No snails here
July 21, 2014
No snails here
Author: cochrancj
I am an American expat who loves to explore the world through the plate and is always curious to learn more.
Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of July 21 – 25
A number of people I know are completely flabbergasted when contemplating sticking to a budget while eating a primarily “paleo” diet. I’m hoping to shed a little light on that issue for those of you on the fence about eating healthfully in this manner – it *can* be done – and done well – without spending all the money. All it takes is a little planning.
A little background: I live in Brooklyn, NY, and the grocery prices here are definitely not the same as what you will find in other areas of the country. If you live in say, Raleigh NC for example – you may very well be able to cut this grocery bill by a third, depending upon where you shop. For where I live, where I shop and what I buy, $100 a week is a doable budget without having to sacrifice the quality I want too much. My DH thinks $130 is probably more realistic with our morning smoothie supplies, but I want to shoot for $100. I aim to make 4-5 dinners for two and 5 lunches per week, plus two smoothies per day six days of the week with my budgetary allowance and update you all weekly on what’s going on. Let’s see if I can make it.
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My CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares are going strong, so I will be doing things a little differently with the vegetable portion of my meal planning for the next few months (until October). My share averages out to $25 a week, which will come off the top of my budget allotment and will comprise the bulk of my non-smoothie-related vegetable purchases. If you’re curious to see how I use my CSA veggies up, check out my What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables posts.
Last Week (Week of July 14 – 18)
The Plan vs. Reality
This week’s meal planning was efficient – I ended up making pretty much what I set out to make.
Monday
- The Plan – Coconut zoodles with ground poultry + kale + garlic scapes
- Reality – This was so-so.
Tuesday
- The Plan – Zucchini & meatballs + kale + garlic scapes
- Reality – This was so-so as well (and I forgot the kale).
Wednesday
- The Plan – Zoodles with avocado cream sauce & chicken + spring garlic
- Reality – This was pretty good.
Thursday
- The Plan – Bratwurst with CSA veggies
- Reality – I made zucchini fritters and they were fantastic.
Friday
- The Plan – Eat out
- Reality – That happened.
Lunches
- The Plan – Salads & leftovers
- Reality – Lunches this week were light on salads – I just couldn’t face them this week – and heavy on leftovers. I ended up wasting a head of lettuce because of it.
Extras
- The Plan – Nothing.
- Reality – Nothing made.
This Week: July 21 – 25
I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries.
This Week’s Proposed Menu
- Monday: Meat crust quiche with zucchini, carrots, kale & leek
- Tuesday: Zucchini soup & garlic scapes with a meat side
- Wednesday: Zucchini salsa verde with spiced pork chops
- Thursday: Meat with CSA veggie
- Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
- Lunch: CSA veg salads, leftovers
- Extras: Zucchini chips if I have enough leftover
Shopping List & Cost Breakout
Grocery Store Key: TJ = Trader Joe’s, O = Optional if budget allows
Shopping List
Pepper – ($1.99 @ TJs)
Coconut oil – TJs is having a run on coconut products and was out of this as well as coconut milk
Cilantro – ($1.79 @ TJs)
lime – (1 lb. bag – $1.69 @TJs)
onion (2) – ($1.78 @ TJs)
sweet potatoes – ($1.47 @ TJs)
jalapeño – ($1.69 @ TJs)
basil – ($2.69 @ TJs)
Country sausage or Italian sausage – ($4.45 @ TJs)
Steaky or meaty something – (tri-tip steak $8.59 @ TJs)
Steaky or meaty something – (Korean short ribs $7.71 @ TJs)
Coconut oil – TJs is having a run on coconut products and was out of this as well as coconut milk
Cilantro – ($1.79 @ TJs)
lime – (1 lb. bag – $1.69 @TJs)
onion (2) – ($1.78 @ TJs)
sweet potatoes – ($1.47 @ TJs)
jalapeño – ($1.69 @ TJs)
basil – ($2.69 @ TJs)
Country sausage or Italian sausage – ($4.45 @ TJs)
Steaky or meaty something – (tri-tip steak $8.59 @ TJs)
Steaky or meaty something – (Korean short ribs $7.71 @ TJs)
Smoothie Supplies – $25 est
2 bags kale – ($2.29 x 2 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach – ($1.99 @ TJs)
5 apples – ($3.95 @ TJs)
3 avocados – ($4.17 @ TJs)
coconut water – ($3.69 @ TJs)
ginger – ($1.39 @ TJs)
Extras: I had enough leftover, so the hubbs got a snack – cheese ($6.92) and I got butter ($3.19), sunbutter ($4.99) and blueberries ($2.99).
Total TJ: $71.71
Total For The Week: $71.71; $4.29 under budget. Whoo hoo! I love the weeks when it’s easy to come in under budget. This only really planning 3 meals + living off of what I have for 1-2 is working well for the grocery budget.
Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, CSA veggies, pork chops.
July 20, 2014
Yankees vs. Reds
July 19, 2014
Street lines
Franken Notato Salad with Sausages
It started with the best of intentions. I set out to make a nice little fauxtato salad – something along the lines of this one from Health-Bent. And then I started tinkering. There are a million different ways to make potato salad – and a million different flavor profiles to choose from – but when I think potato salad, I think of mustard and crunchy celery and hard boiled eggs and summer evenings spent picking bites of cold potato salad out of the fridge. And the deli potato salad from Food Lion. And Duke’s mayonnaise.
This is not that potato salad, but it filled a craving.
Behold: this monstrosity pile of yummy goodness. The franken salad. A dish that kind of tastes like a hybrid between german and Southern potato salads, but is definitely neither. This dish would be fantastic at a picnic or cookout, and is pretty freakin great on its own in a bowl for dinner.
Gluten-free, paleo and Whole30 compliant (check your labels/check with your butcher)
Franken Notato Salad with Sausages
2 large Hot Italian sausages
1 large fresh chorizo
Tokyo turnips (about 2 cups diced)
4 medium carrots (about 1 cup diced)
Half a Vidalia onion (about 1 cup diced)
2 hard boiled eggs
3-4 Tbsp. bacon fat
4 Tbsp. grainy mustard (I use Maille – check your label)
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. celery salt (check your label)
2 stalks celery
2 scallions
Optional toppers: olives, chopped garlic scapes, chopped parsley
First, get your eggs on to boil and prep your veggies. You want everything in a fairly small dice so it cooks nice and quick.
Uncase sausage and add to a large pan over medium heat. Cook, breaking the sausage up as you go, until browned. Remove from the pan and add to a large mixing bowl.
Add the bacon fat to the pan. Add the turnips, carrots, and onion. Sautee, stirring occasionally, until everything is softened and beginning to brown around the edges. (about 10-15 minutes)
While this is working, dice the celery and slice the scallions. Don’t forget your eggs, which should be finished sometime during this step.
Add the mustard, cider, celery, scallions, and celery salt to the sausage bowl and stir. When the veggies are done cooking, add those as well. Taste for seasoning and add more vinegar/salt as needed.
Chop your cooked, cooled and peeled egg and gently fold in.
Top with halved olives, chopped parsley and chopped garlic scapes if desired.
Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch
July 18, 2014
Doorway to eventacular delights.
July 17, 2014
Reflections
July 16, 2014
Dachshunds make the best post-yoga pillows.
What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables: Paisley Farm CSA Box 6
This year’s CSA is from Paisley Farm, a 25-acre operation located in Tivoli, NY. Paisley Farm grows organically and plants with the chef in mind. The 22-week CSA runs from June – October and I purchased the standard vegetable share. This share includes 8-9 vegetables and herbs per week (8-12 pounds) – enough to provide a family of three with 3-4 dinners’ worth of veg. The price equals out to $25 per week, the cost of which will be calculated in my weekly Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking posts.
Paisley Farm 2014 CSA Box 6
2 Cucumbers
Red Spring Onions (more!)
Lacinato Kale
Red/Green Romaine
Bush Basil
Garlic Scapes (more!)
Curly Parsley
4 Large Zucchinis (they weren’t kidding about ‘large’)
3 Pattypan Zucchinis (they didn’t mention ‘ginormous’)
Leftover From Last Week
Carrots (non-CSA)
Spring onions – all of them. Every spring onion in 300 miles now resides in my fridge.
Garlic scapes – I think I’m up to 3 bunches?
Kale
Tokyo turnips
Spring garlic
Roasted beets
How I Used My Share
I had the leftover beets with zucchini leftover from last week and some of that dill + horseradish vinaigrette and chevre for lunch in some form or another for 5 days straight.
I used the turnips and a few of the 9999 carrots I have on hand up in a franken notato salad (recipe coming soon) with sausages for dinner one night.
I’ve used spring onions in pretty much everything I’ve made for the last month – and I still have a whole bunch left over.
The kale was used in a dish with zoodles, ground turkey and coconut sauce – with a topper of garlic scapes.
I used more zucchini in a zucchini & meatballs skillet.
And I’ve used bits and pieces of the bush basil here and there in different dishes.
I plan on having a salad for lunch incorporating half of the lettuce and I’ll throw in as much as I can in the way of spring onions, garlic scapes, basil and parsley so they don’t go to waste. And cucumber. I need to use up some of that cucumber.
I intend to zoodle the last zucchini for dinner and serve it with chicken and an avocado creme sauce.
My Favorite Dish From This Box
Plain zucchini & butter with pulled pork. Simple and delicious. Or the lunches I’ve been having with the horseradish dill vinaigrette. That stuff is delicious.
Going into next week, I have aging carrots, a fairly sad looking bunch of kale, at least half of the lettuce (that might go to waste), a ton of spring onions, a ton of garlic scapes, and some cucumbers leftover.
July 15, 2014
Rainy evening
Gastography 