Welcome to the TDC and Happy Mother's Day!

Coffee affects everyone differently. It is my one remaining vice and I refuse to give it up! I drink several cups of coffee a day. I'm sure it's not particularly good for me, but I seem to lose weight anyway.

As far as eating less expensively, I find it a lot easier to find protein sources inexpensively (meat and chicken go on sale and can be frozen; eggs are cheap) than to find decent quality vegetables inexpensively. Fortunately, we are headed into summer when the price of produce goes down. Since you are in Seattle, you might have more luck with this than I do. When I lived on the west coast, it was easier to get good produce.

I'm pretty boring with regard to lunches. I tend to eat salads with some sort of protein on top (chicken, eggs, cheese, tuna, whatever is handy). I always pack the dressing in a separate container and add it right before I eat the salad; otherwise it gets soggy. I make my own salad dressings with olive oil and red wine vinegar plus spaces and a little grated parmesan cheese. I think that probably saves some money over buying bottled dressings. I make a big bottle up at once and store it in the refrigerator. However, the olive oil gets hard when it gets cold, so you have to take it out a little before you eat it or run the jar under warm water to melt the olive oil.

I do save a lot of money that I used to spend on snacks, because I don't eat as many snacks!

One way to think about this is that as a single mom, you can't afford to get sick and be out of commission. Spending money on good, lowcarb foods is an investment in your health, particularly in the long run. It's going to cost a lot more if you develop diabetes, high blood pressure, and other weight related diseases.