Five Dollar Dinner

Tonight we had an adventurous dinner!  I had heard this idea somewhere way back, and never had taken the time to try it.  Tonight we were down one kid, who happens to be our most indecisive one, and I was trying to think of something easy and fun to do for dinner.  Friday night frequently means homemade pizza around here, and lately it has also found this family bounding in different directions.  Tonight, 4/5 of us were home, with no plans -- hallelujah! -- and so we tried the five dollar dinner.

Beth and Alex were each given five dollars, and we took them to Safeway.  They had to find their own dinner.  The parameters were quite loose, although I did tell them that 1. They could not combine funds to buy a package of Oreos and a gallon of milk and call that dinner.  2.  They could not shop in the bakery.  3.  They had to have something of a fruit or vegetable.  5.  We were not rescuing them if they went over their limit.  6.  Any change was for them to keep.  7.  If they bought something that had 10 servings, they were not eating all 10 servings.  At one sitting.

They both wanted to know if they had a time limit.  Oh, dear.  I told them not specifically, but at some point I was going to light a fire under them and "encourage them" to make a decision.

After 45 minutes of sweet freedom roaming the aisles of Safeway with their own basket, they finally meandered over to the self-checkout lanes.

Here was the result:

a pizza pocket, 1/4 pound of onion rings, and 1/2 pound of fruit salad

grand total:  $4.58

a pizza pocket, 1/4 pound of jo's, a banana, and a Dr. Pepper

grand total:  $4.45

And although I cringe at the nutritional deficit on those plates, I know it's just one meal.  And the adventure didn't come without some lessons learned.

Here's what they came away with:

1.  Safeway has a lot of choices.  2.  It must cost a lot to feed a family of five.  3.  You gotta pay attention to what's on sale.  4.  It's hard to decide what to have for dinner.  5.  It's fun to be a checker at Safeway.

Nothing like some personal experience to hammer home some life skills, and some understanding for their mother!  And they simply had a blast together.

Now we owe Brenna the experience.  We'll clear an afternoon for that in the near future...

***On a totally different topic, thanks for the input on the quandary I was in yesterday.  I think I have decided that it is not worth my risk.  I will save myself the trouble and the calories and just eat an egg.  Have you seen the GIANT Reese's Eggs they have this year?  Sweet mercy.  And, Marlece, I have one mini dark chocolate sitting right here on my desk where I can see it everyday.  I don't want to eat it and admit they are gone.  I bought the original package in December.  There's some additional proof for you all that I am a bit nuts.