Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

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alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

floridacatlover wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:07 pm I think you should write a nice but firm note of complaint to Del Monte. Let them know you are disappointed. You could ask for your money back (which is what I would do) or at least ask for a coupon to use on another item. Look up their email address online and you won’t even have to use a stamp. Alternatively if you bought the can locally you could return the can to the store for your money back. Publix will take back almost anything and Aldi, too, but I’m not sure about other stores.

I read your post yesterday about Dal. I was not at all familiar with it so looked it up. Sounds interesting. I haven’t been to Big Lots lately but I remember that they do carry a lot of international foods.
The idea of writing them a note did cross my mind but it is an industry wide practice.. Look how tuna fish cans have gotten smaller over the years. I weighed their product and their 5 oz cans of tuna have about 3 oz of tuna and the rest is water or oil. The same with cottage cheese. You use to open a carton and it was packed firmly to the top now there is liquid on top and you can tell it is not as firm as you use to get.

I bought my apricots at Dollar Tree. I have two more cans left. I bought them in a different town on my way home from my Drs office and not worth the gas or time to return them.

I love going to Big Lots. I can buy products made with flour from countries in the EU and it does not affect me. American flour has something wrong with it and I react to it.. Also love buying things to restock my Asian foods. You can buy some of them in local stores but they cost a lot more.

I love Dal and if you cook meat and add it to the Dal it makes for a more filling meal, I usually add chicken. I also plan on cooking more of my own beans and adding them to the packet. The flavor will still be there it will just stretch the flavor to more ingredients and will not be as soupy. Janet Alliesmama
Janet Alliesmama
SandiSAHM
Posts: 2263
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:46 am
Location: Oklahoma

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by SandiSAHM »

Okay here comes the admission of unawareness: I didn't know you could buy packaged dal. Do they... can it? pouch it? Or is it like rice a roni where the stuff is dry and you just add water, heat, and time?

The only reason we ever discovered dal to begin with was I was on a use-it-up tear years ago and we had red lentils in the pantry :lol: I found a dal recipe online, made a small batch not thinking it would go over well...

You'd have thought I'd discovered gold, LOL. Well, with DH and DD. DS found it too spicy, but DS thinks everything is too spicy. But he eats the basmati rice, so that's something...

I should make some dal this week. Thanks for the idea, I'd been looking for 'easy' food!
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

We have a strong cold front moving in. I have large windows almost floor to ceiling in some areas. I have blinds on all of the windows and material to make drapes but have not been able to settle down long enough to make them. I do have old drapes from other homes so today I have double hung them on the windows that do not have drapes. Where the sheer curtains were to go I hung a drapery panel and then another drape over that on the actual drapery rod. I tucked the bottoms under at the bottom of the blinds on the window sill. I can tell the difference in how much cold air has been decreased by the layering. Does not look pretty but it does feel better. In the next several days we may have a windchill as low as ( -20 F) to( -25 F). I also am going to put window plastic wrap over the fireplace opening. Even with the damper closed you can feel cold air coming in from the fireplace. Plus is sucks some of the warm air up the chimney.

Breakfast was apricots and cottage cheese. Lunch was a bowl of my yummy veggie chili with shredded cheddar cheese. Dessert was the last of my sugar free Jello gels. Dinner was a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich with a pickle on the side. Everything was bought at a discount or discount store. As stated before the apricots were not such a big bargain. Also drinking coffee with whole milk .57 cents a half gal. The coffee is still from the free canister I got last month. Snacks were gluten free honey mustard pretzels and a small container of ranch dressing that I got when I had tacos from Jack-in-the-Box. I never use it with my tacos but always request it as my sauce choice to eat later as a snack with carrot sticks or some snack like that or as salad dressing for a small salad.

Teddi is still eating free Pupperoni due to the money his Nana in Texas sent. We just opened a new bag. We have one more after that. Buying from Amazon has been a better deal. I usually add it on to something in order to get free shipping. The bags are larger and a cheaper price compared to buying it in local stores.

I think a nice cup of hot mint tea is order now. Will warm me up and maybe help me sleep a little better. Janet Alliesmama
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

SandiSAHM wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:20 pm Okay here comes the admission of unawareness: I didn't know you could buy packaged dal. Do they... can it? pouch it? Or is it like rice a roni where the stuff is dry and you just add water, heat, and time?

The only reason we ever discovered dal to begin with was I was on a use-it-up tear years ago and we had red lentils in the pantry :lol: I found a dal recipe online, made a small batch not thinking it would go over well...

You'd have thought I'd discovered gold, LOL. Well, with DH and DD. DS found it too spicy, but DS thinks everything is too spicy. But he eats the basmati rice, so that's something...

I should make some dal this week. Thanks for the idea, I'd been looking for 'easy' food!
The Dal comes in a pouch and you can nuke it out of the pouch or put the pouch in hot water. I am not a fan of doing that. I worry about the heat transferring the plastic in to the food. I take them out of the pouch and nuke them or heat them in a pan on the stove. They come in nice little cardboard boxes with the pouch inside. Once I use up my current supply of Dal I will be making my own too. A dear friend of mine from India has given me a lot of her cook books and her sister was an amazing cook and they really turned me on to Indian food. My friend has returned to India to teach at a university there and she has invited me to come to visit her. We stay in touch by computer. I wish I could afford to go.. I would be in heaven sampling everything. She was a vegetarian and you really do not miss the meat with all of the lovely combinations of foods and spices.
Once when I was sick she made me a plate of basmati rice and sprinkled it with cumin seeds and plain yogurt on the side. It really did settle my stomach down. Another time one of our neighbors was sick with a really bad cough and she made him some kind of soup. His wife reluctantly accepted it but then later she asked for the recipe. She said it helped his cough so much and it was so good. It is a tie for me between Indian food, Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese. I prefer them all over standard American foods. Enjoy your dal. Janet Alliesmama
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

My birthday gift from my brother arrived today. It was postponed from last week since my driveway was still presenting a problem due to the snow. It is a food box from Omaha Steaks. I received the following: 4 steak tenderloins, 8 pork chops, 8 steak burgers, 4 chicken breasts, 4 stuffed baked potatoes and 4 apple tarts. I will have fun working on menu ideas to see how far I can stretch every thing.

I have been working in my craft room off and on most of the day and decided to have one of the baked potatoes and one of the apple tarts for dinner. They were very filling but way too many carbs. Lunch was a couple of slices of the deli meat that I bought for .25 cents a package so around .12 cents. A few slices of cheddar cheese maybe another .25 cents and a handful of gluten free pretzels another .25 cents. Finished the last of the tomato soup. Had three servings from the can which was $1.00. Also have had quite a few cups of coffee today ( free) with milk.. 57 cents a half gal. Breakfast was a fried egg sandwich. Eggs were .75 cent a dozen so about .06 cents. Two slices of gf toast. I do not have the amount for that but it was the most expense for anything eaten today. It is $5.00 a loaf.. I know that is pricey but a lot of gf foods are and this brand of bread is the best I have found since 2007. There are cheaper breads but the texture is off. So allow myself to buy this since I am saving more in other areas of my food. There is another brand I like but it cost a dollar or 1.50 more depending on the store and if they are having a sale. Also had a snack of a small apple with peanut butter, some sour cream with a little bit of salsa mixed in and more gf pretzels.. Late night snack was an orange. I will grate the peeling and put it in the freezer. I plan on making orange cranberry muffins or bread in the near future. Bought the cranberries on sale after Christmas for .99 cents a bag.

I managed to save almost $8.00 off on my water bill. It came to $32.38. Any money saved goes in to my slush fund for extra groceries or a treat of some kind ie a snack or fast food meal. Janet Alliesmama

Addendum: Figure out the cost of the bread it is about .40 cents a slice. A bit pricey but will still buy it as an occasional treat but will cut back on buying it as frequently as I have been. I need to try to funnel as much money as I can into savings. A lot of necessary projects need to be paid for this year.
Janet Alliesmama
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by Dgflorida »

Hanging drapes or anything in windows seems to reduce draft. I put in roofing nails at the top of the window and using binder clips, hang towels etc covered by plastic on the window opening. Not lovely, but it works. I did it this winter even with my expensive new hurricane, double pane windows. The R value of glass even with air between is not very good. So creating additional dead space creates an additional wall to cold drafts.
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