Week 5 Meals - $21 Grocery Budget Challenge & Pantry Build

Week 5 was fantastic. We had some fabulous meals. Stay tuned to the end of the video. We show the pantry we have built so far. I even separate out the items I've specifically sourced for Christmas! Spreading the purchases out over time is really manageable.

[@Smooshes786]

This is a great series. I also think it would be great viewing for anyone that was not taught to cook without convenience items or take out many times a week. You eat and use food similarly to our household so the ideas are easily transferable. Thank you for making it interesting!

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@Smooshes786 I am so glad you find the series interesting. I really try to make it interesting. Thanks for watching.

[@kathryndockrey1477]

This is absolutely amazing how much food you have accumulated! Makes a person wonder, how low a person / couple could actually eat for, if it continued for a year. I'd imagine there would be some weeks when nothing would need to be purchased at all, ant that money saved. Great job Melanie!

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@kathryndockrey1477 We could definitely eat from the food we have now for a week. But we're balancing getting all the desired holiday items. So far, so good

[@tracyq989]

Always my 2 favorite KZbin videos of the week! Awesome job!!

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@tracyq989 Thanks, Tracy!

[@michellesmith9662]

Super meals and leftover foods!! ❤️

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@michellesmith9662 Thanks, Michelle.

[@delledonne1]

Great week, congrats!

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@delledonne1 Thanks, Gillian.

[@ginapiano5593]

It was great meeting you in Shoppers today 😊

[@adventuresingroceryland]

It was. Thank you for taking the time for a chat. Happy Holidays!

[@jillgott6567]

YEA week 5 ! I hope you will continue this series. I am putting your term " increasing buying power " into my vocabulary. Thank you for the meal ideas. The hamburger helper soup idea is genuis. Your Meals are not " poor" but are smart. WOW to end the week with $4 + is awesome !

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@jillgott6567 How you speak to yourself and about the things you do can have immense power on your outlook. I genuinely believe that talking in terms like increasing your buying power can have an impact on how you feel about what you're doing! Thanks for watching, Jill.

[@cindydaniel6125]

Another awesome week of food!! Im loving watching. And learning😊😊😊

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@cindydaniel6125 Thanks, Cindy.

[@darleneprice6467]

Yummy! Great looking meals. Lots of food, and nice to have so many things towards your Christmas goodies and meals. Have a super weekend!

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@darleneprice6467 Thanks, Darlene. You too.

[@CarolPearse-q3w]

All of you’re meals look so tasty, opening this first thing in morning, great way to start my day, 😊, thanks for helping us all along in our struggles with groceries and cooking ,, love watching them, 🎉

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@CarolPearse-q3w I'm so glad you are enjoying the series. Where are you watching from, Carol?

[@CarolPearse-q3w]

@@adventuresingroceryland I’m in Blockouse/Mahine Bay Area, I’ve shared you’re site 😉

[@NattyHomeMaker]

Yummy Meals once again. Im so impressed that you have accumulated so much food on such a small budget 😮

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@NattyHomeMaker I'm glad you're enjoying this series. Thanks so much for watching.

[@frugalcampermama]

That is really amazing. Always eating well and still have more food in the house than we do spending a lot more than that!

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@frugalcampermama Thank you!

[@katrinaschuster6341]

You are ao positive and a joy to watch. Thank you

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@katrinaschuster6341 I'm so glad you're enjoying the series. That makes me happy.

[@shannonbrice8012]

You go girl...way to show it is achievable with a little bit of planning and forethought. At the store and spent 44 dollars on "groceries". got 4500 points back if bought 30 dollars cat food, 22,500 points if spent 150 dollars during that week (xmas gifts did the majority of the spending) then I got two free items worth 9 dollars and then I had 6 dollars in manufacture coupons. That 44 dollars really only cost me 4 dollars by the time of the savings and coupons. I was sooo very happy and thought this is something Melanie would utilize.

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@shannonbrice8012 OH wow. Well done!! Great job. Whoot!

[@shannonbrice8012]

@@adventuresingroceryland the "roundup" came out for PC optimum and because of your guidance I am one of the 4 percent of earners of points in Canada. I have 4000,000 points. There are not many people I know who will get excited over something so trivial but I do think your followers might be excited.

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@shannonbrice8012 Awesome work.

[@tenthousanddaysofgratitude]

Well done, you. I knew you would get at least one meal from those squash! Bravo!

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@tenthousanddaysofgratitude I just was thinking they were so tiny, they wouldn't be any good for eating. I'm so glad I was wrong.

[@myhillsidegarden3998]

Melanie, I had to laugh out loud about the peanut butter and the handsome one. I have one of those at home too!🤣😆 Another fantastic week. Thanks for sharing. Catherine

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@myhillsidegarden3998 He listened to this video last night as I was editing and setting it to upload. So he knows now. Ha. 🫣

[@pennynickels5216]

😋😊💛🎄🎁❄️

[@dsc1970]

Holy cow you work hard pulling out and displaying your inventory every week.. You should start a Patreon, I bet you'd get some subscribers with all your recipe ideas.. Tetrazini looked awesome. Glad your power outage wasn't too long, I know our friends in the Maritimes get hit with snow every year. Cheers.

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@dsc1970 That's the biggest work part of the whole series!. Dragging that all out. I always forget things. Like this time, I forgot the bacon and salami. Sigh.

[@jackiephillips9042]

I always make Turkey Tetrazzini. Freezes wonderfully.

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@jackiephillips9042 I ❤️ it. So darn good. It makes me a bit sad that the handsome one doesn't really like pasta. I'm going to make that chicken tetrazzini again but with a different style of noodle.

[@deedream10]

It’s amazing how much food you are accumulating! I know you’ll find good deals for next week as I’ve checked the flyers and even chipits are still on sale at Walmart ! If they will just get the butterscotch ones I ! Lol Han is on sale everywhere for 1.67 and turkey as low as 1.44. I’m going in , just hoping they are not sold out of things. Funny about the pasta, I’m not a big pasta person , lasagna is the exception. I will eat some of my homemade garden tomato sauce. But I’m like the handsome one in that I’m not a fan of the actual spaghetti noodles. Lol so yes any other choice but those and I may even like it! Haha. I think I like egg noodles the best of course those are more expensive. Lol have a great week. Thank you for posting regularly I really look forward to your videos and I know it’s a lot of work . ❤

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@deedream10 OH man I want the $3.27 butterscotch chipits from Walmart. They are $5ish dollars elsewhere. Fingers crossed!!

[@jodie19831]

Good week mel. Tons of food still. Maybe u can make a Greek pasta salad bc u got most items. Chili cheese nachos yum. Garlic smashed potatoes. Lazy man stuffed peppers because the peppers are already cut and the ground, beef and rice and then a bit of tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bake it in the oven, delicious.. I do that all the time. So I don't have to boil the today peppers as they're whole

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@jodie19831 So many options, right?

[@jodie19831]

@adventuresingroceryland omg yes. Awesome. Have a great weekend 😀

[@barbaragilmer9731]

Yum! It's absolutely amazing how much food you have left! If people shopped the way you do, there wouldn't be as much griping about food prices. Have a great weekend!

[@Smooshes786]

I looked up a tray to send for a memorial celebration for my friend far away. I was gobsmacked at the profit margin for tossing a few items on a tray and adding some greenery. Instead, I sent food/snacks they could make into whatever they wanted as people dropped by. Charging premium pricing for average output isn’t a thing I will accept.

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@barbaragilmer9731 Thanks, Barbara.

[@jennifermelloy3944]

I would love to see options for diabetics! We can't eat a ton of carbs

[@adventuresingroceryland]

I'm not that familiar with the specific dietary needs for diabetics.

[@jennifermelloy3944]

@ basically low carb! I am tempted to try this but can't really eat pasta and rice everyday

[@Larissa-iw5wy]

@@jennifermelloy3944perhaps you could find deals/coupons/points redemption on frozen cauliflower rice or other items that you know are better options for your dietary needs?

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@jennifermelloy3944 The goal is to shop the flyers and store deals to maximize your budget. Meals plan around items you get on sale. Each person would focus on the items and meals that works well for them and their dietary needs. Start small. Start with shopping the flyers and meal planning from flyer sales.

[@leeanne8651]

I read groceries are set to go up another $825 a year for a family of 4, so $400 for 2 people due to the expected increase to fruits, vegetables, and meat. You may have to increase your budget if you do this challenge again next year.

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@leeanne8651 I hope they are wrong!

[@leeanne8651]

@ oh my goodness I hope so too! The report predicts a 3-5% increase, but it will be higher in the Maritimes. 😩

[@luckyrobinshomestead]

I was wondering if there was a reason you have such a consistently small budget for groceries. I have gone back to the beginning to start watching the early videos to see what kind of meals you make and it looks like you have always done this, but I have yet to see if it is just because you are just frugal by nature and don't want to waste money, if you are paying down credit card debt, if you are trying to pay off your mortgage early if you have one, if you are saving extra for retirement so you can retire early, if you are saving up an emergency fund, if you have a tight budget, or if you just like the challenge. If your reason is private, that's fine. I'm just curious.

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@luckyrobinshomestead I haven't always been as smart about shopping. I'll be honest, there was a time where I never gave one thought to what I bought. Then I went through a marriage dissolution. Things got REAL, really fast. For several years money was really, really tight and every penny counted. That's when I started budgeting and really making lists from flyers. Then I got really good at it. When life became a bit easier I just couldn't see going back to another way. I mean this is a challenge so it is a very restricted budget. But my regular budget isn't crazy. Somewhere between $60-$80 weekly.

[@luckyrobinshomestead]

@@adventuresingroceryland Okay. Thanks. It didn't look like you spent crazy on normal weeks, either. I just like knowing where people are coming from.

[@shaunaleessnackidies]

Couldn’t people just reuse the same decorations? It’s really not even necessary to decorate IMO unless you have company over or truly love it yourself, as a family activity to remember the birth of Jesus…Even though He never told us to and it’s not the correct time of year. Just lots of pagan and commercialization stuff associated w it too. But I like your ideas for making food stretch.

[@adventuresingroceryland]

@@shaunaleessnackidiesThanks for watching.