Little House In The Big Smoke

Welcome to my first Thrifty healthy post.

So on the weekend I went and did the shopping, I’m hoping it will last as close to two weeks as possible. I know I will need to top up on a few things next week like a little more fresh veggies and maybe some dairy. Those are just things I don’t want to risk buying too much of at first in case they go off if they are not used up in time, if it was winter I wouldn’t really have a problem as most winter veggies can be blanched and kept frozen in the freezer for the fortnight unlike summer veggies like salads.

Below is a list of what I already had to start off with:

Pantry

• tea
• coffee
• sugar
• honey
• GF veggie spread
• GF self raising flour
• cornmeal
• corn flour
• rice flour
• wholemeal all purpose flour
• white unbleached all purpose flour
• baking powder
• arrow root powder
• cereal 
• oatmeal
• GF spaghetti pasta
• split peas
• dried beans
• chickpeas
• quinoa
• full cream milk powder
• trail mix

Fridge

• half bag carrots
• 1 small head cos lettuce
• Italian salad dressing
• full jar of pickled veggies
• nearly full jar of marmalade

Freezer

• leg of ham cut into 8 separate servings
• 6 pieces chicken thigh fillets
• 4 lamb chops
• 1 pack pork sausages (7 pieces)
• 500g beef mince
• 3 green capsicums (frozen from last year)
• 1/2 bag peas
• 1/2 bag mixed veggies
• puff pastry
• 6 frozen bananas

I was lucky this time round to have such a large amount of meat left in the freezer from December, the ham was also given to us from my mum along with the frozen bananas from her garden, and we also stocked up on some specials before the Christmas holidays.

Every three months we will add an extra $100 to our monthly food budget to stock up on our essentials like flours, legumes and some meat.

We are not a big meat eating family so we can get away with a lot of vegetarian meals and meals that require very little meat.

This fortnights shopping:

my budget is $150 for the fortnight

Fruits and Veggies

• 2 kg potatoes $1.99
• 1 kg brown onions $1.45
• 225g garlic $1.99
• 1.2kg cucumbers $4
• 250g sliced mushrooms $2.99
• broccoli head $2.39
• 250g spinach leaves $4.50
• 1 kg tomatoes $3.49
• 1.5 kg bananas $2.59
• 1 kg seedless grapes $3.99

Dairy

• 3 x 1L uht milk $3
• 1kg tub peach mango yoghurt $3.79
• 2 x12pk children’s yoghurt $9.98
• 1kg margarine $1.89
• 250g bocconcini cheese $3.69
• 200g feta cheese $2.99
• 500g tasty cheese block $3.79
• 500g cheese slices $2.99
• 125g camembert cheese $2.79
• 300ml sour cream $1.39

Other

• 2 x12 pk 700g free range eggs $7.78
• 2 x 200g pack tofu $5.80
• wholemeal bread $1.50 not GF
• 1kg Jasmine rice $1.99
• 195g rice cakes $2.19
• 180g wholemeal crackers $1.69
• 6 pack apple puree $2.49
• 2 x 2L apple juice $4

I didn’t buy any meat this week as we still have plenty left in the freezer.

I normally menu plan breakfasts and lunches to be the same/similar for the week, makes it easier and more affordable and dinner is something different each night.

This week:

Breakfast – Yoghurt with chopped up bananas and a sprinkle of trail mix or cereal (sultana flakes)

Lunches – tofu salads and toasted bread or

muffin size veggie crustless quiches and a side of salad (If crustless quiches are on my menu plan for the week I cook up a batch at the beginning of the week (a dozen) and keep them in the fridge, they are nice eaten cold or they can be heated for a few seconds in the microwave

or egg salad sandwhiches

Dinners

Monday: spaghetti carbonara with sauteed mushrooms, brcoccoli, ham and spinach

Tuesday: Pork sausages with potato and carrot mash, peas and gravy

Wednesday: spaghetti and meatballs, side of steamed carrots and broccoli

Thursday: egg and veggie stuffed rice paper rolls

Friday: home made pizza, side salad

Saturday: honey soy baked chicken with mushrooms and rice

Sunday: ham and pea soup

Snacks:

• rice crackers
• whole wheat crackers with cheese
• fruits
• trail mix
• apple puree (for kids)

So there you have it, everything laid out for the week, all home made meals using as much fresh produce as possible. $91.67 isn’t too bad, we’ll see how much I spend next week topping up a few items. I’ll update you on the final cost at the end of the fortnight.

x Fam