Hy-Vee Haul

Last week I spent nearly $150 on groceries, and I knew that that needed to not happen again.  So, prior to meal-planning for the week, I took a mental inventory of what we had left in the fridge: lots of avocados (apparently I overestimated that we'd need eight of them last week), a box of cherry tomatoes, frozen fish and chicken, and a few miscellaneous items.  I also noted the things that we definitely needed to stockpile: string cheese, UVAB, eggs, mozzarella, and lots o' apples.

Once I jotted down our "do-not-buy" and our "we-need-more" lists, I started meal planning.  I realized that when I talked about meal planning last week, it may have sounded like it was a quick process.  That's totally not the case.  In fact, it takes me at least a couple of hours to figure out what kind of meals we want, how to break them down so that they fit into my allotted carb/protein ratio, how to get the most bang for our buck (i.e. use the same produce more than once), etc.

It involves a lot of math, a lot of moving food items around, a lot of changing quantities, etc.  It's a lot of work, but like I said before, it is most definitely worth it.  After all, I'd be lost without a plan.

This week, I was able to get out of Hy-Vee for a grand total of...

...$72.51.  I was certainly pleased that it was such a significant decrease in what I paid last week, and I know that the only reason it was so "much" at all was because of the amount of cheese I bought.  Seriously, why does Laughing Cow/Babybel have to be so darn expensive?!

But I digress.

Let's look at the load:

For produce, I picked up some carrots (and have nearly demolished them already), sweet potatoes, spinach, apples, green beans, and tomatoes.

For refrigerated items, I grabbed fresh mozzarella, cottage cheese, UVAB, skim milk, hummus, Laughing Cow, eggs, egg beaters, shredded cheese, and two packs of Babybel.

For pantry items, I bought corn muffin mix, sunflower seed butter, whole wheat hamburger buns, green chiles, creamed corn, enchilada sauce, and (an impulse buy) Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

Not pictured: volumizing mousse.

Not yet purchased (because I don't want it to go bad before I use it on Friday): lean ground beef.

The dinner plan for the week is as follows:

• Monday: Palmer's salad (since I will be at Palmer's Deli having dinner with my Spanish-class peeps)
• Tuesday: tofu + green beans + rice (since I have an event to attend with a friend, and this is a fast dinner)
• Wednesday: chicken tamale casserole + veggies (since it's easy to take with us to bowling)
• Thursday: Trader Joe's Vera Cruz fish + sweet potato + veggies
• Friday: Ab's Diet burgers + veggies

So there you have it: yet another meal plan is in the books.

Stay tuned for a blog post tomorrow morning -- I'm going to hook you up with a recipe for the best crab cakes ever.

Charlie and I say, "G'night, y'all!"