It is officially day one of the Grocery Challenge, although I did my week's shopping yesterday. In addition to the strategies I posted yesterday, I had a couple of realizations...things that could possibly throw my plan off course. First, the boys keep asking me questions about what "counts" and what doesn't. I have to give them a copy of the official rules to 1) get them to quit pestering me and 2) so that they don't accidentally sabotage the operation. Second, because I am at work all day and loving hubster is home, he will be responsible for executing quite a bit of the meal making so if this is going to work I have to have everything ready, easy and clearly labeled with instructions. Oh, and I have to make some snacks that won't have them diving into the food that is intended to be used for a meal. #2 son is 16 and not unexpectedly starving 24/7. Fortunately, he's not terribly picky so I'm sure I can make snacks that will satisfy him. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how far my family and I can take this challenge. I don't really have any illusion that I will win. I'm probably not frugal enough for that. But I think I can make a difference in my family's grocery budget and eating habits and for me that's an accomplishment.

On another note, it's Father's Day. Our two oldest have moved out and while we won't see them today, we will probably hear from them. That will be nice and Daddy will be happy. We miss our kids who are away. And we miss our own fathers who don't live near by. Fathers are so influential in our lives and we're so blessed to have some of the best ones around. Here's hoping that your Father's Day is terrific and that you get to celebrate with a special guy in your life.

A Grocery Challenge - OMG What Am I Thinking??

For the next four weeks my family and I are going to see if we can spend $25 or less per person per week on groceries. That's $125 a week for a hungry family of 5 of whom 4 are hungry men. True, the 9 year old isn't a huge eater, but Dad, 16 year old and 11 year old brothers can put away some serious chow. And to make matters a little tougher it's summer and everyone is home all day grazing. Here's my strategy:

• Plan the menu - every single meal. Nothing goes unplanned.


• Use sales and coupons to extend my dollars. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING more gratifying than when the cashier tells you how much you saved.


• Evaluate the pantry and try to use everything available.


• Buy fresh, in-season produce. Summer in Florida means tons of that. LUCKY!


• Get the boys involved in food preparation. They can cook and bake and they don't hate it.


• DO NOT let my husband go to the grocery store. He's not into the challenge and he isn't good about grocery spending even on the best of days.

Throughout the next four weeks I'll post my weekly menu plan, my grocery spending amount and if I make up something that turns out good, I might even post a recipe. This first week includes a lot of things that are already in my pantry. That's part of the strategy - use it up. Here's the menu plan:

Breakfast

Cereal (we'll have that two mornings)

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars (using all items from my pantry)

Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Waffles

Muffins and Fruit

Pancake Sausage Sandwiches

Lunch

Chef Boy R Dee Ravioli (I had two great coupons and this was on sale at Publix so it was nearly free)

Sub Sandwiches

Chicken Quesadillas

Hot Dogs

Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

Left Overs

French Bread Pizzas

Supper

Slow Cooker Rotissierie Chicken

Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Ribs

Stuffed Peppers

Chicken Enchiladas

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

Grilled Pizza Puffs

Chicken & Broccoli Braid

I spent a total of $113.96 ($11.04 left over) for everything needed to make all of the meals above, and I'm certain that I can make some snacks along the way as well. I'll try to do that pretty much out of my pantry. Oh, and my total savings with sales and coupons was $38.21.

One other tip - I brought my 11 year old with me to the grocery. He's great with the calculator and had a lot of fun trying to help figure out if I was getting a deal. He'll definitely be my grocery partner throughout the challenge. Thanks AllYou Magazine for great motivation to make it happen. I normally spend twice that much or more each week on groceries because we have pretty much meal planned on the fly and shopped every day. I'm planning to use the money I'm saving to help pay down the credit card bills.

Wish me luck!