Day 1 & 2

This week may end up being a little boring because I had some pricey leftover items that I didn’t want to go to waste, which limited my budget a bit.  I also had to account for a package of flour, which should last me a couple weeks at least.  And when I say boring, I’m thinking of the reader, not the eater.  Trust me:  if I’m bored, you’ll hear about it.

I bought the following items from Whole Foods:

• pasta sauce (roasted vegetable) $2.39
• 1 lb. whole wheat pasta $1.19
• 3 bananas $0.75
• 1 cucumber $1.33
• 1 lb. frozen California style vegetables $1.99
• 1 can cannellini beans $0.99
• 4 lbs. navel oranges $2.50

and I already had these things in my fridge:

• baby carrots $0.99
• garbanzo beans (1/2 can) $0.65
• soymilk (1/2 carton) $1.75
• flour (1/2 package) $1.50
• dark chocolate (1/3 package) $0.75
• Daiya vegan cheddar cheese (2/3 cup) $2.33
• leftover curry: broccoli, chickpeas, and Gardein beefless tips $1.59

Total: $20.70

I did my shopping on Friday night after work, then came home and started a batch of muffins from How it all Vegan.  I’ve been making the Blue Banana Muffins pretty regularly, and I just switch out the blueberries for whatever I happen to have around.  This time it was dark chocolate, but so far my favorite combo has been blueberry-banana-peach.  I like these because they include flax seed, which definitely helps me feel more energetic in the morning.  I make them kind of on the small side so I can have one for breakfast, and take another with me to snack on later.

Day 1 –  Saturday, May 1
Morning:  I had two muffins, and a handful of carrots.

Afternoon:  Leftover curry with broccoli, chickpeas, Gardein beefless tips, and brown rice.

Evening:  Pasta with roasted vegetable sauce and cheddar style Daiya vegan cheese.  I had an orange while I was waiting for my pasta.

Lunch.  Reheated and served in a paper tray we use to feed the dogs. ‘Cause that’s how I roll at work.

Day 2 – Sunday, May 2
Morning:  Two muffins, and an orange.

Afternoon:  Another orange, leftover pasta from last night, and a homemade biscuit. I got off work around noon, then came home and made biscuits (also from How it all Vegan). I’ve wanted to try making bread, but I’m short on ingredients, so biscuits seemed like a fine place to start. This is the first time I’ve made biscuits, which really isn’t that impressive — but tasty homemade biscuits are kind of a big deal for someone who grew up on those weird brown-and-serve rolls, even on special occasions, even though they never tasted very bread-like.

Evening:  I wasn’t very hungry — baking (aka “impatiently eating leftover dough balls while waiting for food to be ready”) tends to have that effect on me.  Plus, I ate lunch pretty late.  I had another biscuit, and I’m eating carrots as I type.

Lunch.  This may look like your average tomatoey carb-fest, but I’m still proud of my first biscuit ever.

On a side note:  Because I am calculating costs by week and not by meal, there are certain things I’m using but not including yet.  Spices, condiments, Earth Balance, agave sweetener.. basically, things that I use in very small amounts and don’t need to buy very often.  However, I will mention these things when I use them, and they will be included in my weekly total when I re-buy them.