Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Day 1-Burger Resistance

Well, to much fan fare and rolling out of red carpets, today marks the first day of my challenge to feed myself (hopefully well) on the federally mandated $200/month budget for a single individual. To be honest, it's been a very easy first day, as I'm still working through a lot of leftovers from the long weekend, and had actual time to cook this evening.

The only potential trip-up came when I went to my eye appointment today, which is dangerously located very near a Five Guys Burgers & Fries. To those unfamiliar, it's the Eastern Seaboard's Holy Grail of kick ass burgers, and the most ridiculously delicious fries ever. Needless to say, I love them, and I could SMELL the charred greasy goodness as I drove by. However, as a burger and fries tends to come in around the $10 mark, I didn't want to play that free and loose with my budget right out of the gate. I do have to return for a recheck appointment next week...I think some penny pinching will have to be put in place to make a bacon-y splurge possible.

With an eye towards planning for the next couple of days, I made a big batch of a pasta dish with some leftover grilled chicken and asparagus from the farmer's market.

And of course it's now June, which means that strawberries are imminent, and pick your own places abound very near my house. If one is willing to spend an hour picking, you can get a LOT of strawberries for very little money. I tend to pick fruit like I'm an Amish mother of 8 (12 lbs of cherries? Of course I need them! What the hell for, I'm not quite sure, but I must pick them.), so I happily foresee a lot of berries in my near future.

And there ends Day 1.

Balance: $200

2 comments:

  1. Hey Jen. We now have a 5 Guys in Airdrie, and I can certainly see how the temptation could cave you. Their burgers are the best! We could get into a debate on the fries, though....
    Good luck! (If I come across any 5 Guys coupons, I'll let you know).
    Sara Chamberlain

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  2. I just love the real "potato-yness" of their fries. The food snob in me hates to admit it, but I LOVE McDonald's fries, too...the perfect salt/crisp ratio. Yum!

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