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. 

Last Week (Week of April 28-May 2)

The Plan vs. Reality

Monday

• The Plan – A burger or sausages with some sort of side sweet potato fries
• Reality – Bacon burgers with sweet potato fries

Tuesday

• The Plan – Spinach, parmesan & prosciutto stuffed pork loin with some sort of side roasted parsnips
• Reality – Yum.

Wednesday

• The Plan – Leftover pork repurposed into a stir-fry with peppers, celery and broccoli
• Reality – I wasn’t feeling the saltiness required for a stir-fry, so I went with plain boiled and buttered broccoli. Yum.

Thursday

• The Plan – Marinated London broil with some sort of side broccolini
• Reality – Another win – and a super easy no cleanup 1 cookie sheet under the broil type of meal.

Friday

• The Plan – Carrot Ginger Lime Pasta with Crispy Ground Poultry (from last week)
• Reality – This didn’t happen again this week and I think I’m giving up for now. Went grocery shopping again this Friday.

Lunches

• The Plan – I gave up on the egg foo youngs ever happening
• Reality – I had the last of the leftover ham from Easter + whatever else I could cobble together for my lunches

Extras

• The Plan – Bacon Maple Sandwiches
• Reality – I forgot that Mudderella isn’t for another week – luckily, I bought really green bananas and they are still acceptably ripe going into this week. I need to make the pancake portion of the recipe soon, though, or they won’t be.

This Week: May 5-9 

I had every intention of visiting my favorite butcher again this week, but they happened to not be open yet when we walked past, and we needed to go to Whole Foods anyways. Luckily Whole Foods had what we needed and we were doing well enough on budget to be able to get what we wanted to get.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: Something Rogan Josh with cauliflower rice and paleo naan
• Tuesday: Chicken in coconut milk with lemongrass and some sort of side
• Wednesday: Leftovers from the chicken in green curry with broccoli and peppers
• Thursday: Larb spiced ground poultry with some sort of carroty something
• Friday: Sausages or burgers with sweet potato fries
• Lunch: Nothing planned – hoping for leftovers, though I really need to find some wiggle in the budget to grab some protein
• Extras: Bacon maple sandwiches for Saturday’s breakfast

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

This week, I have $100 to spend for my weekly groceries, and I hope to stick to it.

Shopping List

Ghee – $5 est – ($3.29 @ TJs)
Eggs – $3 est – ($2.99 @ TJs)
4 cans coconut milk – $4 est – ($0.99 x 3 @ TJs)
Lemon – $3 est – (3 – $1.47 @ TJs)
Lemongrass – $2 est  – ($2.80 @ WF)
Greens (2 c) – $2.50 est – did not get – using frozen spinach instead
Cauliflower – $3 est – ($2.49 @ TJs)
Parsnips or something else to serve with chicken – $3 set – (bok choy – $2.29 @ TJs)
Sweet potatoes – $2 est – ($0.98 @ TJs)
Green curry – $4 set – ($3.79 @ WF)
Broccoli – $3 est – ($1.99 @ TJs)
Pepper – $1 est – ($0.99 @ TJs)
Sriracha – $3 est – ($2.99 @ TJs)
Limes – $3 est – bought a few extra with the smoothies bunch

2 bags kale – $5 est – ($2.29 x 2 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach – $2 est – ($1.99 @ TJs)
3 avocados – $4 est – ($4.47 @ TJs)
5 apples – $5 est – ($3.45 @ TJs)
5 limes – $4 est – (1 lb bag – $2.79 @ TJs)
Cilantro – $2 est – ($1.79 @ TJs)
Ginger – $2 est – ($1.39 @ TJs)
Orange juice – $4 est – ($2.99 @ TJs)
Celery – $3 est – I thought we bought this, but it didn’t show up on the receipts…

Extras: roast chicken for my lunches  – ($6.99 @ TJs), broccoli slaw for my lunches  – ($1.99 @ TJs), scallions  – ($1.29 @ TJs), impulse buy of a pint of cherry tomatoes because they were grown on the roof of the building and that is just freaking awesome – ($5.49 @ WF)

Butcher’s List

1 chicken (2 meals) – $15 est – ($7.27 @ WF)
1 lb. stew beef – $9 set – ($8.95 @ WF)
Ground pork – $6.50 — Use leftover poultry instead
Meat – $9.50 or less – beef & bacon burgers, or sausages – (Bacon cheddar burgers – $4.17 @ WF)

Total TJ: $56.17
Total WF: $34.48

Total For The Week: $90.65; $9.35 under budget. I thought for sure I’d be over this week, with all the little extras I bought.

Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, Monday’s dinner.