Brunch was a scrambled egg - this time, I added a little katta sambol, which is a type of spicy onion relish, to it to spice it up a bit. Afterwards, I had some yogurt with a spoon of the apple-cranberry jam my daughter and I made. Yes, the jam has sugar, but, I don't think what I ate was too much.
In the afternoon, I did more grocery shopping:
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| 2/6 Grocery Shopping |
1 loaf whole wheat bread = $1.88
1 bottle orange juice = $2.49 with $.10 redemption value charge (recycling deposit)
1 package (approx. 1/2 lb) fish (sole) fillets = $3.43
Total = $7.80
February grocery budget = $75 + $5 from January = $80
Spent to date: $5.00 + $7.80 = $12.80
Balance remaining in February grocery budget: $80 - $12.80 = $67.20
In addition to the above groceries, I also bought:
1 bag (16 lb) of dry cat food = $11.99
10 cans of wet cat food @$.60 = $6.00
1 box of laundry detergent = $15.49
1 box trash liners = $1.99
1 box personal care item = $3.99
Tax on cat food and non-food items = $3.75
Total = $43.21
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| Receipt |
After I came home, I aired out the house, had a cup of tea, and did the dishes. Later, I watched the news and chatted with cousin P who called.
For dinner, I decided to cook the sole fillets. There were a total of five small fillets and I cooked all of them, pan sauteing them in a little butter and lemon juice. I also made a stir-fry with snow peas, a carrot, and half a zucchini to accompany the fish:
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| Dinner: Sole and Vegetable Stir Fry |
So, no salad, today. I'll have one, tomorrow, for lunch. I think I am doing OK with the low carb lunches and dinners.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Another sunny day
- Being able to sleep in
- A working dishwasher
- Phone calls from family
- A working heater
Tomorrow is supposed to be another sunny day. My plans for tomorrow include a visit to my mother's grave site as it will be the anniversary of her death.
How was your day? What are your plans for tomorrow?
I like your little grateful lists, Bless. We have a little tradition around our dinner table where we each share two things we are grateful for from the day. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice little tradition you have going there, Meg. I quite like it. I think it is important to focus on something to be grateful for, each day - we are often quick to dwell on all the things that went wrong, the things that annoyed us, etc., it can put us in a bad mood. But, reaching beyond those annoyances to find something to be grateful for puts things in perspective, I think. I try to find the silver lining. :)
DeleteYou are doing better than okay, Bless. You are doing very well. (still not enough food, in my opinion) My plate would be heaping with veggies.
ReplyDeleteWowzers! I don't think I have ever seen you pay so much at one time for household expenses. How much do you normally budget for those items a month? You are doing extremely well with your grocery budget so far this month. I think you may have another surplus at the end of February.
Thank you, Susan. That was about all the cooked healthy vegetables I could have managed - now if it had been corn or green peas, I would have had no trouble filling my plate! LOL! I did eat a slice of bread, later - I checked my sugar 2 hours after eating, as I am supposed to do; according to the guidelines I received, it should be less than 180 and mine was 107. I didn't want to wake up with low blood sugar in the morning, so I decided it would be OK to have a slice of bread and butter.
DeleteI know, I was a bit shocked when I saw the total of the bill, and I stood there, in the store, looking over the receipt and adding it up, mentally!
I budget $10 per month for what I call household items (laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, paper towels, facial tissues, trash bag liners, foil and food storage bags, etc.) and $10 for toiletries (toilet paper, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, personal care products, etc.). So, essentially, $20 per month for these two categories (I am thinking of consolidating them into one "household" category). The cat food is from the "pet care" budget, which used to be $50/month, but which I raised to $100, as of February (food for Dancer and the garden cats, flea meds for Dancer, vet fees, etc.) $100 might be too much, but, I like to pad the budget if I am able. I don't want anymore surprise bills of almost $1,000 on our next visit to the vet!
Yes, I might not spend all my grocery budget this month. If there is a surplus, then, I will use that to buy more coffee for my daughter when it goes on sale, next, or more salmon steaks for her to take back with her! :D
Hi Bless, I am amazed at your grocery budget. You are very frugal. Do you eat much fruit? I use my leftovers the same way that you do. Today I am washing the sheets and working on the gloves that I am knitting. Enjoy your visit with your mom...
ReplyDeleteThe $75/month is for food only; doesn't cover non-food items such as household products or pet food. And, when my daughter comes to visit for the holidays, then, I increase the budget, slightly, to $100. But, I find that I am able to manage very well on $75 per month for food.
DeleteI love fruit, but I was told, by my doctor, to be careful when eating fruit, because I have diabetes that is now being controlled only through diet (I used to be on medication, but, I was taken off it because my A1c levels have been in the normal range, consistently for several months). So, according to my doctor, I may not eat a whole banana at a sitting, only half. She also wanted me to go on a low-carb diet, which is what I am trying to do right now, although I do eat some carbs. I have my next appointment with her at the end of this month, when they'll check my A1c levels, again, and see how things are going.
I am looking forward to seeing your gloves when you are done with them. And, thank you. I miss her very much.
I have found some delicious low carb meals out there, and some not so great ones. It does take some looking and experimenting though.
ReplyDeleteI am learning, Anne. I find that I can eat low carb without much difficulty if I stick to food cooked in what I call "western" style - grilled, baked, sauteed, etc. But, if I make curry, then, I tend to want some rice with it and I still haven't learned to like cauliflower rice (not a big fan of cauliflower).
ReplyDeleteI'm doing OK with lunches and dinners, but breakfasts are a bit of a challenge. Other than eggs, which I don't want to have every day (even if I didn't need to worry about the cholesterol, I don't like eggs all that much to eat them every day), I don't know what else to eat! My usual breakfasts (bread, milkrice, chick peas, boiled mung beans, cream of wheat) would all be considered carbs. I bought the yogurt as a breakfast alternative, although I tend to think of yogurt as dessert. More often than not, I just skip breakfast and have lunch! Do you eat breakfast, and if so, what do you have that is low carb?
thank you for your useful post about grocery budget.
ReplyDeletehave a great day
Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting.
DeleteI'm with you, I don't find cauliflower a good substitute for rice, mashed potatoes, etc. While I like cauliflower, I find it too strongly flavored to be filled in the menu everywhere there was a carb. as happens these days. However, it's very popular, so I must be in the minority.
ReplyDeleteI think, as long as I maintain a good portion control, there is room for rice in my meal plan. Maybe not every day, but, at least a couple of times a week.
DeleteIt seems to me, Bless, that a lot of your food is more expensive than here in the UK, though I would say that household products are a little more expensive here. I often skip breakfast too, but lean more towards brunch - a breakfast type meal eaten closer to lunchtime.
ReplyDeleteYou might be right about the grocery prices, Eloise. I read a few British blogs that show "yellow sticker" items that are bought for pennies and I am amazed! I like brunch! One of my favorite meals. Except, I am having a hard time figuring out what to eat for brunch that is low carb!
DeleteDid you make katta sambol? It's mouthwatering to even think about it. :) I think I'm going to make pol sambol and lentil curry tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteNil, no, I bought a jar of it from the Sri Lankan store. MD brand - it is very good. They have good seeni sambol, too. Do you have a Sri Lankan store there? Or an Indian one that sells Sri Lankan food, too (my daughter has an Indian store close to her apartment which has a couple of aisles of Sri Lankan food). If you don't, I can send you a link to the Sri Lankan store website; they will mail your order to you (not sure if there is a charge for shipping). Pol sambol and lentil curry is a good combination.
DeleteNo Bless, there are no Sri Lankan stores here. Even the nearby Indian doesn't have Sri Lankan stuff.
DeleteCould you please send me the store website? I know a couple who recently started an online business selling SL stuff, I still didn't have time to check their site. I will see which one has free or low shipping . :)
Thank you. :)
Nil, I just sent you their website in an email to your blog. :)
DeleteThank you Bless. 😊
DeleteYou are most welcome. :)
Delete