Wonder vs Wheat Bread (week 1)

My favorite food is junk food, especially in the form of chocolate.  I used to sell Dove Chocolate and loved it because I sold what I really believed in, really good chocolate.  So trying to live a healthier lifestyle has not been the easiest for me.  But when is it really easy for anyone?

What is really hard is totally changing everything I know, the foods I buy, the way I cook, what meals to cook, the lunches I pack, the things I snack on, the way I de-stress, all kinds of things have changed, or are in the process of. 

My husband has been beyond supportive and really the only way I have not given up entirely and eaten that entire jug of chocolate caramel pecan clusters from Costco that I have SO been wanting to buy.  It probably helps that he has lost 10 lbs from just eating better.  But the past several weeks we have really slipped back into our old routine because salads were getting boring and our grocery bill has been really high and I don't know what else to do.  I buy milk and cereal, and also tons of fruits and veggies and meats and it just explodes the budget. 

A few nights ago, Tyson plugged all the receipts in the computer (we keep track of everything we spend and make a budget to try and keep from spending more than we make.  Tyson is the main person that does this, but I fully support it and do my best to spend only the lot of money allotted for the different areas).  After he had tirelessly had done all that, he told me the bad news.  We had spent hundreds of dollars over what we were supposed to on food.  Not good.

I was SO mad at myself and mad at food.  Why does it have to cost so much?  I don't feel like I am buying any fancy stuff or wasting food (minus the three peaches that went bad before we ate them).  Where does the money go?!  How can we afford to feed four growing boys when they are just little boys?  What are we going to do when they are teenagers and bringing over all their friends?  What am I going to do?!

Instead of giving up and chucking my cookbooks out the back door along with my sanity, I am clinging to a hope that I can, somehow, learn to shop frugally and cook healthy food.  So, my goal is to blog about it weekly to keep tabs on my progress and to share what I am learning.  You are welcome to learn with me and share what you know.

So far:

-The things that make me spend too much: meat, milk, BUTTER (never even noticed how expensive it is), cheese, baby food, bread/buns/tortillas, and any fruit or veggie bought out of season.

-It is cheaper to buy more for a meal to ensure leftovers, than the money it would cost for a separate lunch.

-There are apps that you can download that let you make a grocery list and have your local stores and the coupons for those stores.  I have seriously always hated the thought of couponing, but I am going to learn more about it, to see if it would be worth my time.

-I also have been researching A TON about school lunches. 
1. Bento lunches or lunchboxes.  Apparently it began as a single serving homemade lunch in Japan, especially for their loved ones.  They often take great care with them and will carve intricate things out of the food to make it appealing and beautiful.  It has evolved into every super cool mom blog having amazing lunches for their kids.  I am not one of those moms, but I am trying to make something more exciting than pb&j everyday, which I'm pretty sure Josh OD'd on last year.  He hates them now.  I did purchase some bento Tupperware (just the basic kind, no frills) yesterday, I will let you know how it turns out.
2. There is a ton of blogs out there to help teach you about lunches and how to make them easy and exciting and healthy for you and your kids.  So, as I find good ones, I will let you know.  Don't expect me to be carving ninja turtles out of pickles, but who knows?  :)  This is how I tell me kids I love them in their lunches:

They know if mom takes a bite, it means she loves them.  Tyson and I started that just to eat some of their yummy food, but now they don't feel loved if we don't take a bite. 

Matthew will sometimes bring me his food and say "You no love me?"
me: "Matthew, what are you talking about?  Of course I love you."
Matthew: "You no take bite my handwhich."
me: "Oh!  I'm so sorry!" (take bite) "There you go."
Matthew: "Tank you so much!!  Me wove you too!"

It is adorable and kind of crazy.  All right, until next week!!