Where have you gone BIll Bailey?

Ahh, I haven't disappeared for good. I just got hung up with some family drama (now resolved) and was taking classes (lots of work). But I'm feeling spiffy now and still committed to living the (cheap) good life.

As much as I love the assortment of vegetables at the market in the summer, I really love what comes out in the fall. In fact, it may sound crazy, but I think that brussels sprouts are my favorite vegetable. Sadly, they are not cheap. I bought a quart for $3 this past week. That will be 4 servings so it's not disastrous. But, I'm realizing that I may need to readjust how I've been handling my food budget in terms of the breakdown between produce and staples.

The summer was a very luxurious time, peppers and summer squashes were cheap, Even corn didn't break the bank. But now, unless I want to eat only cabbages and greens, I think I have to devote more of the budget to fruits and vegetables.

I'll let you know how that works out.

Meanwhile, I've had a few slip ups but I've mostly been good abotu sticking to my grains and beans as basics with eggs and a little meat thrown in. Truth be told, I've mostly given up eating meat but I still throw it in there to cover vitamin B12 in my diet. I dont' really miss it either, except that now I'm craving things like chicken soup.

In fact, living on $5/day has really become sort of second nature to me. Maybe after the new year, I'll see if I can go lower and still be comfortable and nutritious.