I know that menu planning really helps with the food budget but I can't seem to stick with it. I think it's because I keep the file on my computer and well, if I forget to look at it, I forget to look at it! It's one of those out of sight out of mind things. I keep a homemaking notebook that has all kinds of lists and schedules in it but I never remember to put menus in it! I do keep a file of about 60 menus and I rotate those but it would be nice to work some new meals into our lives.

Rather than plan what we'll have each night I think I'll just plan a week's worth of menus and decide in the mornings what we'll have that night. I'll give it a go and we'll see how that works.

Tonight we had baked flounder, blackeye peas, and hot water cornbread.

We still have some canned chicken in the fridge and it needs to be used so tomorrow night's supper will be creamed chicken over dinner rolls purchased 2 pkg for $1. We'll have it with a salad and some green beans.

The remaining five meals will be:

Hamburger steak with gravy
Homemade chicken pot pie
Meat loaf
Scrambled eggs and cheese toast
Chicken salad sandwiches or roll ups

I love chicken salad and to make it easier on my blood sugar I make it with mayo rather than salad dressing, dill pickle relish rather than sweet pickle relish, and some green onion and garlic. I spread it on leaf lettuce and roll it up. It's tasty, it's cheap and it's easy on the blood sugar. What more can I ask for?

DH had breakfast of eggs and toast this morning. I just couldn't make myself eat though I know I need to eat breakfast every morning. I just have such a hard time eating before 11 or so.

Lunch was chicken & dumplings leftover from last night's dinner. There weren't many dumplings left so I whipped some more up and dropped them in the pot, let it cook a bit and it was very good.

Supper was baked flounder, blackeye peas, and hot water cornbread. Oh, I love that cornbread but my blood sugar doesn't! I ate too much of it, I'm sure. Fortunately, we don't eat it very often.

But today's eats were cheap and good! And here's hopin' the rest of the year's eats are the same.

I'd hoped today would be a no spend day but we had to meet a client so we had to put gas in the truck..again. That was $10. We also got two drinks at the gas station so the total was $12.35. There isn't a Wal-Mart Supercenter in our town so while we were in that town we stopped at WM and got:

Milk $3.58
Altern $5.24 (WM's version of Splenda)
2 cartons of half & half $3.34
Several boxes of sugar free pudding and gelatin $4.95
5 dozen eggs $5.82
Colombian coffee $5.58
Sugar free peanut butter $2.27
Regular peanut butter $2.23
2 bunches of celery $1.00
12 ounces walnuts $4.18 (ouch! DH wanted these)
whole wheat bread $1.36
Cottage cheese $2.26
3 lb. Smart Balance $4.38
Creamer $$2.26

The total was $50.83 but we shouldn't need anything but milk and bread for the next week or so. I generally get milk for $2.99 at a convenience store near where we normally shop for groceries but I knew we wouldn't be anywhere near it today so we paid the higher price for the milk at WM.

Spending for the day $63.18
Business Deposit $125.00

I don't know that we'll even leave the house tomorrow. I hope we don't so we don't spend a single cent!