50 dollar Grocery Challenge

I have taken a break from the 50 dollar challenge for a couple of weeks.  I wanted to see how much I spent if I wasn't trying to stay in a strict budget.  I find that I have spent a little bit more, but not a lot.  As I spend more, I end up with too much food for us to eat.  I may try a challenge to eat for 50 dollars a week with NO coupons, but I haven't decided yet.  You can save a lot of money using coupons, but it does take some time.  I also miss my own cooking.  Packaged foods are alright once in a while, but I don't want them on a regular basis, no matter how cheap they are.  I used to like getting lunch meat but after getting a lot one week for almost nothing, I realized that lunch meat is good once in a great while, but not often.  I like eating real meat better.  I don't even like frozen or canned stuff very much either.  I really like having fresh produce and making my own bread.  It is a trade off and there isn't one way that is right or wrong.  It depends on what you like, how much time you have and what is important to you.