I’ve been faithfully cutting my coupons and buying sales items only, but I still have a large grocery bill. Part of my problem is that I have to shop gluten free. The gluten free products are ALWAYS outrageous! Just today I went to Safeway and I bought a box of Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip cookies and I paid $4.79! Okay, yes that is my fault for actually paying it. I should make it from scratch, yet it is so tempting to just mix it up.  Especially since I have a wonderful recipe that I love from www.glutenfreely.com.

So here is my goal. Reduce my grocery budget by 10% starting in February.

1. I found a really cool app called Budgeteer that helps me add up my groceries during my shopping trip and now I know exactly how much I am spending. I used it today and I loved it. So I am going to stay within my weekly budget of $125.00. (yes that is high compared to some extreme couponers. I don’t get to use many coupons because I don’t buy pre-packaged food due to our gluten free diet).

2. I am going to faithfully have Clean the Pantry Week. This week is at the end of the month. What I do is eat only from my pantry. I can buy fresh fruit and vegetables and dairy. I have to plan all my meals around what is in my pantry/freezer. I have planned the first one of 2013 for January 28-Feb 1. This should save me $100 right there!

3. Finally, I am going to plan all my meals one month in advance so I can get things when they go on sale. If I know I will be making a certain dish in a couple of weeks I can buy items as they go on sale.

I just food this awesome article at Money Saving Mom called How I Plan My Freezer Cooking Day. I really liked her printable forms. I already to Freezer Cooking but I have not been consistent with the planning part. She says in her article that Planning is the Key for a successful Freezer Cooking Day and that is so true. Here are some great websites to help with planning your day:

Money Saving Mom

30 Meals in One Day

30 Day Gourmet

 

I am planning a cooking day in 2 weeks so I need to revamp my recipes and set up my freezer cooking folder so I am more organized. I’ve shared some of my recipes here and here.

Ligia

I am so happy that I am plugging away at my reading goal I set for the New Year. I have finished both my January books.

Last week I finished Memory Keeper’s Daugher and this week I finished Superimmunity for Kids : What to Feed Your Children to Keep Them Healthy Now, and Prevent Disease in Their Future. I am still working on learning to write reviews, but I did write one on Goodreads.com.

From the Superimmunity book I am inspired to revamp the way our family eats. I know I can’t erase all the years of bad food choices, but I can add new and improved recipes, provide more produce, and shop more cautiously. I also know I can’t get rid of all “junk food” and “fast food” which they recommend. I can, however, limit the consumption of these foods and help our family make healthier choices.

Right now, my goal is to go through my recipes and try to see how I can improve them.

I also bought a book called The Speedy Sneaky Chef: Quick, Healthy Fixes for Your Favorite Packaged Foods which teaches how to hide fruits and veggies in your recipes. I can’t wait for that one to come.

Ligia