A number of people I know are completely flabbergasted when contemplating sticking to a budget while eating a primarily “paleo” diet. I’m hoping to shed a little light on that issue for those of you on the fence about eating healthfully in this manner – it *can* be done – and done well – without spending all the money. All it takes is a little planning.
A little background: I live in Brooklyn, NY, and the grocery prices here are definitely not the same as what you will find in other areas of the country. If you live in say, Raleigh NC for example – you may very well be able to cut this grocery bill by a third, depending upon where you shop. For where I live, where I shop and what I buy, $100 a week is a doable budget without having to sacrifice the quality I want too much. My DH thinks $130 is probably more realistic with our morning smoothie supplies, but I want to shoot for $100. I aim to make 4-5 dinners for two and 5 lunches per week, plus two smoothies per day six days of the week with my budgetary allowance and update you all weekly on what’s going on. Let’s see if I can make it.
Last Week (Week of May 5-9)
The Plan vs. Reality
Monday
- The Plan – Chicken in coconut milk with lemongrass and some sort of side
- Reality – Tasty. I made with carrots and bok choy and it was a light and satisfying meal.
Tuesday
- The Plan – “Rogan Josh” with cauliflower rice & paleo naan
- Reality – I ended up grabbing beef and being too lazy to either rice the cauliflower or make naan – dinner was great despite the laziness.
Wednesday
- The Plan – Leftover chicken in some sort of green curry sauce with broccoli and peppers
- Reality – This ended up being pretty good.
Thursday
- The Plan – Larb spiced ground pork with roasted carrot matchsticks
- Reality – Yum.
Friday
- The Plan – Sausages or burgers with sweet potato fries
- Reality – Had errands to run and ended up eating out.
Lunches
- The Plan – Grab something I can make while I wait for leftovers to make themselves available
- Reality – I impulse bought broccoli slaw, cherry tomatoes and pre-cooked chicken breast and had tasty salads 3 days this week. The other 2 days were luckily filled with leftovers.
Extras
- The Plan – Bacon Maple Sandwiches
- Reality – I finally made these this week – and they were magnificent.
This Week: May 12-16
This is the last full week before we leave for vacation and we have a bunch of things we need to take care of. We shall see if the plan gets made.
This Week’s Proposed Menu
- Monday: Big pork with some sort of side and a strawberry/mint/shallot/tomato salsa
- Tuesday: Butter chicken with naan or cauli rice
- Wednesday: Leftover pork with somehting
- Thursday: Vietnamese Cha Ca Fish Tacos with napa cabbage wrappers and some sort of side
- Friday: Thit Nuong Tacos with pico de diakon and sriracha over broccoli slaw
- Lunch: Nothing planned – hoping for leftovers
- Extras: None planned
Shopping List & Cost Breakout
Grocery Store Key: TJ = Trader Joe’s, WF = Whole Foods, O = Optional if budget allows
This week, I have an extra $10 in rollover money from last week, whoo hoo!
Shopping List
1 bag spinach – $2 est ($1.99 @ TJs)
2 bags kale – $5 est ($2.29 x 2 @ TJs)
Side for pork – $3 est (broccolini – $2.79 @ TJs)
Side for fish tacos – $3 est (haricots verts – $2.69 @ TJs)
Napa cabbage – $2 est ($2.95 @ WF)
Broccoli slaw – $2 est ($1.99 @ TJs)
Cauliflower – $3 est ($2.49 @ TJs)
Daikon – $3 est (regular radishes – $1.49 @ WF)
Celery – $3 est ($1.79 @ TJs)
Cilantro – $2 est ($1.79 @ TJs)
Mint – $2 est ($1.69 @ TJs)
Dill – $2 est ($1.69 @ TJs)
Fruit for me – $3 est (1 lb. strawberries – $2.49 @ TJs)
6 apples – $4 est ($4.14 @ TJs)
Lemons – $2 est – Did not get
6+ Limes – $4 est (1 lb. – $2.79 @ TJs)
Orange – $1 est ($0.89 @ TJs)
Onion – $1 est ($1.09 @ TJs)
Jalapeño – $1 est (8 ounces – $1.69 @ TJs)
Chiles – $2 est – Did not get
3 avocados – $4 est ($4.47 @ TJs)
Ginger – $2 est ($1.39 @ TJs)
Tomatoes – $3 est ($3.49 @ TJs)
Shallot – $1 est ($0.99 x 2 @ TJs)
Pork – $30 est ($20.88 @ WF)
Chicken – $7 est ($5.84 @ WF)
Coconut water – $4 est ($3.69 @ TJs)
Butter – $4 est ($3.19 @ TJs)
Coffee milk – $3 est – Did not get
(2) Coconut milk – $2 est ($0.99 x 2 @ TJs)
Hoisin – $4 est – O – Did not get
Msg – $2 est – O – Did not get
Fenugreek – $2 est – O – Did not get
Tomato paste – $1 est ($0.89 @ TJs)
Snacks for the DH – $7 est ($7.49 @ TJs)
Coffee – $13 est – ($10.99 @ WF)
$119 estimated without the coffee and snacks, $111 without the Optional items
Extras: Cruciferous Crunch salad mix for my lunches – $2.29 @ TJs.
Total TJ: $67.44
Total WF: $31.16
Total For The Week: $98.60; $1.40 under budget. Yes! And with the extra cash, I grabbed my Gorilla coffee for $10.99. *insert happy dance here*
Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, fish a friend brought us.
Gastography 