The Goal for the Month of May

The goal for the month of May is to get my grocery budget for the whole month under $400 while eating Gluten-Free. It will most definitely be a challenge. I spent almost double that for the month of April, but I had to stock up ingredients for my pantry and fill my freezer with meat.

I have been scouring websites to duplicate Gluten-Free Bisquick... There are so many recipes for pancake mix out there that my head is spinning. Most people recommend buying a certain brand rather than making the mix yourself... The only problem with that is the mix is over $20 at my grocery store... I think I'm going to have to hit the bulk bins at the health food store.

Bread that I can eat is easily $4 to $5 a loaf (and the loaves are very small). So I'll have to figure out just what I need and portion it out throughout the month. It seems that I can't get out of the store for less than $40 anymore!

The additional part of the challenge is that I have to include my husband's tastes in my shopping list. He eats GF main meals when he is with me at home, but he does love his chips and ice-cream and soda. I don't get paid again for another week, so I'll be planning out my menu this week and will be scouring the Internet for coupons on the stuff I like to buy.

I think I'm going to try my hand at growing herbs in the house again... I didn't have much luck last time, but I think Noni got into the plants. This requires a lot more investment of my time but after the plants are established, will save me money. I sent Aaron to the store to get some flat-leaf parsley and he came back with limp curly parsley... I was very disappointed... I just have to figure out where they will live in the house. We don't have the best light, so I'll have to have a grow light for the plants...