A capful of oil, Food in April, meal planning, stretching the pantry,

So, I mentioned that we had another budget cut.  I can't see our budget getting any smaller.  Ouch...it really does hurt.  I did go and get on WIC.   That was a bit difficult for me.  I don't want to be dependent on services.  It has helped quite a bit.  I'll venture to say it's going to be the thing that helps us get through.  I have $100 a week for food plus WIC.  I have to be out of the house most days for things like the YMCA classes, taking my Grandma to her classes, friends, or church activities.  So, I'm not really menu planning.  I'm just buying enough groceries to get us through a few days.  Then, I try to stretch that food another day or two.  I have a pretty meager pantry currently and almost nothing in the freezer.  But, I just don't feel right stocking up on stuff.  We need to eat what we have.

A few months ago I was watching TV.  There was a woman doing her shopping in an open market. I want to say Africa, but I can't recall.  I just remember she got oil in the capful.  Just enough for that meal of cooking.  And, all I could think of was how I had been complaining about being low on oil.  And, yet I had so many capfuls of oil in my fridge.  

Thank you God for your abundant blessings.  

Food is on our table.

Food is in our bellies.  

Breakfasts we have eaten: 

Cold cereal with soymilk

eggs and toast

baked beans

smoothies (blueberries from Costco, flaxseed, soymilk, banana, and raw oatmeal)

Lunches and snacks we have eaten: 

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Chickpea salad on bread

leftovers

ramen

hard boiled eggs

deviled eggs

fruit

peanut butter cookies

Bread pretzels with mustard

Dinners we have eaten 

(I offer salad, fruit, and/or frozen veggies on the side.  We have had some canned veggies this month.  I don't usually do that, but it's one of those things I'm willing to do now.):  

We ate out a friends house once. 

Orange chicken, Peanut Butter Chicken, cornbread, rice, and spinach. (This was a clean out the freezer meal.)

Salmon Burgers with tater tots and canned green beans.

Veggie Burgers (got a big box at Costco).  

Soup and bread

Grilled Cheese, salad, and tater tots.

Taco Soup with all the fixins.

Tacos with all the fixins (I fry corn tortillas.  It's really tasty and much cheaper than those boxes of taco shells.)  We top ours with refried beans, shredded cheese, cilantro, onion, radish, finely sliced lettuce, salsa, pico pica sauce.  Rice with fresh lime juice on the side.

Homemade pizza.  We usually make personal size pizzas.  We top with a variety of stuff from whatever was on sale or I have around the house.  This time we had red sauce, pepperoni, black olives, green onions, black refried beans, cheddar cheese, mozzarella, chopped tomato.  I like to make pizza on Friday and use our leftovers from the last few days.  You can use barbecued chicken, curried meats or veggies, the list goes on.  It's amazing what's good on pizza.