Insane or Committed?

Ahhh...it's so easy to write about everything I have learned, easy to tell others how great I feel on a healthy diet....but HARD to do it day after day, meal after meal...analyzing everything the kids put in their mouth to make sure it is safe, balanced and healthy. Some days I wonder...am I insane? How is it possible to keep three toddlers from eating food with dye, preservatives or white sugar in this economy and on a limited budget?

Then I slack off on diet, which happened last month...only for a day....and the peace disintegrated...Stephen exhibited extreme emotional changes, sobbing, obsessive behavior, aggression towards his sisters and lack of appetite. It was then I decided I am not insane, I am committed. Committed to providing our children with the best nutrition I can scrounge up :-)

It's still not always easy but I have been putting more time into planning, budgeting and researching and found a few tricks that help stretch the budget and thought some of you might be interested in reading about it.

Last paycheck I had $180 for food, supplies and paper products for two weeks. I knew the only way it would reach was if I made a list and stuck to it. First I cleaned out the freezer and did an inventory on the meat we had available. Next I wrote down a 3meal a day planner for 2 weeks. Then I listed all the necessary items: eggs, cheese, butter, milk, walnuts, spaghetti, refried beans, tortilla chips, turkey sausage, WW tortilla wraps, potatoes, fruits and veggies, tuna, Kashi waffles, organic yogurt, and other odds and ends....Here is what I found:

Karns: cheese 3/$5, grapes 99cents/lb
Costco: butter $2.49/lb,4 for $9.96, WW tortilla shells 20 for $4.43
Wegmans: walnuts $5.49/lb, tuna for 69cents/can, canned veggies 39cents/can, Omega 3 macaroni, Omega 3 WW tortilla shells $3.59, Stonyfield yogurt $3.09
Amelia's: natural tortilla chips (99cents), Organic Ritz, Saltine and Triscuit crackers(99cents each), 2.5dz eggs. Kashi waffles $1.50/box, refried beans
Farmstead market: Turkey sausage 30 links for $9!

So that was our shopping trip---Dave and I had a lot of fun finding everything on the list. Some things were on sale--some are available every week and as I learn prices it is possible to save gas by doing one big shopping trip every 2-3 weeks and then get the rest of the items closer to home.

So that's that--you may still think I am insane :-) but I'm having fun doing it!