This Week’s Menu
Monday
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs
Lunch: Pre-packaged salad from Trader Joe’s + grilled chicken breast
Dinner: Bunless burger with smashed fingerling potatoes
Tuesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Romaine/red cabbage/grilled chicken/cherry salad
Dinner: Deli meat wrapped in a collard leaf + pop chips
Wednesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Romaine/red cabbage/strawberry/grilled chicken salad
Dinner: Lamb blade steaks with corn/cucumber/pepper salad
Thursday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover corn salad with red cabbage, chicken and fried eggs
Dinner: Pressure cooked pork ribs with corn on the cob
Friday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Collard wrapped deli meat sandwich with peaches
Dinner: Ate out
Sunday
Breakfast: Out
Lunch: Out
Dinner: Out
This Week’s Grocery List
Lunch salad for Monday ($3.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Lunch grilled chicken breast ($5.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Deli meat, 1/2 lb turkey ($5.00 @ Brooklyn Fare
Deli meat, 1/2 lb. roast beef ($4.80 @ Brooklyn Fare)
Buns for the DH’s burger ($2.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Fingerling potatoes for a burger side ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
Smoothie Supplies
Ginger ($1.39 @ Trader Joe’s)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ Trader Joe’s)
4 Apples ($3.16 at Trader Joe’s)
1 lb. limes ($1.99 at Trader Joe’s)
2 Avocados ($2.78 at Trader Joe’s)
Bagged kale (2) ($4.58 at Trader Joe’s)
Bagged spinach ($2.29 at Trader Joe’s)
Impulse Buys
Sliced mozzarella ($3.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Pop Chips ($2.50 @ Brooklyn Fare)
2 peaches ($2.18 @ Brooklyn Fare)
1 Cubanelle pepper ($0.42 @ Brooklyn Fare)
Totals
CSA Veggies: $25.50
CSA Meats: $40.00
Trader Joe’s: $38.13
Brooklyn Fare: $17.89
Budget Breakout
This week, I spent $121.52; $21.52 over budget. Poooooooooooooo. I really thought I was on track this week, since I didn’t have to buy much – apparently not. I need to buckle down for next week. This could get interesting.
Leftovers From This Week
At the end of the week, I have a bunch of CSA veggies, some offal, and other meats 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 