Anyway, from the pieces of the day that I can remember, I don’t think I ate anything for breakfast.  Because of this, I got a slightly larger lunch than usual – a Waldorf chicken salad sandwich and a small spinach tortellini soup from (where else) the cafeteria.  I believe this came to $6.02.

That evening I made dinner with the boyfriend at his new place.  I used the porcini fettuccine I got at the market, and bought two bottles of wine to bring for cooking and drinking.  The wine cost me about $8, so $4 a pop ain’t bad.  The boyfriend bought the bulk of the food for the pasta – half and half, dried porcini mushrooms, chicken and crimini mushrooms.  The end result turned out quite good, in my opinion.

Overall damage:  I spent about $14.02 the whole day.  I was able to use the pasta I had bought from the market the week before.  By having the boyfriend contribute to the meal, I saved a bit of money there.  And I am always up for a $4 bottle of wine that won’t give you a headache or poison you right away.

What I could have saved on:  If I had eaten breakfast that morning, I probably would not have purchased such a large lunch – just the sandwich or soup probably would have sufficed.  I will have to force myself to get up five minutes earlier to throw some cereal into a sandwich bag.  (That’s going to be tough.)

I ate lunch and dinner in the comfort of my apartment.  A bowl of cereal and soy milk held me over most of the day, and I was able to incorporate produce from my market trip the week before into dinner:  I made lettuce wraps filled with sticky rice and sauteed shrimp.  I had the rice, shrimp, onions, cilantro and seasonings on hand, and I really liked how I was able to to use the lettuce in things other than just salad.

Overall damage:  $0.  Yay, $0!

What I could have saved on:  I think this is a example of a good day, but I have to realize that it won’t be everyday that the boyfriend can treat me to a meal and drinks.

Without analyzing the week in depth, I don’t think this sounds like a very good number for just one week.

But let’s investigate further: I mostly spent my money on prepared food, such as meals from the hospital cafeteria, or from eating out.  In total, I ate four meals from the cafeteria, and I ate out three times this week.  The cafeteria meals don’t bother me, but the fact that I ate out three time does.  I have to stop being so lazy.  It is one thing if someone is going to treat me to dinner, but two out of the three times I ate out were of my own initiation.  In all, I spent $47.46  on food not prepared at home.  That’s almost 86% of my total expense for the week!  Anyone could agree, that is just way too much.

On the other hand, of the meals I prepared at home, I only spent $7.75 to make them.  That is a number I can more easily live with.

Overall, the week was both a success and a failure.  I failed in spending a lot of money on food, but I did realize the amount of unnecessary expenses I have every week.  So hopefully next week will be a better one.

I started the day off very well – I remembered to pack leftovers from dinner the night before, and the Brussels sprouts and chicken french tasted great the second day around.   I had an apple that I had saved from lunch the day before as well, so when I got home, I wasn’t starving.  I called a friend of mine and we decided to go to the Lilac Festival to see Donna the Buffalo.  Since I didn’t have enough time to prepare dinner before I left for the festival, I thought I could grab something to eat there.

Unfortunately, that’s where my problems began.

The first problem was that I went to the festival fairly hungry, so everything and anything looked EXTREMELY good.  The second problem was that, since I felt I was doing so well with conserving food money, I thought I could treat myself.  So I ordered a gyro with all the fixin’s and a bottle of lemonade.

My grand total was $10.50.

Gahh!  I thought that was a bit much; granted, the gyro was delicious.  But you could get that almost anywhere, even a sit-down restaurant, for less than $10.50.

The experience was enjoyable, nonetheless a tad expensive.

Overall damage:  The leftover lunch cost me $0.25 (yay!), so the whole day cost me $10.75.

What I could have saved on:  Obviously, the gyro was a bit of a splurge.  I could have eaten at home, or looked around for better prices.  However, I think you have to balance spending money on food while still enjoying yourself and the atmosphere of the festival.  I mean, what is more enjoyable than having good food in your belly, fresh air on your skin, good music in your ears and the scent of lilacs in your nose?

I was feeling pretty lazy for dinner, must I managed to rustle up a quick chicken french with a side of Brussels sprouts with almonds.  The sprouts were from the market, and I had the chicken, lemons, butter, sherry, onions and almonds on hand.  I was very pleased with the results, and I was able to pack another serving away for lunch the next day.

Overall damage:  If I break down the cost of the Brussels sprouts, I paid $1 for a basketful, and I cooked half of them that evening.  I only ate half of that half (a quarter of the original amount, for you calculus-inclined types), so I only spent $0.25 on dinner.  $0.25!  Yes, I’m just as impressed as you are.  Added to the cost of lunch, the day only cost me $3.53.

What I could have saved on:  I am satisfied with my expenditure for the day, especially since I planned out leftovers for the next day as well.  I’m thinking this is the best day so far, both cost-wise and amount of food-wise.

Dinner was not so successful, at least in the healthy sense.  I helped the boyfriend move in and unpack a bit, then we partook in the “traditional” first night in a new place meal – take out Chinese.  The boyfriend treated, but I put in about $4 for the crab rangoon I had a craving for. 

Overall damage:  In all, I spent $5.85 on lunch and dinner, and incorporated some leftovers and the cheap produce I bought at the market.

What I could have saved on:  The crab rangoon was unnecessary, but c’mon, who can resist those?  Seriously.

I wasn’t super hungry on Thursday, so I just munched on cereal for lunch.  I ended up previewing the boyfriend’s new apartment and we went out to get a sub to celebrate.  We dined at DiBella’s, and split the check.  I got a small (anything but) capicola sub, half a dill pickle, half a bag of chips and half a large soda for about $7.

Overall damage: The entire day, I spent $14.25 on food.  I’m really pleased with the produce I got from the market, because from what I remember, I probably would have paid about $4.00 for the head of lettuce, about twice as much for the limes, and $2.99 a pound for the tomatoes at my regular supermarket.  I am sure that the Brussels sprouts would have cost more than a dollar a pound there as well.  This produce should last me through the week.

What I could have saved on:  I could have gotten regular linguine at the supermarket for less, but I have always been satisfied with the pasta from Pappardelle’s - they have interesting flavors of pasta that inspire new dishes, at least for me.  I of course could have saved on dinner by not eating out, but I got a satisfying meal for under $10, and I have to be realistic – I’m not going to cook every night.

The evening was a different story – I actually cooked!  (The first time this week!)  I remembered that I had bought some fresh vegetables the previous week, and was happy to find they were still good several days later.  I defrosted some chicken breasts and broiled them with a cilantro ‘marinade’, and cooked up the remaining rappi and bok choi that I had.  I didn’t have to buy anything new for this meal, so I’m marking it as a $0 expense.

Overall damage:  $3.83 for the sandwich, and nothing for dinner.  Dinner was a plus because that left me with leftovers for a lunch during the week.

What I could have saved on:  Again, soup was an option at the cafeteria – a measly $2.00.  Overall, though, I think I spent a reasonable amount of money for the day.

The day started out well – I brought bread to work for toast for breakfast (to clarify, anything that I bought before the experiment began I am not counting as having spent money on, mostly because I don’t remember how much things cost).  I used the communal jelly in the refrigerator to top the toast, so breakfast cost $0.  (Although I feel like I should bring in more things for the office – since I eat a lot of the “group food.”  This will have to be squeezed into my budget.)  For lunch, I brought in more bread, and come curry chicken salad I stole from my mother’s house – again, $0.  The day was uneventful, and I thought of what to cook for dinner, trying to visualize what I have in the refrigerator back home.

When I finally arrived back to my apartment, I heard my stomach grumble, so I grabbed some Doritos (also stolen from my mother) to munch on as a snack.  This is where, I believe, my trouble started.

I ended up feeling very poorly later that evening (I blame the Doritos), so I didn’t eat dinner and I went to bed early.  So in all, the free Doritos didn’t cost me anything, besides nausea.

Overall damage:  $0, plus damage to my digestive system.

What I could have saved on: If things had gone according to plan, I would have hopefully made a no/low cost meal for dinner, but we’ll have to see what happens when I feel better.

I wanted something “light and fruity” and upon my server’s suggestion, I got the Franziskaner Weissbier.  It was slightly more expensive – $5.75, but it was a hefty 20-oz glass.  That lasted me for the two hours I was there.  I also bought the boyfriend the same, since I am the best girlfriend ever. 

Overall damage: After tip, I spent $13 on two large beers.

What I could have saved on:  I had the option of getting the special for the evening – Custom Brewcrafter’s Nut Brown for $3.50, which is a beer that I enjoy.  With this smaller sized beer, however, I may have gotten two drinks as opposed to the one.

By the end of the day, my cash stash settled at $60.  That means I spent $17 on dinner and two drinks -  a price that I can definitely bring down over the course of the next few weeks.