Did you just fall out of your chair after reading the title of this blog post? 🙂
I might be a frugal zealot in most cases, but all of that goes out of the window when I’m in the middle of morning sickness. We’re in survival mode for a few months and that means fast and easy meals and lots of snacks–nothing which requires more than a few minutes in the kitchen. I also am trying to eat 100 grams of protein every day to keep my blood sugar levels up, so I am planning our meals with mega-protein in mind as well as trying to make every bite count for lots of health and nutritional value.
At any rate, we decided to temporarily raise our grocery budget by $30/week until the morning-noon-and-night sickness subsides and I can get back to cooking from scratch again. I’ll be sharing our quick and easy $70 "survival" menus with you in hopes that they might help some of you who find yourselves in similar situations.
You can read more about "seasons to be practical" on my Frugal Friday post here.
And no picture this week–I’m staying away from food as much as I possibly can!
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How’d you do this week? Post about the deals and
bargains you were able to snag this week or other ways you saved money
on your blog (with pictures, if possible!) and then come back here and
leave your link below. **To make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday post. Links
going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog
besides the direct link to your Super Savings Saturday post will be deleted.**
As a diabetic, I thought you’d like to know that healthy fats are far better at keeping your sugar levels higher for longer periods of time than protein. I would think proteins would actually lower them. Anyways, olive oil, canola, etc. are good for that.
Thanks so much for all the work you do. It has saved our family an enormous amount of money! What a blessing!
One quick question– I tried to do the Walgreens deal today with 3 Robitussins and 2 of the $3 coupons. My register rewards didn’t print. The worker said it was because you couldn’t use the manu. coups and get the register reward. Is this true? Is there something I need to do to make the system work?
Thanks!
Becky
Ditto! My goal is to not eat out while pregnant (thus totally busting our budget). Thankfully I’m about 26 weeks now and am FINALLY pass the sickness. Our grocery budget has been a total disaster and I cringe every time I think of how many hot dogs my poor toddler has eaten in the past 6 months! I can’t wait to be back on track in December! 🙂
I’ll also second the Zofran, although now that I hear there is a generic it makes me think about a #3 myself. I couldn’t have made it through my pregnancies myself, it really truly helped. Plus it doesn’t make you tired like some of the other pills that they give sometimes.
Has anyone gotten a CVS Extra Care Health card? I got one in the mail today. Gives 20% off CVS Brand FSA Eligible products that are regular price/non-sale. Anyway there are totally times this would come in handy, especially spur of the moment if you’re not stocked up on the item you need.
Congratulations on the new little one coming soon! I so understand the need to indulge in convenience in such circumstances. It is good to know that even the most frugal woman can balance frugality and practicality. 🙂 Thank you for all your hard work.
Hope you are feeling better soon. The first trimester won’t last forever. I’m well into my second trimester myself and trying to get ahead in lots of things so that I won’t be overwhelmed when I’m in the third and feeling akin to a walrus.
Glad to know I’m not the only one who threw the grocery budget out the window due to morning sickness. It just becomes survival mode for those first 3 months. Anything that actually sounds good gets bought, no matter what it costs.
Normally we rarely eat in restaurants or order take out, but the last 2 months have found us doing it a few times a week.
10 1/2 weeks along as of today, so hopefully will get back to the normal budget in a few weeks.
Good luck!
I read another poster has encouraged you to consider Zofran and I highly 2nd that recommendation (and generic is 1/4th the cost of brand name – though 30 pills still costs $249 – if you have prescription coverage you might only have to pay your generic copay). Even 1/2 a pill will knock out the nausea without knocking *you* out like Phenergan does. I had horrible all-day sickness for 24 long weeks when pregnant with my son (my 4th) and I could barely function.
Though, one of the side effects is const*pation and it can be pretty bad – especially when you’re pregnant and already dealing with that. But, the ability to be a wife and mom…and go to church – it made a huge difference for me. 🙂
I’m glad to hear your grocery budget went up. Ours has gone up $20-$30 a week through my pregnancy and the beginning months of nursing. We’re back down to our regular budget now, but I always felt a little guilty when I would read your budget and think that we spent double what you do.
Mary
did i miss the special announcement?! congrats crystal!!! may god bless your new addition!
I’m a little late to congratulate you, but send you a very heartfelt congratulations on your pregnancy – along with my sympathy on the morning sickness. I had it terribly too, and like you, I sacrificed the budget just to survive. (I did it again after both of my sons were born, too, by the way.)
I hope this phase is short-lived for you!
Thank you for your honesty! It makes me feel so much better to know that I’m not the only one who throws grocery budgets out the window when morning sickness is in the picture!
Crystal…Have you tried Zofran? It is a perfectly safe medication to take to help with nausea. I’m an RN, and had extreme morning sickness with both of my girls. I have kidney disease complicated by an autoimmune disease, so I was on alot of meds while pregnant, and both of my girls are perfectly healthy. My little miracles…God is so good. Once I started taking Zofran, I was a new person…it helped immediatly, I was able to eat and play with my 11 month old. It also recently became generic….so it shouldn’t be too expensive. Just a thought, it helped me so much!
I found out that I was pregnant, and wasn’t really expecting it just about the same time as you. This is going to be very helpful. do you do any OAMC, or freezer meals? We did some anyway as we are both teachers and school is just starting. They are turning out to be the best thing ever when I get home and don’t feel well and am exhausted to just heat something up! Definitely recommend it!
Congratulations!!!
Sorry to hear your not feeling well, but it will pass and then cooking can get back to normal. So funny how food can do that to us!
I applaud you for being reasonable and modest of your limitations during this time! One of the hardest things for me during pregnancy and right after delivery is to have appropriate expectations of myself. Bravo!
I found a PDF on the Grocery Outlet site on “How to Feed Your Family on $3 a Day” (at the bottom of the page http://www.groceryoutlets.com/home.aspx) It includes all recipes and might be a good example for some on implementing some of your suggestions.
No, I think you are smart to take care of youself and make changes when you need to! Easy is best when you are going through morning sickness! With my 3rd pregnancy I had to let go of lots of good deals, stick to easy, and ask my husband to do a lot of the shopping. It worked out better for me to sleep as much as possible and stay out of the kitchen as much as possible. Best of luck!
Hey, I couldn’t find how to e-mail you, so I’m just leaving this in the comments for you and your readers. Amazon is offering a grocery clearance of 55% with coupon code,
CLRNCFTY
I have been loving reading your site and am happy to contribute something!
Shaws trip:
2-bisquick complete biscuit mixes
2-pizza crust mixes
2-OEP taco seasoning
2-OEP chili seasoning
1-OEP taco shells
1-OEP vegetarian refried beans
1-secret clinical deo (50% off and needed)
1-green giant peas
1-lenders bagel
1-soy milk
2-lg crystal light
1-family size wheat thins
1-OM premium beef franks
1-OM turkey franks
2-kraft dressing
1-2% singles
25-kool aid (on sale $1/8; bought only for “all you” coupons for free kraft items)
-shaws $5/10 kraft items
-shaws $5/10 general mill items
– 1.00 secret clinical (newspaper insert)
– 2 1.00/2 OEP products (newspaper insert)
– 1 free OEP product (peelie)
– 8 free kraft items (“all you” mag)
Total OOP: 6.78
Earned $2 off next Shaws trip for kool aid
Glad I’m not the only one who does the huge increase during the first few months!
I’m SO GLAD to read this! It helps relieve some of the guilt I’ve been feeling – I’m now 16 weeks and the sickness is subsiding, but our grocery bill went through the roof with the morning (HA! A man came up with that term…) sickness I had. I have 3 toddlers and the quick and easy snacks were/are life savers for me! I can’t wait to see your menu to help me through this chaotic time.
On extra protein intake, I would recommend the Life Source Whey protein powder. It tastes great and is fairly inexpensive. It’s sweetened w/ stevia so is fairly natural. It’s a great way to start your morning! Just Google for their website and use “bible.com” for 20% off-:)
Since we are TTC right now we will be watching for easy morning sickness meals!
I can totally sympathize with you, I was sick all day every day with all 3 of my children. I couldn’t even look at food, much less cook it. Thank goodness for my husband & my parents or my 2 older ones would have starved!! I hope you feel better soon, God Bless!
I had to do a double take at your blog title : )
Good for you, Crystal! I’m proud of you for being flexible in times of need. We all have those seasons of life where life is just not “normal” giving us cause to make some necessary changes. May God ease that morning-noon-night sickness quickly!
In Him,
Laralee aka The Tent Family
http://PlymouthRockRanch.com
Recording the Faithfulness and Provision of God for Future Generations
Oh, I remember those days! Even in the midst of being so sick, I felt bad because I knew I was spending a lot on food. Not only did I have to buy different things for quick and easy cooking, but my husband also bought me all sorts of things to try out to see if my stomach would handle them any better than other things. I think my favorite thing ended up being smoothies – the yogurt base really helped settle my stomach. I tried to make them from scratch, but ended up buying them a lot too. Even though I felt bad about the money, somehow in the end it evened out, and over the course of my pregnancy we really didn’t spend any more than usual on groceries.
I think you have made a smart decision to accomodate the morning sickness. Convenience foods might be more expensive, and they might not be the greatest for you, but they are cheaper and better for you typically than eating out all the time. In fact, although I am not pregnant nor will I be, I try to have some on hand for those crazy nights or even days when I don’t have time to cook from scratch. It saves money over eating out any day.
Also, don’t forget eggs, milk and cheese as good sources of protein.
Oh Crystal, I’m sorry you’re so sick. That’s def. no fun. It is good to hear that super savers, like yourself, raise your grocery budget on occasion too=) Hope this season doesn’t last long…
I am also experiencing morning/all day sickness as of earlier this week. (Yay God for our new blessing!) I had to go to the grocery store today and could totally relate to your post. I also stocked up on snacks for which I’m currently in the mood. Snack du jour: dried cranberries ? 🙂
Thank you! You have relieved some of my guilt! I have been consistently going over budget due to all-day sickness, a huge belly, and a very active toddler under foot. Besides that it is over 100 degrees outside and I can’t bear to go to multiple stores! I can’t wait to see your 70 per week menus!