One Hundred Dollars a Month

My parents visit. It was 17 days of pure gluttony. And while I wish I could say it was fun while it lasted, I think the buttons on my pants would disagree. I know I gained at least 5 pounds…. maybe even more.

Cracker Barrel, have you been there? If not, this is what the Cracker Barrel Sampler Platter looks like. Chicken n’ Dumplins, meatloaf and sugar cured ham. And if that wasn’t enough, there was also mac and cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes {with gravy} and some buttermilk biscuits and corn muffins {with jam} to wash it all down with.

It’s a miracle I can still move.

Christmas {in September} at the Cracker Barrel.

Hey Mrs. HB! They even had a flamingo PEZ dispenser!

Market Basket $29.65

The day after my parents left the HH ran out of his beloved Cape Cod potato chips and so I tagged along and went to Market Basket with him. But before we could do our shopping, we had a slice of pizza in the cafe section of the store. Because apparently we are are old people now and that’s what you do before you buy groceries. You eat first. Whether you’re hungry or not. Then you look out the window a bit, finish your snack and then bicker about which cart to pick before you stroll up and down the aisles looking for food you don’t really need to buy. It’s a thing, don’t you know.

Koru apples. Have you tried them? What do they taste like? I should have bought one.

Handsome Husband: “What kind of potatoes do you think those are?”

Mavis: “Probably russet potatoes.”

Handsome Husband: “Don’t you think they look more valuable, the way they are packaged?”

Mavis:  ….. Blank stare……  And then I remember this is the man who had maybe stepped foot into a grocery store 10 times in the past 25 years and I try not to roll my eyes.

Everything these days is like a shiny object to him. Not having to work 70-80 hours a week… it will do that to you.

Notice anything unusual about this sign? Only in New England will you find “Oyster Crackers” on an aisle sign. Clearly, oyster crackers are a high sought after item around these parts. 😉  I LOVE IT!!!

More food. Surprisingly, the family sized lasagna from ALDI’s tastes totally different from the smaller version. The family sized lasagna has less of a sausage taste to it and I like it much, much better.

Friday night movie pickety bits: Pistachios, cheese and crackers, artichoke jalapeno dip and garlic stuffed olives, spring rolls, apple slices, the last of the garden tomatoes, a whoopie pie and chocolate.

Cream of Wheat. I could totally eat it everyday.

Last night’s dinner. Beef tips, mashed potatoes, Mexican corn {let me know if you want the recipe} and a slice of gingerbread.

Followed by, the last dessert I’ll eat for the next 30 days.

Wait. What?

A few months ago, the peeps at Valley Food Storage sent me a 1 Month Food Gluten Free Value Food Storage Kit. Back in 2015 I tried out their regular 1 month food supply kit and strangely enough, really enjoyed it.

And well, after spending a whopping 17 days with my parents eating out at restaurants and stuffing my face, honestly, I could use a bit of a real world food detox right about now.  Not only do I like the idea of not having to think about what I’m going to eat for my next meal, a bit of portion control would be pretty darn awesome about right now as well.

So hey, why not break open the food storage kit? I’ve never gone “gluten free” for 30 days before {or even 24 hours without bread for that matter}. It could be interesting, maybe I’ll learn something new. Maybe I’ll feel better without all that gluten in my system. Who knows.

If you want a more detailed list of what’s in the 1 Month Valley Food Storage Gluten Free Food Storage Kit, you can pop over here. But basically, the kit is a just-add-water meals type of product designed to be enough food for 1 person, for 1 month to SURVIVE on. Now, if you want to THRIVE… {like I do} then you are going to want to supplement the food storage kit with a few more items.

After all, in a real world survival situation you are probably not going to be stranded in the woods with a box of just add water meals. If you are, I would hope you’d be near a water source because you are going to need WATER. And lot’s of it to survive for 30 days with a limited food supply. 😉

So, what makes this food storage experiment different from the one I did three years ago? Well, for starters, this kit is gluten free. Also, two of the most asked questions I wasn’t able to answer last time around, were:

1. How much WATER does it take to prepare all the meals in the food storage kit?
2. How much drinking water did you use over the coarse of 30 days?

This time around though, I will be tracking all the water I use. So, what will I be supplementing the 30 day gluten free food storage kit with this time around? {Last time it was tea, beans and rice.}

• 1 Box of tea {no sugar, no milk!}
• Anything I can dig up or harvest from my backyard garden.
• Salt and pepper

That’s it. That’s what I’ll be eating for the next 30 days.

Sometimes, you’ve just got to shake things up a bit. 🙂

Wish me luck!

~Mavis

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Total Spent This Week $29.65

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.