This Week’s Menu
Monday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover “race fuel” – ground beef with a tiny bit of rice
Dinner: Grilled salmon with paleo spring vegetable paella
Tuesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover paella from last night + bacon and 2 fried eggs
Dinner: Paleo pork tacos with pineapple rhubarb salsa
Wednesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Pulled pork over cabbage slaw with pineapple rhubarb salsa
Dinner: Chicken with roasted spring vegetables and a lemon goat cheese sauce
Thursday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Pulled pork over cabbage slaw with pineapple rhubarb salsa again, since it was so good yesterday
Dinner: Pulled pork & spring vegetable “pad thai” with bell pepper, peas and carrot – but not the spaghetti squash it was supposed to have.
Friday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Whipped goat cheese chicken salad with thyme, grapes & pecan
Dinner: Ate out
Sunday
Breakfast: Out
Lunch: Out
Dinner: Out
This Week’s Grocery List
Red bell pepper ($1.08 @ Amazon Fresh)
Zucchini, 1lb (2) ($2.29 @ Amazon Fresh)
Just BARE boneless skinless antibiotic-free chicken thighs, 20oz. ($5.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Natural pork boneless shoulder roast, 3 lb. ($14.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Coleslaw mix, 16oz. ($1.50 @ Amazon Fresh)
Cauliflower ($4.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Red seedless grapes, 2 lb. ($5.98 @ Amazon Fresh)
Alaska wild caught sockeye salmon, 8oz. x 2 ($14.98 @ Amazon Fresh)
Sunset mini kumato tomatoes, 16oz. ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Chavrie goat cheese, 4oz. ($3.07 @ Amazon Fresh)
Organic leeks, 3 ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Organic broccolini ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Asparagus ($4.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Green onions ($1.29 @ Amazon Fresh)
Birds Eye frozen peas, 10.8oz. ($1.79 @ Amazon Fresh)
Sliced pimentos, 4oz. ($2.19 @ Amazon Fresh)
Organic fingerling potatoes, 1.5 lb. ($4.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Spaghetti squash ($3.84 @ Amazon Fresh)
Yellow onion ($0.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Reese quartered artichoke hearts, 14oz. ($2.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
La Croix sparkling water (lime), 8 pk ($2.88 @ Amazon Fresh)
Smoothie Supplies
Zico Natural coconut water, 1 liter ($3.98 @ Amazon Fresh)
4 Apples (Food Emporium)
5 limes (Food Emporium)
2 Avocados (Food Emporium)
Bagged kale (Food Emporium)
Totals
Food Emporium $20
Amazon Fresh $95.27
Budget Breakout
This week, I spent $115.27; $15.27 over budget. Crap. I *knew* this week looked expensive as I was checking out on Amazon Fresh — and then I remembered that I’d already purchased $20 worth of smoothie supplies. The grilled salmon treat was totally worth the overage, though. Boo overages.
Leftovers From This Week
At the end of the week, I have spaghetti squash, some random bits (half a can of artichoke hearts, half a jar of pimento, half a bunch of broccolini, half a package of coleslaw mix) 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.
Gastography 