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) share started this past week and runs through October, so I will be doing things a little differently with the vegetable portion of my meal planning for the next few months. 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. More on the CSA later.

Last Week (Week of June 2-6)

The Plan vs. Reality

Monday

• The Plan – “Noodle” salad with caramelized chicken and chili oil
• Reality – I ended up making this on Friday, and it was pretty good. I served with just-wilted broccoli slaw and crunchy radishes and cucumber.

Tuesday

• The Plan – Slow cooker Mexican beef with a side
• Reality – Mexican beef has become one of my staple meals and it’s fantastic. I served with a great cauliflower mash.

Wednesday

• The Plan – Leftover beef with some sort of side
• Reality – I served tonight’s leftovers with snow peas stir-fried in sesame oil and a bed of lettuce. Kind of an East-meets-West sort of feel. I thought it worked, the hubbs was confused.

Thursday

• The Plan – Leftover beef with some sort of side
• Reality – I served leftover beef with baked artichokes and drawn butter. Decadent and yum.

Friday

• The Plan – Paleo Pork Picadillo with butternut squash
• Reality – Y-U-M. Recipe coming soon!

Lunches

• The Plan – Apple dill chicken salad
• Reality – Well, that didn’t happen. The dill was on its last leg, and my CSA box came, so I ended up making a lot of salads.

Extras

• The Plan – Avocado + Dill Egg salad
• Reality – Sooooooo good.

This Week: June 9-13

I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: Meatball “subs” with rapini
• Tuesday: BBQ chicken with hot/sweet braised turnips & radishes
• Wednesday: Steaks with shaved asparagus salad
• Thursday: Meat + CSA veg
• Friday: Meat + CSA veg
• Lunch: CSA veg
• Extras: None planned, though I’ve been craving fruit + nut butter for a week now

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

Grocery Store Key: TJ = Trader Joe’s, WF = Whole Foods, O = Optional if budget allows

Shopping List

Worcestershire sauce – $3 est – did not buy
Lawry’s Seasoning salt – $2 est – bought but forgot to keep the receipt
Chili powder – $2 est – did not buy
tea – $3 est – did not buy
sugar – $2 est – did not buy
Nut butter – $5 est – ($6.99 @ TJs)
Fruit – $5 est – (26 ounces of peaches – $3.49 @ TJs)
Nuts for snacks – $6 est – ($5.99 @ TJs)

1/2 lb. ground pork – $3 est – ($3.53 @ WF)
1/2 lb. ground beef – $3 est – ($5.64 @ WF)
1/2 lb. ground veal – $3 est – did not buy
Pecorino – $3 est – (pecorino/romano cheese blend $2.79 @ TJs)
Romano – $3 est – see above
Onion (2) – $2 est – ($1.58 @ TJs)
Tomato sauce – $1 est – ($1.49 @ TJs)
Basil – $3 est – ($2.69 @ TJs)
Mozzarella – $3 est – ($3.29 @ TJs)
Garlic – $1 est – ($1.29 @ TJs)
Steaks – $8 est – ($14.55 @ WF)
Meat – $8 est – (BBQ chicken breast – $4.75 @ WF)
Meat – $8 est – (pork sausage patties – $3.55 @ WF)

$77 est, minus smoothie supplies

2 bags kale – $5 est – ($4.58 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach – $2 est – ($1.99 @ TJs)
3 apples – $3 est – (I got 4 – $3.16 @ TJs)
3 avocados – $4 est – ($4.47 @ TJs)
5 limes – $5 est – (1 lb. bag – $2.49 @ TJs)
Coconut water – $4 est – ($3.69 @ TJs)
Orange juice – $3 est – ($2.99 @ TJs)
Cilantro – $2 est – ($1.79 @ TJs)

$26 est for smoothies

$103 estimated total

Extras: I forgot to add the chicken thighs for the planned BBQ chicken night – those were $6.26 @ WF. I also bought celery for smoothies ($2.29 @ TJs) and a fruit leather bar for me ($0.99 @ TJs).

Total TJ: $58.04
Total WF: $38.53

Total For The Week: $96.57; $21.57 over budget. Oops. I completely dropped the ball this week and forgot that I only had $75 to spend. On the plus side, next week is another vacation week so I won’t be spending my grocery allotment on anything but road snacks.

Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, CSA veggies.