TILT # 36 - there is joy in staying true to who you are

Having just completed my frugal tips series, I was very excited at my find this week at the grocery store. So, along the veins of tip # 3 (in TILT # 32) about creatively making your money stretch, here is what made me smile with glee.

I was at the grocery store armed with my list of what to get. I rarely go without a list. My list is made up of what's on sale for the week. This is the way we have eaten since I became my own family unit after getting married. Incidentally, "the list" is also something my kids have grown up with since they were toddlers who were able to throw temper tantrums in stores when I would not give them any old (or new) thing they wanted (that might be a good blog post another day). This magical "list" has worked miracles for me in parenting little humans.

Back to my happy find - I was feeling a bit tired by the end of the first week of the new year, getting back to the swing of things. I did not feel like cooking a full meal from scratch and so I was pleased to see a grocery store flyer reminding me that I could get two freshly roasted chickens for $15. Creamy coleslaw was also on sale for $1.99 as was a frozen pack of fries for $1,49. Oh, don't forget the bag of mini carrots and the English cucumber for 99cents each. This looked like a humble meal for cheap enough, for us four in the family.

Before I grabbed the two hot chickens, I checked out the refrigerated meat section. Over the years, while one hot chicken could cost anywhere between $7 and $8 each, I have seen them wrapped up in the fridge section for $5 each. Yes, this means they are no longer freshly cooked. They are one or several days old. So, perusing the refrigerated section, what do I see? Not one but two packs of cold roast chicken. Each pack contained TWO roast chickens. The price? $6.99 for the pack of two chickens. Guess what I chose? Freshly roasted or cold? 😉

I got home, put one of the cold chickens in my square Pyrex dish, added a third cup of water to the bottom pf the dish, and covered the dish and chicken with foil. I put it in the oven with half of the pack of fries, following the baking instructions for the fries. 5 minutes before the fries were done, I removed the foil covering for the chicken. When the timer on the oven rang, I decided to plate up my cheapie meal nicely. You see, I believe in eating with my eyes first and just because a meal is cheap doesn't mean it's bad and unworthy of effort in plating up.

So, the photos show our family meal last night:

1 freshly revived hot chicken (the breast meat was tender and fell off the bone while the skin was crunchy) = $3.49

1/2 bag of frozen fries, nicely warmed up (enough for 3 adults - I am limiting my fries intake) = $0.75

1/2 container of prepared coleslaw = $0.99

1/3 bag of baby carrots + 1/3 of an English cucumber = $0.66

In all, I paid $5.89 for this meal for a family of 4 adults (okay 1 was a 17-year old boy) and there were a chicken wing and a chicken thigh leftover. The family enjoyed the meal and I smiled with contentment. Frugal choices are not always limiting or bad. And now, with the money saved, I will eventually get to enjoy a fabulous sushi feast later on without guilt or worry. 😊 There is no shame being my frugal self. I felt much joy and satisfaction providing this meal for our family for less than $ 6.00. 😋😋💗💗