No, I am not talking about weight loss this time.  This is all about my money diet.  My family spent the month of November living on a fixed budget of $500.  As you will see below, we ALMOST made it on $500.

The goal was to live simply and stick to necessities.  The $500 budget had to cover food, transportation, self-care and entertainment for a family of five.  No entertainment happened really, with the exception of our weekend trip to Whistler with our congregation.  While it was a lot of fun and totally worthwhile, it happened to eat a lot of our gas budget.  But let’s not focus on the negative.  Allow me show you how we managed.  Here is a brief breakdown:

Yes, we overspent a bit, but I am still really proud of how we did!

The majority of our budget was dedicated to food.  Let me say this…thank God my freezer and pantry were mildly stocked with the essentials.  I know that we would not have made it without some of the items I had on hand.

Transportation came in second.  Both my husband and I have really short commutes to work.  Our son, who is in high school, is usually driven to school in the mornings.  He returns home on the bus.  In November, he had to take the bus to school more frequently.  If only we could take public transportation more often, we would have saved tremendously more in this area.

Lessons learned:

1.  Some conveniences are financially inconvenient. There was, and continues to be, a lot of shirt ironing in my house.  My husband dresses professionally for work every day.  Usually, he would take his shirts to be laundered and ironed at the dry cleaners.  Well, there was none of that during our money diet. In fact, we have decided to continue in this respect going forward.  I am not a huge fan of ironing, but a bit of inconvenience for me will save us some $$.

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2.  Meal planning is integral! You cannot succeed on this diet without being totally and absolutely organized in meal planning.  I had to shop smarter than usual, stick to a strict meal plan, and buy only the ingredients needed for my food prep for the week. More on my meal planning system here.

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3.  Simple vegetarian meals should take centre stage. Please do not think that we normally eat caviar and wash it down with champagne.  However, incorporating more inexpensive meals into your week will be good for your pocketbook.  Eggs for dinner?!  Why not!

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4.  Brows can go ungroomed… for a longer while. Needless to say…my eyebrows did not look like this in November. Whatever you do to take care of yourself, please do, but you can do it less frequently or without professional assistance.

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5.  Kids need to hear about your budget. Our kids talked quite a bit about the money diet and were curious how we were doing.   It is important to get them engaged in these conversations, show them that you are challenging yourself to do something better or differently.  The other day, my son wanted to know why I did not put portobello mushrooms into the lasagna.  Well, the answer was simple.  Mushrooms were not in my budget for lasagna that week.

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What we were doing this month will continue for the most part going forward.  Being extra mindful of our spending and limiting ourselves to the necessities was powerful and rewarding.  If you need an extra push or place to start in better managing your finances, try out a money diet.

Do you plan your meals for the week in advance or are you more of a day-by-day type of person?  I engage in weekly meal planning, but not always as meticulously as I would like to.  However, now being on a money diet I cannot help but be much more systematic. In fact, I started thinking whether there is one specific way of approaching meal planning that is more effective, for me anyway.  There is and here it is:

Eating on a restricted budget this month forces me to rely heavily on what I already have in my pantry, fridge, and freezer.  I have resolved that I need to do this at all times, whether I am on a money diet or not.  I recommend always examining closely what you already have on hand rather than starting by building off a specific menu.   Think creatively about what you find and how to utilize those ingredients in preparing at least a meal or two for the week.  For example, in checking my freezer this past Sunday, I found a couple of packages of Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry, which then reminded me of a lovely recipe for Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlets which I recently read on Jenny Steffens Hobick blog.  In addition to the puff pastry, it calls for onions and goat cheese.  Bingo!  I had all of the ingredients on hand.  No purchases required to make these beauties:

image via Jenny Steffens Hobick

Consulting your schedule for the week to come is equally important for figuring out the number of meals or the quantity of food you need to purchase and then prepare.  Will there be days when it makes sense for you to go out for a meal?  Perhaps, you were invited out for a dinner with friends or your spouse will be away on a business trip, which might affect the amount or type of food you will need to prepare.  I find that the times when I do not take our schedule into account carefully, I end up with food surplus and, thus, a financial waste as well.

I believe strongly that if there is one area of organization that would have an overwhemingly positive effect on all households, it would be a commitment to meal planning. My formula for meal planning is not quite mathematical, but it guarantees to reward you with the following benefits:

What is your formula?

As I shared with you recently, I am working on losing some weight.  In order to succeed, I need to eat healthily throughout the day.  That means, preparing “clean” lunches for work every day.  When you juggle work, family, meetings, household responsibilities, and so many other things in between, it is hard to make clean lunches a priority.  However, I have committed to a self-prescribed regimen and am desperately trying to stick with it.

I have decided to automate my lunch preparation by focusing on:

1. A handful of recipes that will be high in fiber and include healthy proteins and fats and lots of veggies.  These recipes will not sacrifice flavour or taste.

2. Preparing meals for a couple of days in advance.

3.  Supplementing lunches with a couple of healthy snacks.

4.  Stocking up on healthy pre-packaged lunch options for those days when, no matter how well I plan and organize, I will not be able to prepare home cooked meals.

Some of the recipes from my automated repertoire:

Lentil soup gets better with age.  Let it sit for a day in the fridge and the flavour will intensify.

I add flax meal to many different recipes now.  Each tablespoon of flax meal contains 3 g of fiber.  I love flax for its nutritional value and its delish nutty flavour.  Try it in breads, muffins, hot cereal; whisk it into pancake or waffle batter, or add it to your yogurt.

Quinoa is considered to be a super grain. Rich in protein and fiber, quinoa has a fluffy, creamy, and slightly crunchy texture. One cup of quinoa has 5 1/2 g of protein and 3 g of fiber.

In addition to the lunch, I try to bring at least two snacks to work.  Some of my favorites:

Cut-up veggies, brown rice cake with a teaspoon of peanut butter and sliced apples, unsalted roasted almonds.

For the unavoidable days, when I will not have the time or the energy to prepare lunches, I have some Amy’s Kitchen organic frozen meals on hand.  Most of them are about 250-400 calories each and all are quite tasty.

Now I am curious to learn about your clean lunches.  What delicious and nutritious items do you pack for work?  What organizing routines do you have in place to make lunch preparation less of a hassle?

I dread making lunches! Although I do not wish for my kids to grow up too fast, too soon, but it is with great anticipation that I look forward to the day when they will be independent enough to prepare their own lunches. Until then, I try to make the task of making five lunches every weekday a little less overwhelming by staying organized.

THE RIGHT TOOLS: If you have more than one school lunch to pack, consider colour coding the containers and lunch boxes to avoid confusion when packing lunches.  My littlest one starting Pre-K this year is getting pink, her favorite.

ONLY H2O: My kids drink water at school.  I do not buy juice boxes.  Each child has a water bottle and no one complains about the water only rule.

PRE-ARRANGED SNACKS: I have a variety of snacks prepared in my pantry and some in the fridge ready to go for the next day.  The struggle is always to have enough healthy snack varieties.  According to nutritionists, kids’ snacks, with the exception of cheese, should be no more than 200 calories per serving and contain no more than 8 grams of fat.

Some of the favorites in our house:

- fresh fruit or cut-up veggies

- dried mango

- yogurt

- cheese sticks

- lox (just plain)

- boiled egg whites

- roasted seaweed (from Trader Joe’s – my kids LOVE it)

- popcorn (Trader Joe’s makes wonderful pre-packaged popcorn snacks)

I hope to be baking a bit more of my own healthy muffins.  These days, I am sneaking flax meal into as many recipes as possible.  Here is a carrot zucchini muffin recipe that I think is terrific.  Throw in 3 table spoons of flax meal to add extra dietary fiber.  These muffins meet the nutritional requirements for healthy snacks too!

LUNCH STAPLES: At my kids’ school, only meat-free kosher meals are permitted.  Yes, it is an additional layer of complication to making lunches healthy!  Not mention, making them exciting to picky eaters.  There are two products we can’t live without and always have in our freezer: Morning Star Original Chicken Patties (they are actually imitation chicken protein) and Amy’s Pizza products.

In addition to the above, I try to make a batch of home-made macaroni and cheese every week.  It is helpful on those days when you are running late.  Every other week or so, I splurge on some sushi for the kids.  It is a good source of protein AND they love it.

LOVE NOTES: My kids love getting notes from me in their lunch boxes.  I have made a commitment to do more of that this school year.  I have prepared a bunch of little cards for easy writing in the morning.  No need for fancy.  Being sweet, funny, encouraging, loving, and supportive is what matters.

What are your tricks for making lunch preparation hassle-free?  I am also eager to learn about healthy lunches your kids eat.  Please share!

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