macgyver in the house

my fridge and my family are starting to feel the pinch of the experiment.  after 10 days, we are pretty much out of fresh produce except root vegetables and apples.  i had planned to be able to replenish fruits with the $15 budget but can see if we do anything extra (like eating at del taco earlier this week)  there is not enough to buy produce and eggs & milk.  since i still have canned and frozen veggies and fruit, i'm putting the milk, bread and eggs at the top of the list and keeping those stocked.   today i went to costco for the first time since the project began and i only bought bread and eggs...certainly something i've never done before. usually the dialogue in my head sounds more like "wait, i think i need that 10 lb bag of sauerkraut, i mean, i love a reuben! and yeah, grab that triple pack of gourmet hot chocolate to try! chocolate is so rich in anti-oxidants."  let the record show,  i got out of COSTCO spending under $10 which certainly has NEVER happened to me before and frankly, i didn't even know was possible.

some of the foods i've made this week have been definite tributes to the experiment and my attempt at a new mindset.  i've been making use of the things that are past their prime instead of just throwing them away.  i don't know about you, but probably a 1/4 of the fresh produce i buy ends up being wasted. it wilts or goes moldy or gets super stinky and slimy in that way only spinach and salad  greens can. i always feel guilty about it and vow to do better next time but never really seem to improve.  

but this week was much better.  i actually acknowledged that things were headed toward the garbage and made meals around these ingredients.  i made french toast with left over spaghetti factory bread my in laws passed along to me.  my last 2 bananas were  turning dark,  so i made a batch of my sister's famously delicious banana chocolate chip muffins. i discovered a lemon in my fridge that was all soft and had a little bit of mold starting. i normally would throw that out in .5 but realizing that lemons are more than .50 a piece, i squeezed the damn thing and put the juice in the freezer.   i made a batch of turkey meatballs because i didn't want to throw the heels of my bread away. i made chicken noodle soup with the wilty, sad looking celery stalks i had left from our holiday bloody mary mornings.   being resourceful like this makes me feel like a kitchen macgyver.  i feel clever and inventive and above all, it makes me feel like i'm REALLY using my resources. i mean, i own that lemon. i own those heels!  i bought and paid for those items so why not make use of them and give myself a shot of self esteem in the process?    

i've been getting a couple questions from people about whether i actually stocked up on stuff before this project began.  the answer is yes, but i was pretty selective about it. i didn't want to go and buy lots of canned goods since i already had so many randoms that i needed to use already in my pantry.   i started with a full supply of milk and eggs.  i bought a bunch of ground beef to freeze and 3 big blocks of cheese and a 30 pack of flour tortillas.   i wish i would have bought more gin but abstinence and frugality seem to go hand in hand!  so far since my car is still in the shop, gas hasn't been an issue.  so in the last 10 days i've made 1 trip to the store for milk, and today's trip to Costco and 1 trip to Del Taco.  So far I'm within budget and have spent about $23 since january 1.   i'm feeling really good about this but i also am starting to fantasize about the pub's pasta salad and french onion soup.  a lot.