This Week’s Menu
Monday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover innards from last week’s stuffed zucchini
Dinner: Crock pot paleo butter chicken
Tuesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover pulled pork with peaches, kimchee and broccoli slaw
Dinner: Eggplant and beef meatballs
Wednesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover pulled pork with peaches & kimchee
Dinner: Kielbasa with Instant Pot pork broth, potatoes & cabbage
Thursday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover balsamic beef with peaches and cabbage
Dinner: Beet & cherry gazpacho with avocado + london broil
Friday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftover balsamic beef with peaches and cabbage
Dinner: Out
Sunday
Breakfast: Out
Lunch: Out
Dinner: Out
This Week’s Grocery List
Sheep romano cheese ($5.39 @ Whole Foods)
Tomato paste ($0.99 @ Whole Foods)
Grass fed ground beef ($7.49 @ Whole Foods)
Celery ($2.99 @ Whole Foods)
Frozen cherries ($4.99 @ Whole Foods)
2 onions ($1.50 @ Whole Foods)
2 bulbs garlic ($1.05 @ Whole Foods)
1 avocado ($1.25 @ Whole Foods)
Parsley ($1.99 @ Whole Foods)
Coconut milk ($2.79 @ Whole Foods)
Smoothie Supplies
Coconut water (~$4 @ Brooklyn Fare)
5 Apples ($5.05 @ Whole Foods)
5 limes ($3.75 @ Whole Foods)
4 Avocados ($5.00 @ Whole Foods)
Bagged kale ($3.99 @ Whole Foods)
Bagged spinach ($2.99 @ Whole Foods)
Impulse Items
Smoked pork hocks ($2.07 @ Whole Foods)
Totals
Whole Foods: $54.01
Brooklyn Fare: $~4
Overage from last week: $13.65
Budget Breakout
This week, I spent $71.65; $29.35 under budget. Yay, budgetary wiggle room! This week, I kept the impulse buying to a minimum and had enough meat from my CSA (plus extras from last week) to carry me through.
Leftovers From This Week
At the end of the week, I have lamb riblets for stock, 1 green pepper, a few carrots and a jalapeño 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 