I am not a zealot. I feel sorry for zealots. They must be tired all the time from putting so much energy into following the rules of their various causes.
I try to be a good person.
I try to spend smartly, most of the time.
I try to be “green” here and there.
But, I am not a zealot. I try my best to do some things right, and I am good with that. I have no need to GO ALL THE WAY with green living, nutrition, etc.
I figure sometimes ease and convenience is really worth it (e.g., disposable diapers).
I figure some indulgence is necessary for happiness and ease of living (e.g., Cheetos and frozen lunch meals).
I mean, really, even sanity is good in moderation.
So, I am doing something this week that is uncharacteristic of me.
I have taken a personal grocery-store-challenge for a few different reasons:
1. I am about out of money before the next paycheck, and I am tired of putting more on a credit card that never seems to get paid off. In the past, I would not want to stress out about this and so I would use the credit card to get what we need, figuring I could pay it down the next month. But paying it down has not been happening. I am tired of this.
This means I need to drastically cut-down my grocery spending. I also need to really get creative and use what I already have in my fridge, freezer, and pantry, rather than letting it go to waste.
2. I have had interest in the buy-whole-foods movement, rather than pre-packaged, processed, frozen stuff. This sounds and feels so much healthier and can be cheaper.
This means I need to plan well and take a little more time with preparation of food.
3. I am still trying to lose weight (only 5.5 pounds to go!), and need a diet that is naturally low in calories (vegetables), but high in satisfaction (beans, lean meat).
This means I will need to buy a lot of fresh, healthy ingredients that I will prepare myself and be responsible for the portion sizes.
So, here I embark on a challenge to: use what we have, decrease spending at the grocery store, and buy whole, healthy foods and ingredients.
But, I am not a zealot. I’ll try it for the week and let you know how it goes!
32 comments:
I sincerely wish you luck.
I have tried this on a few occasions only to find that I really don't LIKE beans and weird vegetables and that it actually IS cheaper to buy a fully-processed, throw in the microwave meal for one sometimes.
I will be curious to see how you do it and to hear some tips of what worked well.
Good luck! I can't wait to see how it goes. I'm not a fan of zealots, either. It's a little scary to me!
We use cash to pay for food (and other things). We have a specific budget for food each month & when we run out of cash, oh well. We are eating rice, beans, & cheese sandwiches. It keeps us honest...and makes us plan better.
(I am kind of a Dave Ramsey zealot)
Best of luck! I really want to lose about 15 more pounds, but have such a hard time with food. I want, no crave sweets.
Good luck! I'm probably the least green person on earth. Well, that may be an exaggeration. But I rarely think about it. I probably should more, but I just haven't been bitten by that bug yet.
Good luck with that! I try to make more meals from scratch, just because the prepared ones are so high in salt and my hubby has high blood pressure. Bummer. It's so much easier to by frozen meals and canned stuff!
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This is a really good idea. I should do something similar.
I too am not a zealot. :)
Good luck this week. My tip to spending less at the grocery store is to not shop when you are hungry.
I think it sounds like a great plan -- not zealous at all, just simply smart. We just joined a local agriculture co-op here in Lincoln, NE -- we pick up our first order of fresh, local produce the week of May 15 -- I think it will be interesting (read: challenging) to see what veggies we get and what recipes we can concoct with some new choices.
Sounds great, look forward to hearing your progress. We're trying to do the same. Will be a looot easier with farmer's markets!
Let us know how you do!
I'm sure you will do a great job at it. I agree with whole zealot thing we need to live in moderation. Which means it is okay to use disposable diapers but still respect the environment we live in. Good luck!
Good luck!
I like the word zealot. It's fun to say.
Good luck! I need to do more of this too. I buy mostly whole foods when I shop, but I'm easily converted to fast food when it comes to the crunch.
Sounds like a great plan. Ive been thinking a lot more about processed foods and feel more and more guilt for buying them. I still buy them but not 1/2 as much as before
Perfect. I try to do the same. I am with you in this.
When I first stopped charging in an effort to decrease debt, for the first 2 weeks I used nothing but what I had in my house for meals (except I had to buy milk). It took a little creativity but it saved a lot of money and helped me with my finances.
Good luck!
good luck with that - just don't get tempted by the Pinot, unless its on offer!
Only 5 lbs to go, so great. Can you come and do this for me too?
Congratulations on the weight loss! I'm also a fan of whole foods (preferably organtically & locally grown). I plan each meal for the week in advance, then make up a grocery list of only what I'll need (and stick to it!). It's a lot of work, but it's worth it. Everything tastes better, costs less, and is healthier.
This post made me giggle, but only because you are not a zealot.
Me either.
I tend to get excited about something and set my standards too high, and then I can't live up to them, and then we don't have any food in the house, so we go to Little Ceasars. This is not a good method.
I look forward to hearing how your week goes because this is an area I'm trying to grow in too. Good luck!
good luck! I make a shopping list every two weeks and we do two weeks of shopping on a set budget. I go through the cabinets/freezer and write down what we have and find recipes to attempt to use up as much as I can. It doesn't always happen but really what can you do with coconut milk?
Oooh, good for you. I am not a fan of zealotry, mostly because I'm tired just thinking about it, but I like the idea of doing something for a week.
I've gotten better about using stuff up, but I come from a long line of food hoarders [read, people who lived on farms and put up cans of everything] so it's hard for me to get down to a box of pasta and not feel like we're going to starve like in The Grapes of Wrath [which I don't remember reading - did they starve?].
Good luck with the plan. Yeah, using credit cards at the grocery store can be tricky (been there; done that). It's kinda hard to accept that the food's expiration date will have passed before you've paid for the purchase!
BTW, I tried to post this comment once before. I don't think it took, but... if it shows up twice, that's not because I'm a zealot!!!
Good Luck! I go through stages where I am really good and will eat really well, then the lure of the drive through gets me and it is out the window with my principles and in the window with my burger :)
When the children were young we used to have a line of credit at the local shop. It ended up being a trap because by the time I had paid the shop I was behind and would need to use credit again almost immediately.
Oh my goodness I wish you all the luck in the world. This area is not my forte at all. Last night I went to the store to buy milk, eggs and cream cheese only to come home with $101 worth of shopping and we still have nothing for dinner tonight - WTF!!
Haha Katie's comment above made me giggle.
This is really nice, trying your level best. I mean thats what matters at the end of the day.. And if you are doing that there is no way you are going to fail this challenge, Go for it :-)
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Woo hoo! You get your whole food groove on!
We are doing the same in my house. I thought it would be more expensive- but thanks to some good farmer's markets, it's not.
It is harder, though- time wise. Still struggling with that one because I hate to cook.
BTW, I have given you The Versatile Blogger Award.
You can find it here: The Versatile Blogger...OMG, It's Me!
Congrats!
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Good luck! I hope you'll share some tips. :)
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