Good news for the budget: I’ve started cooking lunch and dinner again.
Bad news for the budget: Now that the nausea has eased up, I’m hungry ALL the time, and the very specific food cravings are starting to hit pretty hard.
There’s got to be a way to keep me fed, attend to the cravings (within reason), and still hold to our budget of $125 a week for the family. We’re on track to meet the budget this week, but a lot can happen between Tuesday morning and Thursday night, so I’m not going to go counting fiscal chickens. For example, a neighbor mentioned Ethiopian food last night, and now I want some DESPERATELY. I mean, DESPERATELY. Our fifth wedding anniversary is on Friday, so I’m going to hold out til then. And then, well, it’s our anniversary, so, you know… Screw the budget (within reason, because we still have our own family budget).
But anniversary dinners and the occasional Ethiopian cravings aside, I think the challenge is going to come in the form of a little something here, a little something there. Fruit, for example. My biggest craving, even through the worst of the nausea, has been fruit. Lots and lots of fruit. I only get what’s in season, but still. Organic fruit? Not cheap. I don’t give in to the tater tot thing, or the ice cream thing, or the muffin thing etc etc nearly as often as I crave them, but if I want fruit to the point of distraction, yeah, that baby’s gonna get some fruit, so…
So, okay. I’m rambling here. The thing is, I’m just sort of feeling my way back to this budget, and I’m not entirely sure how to best approach it now that the game has changed for us. A healthy pregnancy is way more important than holding to the budget, obviously. If you’ve got any suggestions, I’m all ears.
*(But no advice about how I don’t really need to “eat for two.” I know that. I’m not doing that. Not my first time down this road.)
**Also, for those who might be concerned: No, I’m not eating tater tots every day, and I think I’ve had ice cream once and a muffin twice.
***And also, now I’m wondering exactly why I’m feeling so defensive about what I am and am not eating. Hormones are weird.
#1 by Andi at September 15th, 2009
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If you’re craving fruit and preferably seasonal and organic, it seems like it should be easy to meet much of your needs in local yards instead of the market. You could start with my fig trees, just saying.
#2 by Amy at September 15th, 2009
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…wait, is there any particular reason you’re waiting until the child is actually born to count him/her toward the weekly food budget tally?
If the little peanut wants $25/week in fruit and tater tots, why not recognize that fact?
#3 by Chris at September 15th, 2009
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The Cravings. Oh. Yeah. They can be brutal, demanding monsters. I, too, craved fruit my first and second trimester. Not just any fruit, mind you. My ‘inner person’ wanted fresh peaches. Trouble was, it wasn’t fresh peach season.
I finally found a source of frozen local organic peaches, and that did the trick.
Maybe that wil work for you? They’re picked fresh and in season, so it sorta fulfills your requirements.
And btw, I agree with Amy. If your ‘inner person’ is going to have a say in the food eating, than I.P. should aught to have a cut for the food budget, too. JMHO.
#4 by Jen at September 15th, 2009
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For that tater tot craving, how about turning to real spuds instead? You can p/u a 5# bag of organic spuds for a few bucks and roast them with a bit of olive oil and a light sprinkling of garlic salt. This has helped me with my own cravings for “real” french fries and those tasty but evil little tater tots.
I’m lovin’ this blog, BTW!
#5 by Emma at September 15th, 2009
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Hi Cari,
Love this blog. Really interesting and full of good food ideas! And congrats, too!
Anyway, I also agree that the budget should increase. Since your toddler gets $25 why can’t you increase your budget by $13.00? (I guess it should be $12.50, but why deal with change?) $13.00 will probably buy you a good amount of weekly organic fruit. With a few tater tots thrown in too. What is about pregnancy and potatoes?
-ew (from BC)
#6 by adam at September 16th, 2009
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Never having been pregnant, I don’t have much advice to offer. I will, though, say this:
This was our 100th post!
Woohoo!