August Meal Plans: Week 2 Review and Week 3 Options

Stir Fried Hot Dogs

These were my meal plan options for August Week 2:

Brunches: Uppuma (Monday)✔, French toast with bacon (Tuesday)✔; toasted bagels with butter✔, tuna or egg salad sandwiches✔, chicken curry sandwiches; salads✔(for dinner); cereal and milk, maybe waffles? blueberry pancakes

Dinners: Kimbap (Korean rice roll/daughter; Monday)✔,  hamburger patty with rice and ketchup (me; Monday)✔; Sauteed chicken✔(soy-ginger chicken) with salad (moved from brunch to dinner); boxed pasta mix✔(with shrimp), broccoli, and leftover garlic bread; Fried rice✔;  Stir  fried hotdogs and rice; Ramen noodles, Chicken curry and tortillas cooked with eggs and lunu miris; Garlic sauteed shrimp curry with boxed pasta mix and green peas rice and cucumber salad; Leftovers✔; or something else! Scrambled eggs on toast 

Snacks/Desserts: Toast with butter and peach jam (me; Monday)✔, Fruit (Asian pears from the garden✔, bananas✔, plums✔, apples✔, mandarins), granola bars✔, Cheetos✔, granola bars✔, ice cream✔' yogurt and treacle

Here's how that worked out:

Monday:
Brunch: Uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat); I roasted it a bit too long and it turned out darker than usual, but, it still tasted very good with curry leaves, dried red chilies, and roasted peanuts added to it

Dinner: Kimbap (Korean rice roll; daughter); half a hamburger patty with rice and ketchup (me)

Snacks/Desserts: Toast with butter and jam (me); Asian pears from the garden

Tuesday:
Brunch: French toast with bacon; half a banana each

Dinner: Assorted leftovers from the fridge (I told daughter to forage in the fridge), followed by scrambled eggs on toast, much later, when I felt like cooking something

Snacks/Desserts: Apple slices, cheetos, ice cream

Wednesday:
Brunch: Toasted bagels and butter

Dinner: Salad (made by daughter: lettuce, carrots, corn cut off the cob, sunflower seeds, and red onion for daughter's portion as I don't like raw onions, with bottled Caesar dressing); soy-ginger chicken drumsticks  (made by me; I didn't follow any recipe, but, sauteed the chicken drumsticks with soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, ground ginger, and a little salt and it turned out quite well)

  

Snacks/Desserts: Almonds, bananas, cereal

Thursday:
Brunch: Chicken drumsticks, banana with peanut butter (daughter); tuna salad sandwich (me)

Dinner: Stir fried hot dogs and rice; a very frugal meal made with a package of hot dogs bought on sale some time ago for $0.99 and frozen; free red onion, free broccoli florets, and a homegrown tomato; a little Sri Lankan spice blend and a bit of ketchup, served with rice.

Snacks/Desserts: Cheetos, mandarins

Friday:

Brunch: Tuna salad sandwiches, apple slices

Dinner: Fried rice and leftover hotdog stir fry

Snacks/Desserts: Ice cream, granola bar (daughter), cheetos, chocolate wafers (me)

Saturday:

Brunch: Bagel; leftover fried rice (daughter)

Dinner: Chicken curry and tortillas with eggs and lunu miris (daughter asked if I could make the tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris spread on one side)

Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt and treacle

Sunday:
Brunch: Blueberry pancakes (homegrown frozen blueberries) with syrup; banana with peanut butter (daughter)

Dinner: Boxed pasta alfredo, sauteed garlic shrimp, green peas 

Snacks/Desserts: Cereal and milk (daughter); ice cream (me)

I sort of stayed on plan with the brunches and the snacks/desserts, but, changed the dinner plans around a bit.  But, it worked out quite well, I think. It was cooler this week and I felt more like cooking.  

Moving on to August Week 3 (8/18 - 8/24):

Brunches:  Pancakes and French toast using up leftover batter; tortillas cooked with eggs and lunu miris, with leftover chicken curry; egg salad sandwiches; salad with sauteed chicken; toast and peanut butter, leftovers from dinners

Dinners: Ginger-soy sauteed chicken with rice, broccoli, cucumber salad (x 2); smoked sausage stir fry with vegetables over rice (x 2); rice and curries with leftover sauteed chicken; boxed macaroni and cheese with tuna and a salad; Leftovers;  or something else!  

That is the plan; we shall see how well I stick to the plan!

"Did someone say dinner?  May I join, please?"
(Night time visitor, helping itself to the cats' kibble)

On Sunday

 

Plumeria

The plumeria cutting that M gave me is flowering for the first time.  Such a pretty pink color, too.

Daughter continued to unpack her boxes and find homes for her belongings.  I did some laundry, including some of the blankets and quilts she brought home.  We are not going to need all the bedding, but, I can use some of them for sofa dust covers, quilt backings and batting substitutes, and other projects.    

Other than that, it was a fairly relaxed day.  I made blueberry pancakes for brunch, with homegrown blueberries from the freezer.  Later, for dinner, I went slightly off the meal plan and made a pasta alfredo using a boxed mix, boiled a little frozen green peas, and cooked the frozen shrimp I had bought on sale last week, boiling the shrimp first and then, sauteeing them in some butter, garlic powder, and a little dried parsley flakes.  It made a delicious meal for two, with enough leftover for a brunch for one person, for about $8 ($1 for the boxed pasta mix; $5 for the bag of frozen shrimp, maybe $1 for the green peas, butter, milk for the pasta sauce, and seasonings, and $1 for the gas to cook the meal).  Daughter really like the shrimp and I will definitely buy it again, if it goes on sale for that price, again (it's currently on sale for $7.00; reg. price $7.99).   Afterwards, daughter put away the leftovers and I did the dishes. 

Sunday Dinner

On Sunday, I was grateful for:

- Another fairly cool day with highs in the low 80s
- Phone calls and emails from friends

- Working appliances

- Electricity and gas to power the appliances

- Chatting with my daughter and making plans

Sunday's joyful activity was relaxing.

Plans for Monday include:

- Some paperwork
- Cleaning out the fridge
- Taking the trash cans to the curb 

- Watering the garden

- Folding and putting away laundry
- Meal planning

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday?

August Grocery Shopping - Part 4

It's mid-month.  And I've already grocery shopped four times!  Yes, I ordered some groceries this afternoon and picked them up early evening.  

There were a few things I needed: bread, milk, fresh fruit, more salad items, eggs (I was down to 3 eggs, which I used for tonight's dinner).

In addition, there were a few things I wanted, some of which were on sale with digital coupons, etc.: 7-Up, unflavored gelatin, yogurt, smoked sausages (sale priced on Saturday and Sunday only), plus a few items that were on a "back to school" sale.

I bought:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$101.00

Item Coupons/Sales-$36.48

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.10

Sales Tax+$1.62

Order Total$66.24

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Item Details

31 Items

7UP Lemon Lime Caffeine-Free Soda Bottles, 6 pk / 16.9 fl oz$6.98

2 x $3.49 $6.99 each

CA Redem Val$0.60

2 x $0.30 each

Cucumber, 1 ct$0.99

1 x $0.99 each

Elmer's® Non-Toxic Washable School Glue, 4 fl oz$0.94

2 x $0.47 $1.29 each

Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas, 1 bunch$1.73

2.51 lbs x $0.68 each (approx.)

Fresh Large Bartlett Pear - Each, large/ 1 count$2.05

1.37 lbs x $1.49 $2.99 each (approx.)

Fresh Red Plum - Each, 1 ct$1.61

0.54 lbs x $2.98 each (approx.)

General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal, 12 oz$3.98

2 x $1.99 $5.49 each

Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage, 14 oz$7.98

2 x $3.99 $6.99 each

Iceberg Lettuce, 1 ct$2.49

1 x $2.49 each

Knox Original Unflavored Gelatine Packets, 4 ct$3.99

1 x $3.99 each

Kroger® Cage Free Large White Eggs, 18 ct$9.98

2 x $4.99 $7.39 each

Kroger® Creamy Peanut Butter, 16 oz$2.00

1 x $2.00 $2.99 each

Kroger® Soft Taco Size Flour Tortillas, 10 ct / 17.5 oz$2.49

1 x $2.49 each

Kroger® White Sandwich Bread, 20 oz$1.99

1 x $1.99 each

Mountain High Plain Yogurt Tub, 32 oz$2.99

1 x $2.99 $4.99 each

Purina Fancy Feast Wet Cat Food Gravy Lovers Ocean Whitefish and Tuna Feast Pate, 3 oz$1.80

2 x $0.90 each

Ralphs® Vitamin D Whole Milk Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$2.99

1 x $2.99 each

Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil, 75 sq ft$4.99

1 x $4.99 $6.49 each

Top Flight Standards® College Ruled 1-Subject Notebook 70 Sheets - Colors May Vary, 10.5 x 8 in$1.95

5 x $0.39 $1.09 each

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Other Fees

$0.10

Bag Fee$0.10

1 x $0.10 each

My total for everything came to: $66.24

Of which, $11.30 were for non-grocery items (2 cans of cat food for Dancer to try, aluminum foil, white glue for crafts, note books for daughter, plus tax on non-grocery items).

Groceries came to:  $66.24 - $11.30 = $54.94

August grocery budget = $250

Grocery spending to date = $38.17 + $15.24 + $44.18  + $54.94 = $152.53

Balance remaining in August grocery budget = $97.47

I think I'm doing okay with my grocery spending so far this month.  

How are you doing with your grocery shopping and grocery budget so far this month?

Two Weeks!

 

Dancer Climbs Mt. Boxmore!

Thank you, everyone, for your kind comments on the card daughter painted.  I told her that several of you had admired it and she says thank you.

It's been two weeks since daughter came back home.  Mt. Boxmore is still taking up the middle of the living room, but, after ignoring it all these days, I found Dancer sleeping on top of one of the boxes very early on Friday morning (he woke up and blinked at me when I turned on the light to take the picture).

Daughter started going through, decluttering and organizing her bedroom last Saturday and she finished, today.  She went through every item in her closet, went through each and every drawer, the shelves on the two bookcases, and the top of her desk.  She wanted to sort out her room before she unpacked her boxes.  She is certain that there will be more decluttering as she tries to find homes for the items she brought with her.  But, the initial pass has been completed and I am amazed at the speed in which she accomplished it.  She set a lot aside for donations and tossed a lot of items, as well.  She has motivated me to do another round of decluttering, myself.  

While she was busy cleaning out her room, I called the vet clinic and scheduled Dancer's Solensia injection, folded and put away some laundry, started a new grocery order, watched news and some online videos, and watered the back garden.  As I was nearing the end of the watering, I heard someone at the gate and looked around to see gardener friend M!  I was so surprised to see him and asked him what he was doing here because I thought he was on a two weeks break, but, apparently, he only took a week long break!  Since I had just about finished watering the back garden, he did some tidying up and watered the front garden.  

We had tuna salad sandwiches and apple slices for brunch.  For dinner, I made a sort of fried rice with leftover rice, the leftover half a hamburger patty cut up small, some frozen green peas, peanuts, a little spice blend, and soy sauce.  We had leftover hotdog stir fry with it.  There was a little fried rice leftover, as well as a little of the hotdog stir fry; it'll be enough for my brunch or a snack for daughter.  Daughter had some ice cream and I had some chocolate wafers for dessert.  Later, after dinner, I ran the dishwasher.  

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter being home
- M taking a shorter break than I thought
- A cooler day (highs in the low 80s)
- Water for the garden
- Working appliances

Friday's joyful activity was spending time in the garden.

Plans for Saturday include putting in a grocery order and picking up the groceries, picking up my medications (didn't do it on Friday), and maybe some sort of a crafts project.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?

On Thursday

Card Painted by Daughter

I had asked my daughter to paint a birthday card to send to my aunt and she did this one, using watercolor paints.  Aunt called me today to let me know that she received it and said she loved it.

Today, I spent the afternoon making phone calls and appointments.  Two appointments for lab tests prior to doctor's appointments, a phone call to the doctor's office to request a lab requisition they forgot to give me on my last visit and another phone call to reschedule a follow up appointment to the following week, a phone call to the dental insurance company to confirm benefits, and a phone call to a new dentist's office to schedule a much overdue first appointment,  These are calls and appointments I had procrastinated on doing, but, finally, they are done.  All that is left to schedule now is Dancer's appointment for his injection - that's on the agenda for tomorrow!

In between making phone calls and scheduling appointments, I did another load of laundry, made tuna salad for brunch, and cooked a stir fry and rice for dinner (I went off the meal plan, but, it was a very frugal meal, with a package of hotdogs I had bought on sale for $0.99 a while ago and frozen, some of the free red onion I received from the grocery store, free broccoli florets, a homegrown tomato, a little Sri Lankan spice blend from the pantry cabinet, and a little ketchup, plus a cup of rice.)

I had planned to water the back garden, but, decided that it could wait until Friday.  

Today, I was grateful for:

- Having both medical and dental insurance
- Being able to schedule and reschedule various appointments
- Working appliances
- Daughter being home to help me with a few tasks
- Cooler temperatures

Today's joyful activity was accomplishing a few things that I had procrastinated doing!  

Plans for Friday include:

- Going to the pharmacy to pick up medication refills 
- Scheduling Dancer's appointments
- Watering the back garden

- Maybe going to the dollar store with daughter (she has a day off from work)

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?  What are some of your go-to frugal meals?

Mid-Week Catch Up

 

Homegrown Asian Pears

I've been harvesting a few Asian pears from my tree, a couple at a time.  There aren't that many of them and they aren't very big, but, we are enjoying them.  

We've been having some warm temperatures and I've discovered that I am not quite as tolerant of high heat as I once was!  Once the temperature goes above 95F, I find myself going into the bedroom and turning on the a/c and I stay in the cool room for the rest of the afternoon.  The past three days, however, the highs have been only in the mid to upper 80s and I've not needed the a/c.  

Daughter started decluttering her bedroom, over the weekend, starting with her closet.  It's been years since she last went through her closet; she has clothes from when she was in high school and while she still likes them, they no longer fit her.  She has decluttered several big trash bags worth of clothes and passed along a few items to me, should I wish to keep them.  There are also a few items she has asked if I could mend or alter, so I will be working on them over the next several weeks.

In the meantime, I have been keeping myself occupied with watering the garden (M is taking his annual two weeks of summer vacation), general housework (lots of laundry as I am washing the quilts and blankets and putting them away for the summer), and taking naps!  

I did finish reading the e-book on decluttering and "space making" ("The Mindful Art of Space Making: How to Declutter When You're Overwhelmed by April Scott Tandy  that I had borrowed from the library.  I've watched the author's on-line videos and was already familiar with her method, but, it was an interesting book to read.  Now, I need to put those tips to use.

Today, I am grateful for:

- The temperature was a very comfortable 84F
- Working appliances
- New bed sheets (A set of bed sheets bought on sale a while back and never used until now)
- Phone chats with family and friends
- Having my daughter home

Today's joyful activity was enjoying a small bowl of ice cream.  

Plans for Thursday include making a couple of phone calls, booking a couple of appointments, folding and putting away laundry, and giving the garden another drink of water.  Exciting stuff!  LOL.

How is your week coming along?

August Meal Plans - Week 1 Review and Week 2 Plan

Beef Pepper Steak with Vegetables

This was my August Week 1 Meal Plan:

Brunches: Toasted bagels with butter (Monday); Scrambled eggs and toast (Tuesday); French toast with bacon, Tuna Egg salad sandwiches; Burritos; Waffles with bacon and blueberry compote; Cereal and milk; leftovers

Dinners:  Rice, leftover salmon, and broccoli (Monday); Rice, chicken curry, dhal, broccoli; Rice, beef pepper steak, sauteed vegetables;  Macaroni & cheese with tuna; Fried rice; Salads; Pizza/pasta/garlic breadLeftovers.

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit (fresh/dried), Nuts, Bread pudding, Smoothies; Iced coffee; Cereal, Mini cinnamon rolls

And here's how it worked out:

Monday:
Brunch: Toasted bagels with butter
Dinner: Rice, leftover salmon, broccoli
Snacks/Desserts: Mandarins, chocolate wafers, cereal

Tuesday:
Brunch: Scrambled eggs, toast
Dinner: Pizza, chicken alfredo, roasted garlic bread, mini cinnamon rolls (we were celebrating the fact that we had made the last run to unload all of daughter's boxes and she had officially completed her move without any mishaps)

Snacks/Desserts: Mini cinnamon rolls, Asian pears from the garden

Wednesday:
Brunch: Leftover pizza/pasta
Dinner:  Rice, chicken curry, broccoli, tomato chutney
Snacks/Desserts: Mini cinnamon rolls, fruit

Thursday:
Brunch: ???  We ate something, but, I didn't keep track - it might have been the last of the leftover pizza
Dinner: Hamburger patties with or without bread in lieu of a bun, corn on the cob, cucumber salad
Snacks/Desserts: Fruit, maybe a granola bar (daughter)?

Friday:
Brunch: Egg salad sandwiches
Dinner: Ramen noodles
Snacks/Desserts: Bananas, nectarines, chocolate wafers, cereal

Saturday:
Brunch: French toast, bacon
Dinner: Beef pepper steak with broccoli and carrots, rice
Snacks/Desserts: Fruit, Egg salad sandwich with bacon (daughter)

Sunday:
Brunch: Bagels with chicken curry on the side
Dinner: Hamburgers with bread, lettuce, red onion slices (daughter); half an apple and saltine crackers (me - I had some indigestion and didn't feel like eating anything)
Snacks/Desserts: Fruit, cereal

And that was how the week's meals turned out to be.  I went off the plan a little bit, but, it worked out quite well.  I found it difficult to keep track of our snacks, especially what daughter snacked on, but, I made sure that we had some fruit each day. 

Moving on to this week, here's my meal plan for August Week 2:

Brunches: Uppuma (Monday), French toast with bacon (Tuesday); toasted bagels with butter, tuna or egg salad sandwiches, chicken curry sandwiches; salads; cereal and milk, maybe waffles?

Dinners: Kimbap (Korean rice roll/daughter; Monday),  hamburger patty with rice and ketchup (me; Monday); Sauteed chicken with boxed pasta mix, broccoli, and leftover garlic bread; Fried rice; Ramen noodles, shrimp curry with rice and cucumber salad; Leftovers; or something else!  

Snacks/Desserts: Toast with butter and peach jam (me; Monday), Fruit (Asian pears from the garden, bananas, plums, apples, mandarins), granola bars, Cheetos, granola bars, ice cream

That is the plan.  We might or might not go off the meal plan.  I know that daughter is planning to get together with some friends over the weekend, so she might have dinner with them.  

How about you?  Are you making a meal plan for this week?