Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of January 26 – February 1

This Week’s Menu

Monday

Breakfast: Green smoothies

Lunch: Leftover caramelized onion & apple turkey burger with Cruciferous Crunch

Dinner: Paleo beef rogan josh with cauliflower rice

Tuesday

Breakfast: Green smoothies

Lunch: Leftover Salsa Verde Pulled Pork with sauteed Cruciferous Crunch

Dinner: Unstuffed cabbage roll casserole

Wednesday

Breakfast: Green smoothies

Lunch: Leftover Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole

Dinner: Pork rind crusted chicken tenders with whipped garlic brussels

Thursday

Breakfast: Green smoothies

Lunch: Leftover Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole

Dinner: Bagna cauda with meatballs

Friday

Breakfast: Green smoothies

Lunch: The last of the leftover Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole + the single leftover pork rind crusted chicken strip

Dinner: A Mexican bowl involving ground beef, guacamole, spicy salsa & sweet potatoes

Sunday

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Out

This Week’s Grocery List

Ground pork ($3.99 for 1 lb. @ Amazon Fresh)
Grassfed ground beef ($19.98 for 2 lbs. @ Amazon Fresh)
Fresh salsa ($5.29 for a 16-ounce tub @ Amazon Fresh)
Green cabbage ($2.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Broccoli ($1.78 for 1 lb. @ Amazon Fresh)
Button mushrooms ($1.67 for 8 ounces @ Amazon Fresh)
Cauliflower ($2.34 @ Amazon Fresh)
Sabra Classic Guacamole (8 ounce) ($3.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Lemon ($0.75 @ Amazon Fresh)
Hot Italian sausage ($1 lb. for $5.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Grass fed stew beef ($1 lb. for $9.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Brussels sprouts ($2.50 for 1 lb. @ Amazon Fresh)
Coconut milk ($1.86 for 1 can @ Amazon Fresh)
Onion ($0.59 @ Amazon Fresh)
Fire roasted tomatoes ($1.96 for 2 cans @ Amazon Fresh)
Garlic ($0.96 for 2 heads @ Amazon Fresh)
Microwave pork rinds ($8.00 for 8 ounces unpuffed @ Amazon Fresh)
Anchovies ($2.19 for 1.5 ounces @ Amazon Fresh)

Smoothie Supplies

Ginger ($1.99 for 8 ounces @ Amazon Fresh)
Coconut water ($2.39 @ Amazon Fresh)
4 Apples ($3.16 @ Amazon Fresh)
1.5 lbs. limes ($2.77 @ Amazon Fresh)
4 Avocados ($4.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Bagged kale (16 ounces) ($5.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Bagged spinach (6 ounces) ($2.99 @ Amazon Fresh)

Budget Breakout

This week, I spent 100.19; 0.19 over budget. I *finally* got my freaking pork rinds, didn’t have to brave the masses stocking up for the blizzardgeddon, and I only went over budget by 19 cents? I’ll take it!

Leftovers From This Week

At the end of the week, I have carrots and some Italian sausage left over. I need to incorporate these items into my menu for next week.

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Think eating healthfully is too expensive for you? Think again. According to the USDA, to ensure a nutritious diet as of December 2014, a family of two aged 19-59 years should spend between $388.90 and $776.10 on food per month, or $89.80 – $179.30 per week. Source 

For my family of two adults, I spend roughly $400 a month on groceries or $100 a week – and we eat well. Not caviar and lobster well, but I do manage to serve a predominately paleo diet with little to no processed foods, and I get to throw in a few luxuries here and there (like expensive snacks for the hubbs and the occasional ridiculously expensive bag of coffee). We even manage to buy “good” meat (grass fed beef and free-range chicken) most of the time – and I make this budget work even on the weeks we pay for convenience by getting delivery groceries. I make: 10 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 10 dinners a week – plus enough snacks to satisfy and fuel two active adults.

I’m hoping that this series will help shed a little light on the day-to-day things a “paleo” person really eats — and how that way of eating can work on a budget. I want to nudge anyone sitting on the fence right over the edge by showing that it *can* be done and that you don’t just eat meat, meat, meat and more meat.