Thrifty Thursday: Breakfast & Lunch Ideas

-
  Photobucket
Today is Thrifty Thursday and I decided to talk about making inexpensive breakfast and lunches.  

Boxed cereals are outrageous, don't stretch very far at all, and are loaded with sugar.  You can probably get 5-6 bowls of cereal out of one regular size box and at almost $4-$5 per box, it's not worth it.  

I have to make Dan's lunch every day and he has no way to heat things up so the standard leftovers won't work.  I don't buy lunch meat, except as a very rare treat, because it's expensive and also very unhealthy.

Here are some of the meals we've had over the past week.  All of the baked good are homemade.

Breakfast

► Sausage gravy & biscuits
► Grits (did not go over well - LOL)
► Omelots
► Bacon, eggs & toast
► Bagels and cream cheese
► Oatmeal
► Homemade granola.

 Dan's Lunches Over the Past Week (He likes salad so I do quite a bit of those)

► Salad with hard boiled eggs and leftover chicken, apple, chocolate chip cookies
► Bagel with cream cheese, blackberries, banana, chocolate chip cookies
► Salad with cheese, sunflower seeds, and craisins, apple, cookies
► Tuna sandwich, celery sticks with dressing, sliced strawberries, cookies
► Graham crackers with soynut butter (can't keep peanut butter in the house because of Emily's severe allergy to it), wedge of cheese, orange, and sliced avocado with lime juice.
► Hard boiled eggs, wedge of cheese, apple, cookies.

Kid's Lunches Over the Past Week

► Tuna melt sandwiches, strawberries & blackberries
► Salad with hard boiled eggs, shredded chicken, sunflower seeds and craisins, homemade cheese crackers
► Leftovers
► Omelet with onion, green pepper, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese
► Stir fry veggies with leftover meat and rice
► Homemade pizza

 I enjoy coming up with different things each day for both breakfast and lunch.  For our family of 5, we spend roughly $500 per month on groceries, which includes all household cleaners, supplies, and personal items such as deodorant and shampoo.  Lately, I've found that shopping once a week is actually more helpful in keeping our costs down.

 It's hard with prices going up constantly, but we've been able to manage, have good meals and I can still be creative in the kitchen.

Comments

  1. Faye HenryJanuary 31, 2013 at 7:54 AM

    I agree with you, Terri.. We need to be frugal and starts with from scratch.. smile..
    Thanks for the ideas.. xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. RobinJanuary 31, 2013 at 11:52 AM

    Those look like some good meals! Actually, you made me hungry :) I agree with you about the shopping. I find that if I shop once a week I can plan better and use up leftovers better. It is hard for me to know two weeks or a month ahead what I will need. Also, Mike tends to eat leftovers for snacks sometimes, so I don't always end up with what I think I will at the end of the week.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love your comments and encouragement! I can't always respond back but do read each comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Choosing Not to Kick the Cat

-
Image
The choices we make can either be good or bad. So many don't realize that even our attitudes and feelings are a choice. We have a choice each day to make that day one in which we will react to our circumstances or choose not to react. I can choose to let someone else's bad day ruin mine, or I can choose to not take on someone else's attitude. When Dan and I were first married we worked for a sales organization. I still remember listening to a motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar who was talking about this topic. He gave the scenario of a man being a work and having a boss that was berating him all day long. The man then came home and snapped at his wife. His wife, in turn, yelled at their son for a small infraction because she was upset. The son was now hurt by his mom and pushed his little sister. She, being the youngest, turns around and kicks the cat! Zig talked about making a different choice by not allowing others bad behaviors and moods cause you to respond in the
Read more

Oh What to Do; I'm Sixty-Two!

-
Image
Today is my sixty-second birthday and it's hard to believe I've achieved that....um....seasoned age! My first thought this morning was one of not being sure that I like it. However,  as I thought I about it, I decided to take joy in the fact that I've reached an older age. Because age comes with benefits. Benefit #1 - I'm a bit wiser.   When I look back at some of the decisions I made when I was younger, I cringe. With age has come the ability to slow down and think things through before I make major upheavals in my life. I've also discovered that getting worked up about certain things is just an absolute waste of emotional energy. Benefit #2 - I'm enjoying my life.   As I've aged I've learned all kinds of skills and hobbies and can honestly say that I'm never, ever bored. I love all the different things I'm able to do and it's fun! Benefit #3 - I've learned to appreciate my relationships. With age I've learned to work on developing a
Read more

Eating to Live

-
Image
  Despite the unexpected busyness and interruptions, I have been plugging away at my weight loss as well as writing the plant-based, whole food cookbook. Recipe testing fell by the wayside the past two weeks, but I've still gotten a good chunk of the book done. I also got on the scale this morning for another one pound loss which makes a total of 61 lbs. since I started this journey back in July. It's second nature at this point and I have so much more energy and feel healthy. The only negative is that because I've lost so much weight I'm seeing some sagging, crepe-papery skin happening. Yuck. Some of that is age and I need to figure out some toning exercises. It's definitely a life-style change, but a positive one which I'm so thankful I started on. The pictures above are a small selection of meals I've eaten the past two months and many of those will be included in the book.  This will be a printable e-book as I find that will be the easiest and most cost
Read more