The $100 Weekly Grocery Challenge

I'm trying something new with our groceries - spend only $100 a week.

Given all of my diet restrictions, I know we will never have a food budget that is the envy of others. You can find plenty of articles about families of four who spend a mere $250 a month on groceries. Insane! But none of their strategies work for me and my list of allergies.

What could I use as a benchmark, particularly with a non-standard diet? The USDA gives this guide for food costs broken down by family sizes, with just under $800 the average for a family of four and $550 for two people.

$550 for a couple? That's over $6,600 a year on food!

It made me cringe to think of spending that much for just the two of us, so I settled on $100 a week. I know we won't always make it, but I figure we're doing a good job if we keep the monthly total under $500 and as close to $400 as we can.

Make a Plan and Stick to It

To stay within budget, meal planning is essential. You don't know what to buy if you don't know what you're cooking! We're big on leftovers, so every supper is made with four servings. I do smoothies for breakfast and Mike has cereal or oatmeal. Hot apple cider and homemade hot chocolate serve as snacks, as does whole fruits and chocolate bars.

Yes, I eat copious amounts of chocolate, and of course it's expensive because the only safe brands are the organic ones out of the health food section (sigh). But it's built into the budget, and everyone is kept happy because it's one of the few carb-like things I can have. It's a necessity, and Mike will agree. Plus antioxidants and stuff ... 

Meals for this week (eating out is a separate budget).

If you're curious about the double meal on Monday, I teach from 5:30-10pm on Tuesdays (for the next two months at least). Mike also works an evening shift until 9pm, so there is no one at home to prepare food for Tuesday dinner or Wednesday lunch leftovers. Hence why I make two meals on Monday and divide everything up between containers.

These meals are relatively set, though the sides are usually interchangeable. Sticking to the plan means food isn't wasted, particularly if it's highly perishable or can't be stashed away in the freezer near its spoil date. 

I craft our grocery list from this menu. I don't do coupons (I rarely find them for safe food in the first place), but I do look at the weekly flyers to see if I can save some pennies on a pound of meat, a gallon of milk, or a good produce deal. 10 cents here and there can really add up when you're only working with $100.

It also helps to have a good idea of costs. We eat the same things over and over again (just in different combinations) and I know who has the better deal between Aldi's and HyVee. I have a good memory for numbers, so I know I can get 1.5lb of hamburger for roughly $5, milk is around $3, cereal is about $2, and frozen berries will run $2.20. I know that three green peppers at Aldi's are $1.40, but if they're out that week, I will spend $1 for each one at HyVee.

How We Did This Week 

The first full week of 2014 is off to a good start - we came in $2 under budget!

 
Omission - last week we were $30 over budget. We had a bunch of pantry items (mostly spices) that we were completely out of. On top of that, we had some serious schedule fubars so there were whole meals that we'd bought ingredients for but never made.

Those hiccups ended up being a bonus this week because we already had these items on hand: split chicken breasts (value $5.50), regular chicken breasts ($2), two acorn squashes ($2.50), green beans ($2), one sweet potato (70 cents), one cucumber (40 cents), mushrooms ($2), cheddar cheese ($1.50 from a block I bought on sale over Christmas), half a block of spicy gouda cheese (leftover from last week, estimated $1.50), half of a red onion (30 cents?), and fresh cranberries (Aldi's had them on sale two weeks ago for 25 cents!). So right away I knew I had around $18 extra to play with, which is helpful for sales, seasonal items, and anything we can stock up on (see below).

Notice that those leftover ingredients are largely accounted for in our meals this week. That's deliberate so nothing is at risk of spoiling or being forgotten about.

That left us with these supplies that had to be purchased: milk, pasta and sauce (for Mike as backup lunch options), one box of cereal, 5lb bag of russet potatoes, salad, fresh blackberries (on sale), frozen berries, apples, parmesan cheese block (have to grate my own), carrots, sweet potatoes, roma tomatoes, peppers, grapefruit, zucchini, plain yogurt, garlic, chocolate bars, hamburger, one beef roast, and pork chops.

I need a bigger fruit stand!

Because I knew we had a little extra wiggle room, I cautiously grabbed some off-list items that were good deals (blurry cat not included).

Steel Cut Oats - $2.29
Seasonal item at Aldi's (and they really mean seasonal there). Good shelf life and Mike will eat these eventually.

Red Velvet Milk - $1.69 ($1 off)
Holiday seasonal item at HyVee. I can't have it (corn syrup), but Mike deserves treats.

Al Fresco Chicken Meatballs - $5.59
Processed food is almost always unsafe for me, even organic versions, but not so with these! When you make EVERYTHING from scratch, you have no idea how amazing it is to find something like this. HyVee doesn't have these in stock regularly, so we always grab a package whenever they're in. These are freezer-friendly too, so I've got a jump on a meal for next week.

Aldi's Chicken Sausage - $2.99
New item to try as the ingredient list is safe. Would be nice if these are tasty and reaction-free; it would be lovely some evening to have such a simple dinner with some scrambled eggs and fruit. 

POM Juice  - $2.99
I love this stuff but I never buy it because it's $1-2 more everywhere else. $5 for 12 oz of juice - no way! But I can stretch this small container out between several smoothies and a beautiful glazed apple recipe!

Pomegranates - $1.98
Truly seasonal item given the harvest window. These babies are only available in the winter and will disappear soon. One to eat today, one for the freezer.

Apple Cider - $2.99
I use juice in smoothies every morning, but due to added vitamins (corn source), the only other brand I can have is Simply Apple. It's half the amount for the same price as this gallon! Aldi's says this is a seasonal item so I bought an extra gallon and will freeze it in premeasured 1/2 cups so it won't spoil before I can use it.

Cocoa Powder - $2.19
I wish this wasn't a seasonal item at Aldi's - it's a full 80 cents cheaper than the HyVee or Hershey's brands. Trying to stock up on this before it disappears. We go through a healthy amount between flavoring smoothies, Mike's oatmeal, homemade hot chocolate, and some desserts I make.

Blood Orange - 70 cents
This little guy was expensive, but I got it for Mike as a treat. At $1.99 a pound (and I think that was even on sale), this will not be a repeat purchase!

Fruit Bar - $1.69
Ok, I got suckered in because it was 30 cents off, I was hungry, and it's one of those few processed foods that's safe for me to eat. I don't typically brand endorse, but they're called That's It and I normally buy these only when I'm traveling to tide me over in airports and convention centers.

So these purchases are a perfect example of why sticking to the list is important. I spent $25 - a fourth of my budget - on these unexpected finds. Some of these I was confident I could buy because I knew we had that extra $18 to play with. On a different week though, any or all of those items could have made us go over budget.

Our crop of groceries this week will also help next week. The chicken meatballs are definitely a meal unto themselves (when paired with some veggies), and the chicken sausages will be taste tested for breakfast next weekend. My pot roast was also three pounds, even though that's the smallest one I could find. That's huge for two people, so half is currently in the crockpot and the other half is waiting in the freezer. Even though I spent $14 this week on roast, $7 of it is being saved for a future meal.

With prices like these, we don't have beef roast often. But it is nice to shake up the menu once in a while.

The Cash Trick

The last thing to impart about my $100 grocery challenge is that I pay with cash. We're not cash people (though I know it's a huge component of the Dave Ramsey program), so this is a new tactic for us. 

The idea came about because I wanted to make our savings more tangible. If I save $2 when swiping a debit card, it's going to get lost in checking. But if I have two dollar bills in my hand, I can physically see and feel my savings. And that could lead me to think more carefully about how I will spend it than if the same money is hanging out in checking with other "unclaimed" funds. 

Conversely, I will know the "pain" of going over budget because I will have to break out my debit card. I don't hold so tight to this budget that it's inflexible (which makes no sense at all as food prices do fluctuate). So if there's a week I have to draw a small amount from checking, like $5, I'm not going to beat myself up. But if it's more than that, it's a good cue to revisit the menu planning, ingredient prices, or see if any non-essential items fouled up the budget.

Any savings we reap goes into a cookie jar of sorts. The goal is to put it right back into the grocery budget, particularly for sale items we want to stock up on (I'm looking at you, HyVee, when chicken is $1.99 instead of $3.49 a pound). 

In December, for example, we managed to save $40 over four weeks (even though there was one week we went over). We used the moolah as part of the regular grocery fund last week (weird pay days, were short in checking, sigh). Not savings really, but we avoided putting groceries on a credit card and that's important. A budget, after all, is to keep your expenses in check.

No system is perfect and I don't know how easy or hard it would be for others to try, but we're seeing promising results so far. It's become a game every week to see if I can hit our goal. You can really cheer for yourself when you have those savings in hand, even if it's 2 bucks and some change.

How do you manage your food expenses?

My First Grain-Free Thanksgiving

Most days, my food allergies are manageable. There's a regularity to what we eat, how I prepare for business trips, and navigate going out to eat. Staying safe while consuming food is not something that I have to battle anymore, just calmly prepare for and execute.   

Until the holidays arrive.  

For anyone with food sensitivities, the holidays can wear down even the most seasoned allergy warrior. No matter how much you try to normalize your restrictions, you will run into your limitations in full force. Every family gathering, holiday party, company potluck, and even meals while traveling can be a mine field for contamination. 
   

Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell

For some, there's also a twinge of longing when surrounded by foods that are off limits. The regret doesn't come from a superficial craving for a frosted sugar cookie, but a desire to take part in family traditions. But if you have to forgo certain foods, there's a little piece of your heritage that you're missing out on.  

For me, my aunt's peanut brittle, my mom's recipe for Red Velvet Cake that we had at our wedding, and my family's Pennsylvania Dutch sugar cookies (flavored with almond extract) that will only be tastes in my memory.

But this is not a sob story about food and the holidays. This is about rising to the challenge of food allergies and turning compromises into yummy substitutes. This is showing people that no matter what is off limits in your diet, there's a wealth of beautiful, wholesome food that will tickle the taste buds and delight the senses.   

This is an ode to creating new memories.

William Lockhart Made the First Thanksgiving 1621 by Jean Leone Gerome Ferris

Last Thanksgiving, I was on my way to cutting out gluten. I had scaled back greatly but was still indulging in small quantities of wheat here and there. In fact, Thanksgiving was my deadline for going gluten-free. I was going to enjoy one last meal without hesitation and make the final plunge from there. 

Now that I'm well into eating not only gluten-free, but grain-free, I saw that Thanksgiving this year was going to be complicated if we went anywhere. Wheat would be easy to avoid, but figuring out if corn had gotten into anything?  Almost impossible unless I made the meal myself. Sending a family member a long list of "can't haves" and then quizzing them on every brand and ingredient that went into each and every dish? Couldn't stomach the idea.  

So we decided to stay rooted at home and were joined by my parents. Thus began a few weeks of exploring recipes and a few trial runs before settling on the final menu.

I've actually never seen a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ...

I feel very fortunate that grain-free eating actually makes a traditional Thanksgiving meal impossible. I didn't have to mess with trying to adapt stuffing, rolls, pie crust, or gravy. I cannot imagine the stress of those trying to force rice, coconut, and almond flours into something that bakes and tastes like their traditional counterparts. For me, the challenge was to have a multi-course meal that fit everyone's tastes.

We started off with a cheese and fruit tray, filled with smoked gouda and Edam cheese (courtesy of Aldi's for $2.99 a brick) and grapes, clementines, and chopped apples that my mom supplied. 

Taking a page from Mike's Thanksgivings growing up, we did a brined turkey. It surprises me how many people have never tried this before! You simply give the turkey a bath in a salt and water solution for a few days (Alton Brown explains the process in an easy way to understand).

You can add a million flavors to brines, such as sugars (regular or juice), citrus peels, fresh herbs, and whole spices. We kept things simple and did one cup of salt, one cup of white sugar, and enough water to cover our 12lb turkey. Our bird hung out in the bath for a day and a half and was drained over night (which did produce the crispy, golden skin as promised but mostly on the top). Didn't even bother to stuff the cavity with anything either.

Don't let his face fool you, Mike is excited for turkey!

To complement the star dish, I made an apple-cherry salad.  This recipe is so simple and it's in our regular meal rotation (I'm on onion hater, so we skipped the red onions). I offered dried cranberries or cherries, shredded parmesan (which came from a block that I grated myself), green apples (though any kind will do), and used a mustard made from apple cider vinegar in the dressing. It's an excellent mix of zippy, sweet, and salt.

In the background, loaf of a bread from a local bakery for the normal folks.  

You can't have Thanksgiving without an appearance from potatoes, so I made a gratin (I kind of threw mine together, but this is a close version). I used half and half, a touch of leftover evaporated milk from pie (see below), and threw some extra parmesan on top at the end. It came out well, but took longer than expected.  Should have realized that most gratins bake at 400 degrees and I put mine in the last hour of the turkey, which was at 325. I also used red potatoes instead of Russets, which apparently have a longer cook time (difference in starch levels, perhaps?).

I also made my first homemade cranberry sauce. I, like many others, grew up on the canned stuff but never cared for it.  Mike grew up with cranberry relish or chutney and I was converted the first time I tried his mom's. I decided to give a plain sauce a whirl and could not believe how stupidly easy it was to make. I consulted several recipes and found that the cranberry to water + sugar ratio varies wildly.  

So I did 12oz of fresh cranberry (a whole whopping $1 at Aldi's), a cup of water, 1/2 cup of white sugar, and the peel of a whole orange. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. That's it! Most of the berries will burst on their own, leaving lots of juice to thicken the sauce and little chunks for variation. Look at the beautiful color! Next time I'd like to add a touch more sugar and maybe some cinnamon sticks. 

If everyone wasn't stuffed by then, I also made sure there were two dessert options. I love pumpkin pie and it's ridiculously easy to make pumpkin custard. You can take any pumpkin pie recipe and simply make it without the crust - no other changes!  

I made this maple-cinnamon one and use evaporated milk instead of regular. We used fresh pumpkin puree that we made ourselves (you can roast whole pumpkins and then blend the innards using this method). I also got heavy cream, threw a little maple syrup in it, and made real whipped cream to dollop on top.

Because there must be at least two dessert options, I also made a flourless chocolate cake. My mom and I are chocoholics and Mike has a Gollum-esque penchant for chocolate desserts, particularly cake. This recipe is super easy to make and is basically sugar, chocolate, cocoa powder, and eggs (I skipped the ganache). I replaced maple syrup for vanilla to achieve a comparable background flavor and skipped the liquor in the recipe for fresh squeezed orange juice (the other end use for the whole orange - waste not want not!).    

All in all, we had a delightful, low-fuss Thanksgiving. I estimate the meal was around $35. Aside from the turkey, nothing was really a premium ingredient. By comparison, a traditional meal (so not gluten free) for 10 people is around $50, according to the Farm Bureau.  

We used the HyVee coupon for buy a ham, get a turkey free, spending $23 on almost 30 pounds of meat (the ham is being donated to the food bank).  

Turkey (12lbs).........$11.50 (with HyVee coupon)
Lettuce....................$2
Parmesan...............$3
Apples....................$3 (but only used 2 from a 5lb bag)
Gruyere..................$3 (only used half block)
Edam.....................$3 (same)
Baker's chocolate..$2.50
Bread loaf..............$2
Heavy cream.........$1.50
Orange..................$.50
Cranberries...........$1
Miscellaneous........$1 (for all the butter, spices, sugar, maple syrup, eggs, oil olive)

I think we did a good job with keeping costs low without sacrificing quality. Mike and I also had a manageable amount of leftovers for two additional meals. I'm pretty sure we could feed two additional people for the same price, though there would be no leftovers in that case. 

Spot the cat

What did you eat for Thanksgiving this year?

What Is It Like to Live Grain-Free?

Going grain-free is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but it is the ONLY thing that has made a difference in my health.  I'm telling you my story in detail so hopefully someone out there doesn't have to waste seven years of their life feeling trapped in their body. 

Starting with Wheat

With no options left but to put my food choices under a microscope, I began the tedious and daunting task of questioning everything that went down my gullet.

In September 2012, I began to dramatically scale back on wheat - bread, pasta, crackers, cookies, croutons.  A slice of pizza or a chocolate chip cookie here and there was my cheat.  I began to mentally take notes about when I was experiencing digestive discomfort and worked backwards from there. I would avoid anything I had in the last two days and then go back and add just one of the suspected ingredients.  I was essentially doing an elimination diet. 

By Thanksgiving, it was obvious that wheat was a problem.  Cutting it out eliminated constipation, gas, joint and muscle pain, and ear aches.  But a few digestive problems remained and so I continued testing other grains.

Goodbye to the Rest

The surprise?  ALL GRAINS are a problem, with corn and wheat as the reigning twin terrors of my stomach.  Something as benign as rice (even as flour) isn't kind to my system, nor is an ancient grain like quinoa.

Corn, it turns out, was to blame for my diarrhea, sniffles, acne, and, this is gross, but hard boogers that would turn into a resin-like substance that was really painful.  Gluten and the other grains are easy to avoid (though not always to resist), but eliminating corn is a never-ending battle.  When they say corn is in everything, they are not joking.  I have to be constantly vigilant about it.  And my face, nose, and stomach blow up if I get a dose of it unintentionally.   

                   
And it's not just whole corn, like tortilla products or cornmeal, but high fructose corn syrup, corn oil, and cornstarch.  And all the corn derivatives out there, like vanilla flavoring, most grain alcohols, citric acid, and caramel coloring.

Benefits in Spades
So what do I eat since cutting out the foundation of the food pyramid?  Meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and chocolate, because lord knows I need a frickin' treat every day to handle all of this.  It's a good thing I like cooking and I'm good at it, because EVERYTHING is made from scratch and freshly prepared.  

And what have I gotten out this radical diet shift?

• I've lost 30 pounds and gone down two pant sizes and one shirt size.  
• I can exercise without joint or muscle pain. 
• I rarely have digestive distress.
• I no longer have ear aches, sinus infections, or even colds. 
• I have steady energy throughout the day. 
• I am no longer prey to vicious drops in blood sugar and overwhelming cravings.
• The frequency of my migraines has been dramatically slashed.
• My mood and outlook have significantly improved.
• I have gotten compliments on my skin (seriously, this said to someone who had acne so bad in high school that I couldn't wash my face because it was so painful and who now has a face riddled with scars).

It is so obvious to me that grains have been the root problems all these years.  Looking back, my life had become terribly hampered because I was in pain every day and I never had an escape from it.  All of that collective discomfort was lowering my defenses both mentally and physically.  It was a distraction I learned to live with, but it had become a black hole that sucked up any positivity.    

Complications Linger

The way my body has transformed makes it crystal clear that this isn't a temporary elimination - this is part of who I am now.  But it's not an easy or fast fix.  I still have more weight to lose.  While it was clipping along at 1 pound per week at the beginning this year, it's slowed down to a trickle and only 2 pounds came off in the last month.  I'm doing yoga and walking right now, but I need to step it up if I want to keep whittling my waist.

I still get migraines if I'm out of schedule.  I still have seasonal allergies (my goodness, this past week must have had a high pollen count!).  I sometimes have digestive distress simply because I'm stressed out and not honoring my need to decompress.  I still get the occasional pimple because my skin is just sensitive.       

I admit, I have had some royal meltdowns about this diet switch.  There are so few restaurants that are "safe" for me to eat at, and for a foodie, that can be kind of crushing.  You don't bother cruising the treat table at work. Potlucks or catered events are like russian roulette.   

It is stressful to always question food products, even when it's homemade by your mom.  It is disappointing to watch your list of "unsafe" foods keep growing with no end in sight.  It takes a lot of time each week to shop and cook fresh.  Days you don't feel like cooking are not an option.   

I'm a recovering picky eater, so it takes some real effort on my part to like certain vegetables.  My stomach turns at the smell of seafood.  Soy products (tofu, soy milk, soy sauce) give me really bad mood swings.  Peanuts will enter and leave my system within 30 minutes with some of the worst pain imaginable.  Beans (kidney, black, etc.) also upset my stomach and make me unbearably bloated.  I still need to test if I can tolerate other nuts, peas, or green beans.

And goddammit, sometimes all you want is a chocolate chip cookie! 

I really miss those.  Like, a lot.  If it wasn't obvious ...  

So what keeps me going?

Having a "quiet" stomach that graciously accepts foods without complaint.

Losing the bloated look I've been sporting the last seven years.

Feeling a sense of normalcy and control over my life.  

Someone telling me I look strong, happy, more relaxed, or healthy. 

Trust me, I'm not thrilled that this is what my body needs to thrive.  It's very limiting and restrictive, but it's the only thing that has truly freed my body.  I don't know why this happened or if some years down the road, I can have a yearly cookie without getting messed up.  

But for now, my path is clear - grains make me sick.   

Going Grain-Free ... For Now

A full 9 months into this year and my medical quest to find health is at its end.  I have exhausted all options for doctors and learned much along the way, mainly about things that I don't have.  I do not suffer from high cholesterol, diabetes, a malfunctioning thyroid, nutrient deficiencies, a sleep disorder, any endocrine issues, allergies, or a number of gastrointestinal disorders.

My recent endoscope/colonoscopy revealed a relatively healthy GI system, with the exception of acid reflux.  Which is odd, considering I don't experience symptoms of heartburn.  Nonetheless, erosion to my esophagus lining was noted.  Nothing else was found.

It's a funny thing to know your body isn't functioning properly and have no diagnosis in hand to improve your health when the regular efforts of diet and exercise haven't touch your ailments.  At this point, I rather give up on finding a concrete reason why I can't achieve physical wellness.

But the search these long months has not been in vain.  Dumping birth control profoundly stabilized a number of issues I was experiencing and Vitamin D cut through the mess of hormones the birth control had created.

 
It will be interesting to see if taking Prilosec for the acid reflux will make any difference.  I'm not fond of taking medications long term, so the plan is to use the pills until the end of the year and then examine other options.  

In the meantime, I'm initiating my plan to cut out grains from my diet.  If I'm eating cleanly, then maybe I'll have better luck at figuring out what triggers my digestive distress.  I don't know if this will be a permanent diet switch and I'm certainly not being as strict as avoiding things with yeast extract or corn starch.  

I'm simply categorizing grains as a treat, something to have once in a long while.  Because I know this Casey's pizza lover will eventually cave.  At this point, drastically cutting back but not out is my approach.

Here's a recent dinner: 8oz of tandoori-spiced chicken, green beans with almonds, parmesan-roasted potatoes, and this amazing blend of orange-poached pears and apples (recipe to come since BHG doesn't have this online).  Paired with a glass of milk, my belly was comfortably full but not gassy and I have leftovers that will be the envy of my coworkers tomorrow. 

Do note that me avoiding grains isn't about vilifying carbs - it's about me trying to find what balance of foods is right for my body.  With oats a problem, whole corn a source of headaches, and rice recently making my tummy unhappy, it's very much worth my time to rid myself of related foods to see if that will help. 

On an ending thought - Did you know your insurance is unlikely to cover an endoscope/ colonoscopy if you're under the age of 50?  Me neither, though I doubt knowing that beforehand would have changed my mind about getting one.  Is $350 worth knowing that I definitely do not have Celiac's, IBS, or colitis?  I'm not sure if I could say either way. 

What are you doing as of late to improve your health?