Hello, and Happy Monday. If you have been following along then you know I have CKD and we are committed to following a Pantry Challenge and a Food Budget Challenge for 2022. This is to save money and to see if I can eat shelf-stable type foods on a budget with CKD and remain healthy. I can already tell you that no I can not eat shelf-stable food, at least not the affordable ones, on a budget and still feel good. There is just too much sodium, phosphorus, and other additives that are not good for CKD. While these foods are more affordable they are not healthy. We have, however, been sticking to the 63 dollars a week food budget, with just a few dollars over one week. Well, this week, as you know is the Super Bowl, and I knew I would not be able to stick to that budget. The Super Bowl party items cost more than 63 dollars, and I didn’t even buy chicken wings or soda. Good grief! For this 5th week, I spent 130 dollars. I also stated I was going to try Winn-Dixie, as it was closer than Aldis. No, even with their sales it is still not a better deal than Aldis, even with the long drive to Aldis. I also had to go to Walmart for just a couple of things that were cheaper than Winn-Dixie. I guess we will chalk the Super Bowl up as a gift.
In the image below you will see all of the things I purchased. The best deal of the whole shopping trip was the ground turkey. It was 3 pounds of ground turkey for less than 6 dollars. That is a good deal! Most of the food in the image will be for the Super Bowl, lol. So, we are definitely eating from the pantry this week.
Our Super Bowl menu will be pigs in a blanket, raw veggies with dip, cheese, and crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, mozzarella sticks, and Cracker Barrel mac n cheese which I already have in the pantry.
I decided to pick meals this week based on what I have on hand and the sales flyer. I have not really done that as of yet, but the pantry is dwindling now, and that is the most efficient way to do it.
On the menu this week will be homemade scalloped potatoes and ham, with fresh asparagus on the side, and cornbread. The cornbread is the Jiffy brand. It is very affordable, but not very healthy. It has been in my pantry for a while and it needs to be used up. Egg, cheese, bacon bagel sandwiches. These are a favorite at my house. I like the Applegate bacon and that is the one I am using. Chicken salad sandwiches on wraps with tortilla chips and salad. We use low carb, high fiber wraps, and the chicken is the kind in a can. I will share my thoughts on that chicken the day I make it.
Lunches are generally leftovers, salad, soup, or sandwiches. We still have leftovers from last week that everyone is working on. There is one or two servings of spaghetti with meat sauce and pineapple rice. There is one chicken thigh left as well.
Next week I am going to try and buy only necessities, to save from what I spent this week.
We have really reduced our grocery budget, and the amount of food we are wasting. These are both very good goals to have.
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Living Life With CKD 