January is drawing to a close. The final grocery shop for the month is complete. There are only a couple of meals left to make.
It’s time to review January's menu to see how we did nutritionally and fiscally.
January Menu
Pasta and Bolognese
*Squash Tagine
Taco Salad
Sicilian Pizza
Chicken & Potato Wedges
Tukey Pot Pie
Sumu Citrus Salad
Beef Stew
*Spicy Peanut Noodles
Chicago Deep Dish
*Vegetarian Chili
Gnocchi with Tossed Salad
*Cauliflower Power Bowls
Chicken Salad Wraps
Goulash
Traditional Pizzaria Pie
*French Onion Soup and Brussel Salad
Lasagna with Italian Tossed Salad and Garlic Bread
*Lentil Soup
Chow Mein
Family Sandwich
Flatbread
Souvlaki with Greek Salad and Tzatziki
Left to be cooked and enjoyed for January:
Paella
*Elbow Mac and Salad
Breakfast for Dinner
Dissecting the menu, I immediately noticed we could up the vegetarian meals.
25% of the month was meatless. Mike and Ethan don’t complain, but I prefer a 50% target better. A few easy swaps would have turned some meals vegetarian - chow mein, family sandwich, lasagna, a pizza, gnocchi.
Red meat Meals totalled 4. I’m content with that number
We didn’t eat any fish this month. Fine with me, but Mike missed it, and I know our health benefits from pescatarian meals. Getting good quality fish like salmon at a reasonable price is a challenge. The market hasn’t had much to offer on sale this month. Plus, I don’t crave it, so it’s easy to take a pass.
We’ve eaten a lot of chicken breast - small portions - sliced in salads and stirfries, flatbreads and wraps. The family is content with little servings of meat this way. It is economical, and I feel better about it from a health perspective.
I’ve made 24 dinners. We dined out one time.
31 days - 25 prepared meals = 6 evening meals of leftovers. That’s a good number and doesn’t account for the leftovers eaten as lunch. Food waste was minimal this month - This makes me happy.
We ate the rainbow - which I love!
Only one meal was made with a prepared/processed food item - chicken and wedges - because sometimes you just want the crunch without all the effort of breading.
Now for the fiscal bit.
The goal is to stay under $10,000 for the year. To achieve this, I have to clock in the monthly spending under $833.00
I’m over. I missed the mark by $77.71.
The total grocery spend for January is $910.71
I splurged on birthday cake and a few other goodies that come with celebrating someone you love. Priceless overages that will nonetheless need to come from somewhere.
The February grocery budget will need to be adjusted down to $755.29.
Goals for February
Add one more vegetarian meal to menus each week
Plan two meals in February around fish
Reduce spend by $20/week
Grocery Tally sits at $910.71
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