This Week’s Menu

Monday

Breakfast: “Bulletproof” coffee

Lunch: Leftover Mexican takeout

Dinner: Brussels sprouts, kale & ground beef bowl with espazote, serrano and balsamic

Tuesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftovers from last night

Dinner: Broiled lamb steaks with green beans

Wednesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover ground beef & brussels bowl

Dinner: Baked chicken with roasted carrots

Thursday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover baked chicken with a green tomato and a peach

Dinner: Lamb blade chops with roasted eggplant puree

Friday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover roasted chicken with eggplant puree

Dinner: Out

Sunday

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Out

This Week’s Grocery List

Brussels sprouts ($2.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Green beans ($2.79 @ Trader Joe’s)
Grass fed gound beef ($7.49 @ Trader Joe’s)

Smoothie Supplies

Ginger ($1.39 @ Trader Joe’s)
Coconut water ($3.69 at Trader Joe’s)
6 Apples ($4.14 @ Trader Joe’s)
1 lb. limes ($2.49 at Trader Joe’s)
2 big avocados ($1.98 Trader Joe’s)
4 small avocados ($3.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
Bagged kale (2 10-ounce bags) ($2.29 x 2 Trader Joe’s)
Bagged spinach (6 ounces) ($1.99 at Trader Joe’s)

Impulse Buys

Grass fed gound beef for the DH’s race fuel we ate over the weekend ($7.49 @ Trader Joe’s)

Totals

Carryover from last week: +$47.93
CSA veggies: $25.50
CSA meat: $40.00
Trader Joe’s: $44.66

Budget Breakout

This week, I spent $110.16; $37.77 under budget.

Leftovers From This Week

At the end of the week, I have lamb kidneys, riblets and shanks, burgers, ground beef, a little chicken, a little steak, cucumbers, serrano peppers, green tomatoes, kale, parsley, lettuce, and a pumpkin 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.