peelosophy

I received a coupon for a “free pumpkin pie” with purchase of $10 or more at Kirkwood Farmer’s Market. I was all about it because I needed to bring a dessert for house group that evening. Plus, they have little tractors for the kids to ride and a playground – so it could kill some time.  Kirkwood Farmer’s Market is overpriced in my opinion, you pay for the scenery and the idea you are going to a farmer’s market, but I rationalized this with the free pie and little field trip.

After we played for a bit, we headed into the market where I carefully picked 2 packs of Carmel Happy Apples (3.89/each!) and a 12 ounces of candy corn ($3.49!).  We made our way to the register where I told the sales lady I had my coupon for the “free pumpkin pie” and asked where I should get it.  She corrected me with, “Oh,  you mean the free pie pumpkin?, you can pick one from the pile out front.”  To make it seem like I was less of the dyslexic dope that I tend to be, I answered with, “Oh, that’s what I meant. ” Of course, right?  And what the heck is a pie pumpkin?

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This has been many moons in the making and will never be to the detail that I want it, but it helps me so I thought I would share.  It’s my price book.

What is a price book you may ask? It is some sort of book to keep track of prices.  I use it to keep track of grocery prices.  For example, I never know if that’s a good deal on peanut butter or not, so I would look in my price book for reference. I’ve learned that not every sale is a sale.  I get the prices on items I buy from my own grocery receipts or sales ads and mark it in my price book.  It sounds a little consuming and it is at first, but once you get into it, we buy most of the same things at the store and eventually my price book runs itself.

I have used a paper notepad before, but have switched to an Excel document in the recent year in hope of accessing it from my iPhone when I’m at the store. I’m hoping to put a link on the main page of peelosophy soon too.

Here is the link if you want to access my price book: peels price book

Here is also the grocery list template I use too: market list

Yes, I love tools and spreadsheets.  Let me know if you have any ideas for improvement on these.

The boys LOVE apples.  They probably eat 2 a day each.  They aren’t apple snobs like me either, any type will do.  They love to eat them whole and usually they accomplish eating the whole thing and sometimes they leave it half eaten.  The half eaten are the ones that pain me.  You know they won’t eat it later b/c “It’s yucky” aka brown. I encourage them to finish eating the whole thing, but sometimes they don’t.

To solve the problem, I took the advice of Amy Dacyczyn, author of The Tightwad Gazette.  When the boys are “done” with their apple I cut up the uneaten remainder into lil’ pieces, stick them in some Tupperware and stir some brown sugar and cinnamon in with them.  Then we have a a special treat for later, save some apples and the boys love them.  They call it, “Mommy’s Special Apples”.

I love Taco Soup.  I have been known to eat it for 4 days in a row – sometimes for lunch and dinner.  Plus, my kids love it. You eat it with chips – what’s not to love?  I’ll come back to Taco Soup in a minute.

So I’ve been challenging myself with our grocery budget,  I’ve been evaluating and re-evaluating what we spend on groceries. I’ve been pondering what I can tweak with my recipes to make them less expensive while trying not to sacrifice nutrition (or taste).  I have come to discover it’s a delicate balance.  I have an outrageous goal of only spending $400/month on our groceries – food only.  I’ve been able to keep it for two months now and love the challenge.

Before I go further, I don’t buy organic so that explains some of it.  But I do try and buy as fresh as possible and non-processed foods.  I do menu plan and that helps my budget and sanity a ton.  I love it when John looks at his iPhone at work and is able know that we are having spaghetti tonight. I love it more when people think he’s nuts that his iPhone told him what’s for dinner. And I especially love it when they think I’m a super wife – if they only knew how easy it was to menu plan (that’s another post).

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