I've decided to start blogging my eating adventures. Mostly because cooking has become increasingly boring lately and this will add some excitement to my life. I'm not that girl who shares what she eats because I have an eating disorder. I don't believe in dieting. I think diets, like budgets, are lame and evil. On that financial note, some may consider me cheap and wonder why I can't afford regular food, this has nothing to do with that. Really I am just trying to be more resourceful so my money can be used for more important things. I decided to put cost next to my meals. If it is something I have in the pantry it's free which I realize isn't super accurate but going forward, if I grocery shop, I'll consider those costs.
On my sister's recommendation I stole the title from Carrie Sun's blog on hospital eating .

Thursday, May 31, 2012

end of an era

My semester ended a few weeks ago but I decided to wait until the end of May to tally up my 5 month spending.  Any guesses?

as for today...
Breakfast: Bean, cheese, egg breakfast burrito - similar to my dinner from last night. ($0)
Snack: I basically always want ice cream but decided to see if I could instead be satiated by frozen juice. My roommate was getting rid of a bunch of those Crystal Light to-go juices so I mixed some up and froze some...not too bad. ($0)
Lunch: Carrot sticks, hummus and string cheese.  ($0)
2nd Lunch: Yogurt and mini fig newtons. ($0)
Dinner: Mango shake. Both my mother and sister became allergic to mangos later in life so I decided I need to eat up while I can. ($5.34)


5 Month Total: $316.59, if I bring in my statistic skills and remove the outliers ($111.10 when Jenn was here) I averaged $41.10/month

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Totally slacking

You may have been wondering if I've starved to death, I haven't. I just got back from my most recent trip to the promised land, a land flowing of milk and honey...literally. Being home and then in San Diego and then Pasadena was great. I had lots of free food while catching up with some amazing people.  My few days in Concord were super packed and reminded me that I love to cook/bake without having to substitute all ingredients for their cheap substitutes.  I made ham and cheese melts, key lime pie, fresh tortellini salad, blueberry crumble and chicken salad -in 4 days. In total I spent $10 when I went to lunch and fro yo with Noemma. That works out to a little less than $1 a day so I would deem the trip a success!
Now I'm back.
Breakfast: Protein bar (stolen from my parents' house) ($0)
Lunch: Aussie Bites (leftover from my parents' trip - they travel prepared) ($0)
Dinner: Bean, egg and cheese burrito. (i'm still using my delicious crock pot beans)($0)

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

why I've been gone

My parents came to town to the weekend so I got LOTS of free food, and not just the free breakfasts I got the days I made it to their hotel before 9:30.  They left yesterday morning but I've still got plenty of remains.  For a dinner snack I just had lentil chips with olive hummus, blueberry yogurt, a cookie and bottled water.  No these things do not go well together.
I'm going home on Friday so I'll have to eat all the perishables possible in the next 2 days.  ($0)

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Pot Luck!

Breakfast: Another delicious breakfast burrito and fruit. ($0)
Lunch: Cookie in a mug. ($0)
Dinner: I used to get to go to a Bible Study/Pot Luck on Thursday nights but this semester I had class. My semester is over so I'm back to free food!  It was soup, salad, sandwich night. I brought strawberries and called it "fruit salad." ($0)

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

1 good meal

Breakfast: Every once in a while I have a genuinely great meal.  Last night someone gave me 18 fresh eggs and I have buckets of black beans made this weekend.  Sauteed together with some cheese = probably the best breakfast burrito ever. 
Lunch: I took my friend Deborah to the MVD aka DMV and 3 hours later my blood sugar was dropping so we went to frappachino happy hour at Starbucks.  This would have been free if mail got delivered to my address but I'm trying to not be bitter.  They now have chocolate whipped cream. ($4.50)
Actual Lunch: To neutralize the straight sugar I had some more beans and a piece of string cheese. ($0)
Dinner: Late night instant oatmeal. ($0)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

cheap substitutes for chocolate

Breakfast: I decided it was time to throw away milk so I switched to instant oatmeal. ($0)
Lunch: Do you know how ridiculously cheap it is to make beans? This week they were $.99/lb needless to say I'll be eating beans for a while.  My friend Heather gave me string cheese this weekend to top off this lovely meal. ($0)
Snack: I really wanted chocolate but opted for watermelon water instead.  It's almost as satisfying and super beautiful. ($0)
Dinner: The rest of  my pasta salad from this weekend and watermelon water and string cheese. ($0)

I thought that was going to be the end of my eating day but then it kept going...

Snack: Our ladies Bible study doesn't always have snacks but today there was strawberries, wraps and carrot cake muffins.  Bought with me in mind because I usually come starving right from class. ($0)
Snack: After Bible study I went to meet my friend Grace at a bar and watch the Bulls/Sixers game. I got there just in time for nachos. ($0)

Monday, May 7, 2012

1 Year of Gradschool Over!

Breakfast: Autumn Wheat. ($0)
Lunch: Frozen burritos that they sent me home with from the potluck yesterday and honeydew. ($0)
Dinner: Chick-fil-a, I didn't go the milkshake route. ($0)

Sunday, May 6, 2012

End of Week

Breakfast: Autumn Wheat, my milk is on it's way out...again. ($0)
Lunch: Church potluck! I brought the pasta salad I made yesterday. ($0)
Dinner: Church youth group! I brought fruit. ($6.19)
Weekly Total: $25.35

Saturday, May 5, 2012

color day

Breakfast: Autumn Wheat ($0)
Lunch 1: I went to celebrate the Indian Festival of Colors, I didn't think I looked that bad so I went to frozen yogurt with Grace.  Later on I saw this picture and realized I probably shouldn't gone out in public. ($8.29)
Lunch 2: I sorted out the non-rotten lettuce and had some more crab salad. ($0)
Dinner: I invited myself over to my friend Heather's house.  She made lentil "meatballs" and dessert and I brought corn on the cob and pasta salad that I made to take to church tomorrow.  I had to go to the grocery store for that and some other stuff. ($7.87)

Friday, May 4, 2012

pretty legit

Breakfast: I'm out of eggs but I found out online that leaving them out of pancakes works fine. ($0)
Lunch:  Veggie burger and edamame. ($0)
Snack: I went to a chicken coop building contest on campus and there was food! Including some awesome bbq shredded chicken with homemade bbq sauce.  On a side not, a homeless man also stopped by for the food. ($0)
Dinner: While at my snack, I got called and invited for dinner.   Homemade pizza and salad. ($0)

Thursday, May 3, 2012

dinnerless

Breakfast: Autumn Wheat ($0)
Snack: Watermelon ($0)
Lunch: Crab salad and quesadilla ($0)
Dinner: I wasn't motivated enough to find something. ($0)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

i might as well be dieting

Breakfast: Rice Cakes and Peanut Butter ($0)
Snack: Yogurt ($0)
Lunch: Bean quesadilla and fake crab salad ($0)
Dinner: A carrot ($0)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

totally logical meals

Breakfast: Autumn Wheat ($0)
Snack: I met my friend for iced tea to celebrate the end of my semester. ($3)
Lunch: Fake crab quesadilla with fake crab salad and genuine watermelon. ($0)
Dinner: Frosted Flakes and nachos. ($0)