The #OneGrandFamilyChallenge is over! The month really flew by and I can’t believe I’m typing up the final post. What an eye opening experience this has been. Before I get into it though, here’s a quick summary and the previous posts in case you missed it. The Challenge was to spend a maximum of R1,000 a week on ALL groceries (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, school lunchboxes) while still creating interesting and healthy meals for a family of 4. Spoiler Alert – I nailed it! Which goes to show that a little bit of planning and time can make a world of difference to your budget. The low-down on the #OneGrandFamilyChallenge…
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Week Four Recap of the #OneGrandFamilyChallenge
This challenge has really opened my eyes to how much of food we both eat, and spend on. It felt restrictive to me to shop with a R1,000 budget even though I managed to still cook balanced and healthy meals and we were short of nothing. That being said, there are 14 million people going hungry every day in South Africa. I can’t even comprehend such a staggering number of people going to bed hungry and thinking of the number of kids that make up the 14 million just makes me want to cry. Food Lovers Market has been running a World Hunger Month campaign concurrently with the #OneGrandFamilyChallenge. They…
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The beginning of the end
I reached a turning point today. It happened while I was at gym because what else is there to do while on a treadmill but re-evaluate your life am I right?? There I was, suffering but enjoying the workout and wondering why I wait so long between gym visits (I didn’t even make my 36 swipes last year. Bye bye 75% discount!) Lately I’v been feeling as if I am spreading myself too thin. By trying to do too much, I have been putting a half assed effort into everything. And that’s not me. I love my life. I have a husband who adores me, two kids who fill my…
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Week Four – The #OneGrandFamilyChallenge
This budgeting business is definitely getting easier. It also helps to shop at the same store because I know more or less the cost of groceries at Food Lovers Market now so when I plan the meals I can balance out the cost of ingredients through the week. Here is my Meal Plan for Week 4 I spent a total of R991,10 on groceries today and this is what it looked like You really can get a TON of fresh produce and ingredients for R1,000. All it takes is about half an hour of planning a week. Here’s is a list of what I bought: In case you missed it,…
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Week Three Recap of the #OneGrandFamilyChallenge
I can (almost) confidently say that meal planning is now a habit for me. I love having a list of what to cook instead of standing in front of the fridge and tying to come up with a balanced meal every day. Besides saving money, this whole process is really saving me time. If you ignore the time it takes to take pics and upload it all to social media that is, haha! Here’s a recap of the weeks meals: Day 15 – Monday – Lentil & Mushroom Quesadillas This was the first time I have ever cooked with lentils and I really don’t know why! The Quesadillas were delicious.…
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Week Three – The #OneGrandFamilyChallenge
We are heading into Week 3 of the challenge and I am attempting to balance out my more expensive ingredients with more cost effective meals on other days. Monday’s Lentil Quesadillas is balancing out Fridays Prawn Thai Curry for instance. Here is the Meal Plan for this week: And this is the shopping list: Rolling over ingredients from previous weeks, such as the wasabi, is adding more flavor to my meals. The girls are also getting used to snacking on fruit and veggies which is a lovely healthy spin off. In case you missed it, here’s the Week Two recap. And don’t forget, Food Lovers Market is giving away R1,000…
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Week Two Recap of the #OneGrandFamilyChallenge
We’re almost half way there! I am into the second week of the challenge and things are getting easier. Long term ingredients are being rolled over which is giving me more options to work with. I had fun with the cooking as usual but my favorite meal this week was definitely the Peanut Beef Stirfry on Saturday. It was such a cold day and this meal was just pure comfort food. If you missed it, here’s a recap of the weeks meals: Day 8 – Monday – Falafel and Wasabi Wraps I know this sounds like a weird combination but IT WORKS! I had to use half a tube of…
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My first experience with a Cyber Bully
I had my very first negative social media experience on Friday. It happened out of the blue and caught me quite unawares. Even though it hasn’t upset me (that much), it has made me think a bit on how easy it is to bully somebody on social media. First some background I have been working on the #OneGrandFamilyChallenge since the beginning of May. Every week I meal plan and budget for all my families food needs (meals/lunchboxes/snacks/treats) and then each night I post of pic of what I made for dinner. This is done on Instagram and Facebook with an ingredient picture followed by the completed meal pic. There is…
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An open letter to my mum in anticipation of Mother’s Day
I am not an emotionally demonstrative person. For me personally, it is much easier to show someone how I feel through my actions as opposed to my words. However, if anyone deserves a public display of affection, it’s my mum. So I will attempt to put into words what I know I could never articulate in person. Mum, this is for you… I see you You have always been Mum. With the blindness and self centeredness of a child, I wasn’t truly able to see you as more than my parent until I myself became a mother. Now I see you; as a woman with a husband that you love…
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Week Two – The #OneGrandFamilyChallenge
Week Two has rolled around and I’m feeling more confident in terms of meal planning as well as grocery shopping. I did the shop this morning and came back with a few treats over and above the groceries. I planned on doing some baking this week because we pretty much just snacked on Marie Biscuits last week (they were lovely but still). The Bakery section beckoned and it worked out WAY cheaper to buy a few baked goods as opposed to making them. I came home with 5 croissants, 3 doughnuts and a Malva pudding all for the grand total of R60! Score!! It’s actually a test of my willpower…
