This is going to be one of my cooking and grocery shopping posts, so if you’re not into that, you can feel free to skip this one. I was laid off from my warehouse job in September, unemployment expired in March and I’ve been surviving off my small publishing company (and editorial/writing/journalism clients) ever since. Being a small business owner, especially when it’s a new small business, is not for the faint of heart.

I had a loose plan of what I wanted to do today– get up, go get my coffee at Panera, swing by the Dollar Tree and maybe Grocery Outlet. I had $48 in my wallet and The No-Longer-a-Teenager complained that we had no food in the house except for the weird crackers and local cheese (local cheese from Joan Zachary’s cheese CSA).

My Panera iced coffee turned out to be the most perfect sip this morning, but the Dollar Tree next door was not open. I could go to Shoprite down the street but my $48 would not yield what I needed it to yield there.

Yesterday I prepped some seasoned white rice and teriyaki salmon, some lentils/split peas, and some pasta salad. My hope is that Eva, the college student and no-longer-a-teenager, and I can have a little bit of all of that for dinner. I thought picking up some tortilla shells and chips could mean some Mexican meals from the leftovers.

And we needed milk and half and half.

And then after all that cooking, I had a deep craving for spaghetti and super basic red sauce. So, I made some.

Creativity and patience are often the secret to making meals out of nothing. It’s often useful to designate some cooking time where you can coordinate some basic items that can be reused later– because making the decision to try and build a meal out of nothing while hungry usually ends in disaster. (I was a vegetarian for eight years until my daughter was born, took vegan cooking classes, and have incorporated some vegan choices into my life, so that helps me navigate cooking with minimal items.)

And like that bowl of spaghetti– sometimes the most simple things are the most satisfying. Sometimes you want a feeling in your belly or a specific spice more so than an item. That’s part of why I buy a lot of weird sauces and I love to keep on hand smoked paprika (for those ‘meaty’ desires), everything bagel seasoning (that can wake up those bored taste buds), and sesame oil (a must have if you enjoy Asian flavors). We all have our favorite seasonings.

Right now I’m drinking about 15 ounces carbonated water I made in my soda stream, with about 2 ounces of mango coconut water (from Dollar Tree), 2 ounces Seagrams ginger ale (leftover from Eva’s birthday party), and about 1 ounce fresh lime juice (limes cheap from Aldi). It’s refreshing in this hot day and different.

On Wednesday, Eva and I will receive a “meat box” from Hungryroot and we have a lot of leftovers from the in-law’s picnic yesterday (including half a ‘litter box cake’).

We needed some items to spice up our eating, preferably some fresh fruit, so how did I spend my $48 at Aldi?

Actually, I spent $38.53.

• 4 small cans of plain tomato sauce, 47 cents each.
• 4 cans chunk tuna in water, 85 cents each.
• Everything bagel seasoning with jalapeno, 1.85
• generic Spam, 2.15
• larger can of chicken breast chunks, $2.69
• quart of half and half, $1.98
• half gallon of 2% milk, $2.22
• two individual servings of Chobani Flips, chocolate chip cookie dough flavor, $1.38 each
• 8 ounces New York Sharp cheddar, $1.75
• Deli pack slices of provolone cheese, Eva’s favorite, $1.65
• Hummus Crisps (no idea what these are but they look like pop chips), $2.19
• Veggie Straws, ranch flavor (for Eva), $2.35
• frozen broccoli florets, $1.15
• cotton candy grapes, a big container, $3.98
• multipack of fresh limes, $2.29 (cheaper than lemons)
• bunch of bananas, 2.04 pounds, 90 cents
• 2 avocadoes, 65 cents each
• A dozen large eggs, $2.04

One of my guidelines is to look for items around $2. You will see that the grapes are the most expensive item on this list. By setting a mental guideline, I force myself to pause and consider whether the item on my list is worth the price. I ask myself questions like how versatile is this item? How many servings will I get out of this item? How healthy is this item?

For example, the grapes were an easy yes, because that is cheap for those grapes. They are one of the few fruit items I will eat. Eggs, also a solid choice, can add an egg to a lot of meals for extra protein. Even Ramen suddenly looks like a decent meal if you do it “egg drop” style. I chose limes over lemons to save a dollar, but buying them also meant I could transform the avocado into avocado dip/guacamole/toast spread. And the Chobani was also a splurge and has more sugar than I need, but it is also a great snack if you are craving cheesecake or ice cream or canolis.