Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Fiesta! and... a Google Spreadsheet

Had a chance to visit a local discount store here in Houston appropriately named Fiesta. It's a very festive place! I was pretty amazed by their prices. I've managed to squeeze in the following, with the same money:

- 6 more eggs
- 28% more potatoes ($0.36/lb. vs $0.50/lb)
- 25% more lentils ($0.50/lb. vs. $0.67/lb)
- 25% more pinto beans ($0.63/lb. vs. $0.84/lb)
- 12 more corn tortillas (some days I'll get 3!)
- 2 additional ounces of seasoning (thank you, Lord!)
- 9 additional ounces of raisins (yummier oatmeal)
- 1 lemon (high in vitamin C)
- 1 8-oz. can tomato paste (to season up the stew, or for making light pasta sauce)

Walmart still wins on brown rice and oatmeal. Randall's still wins on cabbage at $0.29/lb. I will try HEB tomorrow but I can't imagine them beating Fiesta's prices.

I've set up a Google Spreadsheet to share with you how I'm calculating things. Click here to view it. 

More to follow...

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3 comments:

  1. AndreaMarch 17, 2009 at 5:51 PM

    Hey Kirby,

    I am intrigued by your challenge and have been mulling it over. If not pregnant, I might try to join you, although I might have to go $2 for 20 days first or something like that.

    One thought I had is that with your savings at Fiesta maybe you could add a little fat to season things and help with the whole blood sugar/satiation thing. I bought a pound of butter for $2.54 today at Target and I'm sure they have a similar price down there somewhere. That's a tablespoon per day to add to your oatmeal, potatoes, noodles, etc. Or maybe add in a can or two of full-fat coconut milk. I've seen 14 oz for as low as $1.35 here on special. That's almost all fat and would also taste good in your oatmeal or even lentils.

    For seasonings you may want to get some plain salt. Super cheap and since you'll be making almost everything from scratch, you'll need it. Also check the price on a can of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce.

    I'll wrap up since this is getting long and email you with any other ideas. I'm interested in following your challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kirby TrapolinoMarch 17, 2009 at 9:58 PM

    Thanks Andrea, that's a great idea about the butter or coconut milk. I'll have to check that out. The "Season All" does have a good amount of salt mixed into it, but I'll look into that as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ABMarch 18, 2009 at 3:00 PM

    Hey Kirby,

    Don't forget to budget in the tea-even if you use the bags four times it might be worth it to get a few!

    ReplyDelete

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