$75 Weekly Shopping and Menu 2-4-19 - No Getting Off This Train

We’re back to a (somewhat) normal food schedule this week! I learned a lot during this Daniel Fast, but I certainly have a lot more energy and motivation now that I have my coffee back.

However, there are two things going on right now that are affecting the way I eat: the Transform 20 workout program and being gluten free for a month.

If you’re familiar with the 21 Day Fix, you probably know that there’s a container system and that you get a certain amount of containers to eat each day depending on your calorie needs. So for me, on the 2,100-2,299 calorie plan, I’m currently eating all this every day:

6 servings protein
6 servings vegetables
4 servings fruit
4 servings carbs
1 serving healthy fats
1 serving nuts/seeds/dressings
6 teaspoons (nut butter, oil)

That’s quite a bit of food. Which means I’m buying more food. Which doesn’t allow me a lot of wiggle room to stockpile the good deals.

Add to that the fact that I’m trialing a gluten-free diet for 30 days and I’m a little stuck. Do I buy gluten-free bread and pasta for everybody? Just for myself? Do I alter my recipes so they get the bread and I have something else? For now, everyone else is getting wheat products and I’m just replacing it with another carb, like potatoes or rice.

It’s a learning curve for sure. And I’m determined to keep our budget at $75. Trying to raise it even more for a simple family of 3 doesn’t make sense to me, even though I know I’m filling our house with healthier foods. I’ll try this for a few weeks and then we’ll see!

By the way, I’ve been gluten-free for a week and a half and the redness on my face has cleared completely. It might be coincidence, but I’ll stick it out till the end of February and then try adding foods back in. Anyone else gluten-free and can give tips on how to make food still delicious without bread?

Kroger

Milk: $1.49
2 bags Goldfish: $.99 with Buy 6, Save $3
Cereal: $1.49
Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix: $2.19
Butterball turkey bacon: $2.49 with Buy 6, Save $3
Butterball turkey breakfast sausage: $1.79 with Buy 6, Save $3
Larabars: $3.49 with Buy 6, Save $3

Used $.75/1 Kroger digital coupon

Bolthouse Farm dressing: $2.50
Epic bar: $1.49 with Buy 6, Save $3

Used $1.00/1 Kroger digital coupon

Vegetable broth: $1.99

Used $.50/1 Kroger digital coupon

Total: $18.65, plus $.45 back from Ibotta rebates!

Aldi

2 bottles hot sauce: $.85 each
Pineapple: $1.29
Almond milk: $1.69
3 containers cottage cheese: $1.59 each
Romaine hearts: $1.99
Roma tomatoes, 16 ounces: $.89
Bananas, 4.39 pounds: $1.88
Zucchini: $1.39
3 packages broccoli: $1.79 each
Carrots: $1.29
2 dozen eggs: $.58 each
Yogurt tubes: $1.55
Ground turkey: $1.99
Blueberries, 1 pint: $1.69
Yellow potatoes, 5-pound bag: $2.99
Vanilla extract: $3.55
Cauliflower: $1.69
Greek yogurt tub: $3.49
Tortilla chips: $.89
Spinach: $1.19
Tortillas: $1.39
Fresh green beans, 1 pound: $1.39

Total: $45.23

Sam’s Club

Chicken breasts, about 6 pounds: $12.16
Chocolate chips: $9.98
Starkist tuna pouches: $8.98
Kids gummie vitamins: $7.98
Maple syrup: $9.98
Starbucks coffee: $13.98

Total: $13.81 OOP thanks to gift cards from Swagbucks and Fetch Rewards! Sign up for Fetch and use the code PV2QH and we’ll both receive 2,000 points when you sign up!
Weekly Total: $77.69

I have been gluten free for at least 10 years now. There is a gluten free alternative for most things these days, so it is a good time to be gluten free. You can google recipes for just about anything you desire to eat and find one you can make. My whole family is gluten free now and half of us can't eat corn either. I have heard that some people can tolerate einkhorn flour which is more of an ancient wheat, so maybe you could experiment with that or perhaps your body would accept sprouted wheat products? Instead of eating bread as a side, we eat more vegetables. We usually eat burgers without buns and don't even miss them. Burrito bowls are good instead of burritos or tacos. We make nachos with bean chips which are delicious. Noodles or pasta would be easy to fix a gluten option and a gf option. After you get used to it, it is pretty easy being gluten free. Our biggest challenges are with eating out (which we don't do much anyhow) or social eating gatherings. My church has recently started being sensitive to giving gluten free options which is fantastic and friends and family usually try to accommodate as well.

Jaime

Thank you so much for these tips, Sara! I'll keep all this in mind for next week.

Michelle

Monday 4th of February 2019

My only advice is to maybe buy one loaf of gluten free bread for yourself which would last longer for just one person and then swap out other normal gluten free foods like potatoes, rice or corn tortillas.

That's kind of what I was thinking, too! At least until we can find out- 1.) Whether it really is gluten that's bothering me, and 2.) How much gluten I can tolerate before I get a reaction. It all seems so complicated!