Grocery budgeting

Budgeting for food with teenage boys, especially a boy like Gary, is really really difficult. I've been aiming for having left-overs, but that is clearly a mistake.

Three nights ago I cooked bratwurst for dinner. I had one and there was enough for all the guys to have two. After dinner I put three in the frig. They were gone in the morning.

Two days ago I made Chicken Marsala. I cooked an extra piece for Alice who didn't come over after all. Gary was busy and did not come in to eat with us, but when he came in later he ate both pieces. You must understand, these are pretty BIG. I still have 3 cups of mushroom-marsala sauce if anyone cares.

Last night Andrew cooked a chicken curry. He used 6 large chicken breast fillets, two cans of chick peas, and pound of spinach, and cups of rice. Gary and Brian were at Marial Arts class working up an appetite. While they were gone Roland, Andrew, Alice and I ate a little less than half of it. When Gary came home he ate the rest. I'm not quite sure what Brian ate. He doesn't really like curry. In case you lost count, that means that Gary ate 3 large chicken breasts, one can of chick peas, and 1/2 a pound of spinach, no rice though. I now have four cuts of cooked rice in the frig, if anyone is interested. (I may be eating it with mushroom-marasala sauce for lunch).

Gary is not the least bit fat. He is very muscular, and he is working out. I know he needs the calories, but the boy is going to eat me out of house and home.

Like a lot of teen boys, Gary likes meat, lots of meat. He eats fruits and veggies. Grapes are a favorite. He likes his carbs. I bought frozen waffles as a treat. Gary ate 5 at a time, because that is as many as he could fit into the toaster oven. He likes pasta and will cook himself enough penne pasta to fill a 2 quart bowl and eat it with sauce and cheese for lunch. Okay, he likes food. Still, it is meat that I need to learn not to try to fix enough for leftovers.

We are spending too much money on food, but Gary needs the calories and he needs quality food. He will eat bean dishes, if there isn't any meat. He is pretty good, in fact, about being willing to extend meat dishes with beans. He did not, for instance, have any problems with the chickpeas in the curry. When he makes enchilladas he uses chicken but then he also adds lots of beans.

For a while I was doing really well on our food budget. Of course I was buying a lot of whole chickens and cutting them up myself. We were eating more dark meat. Recently I have gone back to buying chicken breasts. I've bought big bags of them from Costco, so they are less expensive, but it is really still too much.

I'm mostly just whining. I know I need to start planning nutritious, inexpensive meals my whole family will eat. It is just when I start trying to make list of those sorts of things I come up with so little.