The Sweet Life On A Budget

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.    Meal Preparation Plan Yogurt Cut Crudites Hard-boiled Eggs NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although at the time of the blog postings all prices were correct, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Bagels Yogurt Parfaits Hard Boiled Eggs Monday Chicken Salad Crackers Vegetable Sticks Fruit Tuesday Leftovers   Wednesday Chicken Fried Rice Thursday Pizza Salad Friday Baked Shrimp Tacos Cole Slaw Chips w/ Salsa Saturday Grilled Steaks Roasted Potatoes Cole Slaw  Sunday Pasta Primavera  With Homemade Gravy  M- Quesa

  The Frugal Five With inflation on the rise and our salaries not being able to keep up, it seems like we have taken a pay cut and must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate our daily or weekly activities that help us to live a frugal life.     1- Utilized Gas Apps  Gas prices have been increasing daily and with the new restriction of purchasing Russian gas, I anticipate that prices will continue to rise to unprecedented levels.  Therefore, what things can we do to limit the impact on our lives?    When purchasing gas, I use various apps and reward programs to lower the ever-increasing gas prices.    GasBuddy tells me the gas prices in the area where I am located.   My experience has been good, but others have gone to specific stations based on the reported prices only to be disappointed.   In order to increase my success, I look at the last reported timestamp and only use prices that are less than 5 hours old.   In addition, I stack with BP’s

  With a teenager in the house, our refrigerator and pantry seem to be constantly open.    My son is constantly looking for a snack or another meal.   As a competition swimmer, he needs a lot of calories per day to maintain his training.   With grocery prices rising at a regular rate with no end in sight, it has become necessary for us to create a snack list that includes healthy snacks on a budget.    Let’s see what I came up with:   Hard-Boiled Eggs ($0.14) Eggs have 3.6 grams of protein and are still a very economical snack.   Presently eggs cost $1.59 per dozen which has one egg coming to $0.14.    We take advantage of this humble but high-protein snack each week by making a dozen of hard-boiled eggs each week.   As a bonus, if we need a quick lunch, they can be added to a little cheese, crackers, and fruit for a homemade Starbucks protein box.  Bananas ($0.20) This week I picked up 12 bananas for $1.39 which comes to $0.20 per banana.    This fruit comes in its own wrapper and is

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.    Meal Preparation Plan Banana Bread (Recipe Linked)  Cut Crudites Hard-boiled Eggs NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although at the time of the blog postings all prices were correct, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Bagels Homemade Egg Sandwiches (Recipe Linked)  Hard Boiled Eggs Monday Tacos Beans Rice Tuesday Chicken Parmesan Pasta Homemade Gravy Salad   Wednesday Jambalaya Broccoli Thursday Sandwiches Vegetable Sticks Fruit  Friday Sandwiches Vegetable Sticks Fruit  Saturday Freezer Meals Sunday Freezer

  Lent occurs 40 days prior to Easter.    This is a time many people around the world reflect on their spiritual relationship with their God.    In addition, many people practice absence and from my experience, it has been in the form of refraining from eating meat on Fridays.   Although fish is not considered a type of meat, many people practice eating vegetarian on Fridays during this time.    This post will highlight several recipes that can be eaten during the Lenten season.   All recipes are linked to the pictures.  Knockoff Panera Mac and Cheese is a new family favorite.   It is so creamy and luxurious that it hardly feels like you are abstaining from anything.       Our family enjoyed this meal for the first Friday of Lent.    Soup is always a winner when desiring a hearty, warm and economical meal.   This soup is full of vegetables and pasta.    When topped with parmesan cheese, it really warms the soul.  Pasta with homemade gravy is always a welcomed meal during this time of y

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.    Meal Preparation Plan Banana Bread (Recipe Linked)  Cut Crudites Hard-boiled Eggs NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although at the time of the blog postings all prices were correct, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Bagels Homemade Egg Sandwiches (Recipe Linked)  Hard Boiled Eggs Monday Sandwiches Salad Vegetables w/ Dip  Tuesday Pancakes (Recipe Linked)  Fruit Salad   Wednesday Crab and Shrimp Ravioli  Lemon Butter Sauce Salad Bread  Thursday Jambalaya Broccoli  Friday Knock off Panera  Mac and Cheese Sala