My oh my, the economy is in a bit of a tank these days. We're all trying our best to make our money stretch until payday. We're especially feeling it this week. My husband is self-employed. That means he doesn't get paid until his clients pay and business expenses get paid. Sometimes his clients pay late. They're facing their own troubles.
This week, Lowell and I talked and realized that we need to reduce expenditures further. We only one subscription service, my Scribd subscription for $11.99 a month, which I use like crazy. That means first place to make adjustments is in the food budget. Not so easy as you know. Actually, for us, the food budget has always been the catch all for everything. Not ideal, but life hasn't always been ideal. The emergency fund is just that, the emergency fund. It's not the food fund.
Now so far, I haven't told you anything new. Food is where most of us make adjustments when times get tough. This is the meal that I made for lunch for us yesterday. Frugal, thrifty, check-check.
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| Bits and Bobs Lunch |
For this meal I had:
- a little cream cheese
- a little strawberry jalapeno jam
- 1/3 sleeve of crackers
- leftover cantalope
- leftover beanie weenies
- 2 hard boiled eggs
- leftover sliced tomatoes
- and a serving of cucumbers and onions.
I added one can of Progresso's Tomato Basil Soup split between two mugs (most in his).
I was a little nervous to call my husband to lunch. I don't usually serve meals like this. I was worried that he'd turn his nose up at the meal. How wrong I was! When I explained that this was a way that I am endeavoring to make the food and food money stretch, he was pleased! In fact, he enjoyed it.
We ended up having a lovely lunch conversation about memories of our grandmothers serving meals just like this. With his agreement, I told him that I intend to do this more often until times are better. Who knows, maybe even beyond that.
Times will get better. His clients will pay.
Until then, it's up to me to do my best to use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without... in the kitchen and in the home. I'll be writing more about how I live a thrifty life in the coming weeks. I am redoubling my efforts. After the kids left home, and I started substitute teaching, I got lazy about being thrifty. Now, it's time to get myself and our home back on track.
Here's to a thrifty week my friends!
Please share some of your thrifty meal ideas. We all need them these days. Let's encourage one another!
Blessings from Harvest Lane Cottage,
Laura
May I suggest?
We often have meals like this as we use up things in the refrigerator. Lately we have also been eating lots of eggs with maybe a little ground beef in them, or even a hot dog or other kind of sausage, even polish sausage. Whatever we have in the refrigerator.
ReplyDeleteThe grocery store has become another place of stress as you wade through the high prices these days.
Blessings,
Betsy
I must admit that I don't want to go to Walmart at all. It is too high-anxiety to see how prices have gone up dramatically on everything. Yes. Everything. Aldi is better, but still.
DeleteHi Laura. I've been reading your blog for several years but rarely, if ever commented. I like your "Bits and Bobs" meal. I've recently been calling mine "Second Generation". After all, in the tech world the second generation is always better than the first. LOL!
ReplyDeleteSecond Generation, that is cute! I had a piece of second generation pizza and some second generation soup for lunch today.
DeleteI've heard these meals called PicketyBits 😊
ReplyDeleteHugs, eb
Eb, that's a very cute name. Maybe I need a series of blog posts using all of these different names!
DeleteIt is known as a bits and bobs lunch here too, as that is what my Mum and Grandma always called it. One of our favourite thrifty meals is fishcakes, made with canned fish. Another is using left-overs to make tasty pies and pasties. Pastry helps a little protein go a long way and if I can make one meal stretch into two I am a happy bunny!
ReplyDeleteI've never made pasties or pies with leftovers. I'm interested in how that is done.
DeleteLast night we had pizza bowls and a salad for dinner. The pizza bowls were made with some bits and bobs that were in the freezer and frig. half a jar of spaghetti sauce, a bit of meat loaf from earlier in the week, a pepper from the garden, onion, a few slices of pepperoni and some mozzerella that was in the frig. In bowls it was layered with a bit of sauce, crumbled meat loaf, next came the onions and pepper that was sauteed, topped with cheese and pepperoni, and repeated. Each bowl was popped into the toaster oven and heated. Served along side was a salad made up of lettuce, carrots, cukes, radishes, and onion. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Have a blessed day.
ReplyDeleteThose pizza bowls sound fabulous!
DeleteI love this kind of post, Laura! We are all looking at expenses these days and seeing what we can cut back on. I recently bought a chest freezer so I could buy things on sale and have them on hand, rather than running to the store (which always cost way more) for one or two things and coming out with a basket full. I'm hoping having things on hand will help curb our appetites for fast food.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, we sold our upright freezer because we couldn't keep it filled. I'm now thinking having a freezer would be very helpful again.
DeleteI like bits and bobs meals!!!! I do that a lot. I try to use up everything and sometimes in a new way. Learned those tricks from my momma, who never wasted a thing.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone is going to have to start doing this. But, you know when out, I look around and the restaurants are sure full. So somebody is spending money - just not maybe where they should!
Strange isn't it? Sometimes it's cheaper to grab fast food than to buy all of the ingredients if you have nothing at all in the house. That ends up hurting us though.
DeleteMy Mom died a month ago and my sister packed up a bunch of her dishes for me. When we were unpacking the box there was a stack of misc. little bowls and I told my husband that they were Mom's leftover containers. Every small amount of anything went in those small bowls and she carefully cut little squares of wrap to go on each one. Every few days they all got heated for lunch for her and Dad. I couldn't part with them so they are in my cupboard now. I will probably not keep leftovers in them but they sure made me smile.
ReplyDeleteFriends way back had a way of getting paid. He did large landscaping work like trimming trees around billboards. If he didn't get paid he would sent his wife and 6 kids to the office of the one in arrears. She was to wait ten minutes for the check and after that just ignore the kids while they ran wild. He said it always worked!
Lana dear, I'm so sorry about your mama. We never have our moms long enough. You do have some good memories. I loved your dad's way to get paid. I wish I had six kids at home to take to some of my husband's clients!
DeleteHugs to you!
Laura
Thank you Laura for the post, all.these years of reading your thrifty posts and I'm still enjoying them so much. We have slipped lately, and have been on the road too much and not eaten at home enough. One more appointment this month, ( I hope!) and we'll call it quits for a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteI did manage to go through the fridge and clear out and corral enough left behinds ( meaning left behind because they were in the back or truly not wanted) to make up a few more simple meals in the next few days. With the horrendous heat it will be nice not to have to prepare a lot of new meals. Wonderful salads have been a mainstay this summer. I will miss the fresh veggies in the months to come.
Congratulations on the new baby for Amy, Dawson and all your family. Nothing in the world like grandchildren!
Thank you Annie. I hope all is going well for you. Hugs, Laura
DeleteYou know I am very fond of what I dub the leftover makeover. I like to make up salads with stuff from the fridge and rice bowls, too. Just pile it all in with an eye that flavors do sort of go together.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with the previous commenter that making a sort of pot pie or pastry pocket is a good idea too.
And don't forget with cooler weather coming, SOUP, always a great way to use up bits and bobs.
Hi Terri,
DeleteSoup is my favorite way to use up bits and bobs! Thanks for writing to me.