Slashing the Grocery Budget

In response to a recent "Biggest Loser" episode that evidently set out a healthy eating budget for $10/person per day, Kelly the Kitchen Kop posed a question to her Facebook followers: If you eat "real" food, how much do you spend on groceries per month?

The responses were fascinating! I read all 84 with emotions that ranged from smug to frustrated to sympathetic. Many readers said they spend about what we do, some spent an outrageous amount of money, and some were exceptionally frugal.

The most frugal readers challenged me. "How do they do it?" I wondered, and it made me think of Lisa Leake (100 Days of Real Food) and her pledge to feed her family of four on only "real" food for 100 days on a very strict budget--$500 a month.

I could feel the need to take on a challenge welling up in me. Can we do it for less than we are already doing it? Are there corners to cut that I'm not already cutting? I already buy some things in bulk, I pretty much only buy organic produce from the Dirty Dozen list, I bake my own bread, watch for sales, buy 1/2 cow at a time...

But...I want to see if we can do it for less. So, here's my goal: We buy groceries twice a month: on the 1st and the 15th. We've already bought for the first of this month, so as I make up the list for the 15th and the 1st of next month, my goal is to cut $50 from each grocery run for a total of $100. (A penny saved is a penny earned, and I'd like to earn an extra $100 this month--how about you?)

So, what can I do to make this happen? I already buy basically only what we need, so cutting down on the amount of food I buy isn't really an option. Here are some other things I'm going to try:

1. I made a bulk foods purchase that I'm going to pick up today (in addition to the foods I was already buying in bulk). I bought several foods in gallons and pounds that will save money in the long run and last us a very, very long time. And yes, I paid for that bulk food out of our grocery budget. (A little bit set aside from the grocery budget for 3 months, to be exact.)

2. We're not going to eat pancakes this month. Boo! But--100% pure maple syrup is not cheap, and this will go quite a ways to help the new budget.

3. I usually buy a pre-packaged healthy snack for my kids to take to the tutorial they attend on Tuesdays. Instead of buying that snack, I'll pop popcorn at home for them to take.

4. I'm going to try for some meatless meals. We love enchiladas and burritos packed with chicken or beef, but I'm going to make them with just pinto beans.

5. I'm going to try extra hard to use my coupons and watch for sales. Generally, coupons don't help a whole lot when you're eating real food, but Kroger sends personalized ones in the mail, and those are often very helpful.

So...let's see how we do! Any tips? What helps you shave money off your monthly grocery budget? Do you think The Biggest Loser was too high when they budgeted $10/person per day? What do you think is realistic?

Peanut Butter Power Bars

I'm a big fan of almond power bars, which are packed with protein and really sustain me. My kids, however, haven't really gotten on the bandwagon. They eat them, sometimes, but will grab for something else if it's available. The other day, however, I stumbled upon a kid-friendly, slightly altered recipe. I decided to make some almond power bars and realized I was out of raw almond butter, and out of the unsweetened baking chocolate I use to make the frosting.

Raw almond butter is super good for you, but it can be very expensive. I buy mine at Trader Joe's and get a fabulous deal, but I can't always just run over to Trader Joe's. It's pretty far away. So, sometimes we make do with all natural peanut butter. No added sugar.

So, the other day, I simply substituted "no sugar added peanut butter" for raw almond butter and melted a bar of dark chocolate for the frosting (containing all natural ingredients--no high fructose corn syrup), and suddenly my kids wanted to eat the bars. I liked the other bars the way they were, and obviously, the other bars are a little healthier, but if substituting a couple of ingredients can make them kid-friendly, then I will do it! Eating these bars is still going to be a lot healthier for my kids than just about any other snack they reach for!

Peanut Butter Power Bars

2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup shredded coconut, optional
2 scoops flavored whey protein powder
1/2 cup all natural peanut butter
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
8 drops liquid Stevia
1 Tbsp. vanilla
4 squares of all natural dark chocolate, melted

Directions:
Put almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, whey powder, almond butter, and salt in a food processor with the S blade. Pulse until the nuts are mostly crushed.
In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil completely over very low heat. Remove oil from heat; add Stevia and vanilla. Pour this mixture into the food processor, then pulse again until ingredients form a coarse paste.
Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, then press mixture into the pan. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, or until hard.
Spread melted chocolate over the bars and chill until hardened. Cut into squares and enjoy!

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