  Mix with pack of cream cheese.  Form into balls.  Coat with melted chocolate.  Put in fridge.  Eat when set. You’re welcome.

(Joe-Joe's from Trader Joe's are perfect - like Oreos but not full of chemicals and filth)

Day 13: Shopping Part 2

 Money Spent: $48.12

Amount in food eaten: $1.25

Tip of the day: Buy bulk!  Items like flour, sugar, lentils, couscous, quinoa, beans, and dried fruit/nuts are ALWAYS cheaper if you buy bulk - you can take as much or as little as you need, and you'll use much less packaging!

Mike is in DC for work, so this morning I had a nice cuddle with the kitty before grabbing some breakfast (bowl of Kashi honey puffs - $.25) and packing some food for work.

I brought the rest of the chickpea snacks and some bread to snack on.

I spent a lot of time thinking about my grocery list this week - last night I brainstormed what meals to make and wrote myself a little grocery list.  Corinne, my co-worker and cousin, gave me the recipe for her pasta salad - she'd eaten it for lunch all last week and  said it was awesome.  The ingredients fit perfectly in with what I was already making, so I just added a few things I didn't have to the list.

For Halloween, my mom had sent me a bunch of random food to the office.  I never really touched it, but I remembered that she'd sent a box of couscous, so I made it with some garlic powder and iced tea for lunch. ($0)

After work, I went to Whole Foods.  Nothing I needed was a coupon item (I'd bought everything I had a coupon for on Tuesday), so I just gave a quick glance at the store coupon booklet and went on with my shopping.

My list:

Organic chicken thighs (boneless - 1.16lb) - $5.79

Burrito wraps (4)- $2.59

Organic black beans (2 cans) - $2.18

Organic garbanzo beans (2) - $2.18

Australian cheddar cheese (>1/4 lb) - $1.30

Organic shredded cheddar jack cheese (12oz) - $4.29

Organic bulk flour - $2.11

Organic bulk spinach - $1.08

Plum tomatoes (3) - $1.39

Balsamic vinaigrette dressing - $3.99

Organic fusilli pasta - $2.99

Whole peppers (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 chile) - $4.40***

1 large organic yam - $1.88

Total: $36.17

I'm in the middle of a cooking fiesta as we speak.  True to my word, I made burritos - I ate one for dinner and froze the other 3.  I just cooked brown basmati rice while I sauteed peppers (red, yellow, and chile), garlic, and onions in a large sauce pan.  When they were tender, I dropped in 2 cans of drained black beans and cooked for about 10 minutes.  I layered rice, beans/veggies, and grated cheese on a tortilla and wrapped it up.

I wound up with about half the beans left and at least 2/3rds of the rice... I guess I need to get more burrito wraps.  These burritos are way better than the frozen ones I always get for 5 times the price.  I'm interested to see how they cook after they've been frozen.  The chile pepper gave the beans a good kick - cooking with them is an art I'm looking forward to exploring more.  When they're sauteed, they're not too spicy but so delicious. Burritos/dinner: $.79/each.

T

This lighting kinda sucks but the burrito was incredible

I also made Corinne's pasta salad - it's cooling right now, but I had a few bites and WHOA, she was right.  I used spinach penne that we've had around for a while so Mike would be able to eat it (much less gluten, apparently?)

Pasta tossed with garlic season-all and balsamic vinaigrette, then mixed with sauteed chopped/minced veggies: yellow and red pepper, 1/2 a chile pepper, onion, and garlic.

Between these meals, I realized I didn't have a few essentials for cooking bigger dishes.  I also wanted to get some individual containers for meals so I can bring some of my fancier chefery to the office.  I strolled over to the home store on 42nd St. and got aluminum foil, 2 large baking dishes with lids (just $1!), 4 individual containers (like middle eastern takeout containers), some paper towels, and a large bowl (for the pasta salad).  The whole thing cost me $11.95, which I felt was well worth the investment.

I'm thinking of making some homemade baked mac and cheese tonight, but I think season 1 of Weeds and Mike's homecoming might stop that from happening...  Stay tuned for tonight's recipes to be posted.  

Other meals to be made from the ingredients I bought today:

1) Spinach, onion, tomato and cheese dough pockets

2) Spinach salad with tomato, onion, peppers, and cheese tossed with balsamic vinaigrette and topped with grilled chicken

3) Chicken and roasted red pepper over quinoa

4) Chicken salad

5) Chickpea snacks

6) Yam fries (just cut a yam into fry shaped straws and season with garlic season-all, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Bake til golden brown at 400 degrees, or freeze for later!

Day 12 - 'Sitting

Money spent: $0

Amount in food eaten: $4.89

Cheaply Green Tip of the day: Whole Foods posted new coupons today

I was psyched about a whole new week of fresh bread.  For breakfast, I had 2 slices of it with organic peanut butter and an apple, washed down with some nice Honest Tea ($.98).  I sort of nibbled on this throughout the morning, which works well for me - I spent a big part of my morning uploading things, so I had nibble time.  I feel like my brain works better if I eat a meal slowly over the course of an hour or two.  It also meant that I wasn't hungry for lunch until around 3:30.

 Loved it.

I was running late this morning, so I grabbed my Amy's burrito and ate that for lunch with the rest of my morning's tea ($3.99).  I really love these burritos, and it occurred to me that I can definitely make these for really cheap and freeze them.  I think I'll add some black beans, cheddar cheese, and burrito wraps to my shopping list.

My cousin, Shannon (who is also my co-worker) and I went to my apartment after work so she could check it out - she's thinking about moving in.  My friend Katy called me just as we were leaving to say she was in the neighborhood, so she joined us.  Katy and her boyfriend stay at my place every so often, so she asked me if she could grab my keys tonight (I'm staying at Mike's).  

She got me a coffee and a gelato as a thank you - wooot!!  It kept me full for the rest of the evening.

Mike's friend Chris texted to see if I could babysit his daughter.  Psshhh... of course.  She's a doll and, as we all know, I can always use the money.  We had a really fun night reading and writing ghost stories together, and I'm writing this sitting on their couch.

The gelato and coffee filled me up enough to make it back to Mike's tonight and make something small for a late-night dinner. 

I think I'll try to grab some groceries tonight and make Mac and Cheese and/or burritos.  I need some food for lunch this week!!!!

Day 11 - Sick Day 2: Bread

Money spent: $31.23

Total in food eaten: $4.08

I woke up feeling awful again, so I took the day off.  We've run out of edible-on-their-own groceries, so I dragged my sick ass to the grocery store (Food Emporium) when I finally stumbled out of bed.  I got a nice amount of organic groceries and saved $4.60 in coupons, but I didn't do nearly as well as last week.   The cashier was a little huffy about the coupons and kind of rude, which I found a little weird (especially in my icky state), and Food Emporium's prices are pretty high for organic foods.  I think I'll avoid them when I can, but I was in a pinch.

Organic Milk* - 3.79

Almond Milk - 3.99

Blueberry yogurt* (3) - 4.27

Cereal* - 3.99

Amy's Mac and Cheese* - 2.99

Chickpeas* - 1.94

Apples (2) - 2.14

Burrito - 3.99

Tomato soup* - 2.69

Chocolate milk - 1.69

Total: $31.23

When I got home, I had some yogurt and passed out for a while.  When I got up, I was feeling like I had a bit of energy, so I mixed up some oatmeal bread dough (Click here for recipe) and let it rise while I napped some more.

 dough after 1 hour of rising

YUM

I also made some easy chickpea snacks.   Just rinse and dry chickpeas and lay out on cookie sheet.  Then heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil, garlic powder, rosemary, fresh garlic (diced), and salt in a small pot and heat until it smells amazing.  Pour the mixture over the chickpeas, coat well, and bake on 400 for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. ($2.09, though you can make this cheaper if you use cheaper chickpeas... I wasn't happy with the price of mine)

Any spices you like will taste great!  Get creative.

Uncooked chickpeas, covered in seasoning

Crunchy and zesty - such an amazing snack!

I took it easy for a while, and was starting to feel better. I made Amy's mac and cheese for lunch ($2.99) They sent me a bunch of coupons, so it was nice to have a cheaper frozen meal around.  I can definitely make mac and cheese myself for significantly less, but not when I'm feeling icky.

I wanted to get outside for a little while because it's been a BEAUTIFUL day, so I escorted Mike to Fordham, where his friend Katy came to play him piano for his birthday.  I'd arranged the whole thing, so it was nice to be able to go (I didn't think I'd make it in the morning).  When I got there, my friend Derrick wanted to go check out some Freegan dumpster dive sites we'd found online.  While Katy played for Mike, Derrick and I took a walk to find the dumpster's we'll eventually go on freegan dives to.  Nothing was out yet, but we got a good idea of where to look.

When we got back to Fordham, we got wind of a benefit where there would be food.  Donations were optional, but since it was for Haiti we each gave a few bucks.  Though my Hatian dinner wasn't organic, it was free!  

Rice, beans, potatoes, plantains, pasta, cookies, and some Coke

We even got to stay for a few of my friends' performances, which was awesome!

 Owen and Nadia

 

 Mike Fabano's fabulous guitar

 I'm glad to be feeling better, and I feel like I had a pretty good day for my mission.  Even though the grocery shopping wasn't the thriftiest, I do feel like I've learned where NOT to shop.  I also think I got a few things I didn't need because I had coupons - it's all stuff I'll use and enjoy, but I'm not sure it was necessary.  We'll see how long I can stretch it :)  I do still need to get some veggies, so I'll see if there's any good deals at WF tomorrow.

It'll be a busy day at work since I missed today.  Glad I have oatmeal bread to start my day!

Weekly Statistics, Week 1

Last week, from Monday-Sunday (not including the birthday festivities)

I spent a total of: $55.04 (this includes groceries that I still have)
And ate a total of: $21.11 (or $3.01/day on average)

I spent $75 for this special weekend - I'll hopefully take some babysitting jobs to make up for it.


I have lots of random groceries from the last shopping trip, so I should be going shopping tomorrow if I'm feeling better! 

Looking forward to Week 2!

Day 10: Sick

Money Spent: $0

Amount on Food: $.45

I'm not feeling very well today.  I didn't eat any breakfast (except for an Honest Tea)

I came home early from work after our morning meeting and had some of last night's leftovers ($0).  Then I crashed for a while.

When I got up, I made myself an English muffin pizza ($.45).  I just grabbed a muffin from the freezer, popped it in the oven to thaw it for 10 minutes, then cut it open.  I smothered it in my pasta sauce and then topped it with cheese and Garlic Season-All, then put it back in the oven for 10 minutes.  So easy, even a sicky can do it.  Check out this blog for more info: Pizza Friday

Okay, back to sleep :(

Day 9: Mike's Birthday!

Money spent: $39 (dinner for Mike for his Birthday!)

Today is Mike’s Birthday!!!!

We had an amazing day in the park with lots of friends.
Mike left at 10 to go get a colonic and have a healing session with his dear friend, Diana.  With no gluten-free boyfriend around to cook for, I made pancakes!  I had all the ingredients in the house, and even used the chocolate Easter bunny Mike got me to make them chocolate chip pancakes.  YUM!  Best part?  All the ingredients were from my stock of “freegredients”

I made caramel popcorn for the park to share with our friends.  If you’ve never made this, all I can say is MAKE IT.

We had an awesome day of music and friends in the park.

For dinner, I treated Mike to vegan dinner at this cool place called Peacefoods Café on 82nd St and Amsterdam.  The prices were REALLY affordable, the food was amazing, and we got to spend the evening with his close friends and family.  When it came time to sing "Happy Birthday", one of the waitresses was an opera singer and sang to Mike.  The people next to us had a birthday, too, so Mike pulled out his guitar and sang to him.  We got free cookies because of it... hee hee.  7 of us ate for $115! ($39)

Now I need to make up for all the money I spent on my wonderful boy this weekend!  He deserves every penny of it, but I do need to get back on track!

Day 8: Sunday Edition

(Sunday's posts will not be as long or detailed)

Money Spent: $18

On food: $9

Another splurge day, in honor of Mike’s birthday.

We had sushi.  Sigh.  I know.  Terrible.  I paid for Mike, so it was around $18 (YEESH!!!).  I enjoyed it more than  I think I’ve ever enjoyed sushi, if that means anything.

For dinner, we had quinoa with my pasta sauce and the rest of the chicken. Yummmmmm!! ($2.39)