Soft Pastels Life

June has ended and it was one of my best months food wise. This $20 challenge has been a struggle especially with inflation, but I make it work. For this month I went to 3 supermarkets just to spice it up lol. Honestly sometimes I tended to only stick with 2 stores most of the time because the hassle of traffic turns me off. For June I visited Walmart because you know shrimp at a reasonable price is life lol, Seasons Food Mart because of course I get salmon here at a price I love and The Real Canadian Superstore, this was just to spice up my trip lol because I never really know what I can get at this store and that is the truth.

When I started this challenge, I really used to compare prices are different stores to determine which store I would purchase items from but as inflation happened, I just winged it lol literally. I have an idea of what I want to eat and shop accordingly. So, with that being said I visited Walmart twice for dinner items, before entering the store I really had an idea of what I wanted to eat but when I got there things changed as I shopped lol. My first trip at Walmart cost me $19.58 and I was able to get five items. There is not a name for the meal I created but it was shrimp and veggies. I was able to get corn, brussels sprouts, shrimp, grape tomatoes, and taco seasoning because what else am I going to season my meal with. I enjoyed eating this meal because it was light and very quick to prepare.

_{^{Shrimp & Veggies}}

My next trip at Walmart cost me $19.27 and I was able to purchase six items to prepare for dinner. I was able to get shrimp of course, corn, garlic, grape tomatoes, zucchini, and gluten-free pasta which is made from corn. The meal itself was simple but I only cared for the shrimp and was able to create a delicious shrimp pasta. I know if I had purchased regular pasta, I would have had a few extra dollars to add something else to this meal however it was quite filling.  The shrimp I get from Walmart usually lasts me for the entire month which is why I will keep getting my shrimp here until I find a suitable alternative.

_{^{Shrimp Pasta}}

As you know, I visit Seasons Food Mart for the salmon, and sometimes their veggie selection because I can get veggies here at a reasonable price. My first trip at Seasons cost me $16.39 and I was able to get six items which included carrot, bean sprouts, broccoli, a tomato, and a potato. While I was walking in the store, I noticed the bean sprouts and decided to pick some up and build my meal around it along with the salmon. I made mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, and baked salmon. I was not confident on how I would create the meal, but it worked and surprisingly delicious.

_{^{Salmon & Veggies with Mashed Potatoes}}

My next visit to Seasons I spent $18.37 and got ten items and that was after I went back to the car and contemplated my decisions lol. I was able to get salmon fillets, broccoli, squash, a carrot, a beet, and a whole bunch of sweet potatoes. When I picked up the beet I had no idea what I was thinking but I got it. The meal was quite simple, steamed veggies and salmon seasoned with salt and pepper. The good thing about this trip, I was able to get multiple portions (like my other trips) but I had veggies to last me for a while.

_{^{Salmon with veggies}}

My final trip for the month was to the Real Canadian Superstore and I spent $19.09 and was able to get seven items to create my breakfast. I don’t always like eating eggs or yogurt for breakfast so this time around I kept in simple. I was able to get bananas, a mango, a kiwi, an orange, craisins, maple syrup and a big ole bag of oatmeal. I made granola with a fruit salad and banana on the side. Simple and filling. As always, I love having enough fruit to last me at least 2-3 weeks into the month and the best way for me to do that is to create a fruit salad and to freeze some depending on the fruits I have purchased. This month my fruit salad didn’t really last as long as I intended but with the bag of oatmeal, I was able to make oatmeal, pancakes and granola throughout the month especially since I had maple syrup.

_{^{Fruit salad with granola and banana}}

Every month is different with new surprises even though I may eat the same things at this point I just go with the flow lol. For the month of June, I spent $92.70 on my $20 challenge and the meals I created were delicious and filling and they lasted, I didn’t starve for June which was a plus. I won’t lie when I tell you it’s getting harder and harder to shop and buy the things I want to eat but this challenge is definitely making me get very creative with the meals I prepare.

Check out my grocery challenge playlist for more videos

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