What we used to eat

At various times in our lives, Scott and I have been healthy eaters. We've run marathons, and climbed mountains, and lost pounds and pounds and pounds. And we've been unhealthy eaters. We've binged and drank and lay on couches and gained pounds and pounds and pounds. Healthy eaters: huge, delicious salads with raisins and fun greens and every imaginable item of produce, including both hearts of palm and hearts of artichokes. Unhealthy eaters: Donuts after midnight, Whoppers with fries after midnight and nary a vegetable to be seen, unless you count ketchup. Neither of these eating styles pays any regard to the food's cost.

So, we've eaten everything and now it's time to reflect on the days when our food budget was fat. Those days aren't so long ago, less than a week actually, so it's easy for me to remember exactly what we used to eat.

Breakfast. Scott would have a huge bowl of cereal, swimming in milk. We have special "Scott cereal bowls" that hold 20 ounces. And we would buy the good stuff. Scott loves Frosted Mini-Wheats and while we would generally stock up on them when they were on sale, he would eat 1/4 of the box in a single serving. Connor lived for Pop-tarts and Grant was learning to love them too. Connor would generally eat 2, Grant 1, they'd split a banana and wash it all down with milk. I would generally eat a bagel slathered with both butter and cream cheese and milk in a glass that was so giant that it was a pint if it was an ounce. Man, with all of the carbs we were eating, how did we have the energy to do anything? Never mind the cost, $0.75 for cereal, $0.60 for Pop-Tarts, $0.50 for bagel with fixin's and about $0.80 for milk. wow!

Lunch. Scott comes home for lunch sometimes, so let's pretend this is one of those days. Scott might bring home McDonalds, he passes 2 on his way from the office. Connor and Grant would share a Happy Meal (chicken nuggets with apples) and Scott and I would order salads and sandwiches from the Dollar Menu and share an order of fries. Scott and I would drink soda while the boys would have milk. That's financially sensible, right? Wrong! At about $12 per lunch, that's more than our current daily budget. And what's with all of the fat? Oink! Oink! Other lunchtime favorites include: corn dogs with pretzels, the BOSS (but with potato chips and coleslaw) chicken strips with an assortment of cut fruit and several expensive kinds of dipping sauces, and even Lean Cuisines. At $2.50 per boxed meal, the only thing getting lean is our wallet.

Dinner. I am actually a pretty decent cook. Or at least, I can follow directions well. Especially those printed on the side of a box. I rarely buy expensive cuts of meat, we're definitely a pork chop & chicken breast family. So let's pretend you're visiting us for dinner. Here's what you'd be served (and my apologies to everyone whose ever eaten at my house and been served this, it's my favorite thing to make because it's hard to screw up): pork chops, Rice-a-Roni and some kind of vegetable (peas or beans.) And of course, I'd have made some kind of dessert like apple crumble, homemade cookies or ice cream with a homemade fruit sauce. Another thing I would sometimes do for dinner was I head to Trader Joe's without a grocery list and select something we hadn't eaten for a while. That's never cheap because I'm buying an entree, matching side dishes and condiments along with countless other unplanned purchases like dark chocolate bars, starfruit and wines with funny-looking labels. Eating like this cost us about $8 per day, with another $3 for dessert.

So our average daily food spend was about $25.65, or just under $800 per month. Seeing it all in it's fatty, greasy, sugary, spendy glory is nauseating, and since our spending is on par with the average American family, I can only imagine that our plates aren't too different from those of other families. But here it is, warts and all. Rather, here it was, because I can do and will do better for my family, financially and healthfully.

Scott went to Chicago today so he packed a lunch. But, here's what we ate today:

Breakfast
- S&K Oatmeal with brown sugar
- C Yogurt, 1/2 banana, some of Mommy's oatmeal, milk
- G Cereal, 1/2 banana some of Mommy's oatmeal, milk
$1.12

Lunch
- S (in Chicago for the day) a piece of bread, orange, pasta with peas and sauce, cereal for a snack
- KC&G can of Lentil soup and crackers, milk for the boys
- G also ate a string cheese
$2.20

Snack
- K had tea, G had milk, and we fed each other cereal
$0.14

Dinner
- SKC&G hamburger patties, cheese, peas and homemade sweet potato oven fries served with ketchup and salad dressing.
- C&G had milk
$4.75

Dessert
- C&G had 3 cookies each
- S&K had 2 servings of cereal each
- S had tea
$0.49

Total for the day $8.72

I think I need to try and push more fruit tomorrow, it seems like we ate a lot of cereal today.

Tomorrow, It really tastes as good.