Shopping Organic on a Budget

This week I had to cut my grocery budget by about 30% due to some unexpected bills that came my way. I was freaking out a little at first, because that meant I had to buy enough food to last two weeks for about $60. You can easily get enough "junk" to last two weeks on that, but I've been really concerned with what I eat lately and I'm trying to buy as much organic food as possible. I don't know if you've noticed, but organic is certainly not as cheap as my former diet of cheez-its and pasta :) With some careful planning and price comparisons, I was able to buy everything I needed for a grand total of $65! It wasn't all organic, but a majority of the items I purchased were. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy some of the organic and grass-fed meat that I had wanted to buy, but hopefully I'll find a way to fit that into my budget next time. I ended up getting 2 1/2 lbs of ground beef, a large roast to make in the crockpot, ingredients for hummus, a few boxes of organic pasta, two boxes of organic cereal, two gallons of organic milk, one lb of organic butter, fruit, condiments, organic applesauce, and (mom, prepare yourself) a head of romaine lettuce. It turns out that Meijer has a fairly large selection of organic food at a pretty reasonable price! I plan on making enchiladas, tacos and a delicious roast as my "main meals" for the next couple of weeks, all of which will last through several meals for me. I was lucky enough to be able to buy almost all of my dairy products organic, and animal products are what concern me the most. If you're wondering why organic is such a big deal, you should really watch The Future of Food, Food, Inc and Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution.

In other news, Emma has learned a lot this week! She learned how to unroll a roll of toilet paper, how to climb my new curtains, and my personal favorite, how to hunt a wall air conditioning unit. I wish I was kidding.

I'm still trying to figure out how to keep her from chewing on electrical wires (bitter apple spray doesn't seem to deter her). She's a lot of trouble sometimes, but she's also a lot of fun. I just love her to death and can't imagine not having her!

Meet Emma!

Ok. If you followed me here from my last blog, you know I don't have the greatest track record with actually posting regularly. I'm hoping that will change with this blog :) I was shamed into blogging again at a recent family gathering. I guess if I don't want to get picked on, I shouldn't start picking on others for their lack of recent blog posts ;) This blog is going to be all about the adventures I have living on my own....

 (like how I've learned to kill all my own bugs - yuck!)

 as well as my new obsession with eating organic,

and of course, my adorable kitten, Emma :)

I've only had Emma for two weeks, and already she has changed so much since I brought her home! She's gained at least a pound (thank goodness- she was so skinny that first weekend!) and she's learned more ways to get into trouble than I ever could have dreamed of. Currently my biggest training hurdles are keeping her from leaping into my fridge every time I open the door, and keeping her from trying to eat every meal I make for myself. She's a crazy little bundle of energy, but I love her to death! She's so good at keeping me entertained! Stay tuned for more excitement! :)