Sat down today and made a menu for the week - starting with things that are getting "aged" in the fridge. I tried to make a waste free plan.

I do have an eggplant to figure out what to do with. Any suggestions? My "steak" night still needs a good side dish.

I figured out my payoff for couponing. I work about 4hrs/week at it plus shopping time. I save at least $100/trip doing it - usually 1 trip/week. So, $25/hour. Nice payoff.

Gearing up for my next trip..... C'mon savings, mama needs a new pair of steaks.......

Anyway, feel like I"m talking to myself - c'mon u lurkers.

Kept to budget so far this week, and kept to menu plan. Tonight - leftover chicken meat, alfredo sauce, frozen broccolli - yum.

Wow Kel!! That is awesome savings! Where do you get the coupons from?

Newspapers and online. I don't print off online ones unless I plan to use them. I got a deal going with my BFF. It costs her less per paper to order extras - so we bundle our paper ordering.

I use online coupon match ups - there's ladies making their living telling you what coupon to use where to match coupons to sales -

One of my favorites is moms by heart and coupon mom. Just search for them if you are interested - I think there's tutorials on there too.

Was good today. I always buy my lunch on taco salad day - so was the usual. Hit aldis for some eggs, produce, butter, string cheese, pork skins - they are almost always the cheapest for those items. I did buy breakfast this morning - cost me 70 cents. LOL, nice employee discount. Supper was leftovers - recycling rocks. Snacks on way home from stuff I bought - cheese and pork skins - I did splurge for a fountain soda - 1.63 for 2 32 oz sodas - not too expensive. I'm planning a good restock this weekend. The money should be a little better tomorrow, and I need some stuff...

Big shopping trip yesterday, was SO much fun. The budget was a little better so I played stock up on a few items. I got coffee 2 lb cans 6.99 - got 4, free helluva dip, free kroger frozen veg (Big shout out to Kroger for mailing me those coupons!!), dog food (big bag - cheap with coupon machine coupons - grabbed a couple extras, and sale price), 5 jars alfredo sauce, diet dr pepper 2l's, Gatorade G2's for DH (he's out in heat a lot), 2 big roasts for $13 (after Kroger meat coupon I had), free shampoo (coupon I had signed up for on facebook), clearance produce that's still in date, clearance turkey pastrami that's still in date, spaghetti squash on sale and more. I figured I saved about 50% overall and came in pretty close to budget.

Now, gotta plan the menu for this week so nothing goes to waste...

OK, sharing my menu plan.
Treats: Sugar free jello - made one box of lime with coconut milk and also made 1 box SF orange
Tonight: Pizza Dump that didn't happen last night
Sunday: Ckicken in tomato sauce with spaghetti squash and spinach
Monday: Hamburger salad
Tuesday: Chicken alfredo spaghetti squash and grilled zucchinni
Wednesday: Pork loin, steamed snow peas, and another side to be determined
Thursday: Chicken coconut curry (using left over coconut milk)
Friday: next shopping trip - usually eat out with friends

All are planned so food is easy through the week, and soon to spoil food is used up first. I've managed this 2 weeks in a row now!

How is the sugar free lime jello with coconut milk - it sounds like it would be yummy ... How many carbs does it work up to be?

I'm going to pick up a jar of sliced Jalapeņos if I go to the store today - saw a recipe in Dana Carpender (or Carpenter - I suck at names) book to make them like the sweet ones I love - can't wait to try it out. If it is even similar I will be thrilled - I love them in chicken salad or tuna salad and even in deviled eggs - doesn't take much to zip up a dish. Need to run to BJ's for coffee and beef (hubby likes their beef - have to admit it is better than Stop and Shop or King Kullen meat) and I want to hit another store that has good produce for cheaper than other stores - and I want to look for some cotton to make my niece some hot pads, pot holders and dishcloths for her new house..hopefully they will still have the black and white variegated in stock. I think it will go with her black granite countertops - and they may change the color of the kitchen but I figure the counters will stay for awhile lol ...

And what is pizza dump??

I thought the SF lime jello and coconut milk was good - pretty good. Not the best thing I ever ate, but something I'd do again. For how hard it was, it was well worth it. Going to try it with Cherry jello (SF of course) too. It separated into a weird cream layer on top - but DH said he liked that part best.

Personally, I find my low carb diet to be rather inexpensive. I don't drink any soda or other drinks anymore -- just water. So that saves. I eat mostly chicken and have cut down on red meat. That saves a lot because I can get chicken breasts in large quantities for less than $2.00/lb. I don't buy any processed food for myself, so I save on that. Once in a while I'll buy a steak or lamb when it is on sale. Otherwise, I just stick to the chicken. Other than that I'm pretty much only eating veggies. So, I think going to a low carb diet is actually saving me money!

Kel: Suggestion on the eggplant, one thing that I've been cooking is a chicken and spinach casserole, one of the times I made it I threw in some eggplant and it was delicious.
This is the recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recip...recipe=1616961
But it needs some tweaking to actually make it low carb, I subbed in sour cream and cream cheese with a bit of greek yogurt the last time I made it and it was pretty good. I also usually add more spinach and chicken and less sauce components but make sure everything is well coated before cooking. One batch usually makes several meals for me if I'm the only one eating it that week I've also subbed in kale and think it would be good with other veggies and/or greens.

I find bacon and eggs are a pretty cheap meal.

My suggestion is region-specific, however if you have access to an Aldi, I highly suggest checking it out. It is my go-to for my low carb staples. I find it even cheaper than when I'm couponing at our budget grocery store. I usually shop at both each week based on our needs and what the current sales/coupons are.