It feels like we're out of virtually everything in our house: butter, sugar, eggs, meat (other than two cans of tuna), laundry detergent, almost out of flour; the list goes on. As much as I should have bought groceries today I just didn't want to. I had this urge to make it "just one more day" on what we've got. I hate that feeling that we're out of virtually everything. In reality yes, I need to stock back up but keeping things in perceptive our "needs" are so much greater than the needs of so many other people.
I watched a video online yesterday about women in Haiti who buy bags of dirt to turn into dirt cookies, they look a bit like thick dirt tortillas, which they sell to make money. The very poor who have no food can usually afford these dirt cookies to fill their stomachs with because, well they are made out of dirt. They don't cost very much. I could hardly believe it, "they really eat dirt cookies?" I messaged a friend of mine who is a missionary in Haiti and asked if it was really true. Sorry, but you can pretty safely call me a skeptic. I question A LOT of what I hear, see, read. She said that it is true though. They really do make, sell, and eat dirt cookies in certain very impoverished communities in Haiti.
I really just didn't want to buy groceries today.
Spending rundown today: $0 NO SPEND day 69 for the year.
My budget for the month is $513.62 which leaves $263.41
Average daily spending for 2015: $17.98
If you have honey no need for sugar. Tuna casserole? I find it very tasty and we add in things like frozen corn bits and pieces of celery - all you need is some pasta and some type of cream soup (cream of mushroom/cream of chicken). Look for chicken legs (my cheapest go to) el cheapo for the next time you have to go shopping. I often make meals with just what is in the cupboards :)
ReplyDelete:) You called it with the tuna casserole but I go even leaner. I just boil some macaroni noodles, add frozen peas about four minutes before the noodles are done. Generally I'd put about 1/2 TB butter in the noodles after drained (but I am out of butter today). Then mix in a handful of cheese right after they are drained so the cheese melts quickly. I then add a can of tuna fish, salt, pepper, and a little bit of onion powder. That's it. It's one of little Abe and my favorite cheap meals.
DeleteHe's set on other food because we still have juice, milk, yogurt, cheese sticks, strawberries and carrots. We'll have cereal tomorrow for breakfast. The laundry can wait. You know what I mean though when you feel like, "oh no, I gotta go run out for this, this, and this!" But really, we'll get by. At least for today :)
Oh yeah, I'm out of honey too but I don't need sugar. As much as I'd like to, I don't need to bake anything today.
We make meal pacjs for Feed My Starving childrrn. I have heard from them and other missions about dirt cookies to try and take some of the paon of hunger away. And I post crabbiest of crabby posts yesterday.
ReplyDeleteYep, that's what the video said too. They eat the "cookies" just to fill their stomachs with something to relieve some hunger pangs. There are just some things I can not even imagine. These are grown women, mom's that are making and selling these cookie and eating them and feeding them to their children. I cannot imagine. (I haven't read your post yet but oh goodness do I have a plethora of crabby moments and days)
DeleteThat just breaks my heart - I can't imagine being so hungry you would have to eat dirt cookies. The post office is having a food drive for the local food bank this weekend.....think I need to go add some more food to my bag!!!!
ReplyDeleteI know :(
DeleteYou hear about these sort of things, I mean, dirt cookies?!?! And then trying to wrap your head around the fact that it's not just a story it's real life for a lot of people. It's so difficult for me to even fathom and I've actually spent four weeks in a 3rd world, or underdeveloped country (whatever you want to call it).
M likes an extremely full fridge. He panics if the fridge dips into the phase of being able to see all of the items. I, on the other hand, get crazy if I can't figure out a way to use everything & all I see with a full fridge is a potential for waste. . .. ah, married life. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhile he was gone, we didn't shop at all & at the end, dinners were just how I liked them. Super creative. Breakfast tacos, quesadillas, all made with scraps. Lots of "creative" meals. ;-)
That's funny; he loves the fridge over flowing and you get excited to eat creative meals while he's gone to go through the stock piles. Love it!
DeleteI totally know what You are feeling ,I am really on a strict budget also!!
ReplyDeleteI can hardly process ALL the many many different lifestyles and living situations on this one planet. I really can't. I feel very fortunate to have all that we have and honestly there is too much excess personally in my family's lives. I really believe that. (and I am very pro-capitalism, pro-hard worker, very anti-socialist/ distribution of wealth) I just really believe we all, each and every one of us personally need to take a look at the world around us and at our own lives and do what we can. One of those, "if was all helped one person" scenarios you know?
Delete