Breakfast
I started off with a latte today, made with a cup of skim milk. I added a small amount of vanilla extract (maybe 1/4 teaspoon), along with a packet of equal and some cinnamon. It was good, but I have to be careful about how much vanilla I add-a little really goes a long way! After I finished the latte, I had 1 1/4 cups of Kashi's Honey Toasted Oats cereal (their answer to honey nut Cheerios, I imagine) with 3/4 cup of skim milk. I also had a cup (8 oz) of orange juice. The milk was on sale for 1.99 for a half gallon this week, and the Kashi was 2 for 5$...I love getting the things I was going to buy anyway at a lower price! It made the cost of my meal even cheaper than usual.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 1/2 oz whole (cereal)
Fruits: 1 cup (orange juice)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 1 3/4 cup (skim milk in latte and cereal)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 0

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.66

Lunch
I had to be at school around lunchtime for a meeting today (not one that normally serves lunch), so I packed some very portable things to take with me: my trusty PBJ sandwich and a banana! I used Sara Lee Soft & smooth whole wheat bread with 2 tablespoons of Skippy Natural peanut butter and a teaspoon of grape jelly. The banana was a large one, so I counted it as a cup this time. Another very low cost meal...and I was able to get in both protein and healthy oils with the peanut butter.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (bread)
Fruits: 1 cup (banana)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 0
Meats & beans: 2 oz (peanut butter)
Oils: 2 teaspoons (peanut butter)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.65

Dinner
Tonight, I made black bean and goat cheese quesadillas. This is a pretty easy recipe...one that I adapted from a recipe on CookingLight.com. Rather than be confusing, I'll just tell you what I put in it because it's pretty different from the original. This is for 3 quesadillas, which I split into 2 servings. First, I sauteed 1/2 cup of chopped onions in a teaspoon of olive oil. Next, I added 1 1/2 cups of rinsed black beans (I had the rest of an opened can sitting in the fridge) 1/2 cup of salsa, and about 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin. I let that come to a boil, and then mashed up the mixture a little with a fork. I spread the mixture over half of three 7" whole wheat tortillas (Mission brand), added about 4 tablespoons of goat cheese crumbles to each one (I split up a 4 ounce package over all three), then folded them over to make quesadillas. I baked them in the oven at 400 degrees until they were slightly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. When they came out of the oven, I cut them in half to make 6 pieces total, and served 3 in a serving. I also baked large sweet potatoes in the microwave (it took about 10 minutes due to their size). I added 2 teaspoons of Smart Balance Light to my potato, and had 3 additional tablespoons of salsa on the side with my quesadilla. These are soooo.....good! The goat cheese is a great touch, although it's expensive...but since the rest of the meal was so cheap, it kind of evened out.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 1/2 oz whole (tortillas )
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 2 cups (1 1/4 cups from sweet potato, 1/2 cup from salsa, and 1/4 cup from onions)
Milk: 1 cup (goat cheese)
Meats & beans: 3 oz (from 3/4 cup black beans)
Oils: 3 teaspoons (Smart Balance and olive oil)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $3.88

How did I do today?
Grains: 5 1/2 oz out of 6 oz (all were whole)
Fruits: 2 cups out of 2 cups
Vegetables: 2 cups out of 2 1/2 cups
Milk: 2 3/4 cups out of 3 cups
Meats & Beans: 5 oz out of 5 1/2 oz
Oils: 5 teaspoons out of 6 teaspoons

Total cost for the day: $5.20