I went grocery shopping tonight to start my $100 grocery budget experiment. I did end up going to Woodman’s. It’s just so much cheaper than anywhere else. So, for $33, I bought the following:

bag of apples, bag of potatoes, 2 big cans of pumpkin (I put this in my oatmeal and baked goods n stuff), natural pb, 2 cans of OJ, carton of almond milk, Ezekiel hamburger buns, grapes, strawberries, bananas, carrots, stevia (natural, plant-derived, calorie-free sweetener), and….the highlight…bomb pops!

Yeah, they’re sugar free. My whole “no artificial sweetener” thing has been a trying experience. But I’m working on it!

I’m feeling good about this. To be honest, I’m going to add about $5 onto my grocery tally. I bought a frozen pizza for Shaun and some more popsicles the other day. I left the popsicles at Shaun’s though, which is why I needed more. I like to leave a trail of popsicles wherever I go. I have $62 left and I shouldn’t need to go shopping again for 2 weeks.

In other thrifty food news, I’m very excited to have made a tasty meal out of leftovers. I’ve been eating black beans with brown rice for lunch a lot. It bores me to tears. The only way I can stand it is by dumping tons of super hot salsa on it. Anyway, I couldn’t bring myself to eat it again today. So this morning, I threw it in the food processor with some tomato paste, basil, and leftover roasted red pepper dip. Formed into patties and fried–bam! Black bean burgers! At work, I nuked the burger and put it on an Ezekiel bun with tapenade. Okay, and ketchup too. I’m not Classy. Yay for cheap food!