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.
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My CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares are going strong, so I will be doing things a little differently with the vegetable portion of my meal planning for the next few months (until October). My share averages out to $25 a week, which will come off the top of my budget allotment and will comprise the bulk of my non-smoothie-related vegetable purchases. If you’re curious to see how I use my CSA veggies up, check out my What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables posts.
Menu for Last Week (Week of October 20 – 24)
The Plan vs. Reality
I actually planned this week a bit – and stuck to schedule somewhat.
Monday
- The Plan – Cauliflower pizza bowl with ground beef, pork pepperoni, yellow pepper, shallot and tomato sauce
- Reality – I made something approximating this dish, even though I didn’t follow the original recipe I planned on following
Tuesday
- The Plan – Shredded beef with potato & scallion waffle & slaw
- Reality – This was good (despite my overselling of the waffles). I made my slaw out of cabbage, kale, yellow pepper, sriracha & mayo
Wednesday
- The Plan – ?????
- Reality – We ate out
Thursday
- The Plan – Shredded beef with cauli
- Reality – Shredded beef with chipotle & lime cauliflower steaks, which was yummy
Friday
- The Plan – Something in
- Reality – We ended up ordering delivery for schedule reasons
Lunches
- The Plan – Leftovers.
- Reality – I had some great leftovers to polish off – cabbage with bacon & chicken, flank steak with miso peptic squash, slaw, and potato waffles all made appearances
Extras
- The Plan – Nothing planned.
- Reality – And nothing happened.
This Week: October 27 – 31
I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries. This week, I completely forgot to plan anything. I was too busy worrying about my hubby’s upcoming marathon, my disturbing lack of plans for Halloween, and the mini vacation I have planned poorly for.
This Week’s Proposed Menu
- Monday: Poooooorrrrrrrrkkkkkkkk – even if I have to hold up the pork store, I’m getting some pork this week
- Tuesday: ???
- Wednesday: Something really quick
- Thursday: Something really quick
- Friday: Either in and something orange or out for more pork
- Lunch: Leftovers
- Extras: None
Shopping List & Cost Breakout
Grocery Store Key: WF = Whole Foods, TJ = Trader Joe’s
Shopping List
Extras: 4 lbs apples ($3.99 @ TJs), almond butter ($6.99 @ TJs), pistachios ($7.49 @ TJs), 3 bananas ($0.57 @ TJs), thai lime & chili cashews ($6.99 @ TJs), pecans ($3.99 @ TJs), Balance bar ($0.99 @ TJs).
Total TJ: $51.70
Total WF: $18.36
Total Target: $4.99
Total For The Week: $76.05; $1.05 over budget. I was over this week, but I’m doing fine overall this month (even with last week’s overage). The hubbs needs marathon fuel; his bar put us over the top, but that’s ok.
Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, CSA veggies.
Gastography 