This Week’s Menu
Monday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers salad utilizing rotisserie chicken, peaches and Asian greens
Dinner: Bunless turkey burger with mustardy chard
Tuesday
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs
Lunch: Leftovers salad utilizing spicy shredded beef, peaches, guacamole and Asian greens
Dinner: Thai Basil Chicken & Greens utilizing beet and carrot greens + the rest of the CSA carrots
Wednesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Roasted chicken thighs with peaches, garlic tails, radishes and baby spinach
Thursday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Collard greens with smoked fat back and confit bird leg
Friday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Out
Sunday
Breakfast: Out
Lunch: Out
Dinner: Out
This Week’s Grocery List
Peaches ($3.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Sparkling water ($0.79 @ Trader Joe’s)
Smoothie Supplies
Ginger ($1.39 @ Trader Joe’s)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ Trader Joe’s)
4 Apples ($2.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
1 lb. limes ($1.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
4 small avocados ($3.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
1 regular avocado ($1.39 @ Trader Joe’s)
Bagged kale (2) ($4.58 @ Trader Joe’s)
Bagged spinach ($1.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Totals
CSA Veggies: $25.50
CSA Meats: $40.00
Trader Joe’s: $26.54
Budget Breakout
This week, I spent $92.04; $7.96 under budget.
Leftovers From This Week
At the end of the week, I have a bunch of CSA veggies and meats left over – enough that next week’s shopping trip is going to be filled with staples and only a few dinner components. 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 