$4 a Day January Challenge -- Week 4 + the last 2 days of January

Last week I didn't have to buy much food because I had a lot of food that I'd previously purchased, but not cooked left over.  Here is what my grocery purchases looked like last week:

That set me back a whopping $6.47!  I also had to buy some cat food later in the week for $2.17 .  So my total purchases were $8.64.


Here's what I ate:


Breakfasts were coffee and oatmeal or pastries, which were provided at work.  I didn't want to take pictures of my pastries because, well, that would have been a little awkward.  I also had this:

Lunches were:

of course.


For dinners I had:

My man friend and I made a stuffed crust sausage pizza. 

 Tuna Noodle Casserole.

I also attempted my own personal version of Monkey Bread.  I've never made Monkey Bread before and I don't have a bundt pan (*gasp*!), so I improvised.  The result was delicious, but not as good as it could be, I think.  So, before I share it with you, I want to tweek it a bit . . .

My man friend and I also went out to dinner one night at a Mexican restaurant.  I bought dinner for about $24, but I didn't get any pictures. 

During the last 2 days of January I didn't have to buy anything. I had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast.  For lunch I had leftovers from the Mexican dinner that I didn't get pictures of.  And, for dinner I had:

Baked spaghetti with garlic bread.

In total, I spent $121.66 this month on food and supplies, which is a HUGE decrease in what I had been spending.  And, I stayed well within my $4/day goal. 

I learned a lot doing this.  I will be shopping grocery ads rather than doing all of my shopping at Wal-Mart.  I will also be a lot more conscious of my waste. I am a self-proclaimed food hoarder.  Until I did this little challenge, I had no idea how much of the food I was purchasing was actually being eaten and how much was being shoved into cabinets and eventually tossed.  I can't say that I'll be so extreme as to commit myself to a $4/day food and supply budget in perpetuity, but I can say that I will definitely be forcing myself to adhere to a budget in the future. 

I do have to admit, though, I did hate not having the ability to try new recipes at my leisure.  So, I'm excited for February -- bring on the new recipes!