A Month of Meals Coronavirus Style

Long time no post again. However, with the now-pandemic situation I thought I’d use this medium to share some of my plan to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Panic? No. Concern? Yes.
Why. Why be concerned? Personally, I am fortunate to have all four grandparents still living at nearly 30 years of age. I see my mother frequently who in turn sees two of them, about 80 years old. I at 29 can likely survive just fine if not inconvenienced however if I give it to her who gives it to them, f*(8 I’m not signing anyone up for that.
Societally I’m concerned for those who aren’t as fortunate as me to be able to work remotely. Who don’t have sick leave or PTO. Who can’t afford to go to the doctor and get checked if they’re sick or worse if they’re gravely ill from pre-existing conditions. That’s a topic for a whole separate post.

So. Learning from what I see happening in Italy, I came up with a meal plan for four weeks. Should we not be able to leave our home, my husband, 10 year old, 3 year old and I should still be able to eat. I make no promises about the nutritional balance of these meals. It’s what works for us.

I thought I’d share in case someone wants to piggy back and not have to reinvent the wheel. I just bought most of what was required for 28 days of meals for less than $400. Granted, breakfast and lunch doesn’t include everyone. I assumed I would be reporting to work and need to have grab and go breakfast and lunch and that the 10 year old and 3 year old would have breakfast and lunch elsewhere. I know now that’s not the case.

The Governor of Ohio has ordered schools to close for three weeks. I didn’t account for that. But to me that means this plan may not make 28 days. I may have to return to the store. But I’m prepared to feed us for some time if it comes to a point where I may not be able to shop. God willing this food won’t spoil between now and then. I have work to do separating milk and beef and freezing in reasonable portions. I’m running out of freezer space. But I think it will work.

Here’s my plan.

Warning: I haven't checked this list more than once in typing it. No guarantees it's all accurate. Double-check yourself as you decide what might work for you. **edit- I think I forgot the ingredients for chicken parm.**

Week 1 | Breakfasts
Frozen waffles Monday and Friday
Yogurt and granola Tuesday
Fruit (apple, banana) Wednesday
English muffin with peanut butter Thursday
Homemade French toast Saturday
Cereal Sunday

Week 1 | Lunches
Frozen pot pie Monday
Lunch meat sandwich Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday
Canned soup and crackers Wednesday
Tuna salad sandwich Friday
Fish sticks and fries Saturday

Week 1 | Dinners
Shepherds pie Monday
Spaghetti and garlic bread Tuesday
Sloppy joes Wednesday
Chicken and balsamic veggies Thursday
Grilled cheese and tomato soup Friday
Lasagna Saturday
Chicken and noodles Sunday


Week 2| Breakfasts
Yogurt and granola Monday and Thursday
English muffin and peanut butter Tuesday and Friday
Frozen waffles Wednesday
Eggs, bacon, and toast Saturday
Pancakes Sunday

Week 2 | Lunches
Canned ravioli Monday
Leftovers Tuesday
Lunchmeat sandwich Wednesday
Canned soup Thursday
Tuna salad and crackers Friday
Chicken nuggets and fries Saturday
Cereal? Sunday

Week 2 | Dinners
Southwestern Alfredo Pasta Monday
Chicken nuggets and Fries Tuesday
Baked pasta and garlic bread Wednesday (cook pasta according to package, stir in spaghetti sauce, pour into casserole pan, cover with shredded cheese and bake until cheese is melted)
Logan county hamburgers Thursday
Frozen pizza Friday
Crockpot ribs, beans, and rolls Saturday
Southern Vegetable Soup Sunday

Week 3 | Breakfasts
Oatmeal Monday and Thursday
Cereal (to go bag) Tuesday
Waffles Wednesday
Yogurt and Granola Friday
Waffles and eggs Saturday
Cereal Sunday

Week 3 | Lunches
Leftover soup Monday
Frozen pot pie Tuesday
Tuna sandwich Wednesday
Canned soup Thursday
Canned ravioli Friday
Lunches Saturday and Sunday undecided/leftovers

Week 3 | Dinners
Spaghetti, Tomatoes, and Spinach with garlic bread Monday
Fish sticks and fries Tuesday
Tacos Wednesday
Tortellini and garlic bread Thursday
Ham and cheese sandwiches on Hawaiian bread Friday
Enchiladas Saturday
Chicken parmesan Sunday

Week 4 | Breakfasts
Oatmeal or english muffin (assuming muffins keep long enough) Monday
Waffles Tuesday
Pop tarts Wednesday
Yogurt Thursday
Oatmeal Friday
Egg in a hole Saturday
Eggs, beans, and tortillas Sunday

Week 4 | Lunches
Canned soup Monday and Thursday
Leftovers Tuesday
Tuna sandwich Wednesday
Canned pasta/ravioli Friday
Lunches Saturday and Sunday undecided/leftovers

Week 4 | Dinners
Baked Pasta and Garlic Bread Monday
Fish sticks and fries Tuesday
Enchiladas Wednesday
Ravioli and garlic bread Thursday
Breakfast for dinner Friday (probably french toast and eggs)
Cowboy Calzones Saturday
((Easter on Sunday, I didn't plan for Sunday))




Here's the insane grocery list (omitting things like salt and pepper that I have on hand always):
frozen foods:
30 waffles
3 frozen pot pies
5 meals worth of frozen french fries
3 meals worth of fish sticks
2 meals worth of chicken nuggets
24 slices of garlic bread
Frozen pizza
12 oz frozen egg noodles
package of frozen ravioli
1 C frozen okra
16 oz frozen mixed veggies
2 Cups frozen corn
2 cups frozen peas and carrots


dairy:
10 yogurts
Shredded cheese 2 meals worth for topping
2.5 C shredded mozzerella
4% cottage cheese, 12 oz
20-22 oz ricotta cheese
12 slices american cheese
swiss cheese slices
grated Monterrey jack (1/2 cup, I end up substituting something else usually)
2 cups shredded cheddar
41+ eggs
Milk. All the milk. (nah, I picked up a couple gallons)


cereal:
1 Box/bag granola
peanut butter
2 cereal boxes
8 servings oatmeal
Pop tarts


produce:
Apples
Bananas
4+ celery stalks
red pepper
2 yellow onions
small potatoes
grape tomatoes
5 carrots
broccoli
12 oz baby spinach
3 tomatoes


bakery:
8 english muffins
hamburger buns for one meal
Hawiian Rolls
73+ slices of bread


baking supplies:
waffle ingredients/mix
pancake ingredients/mix
olive oil, at least 1 cup
1/2 packet active dry yeast
4 cups flour


canned goods:
2 cans of black beans
5 cans of soup
4 cans tuna
mayonaise
3 cans ravioli or pasta to go
sloppy joe sauce
1 can corn
better than bullion chicken flavor
1/4 C balsalmic glaze (possible to make your own)
1 can tomato paste
14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
2 14.5 oz cans vegetable broth
1 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup
can of tomato soup
1 jar BBQ sauce
1 can baked beans
28 oz can crushed tomatoes


international:
masa tortilla mix
two boxes of spaghetti
3 jars spaghetti sauce (5 meals, split jars)
4 cups dry pasta
2 cans green chilies (3.4 oz)
3 packs taco seasoning
2 cups dried penne
14 oz jar Alfredo
6 lasagna noodles
2.5 Cups grated parmesan
1 package of tortellini
16 oz can refried beans
2 cups of rice
16 oz can salsa
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies
16-20 tortillas


meat/deli:
2 packages lunchmeat
7 pounds of ground beef
8 chicken breasts

1 rack of ribs

1/2 lb hot breakfast sausage

sliced ham

misc departments:
crackers (for soup and tuna salad)
2-3 cups mashed potatoes (or a box of potato mix and ingredients)
2 16 oz cans beef gravy

Don't forget things like toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc.

Slot Car Racer

It's been a long week!

Classes started again at OWU, and after a week full of classes I needed to make a trip to Target.

Needed for a few things, wanted for some retail therapy, to be completely honest.

At Target, I found something unexpected for Aidan.

A Slot-Car Race Track.

He's two.

He doesn't need a slot-car race track.

But. It was on clearance.

For $12.

Ok, $11.98.

And it's from Cars 2. My child is obsessed with "Lightin' Queen".

I couldn't pass it up.

I was going to save it, but he saw me put it in the cart, and all bets were off.

Even Arlo likes chasing the cars.

This is definitely a toy to be used on a table, under adult supervision. But, he loves it, it was cheap, so why not?

Back to homework for now, I'll try to keep posting in between memorizing chemical equations and cloud types.

After Holiday Update

As usual things have been a little crazy around here, especially with Christmas preparations. I have (as usual) been meaning to update.

I don't have any how-to's today, just thoughts to share.
After using the credit card for Christmas gifts and a hotel reservation, I'm determined to save money. First, obviously, I have to pay off that credit card bill (don't worry, it's not outrageous, but debt is debt).

Recent events in our lives have made me start looking at houses (again, don't worry, we're not moving, plans changed) but it helped me see how conceivable it would be to buy a house in the next few years, after I have a career started. To get there, I'm trying to save, save, save!!

Now, I'm not attempting my "week without spending" again, but I am looking at want vs. need and if there is anything I can do to substitute things that we already have for something I'd go buy ordinarily.

Today, I needed cold cream. I have been using good old Ponds to wash my face and I love it! I didn't want to spend the $5 for the little container, but I cleaned out my wallet and found an old prepaid Visa that expires tomorrow. It still had $11 on it, so there you go, cold cream bought! Without spending money unnecessarily.

While I was at Target for the cold cream, I found a shirt that Aidan didn't honestly need, but I knew he would love it.

It was on clearance, $4.88. He loves "Woody-Buzz". So much in fact that last night he threw a fit when I took off his other Woody shirt, so he slept with it on top of his pajamas. (I paid $2.50 for that one! Clearance again.)
I very, very rarely buy things full-price.

Another money (and sanity) saving plan of mine is to rotate Aidan's toys. He has more than he ever plays with but he hasn't really outgrown them intellectually yet, so I decided to put some away for a few months and then rotate them. His birthday is in June so he's got a great balance between gift times.

"I'll look in the ads for the best deal on tubs!" I thought. I love buying things, it's true. Then I realized, since we buy diapers at Costco, we have huge diaper boxes. I don't need to buy a tub. Sure a box isn't as pretty and isn't as water-proof, but there's at least $5-10 saved right there.

I have another purchase to make, while it's on sale: yarn. I promised Aidan's brother I'd make him an afghan. That may bet a little pricey, but if I buy it while it's on sale and use a coupon I may save a few bucks.

It is tempting to spend a few dollars here and there (lunch out anyone?) but having something big in mind (like buying a house or actually having savings built up) helps me stay on track.

Unique Shopping

Welcome, welcome to the holiday shopping season! Oh wait, that started a month ago according to retail decorations. I'm thankful right about now that I'm done shopping for Aidan and his brothers' Christmas gifts on my list, now just the adults and some home-spun gifts to finish off the rest of those I typically shop for. If you're on my list and reading this, I hope you won't be disappointed if your gift turns out to be cost-effectively home-made. Oh and here's a clue, if I do buy it retail it probably won't be featured here; I'm big on surprises.

I finally started catching up on my magazine reading (or skimming) and cracked open the December/January issue of Country Living. They have a wonderful section full of unique gift ideas titled "fresh picks". I checked a few of the sources out and found some really cool venues.

Sharing this here serves a few purposes:

• I love to share and discuss
• Creating this list allows me to recycle my magazine and not have stacks piling up (ok, I still have stacks, but less in them because of this).
• It serves as another blog post to keep me updating!

The first site I checked out was  the Curiosity Shoppe. Some of their items made me laugh out loud, literally. They have an octopus specimen in a jar! I wouldn't pay their price for him, but these kinds of anomalies are scattered around the site, varying from stocking stuffer prices to, well...not stocking prices at all.

Next, twine has interesting items, ranging from candles shaped like radios to trivets shaped like toast. Pretty nifty stuff.

 Orange and Pear sells items for the home, to wear, for baby, personalized things, etc.

An old favorite for unique items (not featured in CL this month) is the Container Store. They can be a bit pricey but if you're looking for a gift that stands out they have a few cool ideas this year. I like the straw glasses and the re-usable sandwich and snack bags.

Fireworks has a category called "Indescribable"! How cool is that? They are a bit on the pricey side, though.

I hopped on over to Karma Kiss. Among other things, they feature 310 items for $15 or less. It's their largest category. Check them out for anything from toys to wine openers that evolve into trivets.

And last but never least, Mxyplyzyk has a unique site design itself, let alone their products. They sell cups with noses printed on them, so when party guests drink from them they put on a new appendage. Tee-hee. Among other crazy-cool things. They're just cool all over.

Inspired yet?

I am.

Discount Shopping

While waiting at the Dr's office for several routine appointments in the last month, I stumbled upon a few articles with recommended sites for shopping discounts. Naturally, I didn't want to pass up this chance to save some money, so I clicked them into my phone's notebook application and saved them for a later date--it's just taken me a while to get on here to report them.

Most of these are online discounts, but I believe some you can print and use them in-store.

Promotional Codes is a site with infinite ways to search their collection of discounts. They also have links to other savings, at more industry-specific sites, like Chegg, a text-book renter. I have more of these to share later.

Done a little bit differently, RetailMeNot, provides coupons in which you find the one you're interested in on their site and follow the link to your choice of retailer's site and shop from there. I guess it's like magic, I haven't actually tried it out yet. Worth looking into, though!

Next, I found a site for free shipping at all kinds of online retailers. FreeShipping.org

 

You may have already heard of this one. I had, but I hadn't looked it up yet. Looks pretty cool. RedPlum.

I'm not sure exactly how ebates works, but you create a membership and they give you 2% back on all purchases. Or something like that. Check it out if you're interested in it.

Another find for those of us who weren't given great eye sight is Zenni Optical. Glasses start at like $7/pair plus $5 shipping. Particularly for those like me who wear contacts most of the time, this is a big money saver. My last pair were broken by the little guy so I'm looking forward to my order I (finally) placed with them. I've gone months with my glasses held together by electrical tape and a wire tie.

If you do use Zenni Optical, you'll need to know your glasses prescription and the distance between your pupils. That's something your eye doc should have on file for you though.


Let's see...I started this post in August and have found a few more since then.

I haven't used this site yet, so I'm still not 100% about it, but I found it on Google and they have Cricut cartridges (and other craft supplies) pretty darn cheap at Oh My Crafts.

Oh, yeah, don't forget about Scholastic warehouse sales!! I really want to go to another one, but I don't know if I'd survive another 8 hours of straightening books again. 

I'll keep looking and sharing what I find!

Goodwill Finds

I don't know about you, but I love shopping the secondhand store. Particularly for home goods and of course baby clothes. The thing about the secondhand stores I love so much is that you never know what you'll find. I love stumbling across things that just make me smile.

I found this for $2.50:

 

It's a cute little kitchen decoration of a Latin market. I can't wait to cook near it. 

I also found some bakeware that I had to have:

I can see it being used for serving rice more than baking in it, but it's a good addition.

I also LOVE buying kid's books at the thrift store, they're so cheap compared to retail and even Half-Price Books. If there were a specific book I were looking for in a bit of a hurry I would skip strait to HPB and then a book store, but if I'm just looking for something to pad the bookshelf with I'll browse the racks at the thrift store. Most books are $2 or less.

I actually found several books in English and Spanish which I love for Aidan and his brothers. I found enough I had to decide which ones I wanted to get the most. It made me nostalgic to find a Little Critter book for Aidan, he already has some of mine from when I was little but he's getting a few of his own, too.

On a separate trip I found some baby moccasins. I just had to get them, plus it's honoring Aidan's heritage, no matter how removed the Shawnee are getting with each generation. 

Thanks for sharing in our excitement over our finds! What are your favorite things to come by on the secondhand shelf?