We still need to talk about the bigger money issues (as in my job and how that's affecting things....) but for now let's talk some more about these groceries.
I get the sense people think we're eating rubbish... and yet I still honest-to-goodness think R3200 is too much to spend on groceries.
From May I'm taking the grocery budget over completely (wish me luck - because D actually sticks to a list 100 times better than I do) in an effort to see where we're getting sidetracked.
I suspect it's the over-abundance of snacks. ...
(I learnt yesterday that I shouldn't make a hundred dots like I do - an ellipse only has 3 but next to a full stop if it's at the end of a sentence, there will be 4 dots in a row. Who knew?!)
(I also need to stop doing this ?! ?! ?! :))
Moving on!
I thought we'd talk about a different part of the groceries each time to compare properly.... today, let's talk about breakfasts.
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| muesli, yoghurt and there's some nuts and things tossed in there too (overlooking Greenmarket Square) |
Right, so in this house, we eat a fruit and cereal for breakfast.
I usually eat breakfast at work but from May 5 (I can't WAIT!), I'll be home so it will feel like a weekend every day.
In the colder months, I have an orange every morning. The kids can choose their fruit but they need to have at least one orange daily (I swear by this - that's why I never get the flu).
I alternate - Bran Flakes/ Multigrain flakes with a small handful of raisins and skim milk OR muesli and yoghurt. Since I alternate and eat only the correct Weigh-Less portion, one box of each probably lasts me a month, if not longer (I will start keeping track for the more OCD amongst us).
D has Weetbix/ Pronutro/ Bfast/ Oats and something else that's escaping me (I call it a kids' cereal so almost no nutritional value :)).
The kids can choose whatever they like. Connor eats more than I do so he will have 2 Weetbix easily, and Kendra eats like a normal, healthy nearly-5-year-old girl.
Anyway, we buy a lot of cereal and fruit!
And then we have water (and for me, tea after that). I buy 1 X 1.5 L orange juice every weekend (because sometimes the kids eat all the oranges and I need my vitamin C).
This is the same story on the weekends except in winter I like a toasted hot cross bun with cheese, and tea, instead of the cereal.
The kids and D will add a slice of toast with jam/ marmalade.
(Gosh, I'm looking forward to winter!)
We never eat eggs for breakfast simply because there's no way I'm that "awake" in the morning to make it.
I will sometimes do eggs for lunch on a Saturday but I'm also of the school of thought that too many eggs = high cholesterol. I know a lot of you don't believe that but MY body subscribes to that theory because when I eat 3-egg omelettes at Mugg and Bean, and then get my cholesterol tested, it's over 5!). I won't bore you with the details but I did my experiments properly, ok?
Tip - we've trained the kids to have an apple if they're hungry and to only wake us when they're ready for "real food".
What does your family have for breakfast?
Do you eat breakfast?
I think R3200 is quite a sensible amount. breakfasts in our house start with weetbix/oats with Daddy when they get up. Then they'll have berries (expensive but worth it), granadillas/plums/guavas and yoghurt plus a piece of toast/cheese/avocado. Snacks are a big expense- we do almonds/raisins/dried fruit etc. We eat 99% of our meals at home- I like to know what my girls (+us) consume. When my husband does shopping we tend to spend more.
ReplyDeleteI am going to also do a blog post - David actually suggest I do this to figure it out and then your post was up :)
ReplyDeleteDuring the week N eats breakfast at school, and I usually have either leftovers or a piece of toast or whatever on the fly. Over weekends we have one cereal day and one fry up day. I actually don't think we end up spending a lot on snacks. I buy a few packets of chips a month and there is always sweets and chocolates in the house if you feel like some, but neither Nicola nor I dip into that heavily so it lasts almost forever. I always make sure that there are apples in the house - N loves them! She works her way through a bag of apples a week easily.
ReplyDeleteI think that R3200 is low actually! I assume that it's purely food you're referring to though and no household items? In the week, I eat cereal at work (two bricks of Weetbix - unless I feel like a smoothie at gym in which case I buy a large one after my morning workout and skip the cereal), hubby doesn't eat breakfast at all and Ethan eats one brick of Weetbix followed by either yoghurt or a fruit. On the weekends, hubby sticks to skipping breakfast unless we're out where his choice will usually be oats unless it's after 10-ish then it's lunch food in his mind. I like to make egg bread and Ethan just sticks to the usual. I'm convinced that I spend more than R3200 though!!! Inspired by you to start keeping a budget 'cos I'm sure we can cut it down :-)
ReplyDeleteKade eats cereal and yoghurt for breakfast. Cliff has muesli and yoghurt. I have yoghurt and fruit when I'm at work and I have been having toast with either peanut butter or cheese whilst I've been on maternity leave. Gemma has milk ;)
ReplyDeleteOn weekends we will sometimes have scrambled eggs and toast as a family.
xxx
Oh question, does the R3200.00 cover JUST food or does that include utilities?
ReplyDeleteVariety you all have for sure :)
ReplyDeleteMe and D have oats with peanut butter every morning.
Kids have either Maltabella or maize porridge.
In the week they eat at school, either oats or mielie meal with a fruit. So they have a 100g yoghurt at home and a fruit or if we're out of fruit, a biscuit.. just to keep them going until breakfast because we wake up at 6am and breakfast at school is only at 8h15am. On a Saturday I let them eat whatever sugary non nutritional cereal they have chosen (!!) - this box lasts loooooong because they literally only eat it once a week on a Saturday. This month they have those horrible Smurf blue Oatees! So they eat that and then they eat again when hubby makes our breakfast - either toast if we're off somewhere quick (like puppy school) or we do bacon and egg if we having a lazy morning. kids love bacon and egg, love toast, love avo.. ALL the breakfast things! I like them to have a glass of milk in the mornings when they can because they get very little calcium in in my opinion. On Sundays we have to be at church EARLY. Like 6h45 early. So again they have a yoghurt and fruit to get them going and then they have breakie at church.. dry oatees and raisins. Most weekends I have to serve in the following service so I pack a snack pack for them and Byron takes them to the park to wait until I am done at church. In the week, I sometimes have muesli and yoghurt, occassionally weetbix, sometimes just biscuits with my morning coffee.. whatever I feel for that day really :)
ReplyDeleteWe're on the Banting way of eating so we all have different meals :) Dean has his bullet proof coffee during the week, O has either oats, toast with p butter or futurelife. I only have bfast at about 9 and right now it's a two egg omelette with bacon/ham, mushrooms and lots of cheese. (other D is at hostel during the week). Weekends we usually make Almond pancakes with cream and blueberries or a bit fry up - eggs, bacon, onion, grilled mushroms etc.
ReplyDeleteWe don’t do any cereals and we also don’t do milk. I buy Weetbix for Joshua – he has 2 at a time, sometimes 3 – usually with boiling water. Joel wants to crunch so eats toast or rice cakes with leftover protein from the night before. I LOVE protein for breakfast as it makes me feel fuller for longer. If I just eat a carb then I’m hungry within an hour. So I would have a bit of leftover protein (occasionally a boiled egg) with a cracker or a rice cake or a slice of toast. Lance doesn’t do breakfast and may or may not grab an apple - he does eat some of Joshua's weetbix - maybe once a week. Never more than 2 pieces. I pack in fruit for school but it mostly comes back home so I they mostly come home. I make them eat it as a snack while they are waiting for dinner. I have fruit as a snack during the day.
ReplyDeleteI don't eat breakfast on week days. I just have a cup of tea. On most days I'll have a snack around 10am. Right now its often a hot cross bun. More often than not, its junk food as a snack. Terribly unhealthy I know. We always have weetbix, jungle oats and pronutro and muesli at home for everyone else to eat though. I always buy extra boxes of cereal when they are on special so I don't buy them every month. We go through a lot of yougurt and milk during the week too. On weekends we usually have bacon, eggs, sausages and toast.
ReplyDeleteI think R3200 is low too, but we spend also on nappies and dog food.
ReplyDeleteI eat porridge and banana, Brett eats banana and yoghurt, Nicky eats banana and bits of our food.
I would sometimes have a banana and within an hour a cup of Special K or half of cup of pronutro with a 3/4 cup of lactose free milk! Yes I do measure. And some days peanut butter and banana on brown toast (yummy) or 1/2 a cup of lactose free yoghurt and muesli. I'm too lazy to have anything fancy like a warm breakfast, good I like my milk cold (even in winter) and I hardly take hot drinks except occasionally when we have friends over and would have all the works! (Think English breakfast) but I'm fine to have cereal with my cold milk everyday! Hubby however doesn't eat breakfast! I've started "forcing" him to have a banana or another piece of fruit at least. And the little miss is still having her 4- 6 ounces of milk
ReplyDeleteI think 3200 is reasonable. Does it include household supplies or just food? Right now our biggest expense is formula! The price jumped from R149 to R179 in one week and we use at least 4-5 tins a month! And diapers of course :)
$3200 for a month?! That would last me roughly half the month here! And my dirty little secret, 4 days a week we eat breakfast, lunch, and two snacks at cousins house! So if that is a monthly rate I think you're making out.
ReplyDeleteAs I've been reminded all too frequently, city life is overpriced! Do you pay more being so close to city, for everything in general? We do!
My kids get breakfast and lunch free at school, but they eat cereal here before they go anyway. They go through cereal like crazy. I am not a huge cereal (or breakfast) fan, so I tend to wait until almost lunchtime and then have a bagel with cream cheese or I go straight to lunch and skip it all together. I do like yogurt in the mornings if the kids haven't plowed through it all. And coffee. Must have lots of coffee. Our grocery bill has gone up significantly since moving, and because of that we barely eat out any longer.
ReplyDeleteOats all the way... or pretty much!!! If we have cereal then we eat the entire box and imagine that "times 30" for a month. So cereal on Sundays for a treat and because we have to get out the door early for church and otherwise oats. Occasionally, if I change things up and have muffins... no-one feels like they have had breakfast. These guys are used to and feel like they need to start the day with a bowl of oats... works for me. I don't do breakfast on Saturdays, the father person always has a morning meeting... so we linger till later and have a brunch after he gets back... with croissants, or egg and bacon. Hood #1 loves to make a "the works breakfast" for everyone and whoever is visiting, and I am quite happy for him to develop this life skill!!!
ReplyDeleteI seldom eat breakfast. I know that's a bad habit. I usually eat fruit around 10 'o clock qnd then I only eat again at suppertime. I don't think R3200 is toomuch to spend on groceries.
ReplyDeleteWe go through a lot of cereal and fruit, but cereal is not for me. All three kids and Tom love cereal. I'm lactose intolerant and just can't stand the texture with the cold. Except when I was pregnant with the boys and I had banana-nut cheerios every day!!! I will have an almond-kale smoothie made with almond milk, almond butter, kale, coconut oil and two pitted dates. I blend it away and drink it on my drive to work. I still have it on weekends too it's so yummy. The only time I'll make eggs for breakfast is more lunch brunch on Sundays after we get back from church. The boys can really down their eggs. If we have hard-boiled eggs around, they will definitely eat them fast.
ReplyDelete