News Taffy

If you are checking back to see if I met the $100 challenge, the results are in! I spent just $100.52, tax included. I managed to feed my family of four for one week for just a hair over $100. The experiment turned out not to be as hard as I thought it might be. We drink so much milk and milk is so expensive that I was afraid it might bust my budget but with careful shopping and menu planning, I pulled it off. We did not eat fast food. We did not eat cheap processed food. We did not drink sodas. I served a total of 28 breakfasts, 21 lunches (Barry eats lunch at work in the cafeteria) and 28 dinners.

We did eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, dairy products and lean protein. We did have good meals that everyone liked. You can view the complete list of what I bought and how much it cost and what we ate at thecardiologistswife.blogspot.com. There are so many ways to save on groceries and food costs but it takes effort to check out sales circulars, clip coupons and plan menus. It also takes will power to leave out the things you know you don’t need to eat, like chips and sodas, which also helps the bottom line.

Eating cheaply and healthy at the same time means eating those vegetables and beans you’ve forgotten with the convenience of fast processed foods. When was the last time you cooked a pot of beans? How many vegetables have you eaten so far this week? Just yesterday I had banana, blueberries, spinach, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes.

I’m sure that shopping and cooking this way seems overwhelming and probably many of you think it’s too much trouble. But how much trouble is going to the doctor and the pharmacist? How much of your money do you want to give to doctors and drug companies? How much money do you lose to sick days? Is feeling good and your precious health not worth the effort? You can take baby steps by cooking three nights a week or adding a piece of fruit like an apple or a banana to your lunch. Wean yourself off sodas and replace them with water. Once these get to be habits and you’ve found it’s not so hard, you can add more days cooking and add more fruits and vegetables. Don’t try to leap in all at once and over haul your life as that will likely lead to failure. If anyone trys the $100 challenge, please let me know how it goes!

I’d like to announce the premiere of my new website at cardiologistswife.com. This new website replaces my old blog and has many more convenient features. Once I get everything categorized, you will be able to find recipes much more easily. I also have a BMI and weight chart and am starting a new healthy kids section. I hope you will check it out.