Gluten Free Quiche

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Bread crumbs, filling, and cheese

30 Days of Eating In: Week Two

I went to the grocery store on Day 11 this week and spent $88, which is at least better than last week. So far I am up to $233 for the month.

Below is a list of what I cooked this week. If you decide to try the cornbread recipe (which is very good, by the way) keep in mind that gluten free baked goods spoil very quickly. If you want the leftovers, store them in the freezer. I made the mushroom stroganoff with gluten free flour and Sam Mills spaghetti, which is by far the least expensive pasta I have been able to find locally. We tried it with spaghetti sauce and the flavor combination was a little off, but it worked perfectly with the stroganoff.


Day 8 

Breakfast: Bananas and yogurt 

Lunch: Leftover fajita-ranch chicken wraps

Dinner: Chicken kabobs and rice

Snack: Cashews

Day 9

Breakfast: Banana, gluten free bagel (Udi's, and they are just OK, not really worth it)

Lunch: Leftover chicken kabobs and rice

Dinner: Leftover pork tenderloin and asparagus

Snack: Fruit salad

Day 10 

Breakfast: Fruit salad, cereal

Lunch: Pimento cheese sandwich (on Rudi's GF bread), diced apples

Dinner: Tacos*

Day 11 

Breakfast: Gluten Free Banana bread*

Lunch: Hot dogs, fruit salad

Dinner: Grilled chicken, gluten free macaroni and cheese, salad
Snack: String cheese

Day 12 

Breakfast: Yogurt and bananas

Lunch: leftover chicken and macaroni and cheese

Dinner: Mushroom stroganoff

Day 13 

Breakfast: Gluten free pancakes

Lunch: Leftover mushroom stroganoff and asparagus

Dinner: Flat iron steak with BBQ beans and gluten free cornbread*

Day 14 

Breakfast: Yogurt

Lunch: Hot dogs 

Dinner: Chicken tostadas and cheese dip

*Whenever possible, I double my recipes and freeze the extra. These foods were already cooked and in my freezer. 

In case you missed my post about challenging myself to not eat out for a month, you can read it here, and my progress in week one is here. 

Gluten Free Macaroni and Cheese

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30 Days of Eating In: Week One

I started this week with a nearly empty pantry and refrigerator, which wasn't the best idea. I keep the freezer stocked up with meat and make-ahead meals, so I only really needed produce. Thankfully I had some frozen veggies to get us by until I had time to grocery shop.

I finally went to the store on Thursday (Day 5), and I also made a quick run through Costco since it is only a few blocks from the grocery store. I spent $65 at each store. $130 for the week isn't that great, but we are stocked up on several things we go through lots of (like cheerios).

Below is a list of what I cooked this week. I converted all of the recipes to be gluten free by substituting the flour with gluten free flour, using corn pasta instead of regular pasta, and I ate a brown rice tortilla on my chicken wrap. Brown rice tortillas smell like elmer's glue, by the way, but they taste fine. My daughter eats the same things as us for most meals, but has more snacks that I didn't include on this list. She usually has cheerios, pirate's booty, and/or goldfish crackers every day.

Day 1

Breakfast: Yogurt and pears 

Lunch:  Leftover BBQ

Dinner: Pork chops, roasted potatoes, spoon bread

Day 2

Breakfast: Grits

Lunch: Leftover Pork chops, roasted potatoes, spoon bread 

Dinner: Creamy ranch chicken

Day 3 

Breakfast: Gluten free banana bread*

Lunch: Leftover creamy ranch chicken

Dinner: Ham*, frozen veggies

Day 4

Breakfast: Yogurt and pears

Lunch: Ham sandwich (on Rudi's GF bread)

Dinner: Chicken and vegetable stir fry with rice

Day 5 

Breakfast: Gluten free banana bread*

Lunch: Leftover stir fry

Dinner: Fruit salad and spaghetti*

Snack: Cashews

Day 6 

Breakfast: Bananas and cereal

Lunch: Pimento cheese sandwich, yogurt 

Dinner: Fajita-ranch chicken wraps
Snack: Pirate's Booty

Day 7

Breakfast: Bacon and fruit salad

Lunch: Hot dogs

Dinner: Pork tenderloin, corn on the cob, asparagus

*Whenever possible, I double my recipes and freeze the extra. These foods were already cooked and in my freezer. 

In case you missed my post about challenging myself to not eat out for a month, you can read it here. 

DIY Wreath Form

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What you get when you try to bend pipe insulation

Pool noodle vs. pipe insulation

I couldn't find my duct tape, so I used gaffer tape.
Masking tape would probably work as well, but I haven't tried it.

30 Days of Eating In

My family orders take out more than I would like to admit. My husband works late almost every day, and doesn't get home until 7:30 or 8:00 pm. By that time, I'm in the middle of our night time routine to put the baby to sleep. I don't get to start cooking most nights until 9 o'clock, and then there are chores to do after dinner, which means I don't get a second to sit down until 10. It's always so tempting to just pick something up, even though I already have groceries in the fridge waiting to be cooked.

We either go out to eat or order take out about 2 nights a week, and usually eat out for lunch on Saturdays. That didn't seem like very much to me until I added up our food bills. I estimate that we spent around $630 in June and $750 in July on all of our food. I got those numbers by going through our bank statements, so it's not exactly accurate, but at least half of that amount was from restaurants. In July, we had to buy extra food for June's birthday party, and we bought dinner for our out-of-town guests, so I'm guessing we are usually around the $630 mark.  Either way, that number is alarmingly high. I had no idea we spent that much on food.

I'm tired of being wasteful (of food and money), so I decided to challenge myself to not eat out at all for a month. It's going to be hard. I hate eating dinner by myself, and my husband isn't a fan of leftovers, which is all he will get if I do this because I can't wait until 9 pm to start cooking every day. And what do I do with my one year old while I cook? She will only play independently for so long before she attaches herself to my leg and cries while trying to pants me until I pick her up. Somehow, we are going to get through this, and hopefully I will gain some knowledge of how to manage my time better so it's not a big deal to cook at home all the time. I'll post weekly updates of how we are doing, what I have cooked, and how high my grocery bill was.

Gluten Free Lasagna

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Yum!

The water is just starting to bead up on the zucchini

What my bottom layer of zucchini "noodles" looks like