Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping Trips – Week 41 of 52

Yesterday the HH and I strolled around Boston for 6 hours making our way around the harbor, the North End, Faneuil Hall, then over to the tree streets {near Charles street} the Back Bay area, then over to Fenway Park. I have absolutely no idea how far we walked, but I’m guessing that by the time we hit Fenway, we had racked up a minimum of 10 miles.

The HH suggested we take the train back to the car, and so we did. And let me tell you Bob, it was the best $5.50 we’ve spent in a long time. 😉

Pro tips: If you ever find yourself in the North end of Boston, be sure and pop by Bricco Panetteria for a $2.00 loaf of french bread. It’s so crusty and delicious and in my opinion, the best deal in town. Also, I love the fact that it’s off a tiny alley and down a flight of stairs in the basement of the building. The space is super tight and they only take cash, but it’s makes you feel like a total local because it’s such a hidden gem.

And no, because I have MAJOR willpower, I didn’t snitch a hunk of bread. 😉 Because you know, this month I’m working my way through the Valley Food Storage 1 Month Food Gluten Free Value Food Storage Kit. I’ve got 16 days to go, and I’m not going to let a little piece of bread break my stride.

But hey now, check out that steaming plate of potatoes. The HH made me a giant plate of them everyday this past week and you know what? I think he is really getting into cooking {he made 2 new recipes this week!}.

A few days after I started the whole food storage challenge, I thought that maybe I messed up and should have stuck with having beans and rice as my supplemental meal {like I did last time} but ever since I figured out I can make an omelet {complete with fresh peppers and chives from the garden} in the waffle maker….

Meal times are so much more fun. Granted I know if there was a real emergency I wouldn’t be able to plug in a waffle maker, but I would have a little bottle of cooking oil in my kit so I’d still be able to make some omelets with the eggs from our backyard chickens.

The Mango Habanero Chili from the food storage kit is really good, but it’s even better when ladled over a plate of steaming hot potatoes.

The Thai Coconut Curry though, no bueno. I can’t recommend it. I even had The Girl and the HH try it and they didn’t like it either. Everything else in the kit is fantastic, {the tomato soup still being my favorite item}.

Surprisingly, along with the food storage kit and the snacks {foraged from the backyard} which include French breakfast radishes, eggs, carrots, potatoes and sweet peppers has totally been enough to satisfy my appetite.

Meanwhile, the HH and The Girl are living off of breaded chicken, pot roast, sandwiches, soups and whatever random things they can find around the house. But the best part has been the HH cooking nearly all my meals for me. : )

Market Basket $60.82

And the fact that he LOVES to do the grocery shopping. How funny is that? He just can’t get enough of Market Basket and I think it’s the funniest thing. Can you imagine never having to go grocery shopping again? Think of all the stuff you could get down instead of pushing a grocery cart up and down the aisles. I love it!!!

Market Basket $17.12

I do find it amusing though how things like toaster strudel and Dorities make it in to the cart though. Some things never change I guess. 🙂 Oh, and before I forget to tell you, Market Basket had frozen turkey breasts on sale for $0.99 a pound so I had the HH stock up. I thought $0.99 a pound was a pretty sweet deal.

And guess who sent us this AWESOME box of goodness all the way from the Pacific Northwest? Mrs. HB! She loves me. Oh how I’ve missed walking around the corner in Costco and spotting the big Fisher Scone display and loading up on enough boxes to last us through the winter…. They were one of my favorite things about fall in the Northwest. And thanks to Mrs. HB, we won’t have to go without. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Have a great Monday everyone!

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $77.94

Total Spent in October $92.84
Total Spent in September $180.97
Total Spent in August $259.90 <– $30 on salami splurge
Total Spent in July $276.56 < – $38 Spent on Amish meat and cheese
Total Spent in June $206.47 <- Attempting once a month grocery shopping
Total Spent in May on Groceries $216.50 <- Included a stock up trip to King Arthur Flour
Total Spent in April on Groceries $169.98
Total Spent in March on Groceries $306.75 <– Apartment life, moving across the country and settling into a new house
Total Spent in February on Groceries $259.81 <- Living in an apartment and buying a lot of ready-made meals
Total Spent in January on Groceries $240.15 <– Packing mode and not cooking from scratch as much

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.