i am not that cool.

things are going pretty well. i’m often tempted to go get a soda from the vending machine downstairs, but at $1.25 a pop, there’s no way that’s going to happen. here’s what i’m munching today:

breakfast: poached egg on whole wheat toast, vanilla yogurt, apple, tea. total cost is .$79 with the apple being most expensive at $.33.

lunch: salad, carrot sticks, melon slices, and leftover beans & rice. apple for afternoon snack. total cost is $1.25 with salad coming in at a whopping $.66 per serving!

dinner: i’m planning some leftover tofu casserole with a boiled potato and 1/2 avocado on toast. the blackberry bushes behind our house have provided tons of delicious fruit for free! i might even make some oatmeal blackberry cookies tonight if i have time after Zumba.

i cheated before i even began this week. i went to the farmer’s market and spent $4 on 1/2 lb mixed salad greens before i went to the grocery. my parents also gave me a bunch of food when i stopped by for Father’s Day. here’s what i’ve already got in my fridge/pantry:

- large can of diced tomatoes
- small can of tomato paste
- can of Amy’s organic cheese raviolo
- 1/2 lb of lentils
- whole wheat spaghetti and lasagna noodles
- 1 package of mushroom “ramen” noodles (vegan)
- 1/2lb salad mixed greens from the Dangling Carrot farm!
- onions and garlic
- a vegan tofu/veggie casserole my parents made (froze half of it immediately)
- bruschetta topping leftovers
- peanut butter
- potatoes
- nutritional yeast
- soy milk (3/4 of a carton; this will last forever)
- oatmeal, flour, spices, and baking supplies

here’s what i picked up at Aldi on Saturday (price in parenthesis):

12 Grain Bread (1.69)
Carrots (1.29)
Roma tomatoes (1.49)
Honeydew melon (1.99)
Red delicious apples (2.99)
Green tea (1.19)
Macaroni & cheese (.39)
Parmesan cheese (2.39)
Plums (.49)
Avocados (1.15)
Large tub of vanilla yogurt (1.79)
Pinto beans- dried (1.49)
Canned mushrooms (.59)
Dozen eggs (1.19)
Canned peas-small (.79)

Grand total: 20.91

With the stuff I have and the stuff I bought, I should only need to buy fresh produce and a few things next week. The bag of beans is giant and will definitely carry over. The parmesan cheese is the grated stuff in a plastic can, so it will last for many weeks. up soon: what i ate today! cool!

it’s been a lean couple of months, and as a result, i’ve racked up some debt on the old CCs. now that i’m working full-time, however, i’m ready to start seriously budgeting and being frugal! my challenge: for the next 1-2 months, i’m sticking to a super-strict budget, focusing (here online) on my food/grocery/drinking portion.

i have spent as much as $60 a month on groceries in the past year, on MYSELF ONLY. wow that’s crazy! it’s easy to do when shopping for crazy vegan recipes at places like Whole Foods. my new goal is to spend no more than $90 a month on groceries for me. additionally, i’m budgeting myself $20 a week for a dinner out, alcohol, the bar, etc. the $20 doesn’t roll over week-to-week, but my groceries are monthly, so spending $15 one week and $25 the next is acceptable. my discretionary twenty bucks also has some rules: one meal at a restaurant and one trip to the bar max. i can also chose to spend that $10ish alcohol money on a nice bottle of wine. eating at the home of friends/family is acceptable and people can give me food. and food from my garden doesn’t count.

so actually, it’s not that hard. this guy has done it with a lot more rules and restrictions, and there’s a cool list here of ways to save cash on food. i would like to try this as a challenge to myself and to try to get in a frugal mindset. coming soon: grocery list for the week, what i’m making, and what i’ve eaten!

i’m having one of the most stressful weeks of my life. therefore, i’ve been eating a lot of Kashi and Tofurkey. and Pizza Primo tonight whilst watching Glee. i’ll be back to being a healthy, sane person in 32 days (hopefully).

I am pretty poor right now as I finish up my undergraduate degree. I spend most of my money on school, then rent, then food. I don’t think a lot of people really take the time to budget their food or analyze how it’s being spent. I go to multiple types of stores to maximize my savings while introducing diversity to the foods I buy. For tofu, soy milk, noodles, and frozen junk food, I like to hit up the Asian markets. For canned goods and baking supplies, I go to Aldi. For bulk dried items, specialty vegan foods, and general “hippie nonsense” staples, I go to Whole Foods or the lovely Market District in UA. And for everything else, I make a weekly trip to my local Giant Eagle, coupons and reusable bags in hand. It seems like a lot of running around, but I never shop more than once or twice a week, and the savings I gain seem to outweigh the inconvenience.

In an effort to start budgeting my money and nutrition more thoroughly, I’ve started calculating food costs for some new and favorite recipes. Keep in mind, I am living in Central Ohio, where the cost of living is pretty low. These figures might be helpful for others to understand how much money they are spending on food and the value received from it nutritionally!

First up is this recipe for Creamy Lentil Lasagna (via VegWeb). I have a large quantity of dried lentils kicking around my pantry and I thought this would be a good place to use them. I ate a slice of this the night I made it, then put a few individual portions in tupperware for lunch and froze the rest. I’m a single lady, so 12+ servings of lasagna is going to last me a very, very long time.

You can find the recipe here, and here’s the cost breakdown:

*whole wheat lasagna noodles: $2.50 @ .75 box (1.875)
mushrooms $1.50 @ .5 container (.75)
sauce $1.39 one jar (1.39)
green peppers (2) $2.23 @ .75 (1.67)
*earth balance margarine $4.49 @ 3/34 (.39)
*soy milk $2.89 @ .25 (.75)
*nutritional yeast $.10
*herbs $.25
flour $.10
*lentils $1

TOTAL:
$9.29

$10/12 = $.83 per serving

Even rounding up, $.83 per serving is pretty good. Paired with a slice of nice bread (free, because my bartender roomie brings it home after close) and a glass of wine or water, you have a very economical dinner. A slice for lunch with a small spinach salad is also very satisfying and filling. Specialty vegan items like Earth Balance and whole wheat noodles add up, but when paired with relatively inexpensive ingredients, it doesn’t inflate your price too much. I make an effort to buy organic ingredients (designated by the star*) but when I compared $4 pasta sauce to $1.30 pasta sauce, I had to go cheapo. Next week, I’ll be comparing the price for enchilada casserole!

benwyattfacialexpressions:

No one wants to visualize Ron & Tammy…

NO ONE!!

i love garlic! i put tons of it in everything! my housemates/boyfriend are always nervous about this, but everything always turns out just fine. after i made this hummus, i gave a taste to a guest and he said “WOW, that is intensely garlicy. pow!” A lot of people try to make hummus without the tahini. My advice is, don’t do it. It adds a rich quality and it really doesn’t take that much for a big bowl of hummus. I like adding spinach because it adds a pop of iron, so you’re getting iron plus protein plus extra yummy garlic goodness in your dip. Be warned: you can literally sweat garlic, so don’t eat a bunch of this before a big date.

Ingredients:
1  15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained
2-3  cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon cumin
pinch of cayenne
1 cup spinach
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put the chickpeas, garlic, and tahini in a food processor. Pulse until there are no whole chickpeas (you can pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds to speed up the process if you like). Slowly add in the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, and cayenne while pulsing until it achieves a smooth, creamy consistency. You may have to drizzle in a tiny bit of water, but don’t add too much! Add in the spinach and pulse until it is chopped and mixed in, but not completely pureed. Add salt and pepper to taste and eat away!

NGL, i love the hell out of Leslie and Ben.

(Source: zeriously)

“He was kind of a shit show. He had really bad hair and always smelled like B.O.”

-my roommate on an ex

a friend unexpectedly came into town on friday night, so i made brunch for us all on saturday morning. unfortunately, i had way too much fun at Bernie’s watching my friends’ bands play and drinking $1 rum & cokes. this made brunch preparation a bit challenging, but don’t worry, it was good! our spread included oven roasted red potatoes, vegetable fritata scramble, and rolled oat blender waffles. plus Kahlua that Logan brought over and a bunch of coffee and orange juice. next time you’re supposed to cook something and feel a bit hungover, whip up a batch of these guys and everyone will think you’re a genius.

BLENDER WAFFLES! (adapted from vegweb)

Ingredients:

    2 cups rolled oats
    1 1/2 cup soy milk
    1 banana, sliced
    1 tablespoon sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions. Combine all ingredients in blender.  Blend until smooth. Add  water if necessary.

2. Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter into waffle iron.

3. Cook, according to directions.

Slice up some strawberries, bananas, walnuts, or pecans and enjoy! Or add some jam, peanut butter, maple syrup… the possibilities really are endless.

Serves: 6 waffles, Preparation time: 5 minutes