Day 4 concludes

I joined in the birthday celebration today and ate a cupcake.  I calculated the cost and need to add 58 cents to my budget.  I had Ramen noodles and saltines for lunch and raviolis for dinner.  The worst part about this is really the choices are just limited and the same things gets monotonous.  I think I'm a little over $21 for total spent, though I still have enough food for the rest of the experiment.

Day 4

Something interesting happened this morning, I actually woke up feeling hungry.  I have never really been a breakfast eater and often go without breakfast if I've had my coffee.  I woke up today thinking, gosh, I'm hungry that's odd.  Then I got to thinking either I typically eat too much which is why I stay full longer or I'm not getting enough to eat.  Either way, it's getting me off schedule.  I ate an egg sandwich for breakfast and then had my coffee.  Lunch today is Ramen noodles and dinner will be cheese ravioli.

Day 3 concludes

I am running low on bread, growing tired of Ramen noodles...so I scrambled some eggs for dinner.  I went ahead and fried an egg for my breakfast sandwich Thursday morning.  One positive I can say is this has really eliminated the guesswork out of deciding what I'm eating for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  But that is also a negative in that my options are really limited.  That's kind of depressing, not having options and the same old thing is getting mundane.

Day 3

Today has been a hectic day at work.  I had coffee first thing and usually eat a little something for breakfast around 10 but it wasa so crazy that I didn't get to come up for air until almost noon.  I decided to go ahead and eat lunch, tuna salad sandwich and a pudding cup.  I computed the cost of my salty treat looking at how many servings per container and what I consumed.  I totaled 24 cents for the hummus and 22 cents for the chips, so that adds 46 cents to my total.  I wish I could have taken my generic cheese nips back for a refund but some how I'm thinking that wasn't an option.  I could put that $1.35 towards a more flavorful salty snack.  Day three isn't too bad.  I am down to half a loaf of bread and I'm hoping I don't run out before Sunday. 

Day 2 Concludes

Today wasn't so bad.  I need a break from Ramen noodles for lunch so I made tuna salad to make a sandwich at work tomorrow.  The generic cheese nips at the Dollar Store that I purchased for $1.35 are quite disgusting.  They left this film in my mouth that was horrid!  Those are now in the trash.  My dog wouldn't even eat one.  I had divided the box up into five snack size baggies.  Probably because my only snack item is now gone, I was craving something salty this evening.  I ended up snacking on a few chips and hummus that I found in the fridge.  I'll have to calculate the cost to add that into my budget.  I foresee this mishap has likely putting me slightly over my $21, considering I only had 92 cents left.

Day 2

Still missing my dunkin donuts coffee with caramel and cream.  Mistake was made today in effort to "soften" up my bread a little bit, I nuked it.  Yeah, that was gross.  It made it kind of doughy.  I cooked my egg last night and had it in a ziploc baggie to be better prepared.  Ramen noodles and saltines are on the menu for lunch.  I thought I was going to have to go to a training class Wednesday and Thursday, which would require taking a sack lunch while watching everyone else dine at the Mexican Restaurant or Chilis, but thankfully, mine was scheduled for the following week, whew!  Dodge the bullet on that one.  I don't think I would have been able to sit through that.  What I find myself missing the most is fresh produce.  I always have fresh pineapple and grapes available but there was no way my budget would have allowed fresh pineapple, maybe a sprig of grapes.  It's sad that you can't eat healthy on a low budget and you can forget buying organic if your income is limited.  I couldn't even afford to get any fresh fruits or veggies from the farmer's market.  It's sad that it cost so much to eat a healthier diet.  Not that I am a health freak by any means but what I do eat and like, I couldn't afford this week.

Conclusion of day 1

It wasn't too bad.  My sweet tooth was really missing a treat today, but I survived.   I ended up eating an egg sandwich for dinner.  It was okay.  I didn't have enough money for cheese but with spices from the cupboard, I was able to jazz it up a bit.  The cheaper bread that I bought at wal-mart, while it has a use by date of October 5th, doesn't seem as fresh or soft as the Sara Lee bread I prefer.  I think I will grow tiresome of Ramen noodles for lunch so I may have to switch it up a bit mid week.