Paleo On A Budget

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of October 6 – 10

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Paleo-On-A-Budget-Header

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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of September 29 – October 3)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was decent, though I had to completely rethink one dinner when the grocery was out of ingredients I needed.

Monday

  • The Plan – Cauliflower mash with steaks
  • Reality – We ended up eating out

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Chicken salad with aioli, apples, cucumber and dill + trevisio
  • Reality – The cucumbers I had planned on using had gone over to the dark side, the trevisio wasn’t quite what I thought it was (I was thinking radicchio), and I didn’t end up buying enough apples for this dish + smoothies – so, burgers with sweet potato fries made a great substitute.

Wednesday

  • The Plan – Pulled pork tacos in Napa cabbage leaves
  • Reality – Yum! With an added apple/pepper slaw – And I ended up eating this for 3 meals in a row

Thursday

  • The Plan – Squash “cheese” sauce? A mash? ???
  • Reality – I opted for pulled pork over a simple cauliflower & chipotle mash – which was delicious.

Friday

  • The Plan – Try to revisit the mussels plan
  • Reality – Yay, we made it! And they were magnificent.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Leftovers.
  • Reality – I did a bunch of leftovers, plus ended up creating a few things – most notably, a Napa cabbage bowl topped with pulled pork and a fried egg. I also had to get creative in the early part of the week with protein, since I planned poorly and didn’t have anything planned for Monday & Tuesday’s lunch. Monday I did an avocado egg salad; Tuesday I served eggs over sauteed eggplant with balsamic vinegar. Both were delicious.

Extras

  • The Plan – Nothing planned but almond milk.
  • Reality – Almond milk is my new favorite jam.

 

This Week: October 6 – 11

I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries. This is also a short cooking week – I’ll be out of town Thursday – Sunday recharging my paleo batteries.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Monday: Delicata squash & fennel salad with harissa & kale + duck breast
  • Tuesday: Cauli rice with peppers (green rice style) + chicken
  • Wednesday: Tomato sauce with eggplant & ground beef over squash mash
  • Thursday: No plans, though the hubbs may do burgers
  • Friday: No plans, though the hubbs is planning on eating something carby in preparation for the half marathon he’ll be running this weekend
  • Lunch: Leftovers.
  • Extras: None.

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

Grocery Store Key: WF = Whole Foods, TJ = Trader Joe’s

Shopping List

Lemon ($0.49 @ TJs)
Cilantro ($1.79 @ TJs)
Tomato paste ($0.89 @ TJs)
Canned tomatoes ($1.69 @ TJs)
Bacon ($4.99 @ TJs)
 
Smoothie supplies
2 bags kale ($4.58 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach ($1.99 @ TJs)
6 apples ($4.14 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb bag – $1.99 @ TJs)
2 avocados ($2.78 @ TJs)
Ginger ($1.39 @ TJs)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ TJs)
Orange juice ($3.29 @ TJs)
 

Extras: Old Amsterdam Gouda ($7.47 @ TJs) and Pita Crackers ($2.69 @ TJs) for the hubbs.

Total TJs: $43.86

Total For The Week: $73.94; $32.14 under budget. *happy dance* I’d say this makes up for the slight overages and close calls as of late.

Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, CSA veggies, chicken, duck breast, ground beef. 

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of September 29 – October 3

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Paleo-On-A-Budget-Header

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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of September 22 – 26)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning went so-so – We had the last of the season’s corn, a bunch of cleanup to do CSA veggie-wise and my big recipe meal didn’t quite pan out.

Monday

  • The Plan – Chicken stir-fry with bok choy, carrots, eggplant, pepper and kale
  • Reality – Burgers and corn on the cob

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Green curry meatballs
  • Reality – The chicken stir-fry from Monday’s plan (which worked out well – hidden eggplant FTW)

Wednesday

  • The Plan – Burgers & corn on the cob
  • Reality – Steaks with a roasted corn/pepper/feta salad

Thursday

  • The Plan – No actual plan; just need something quick
  • Reality – Asian pork meatballs in a red curry sauce with eggplant, peppers and chard (this was a less successful use of the eggplant – I got cocky and didn’t dice it)

Friday

  • The Plan – We had planned on taking a trip up to Whole Foods so we could do mussels
  • Reality – And it didn’t end up working out. Ate out instead.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Leftovers.
  • Reality – Had a bunch of leftovers.

Extras

  • The Plan – Nothing planned but almond milk.
  • Reality – The almond milk turned out awesome.

 

This Week: September 29 – October 3

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Monday: Cauliflower mash with steaks
  • Tuesday: Chicken salad with aioli, apples, cucumber and dill + trevisio
  • Wednesday: Pulled pork tacos in Napa cabbage leaves
  • Thursday: Squash “cheese” sauce? A mash? ???
  • Friday: Try to revisit the mussels plan
  • Lunch: Leftovers.
  • Extras: None.

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

Grocery Store Key: WF = Whole Foods, TJ = Trader Joe’s

Shopping List

Big pork ($19.44 @ WF)
Chicken ($5.17 @ TJs)
Steak (subbed duck breast instead – $6.88 @ WF)
Herb (dill – $1.69 @ TJs)
Eggs ($2.79 @ TJs)
Apple
Miso – did not get
Nutritional yeast – did not get
Sweet potatoes ($0.98 for 2 @ TJs)
Coffee ($4.99 @ TJs)
Almonds ($5.99 @ TJs)
 
Smoothie supplies
2 bags kale ($4.58 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach ($1.99 @ TJs)
4 apples (2 lb bag – $2.99 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb bag – $1.69 @ TJs)
2 avocados ($2.78 @ TJs)
Ginger ($1.39 @ TJs)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ TJs)
 

Extras: Thai Lime Chili almonds ($6.99), a bunch of travel snacks I’m happy don’t have to come out of this budget, plus some decorative gourds because I couldn’t resist.

Total TJs: $42.54
Total WF: $31.40

Total For The Week: $73.94; $2.06 under budget. Whoo hoo! With some juggling of travel snacks, I was in budget this week. Yay.

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

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of September 22 – 26

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Paleo-On-A-Budget-Header

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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of September 15 – 19)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was decent – I got corn in my CSA box again and decided to use it instead of waste it, even though corn isn’t paleo.

Monday

  • The Plan – Steaks with corn on the cob
  • Reality – Uncured beef hotdogs with sauerkraut and corn on the cob

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Stuffed peppers with Italian sausage, fresh roasted tomatoes, roasted eggplant and kale
  • Reality – Yum. This was a great meal.

Wednesday

  • The Plan – Corn and goat cheese stuffed peppers with some sort of meat
  • Reality – I didn’t stuff the peppers, but this was still tasty. served with flank steak.

Thursday

  • The Plan – Eggplant fries with burgers.
  • Reality – The eggplant fries were less than successful (though still entirely edible), and the burgers were delicious as usual.

Friday

  • The Plan – Eat out.
  • Reality – This happened.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Leftovers.
  • Reality – Had a bunch of leftovers.

Extras

  • The Plan – Nothing planned but almond milk.
  • Reality – The almond milk turned out awesome. More on that soon!

 

This Week: September 22 – 26

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Monday: Chicken stir-fry with bok choy, carrots, eggplant, pepper and kale
  • Tuesday: Green curry meatballs
  • Wednesday: Burgers & corn on the cob
  • Thursday: Something quick
  • Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
  • Lunch: Leftovers.
  • Extras: Almond milk & maybe chocolate cookies

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

Grocery Store Key: FD = Fresh Direct

Shopping List

Ground Pork ($4.83 @ FD)
Cilantro – did not get
Basil – did not get
Lemongrass – did not get
Galangal – did not get
Shallot ($2.99 @ FD)
Shrimp Paste – did not get
Another Meat (Denver cut steaks $13.49 @ FD)
 
Smoothie supplies
2 bags kale ($7.00 @ FD)
1 bag spinach ($2.99 @ FD))
4 apples ($4.99 @ FD)
Limes (6 $4.99 @ FD)
4 avocados ($7.00 @ FD)
Ginger ($2.99 @ FD)
 

Extras: Dry aged beef burgers ($13.49 for 4), pistachios ($9.99 for 10 ounces).

 

Total FD: $74.62

Total For The Week: $74.62; $.38 under budget. I had planned a big recipe meal for this week (green curry pork meatballs), but ended up choosing convenience over budget with my grocery shopping; so I couldn’t make it happen. Plus, Fresh direct didn’t have half the specialty ingredients I needed. No big deal; I will just get creative. Plus, I now have even more extra meat. Score!

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

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of September 15 – 19

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Paleo-On-A-Budget-Header

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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of September 8 – 12)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was decent – I got corn in my CSA box again and decided to use it instead of waste it, even though corn isn’t paleo.

Monday

  • The Plan – Collard wraps with shredded balsamic beef, bell peppers and carrots
  • Reality – This worked really well. I can’t wait to get more collards in the CSA box – this needs to be repeated!

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Shredded balsamic beef with corn/green pepper/feta salad
  • Reality – Yum. This was a great meal. I added jalapeno for some extra spice and roasted all the peppers on my gas range. Delicious.

Wednesday

  • The Plan – Bunless burgers with corn on the cob and herbed butter
  • Reality – I ditched the fancy butter and this meal was delicious.

Thursday

  • The Plan – Stuffed peppers with kale and roasted tomatoes if I get enough peppers in the CSA box
  • Reality – I ended up going another direction. Had leftover shredded balsamic beef with a warm corn/pepper/leek/balsamic vinegar salad instead.

Friday

  • The Plan – Eat out.
  • Reality – This happened.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Leftovers.
  • Reality – Had a bunch of leftovers + days of chicken with tomatoes and peaches.

Extras

  • The Plan – Nothing planned but almond milk.
  • Reality – The almond milk turned out awesome. More on that soon!

 

This Week: September 15 – 19

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Monday: Steaks with corn on the cob
  • Tuesday: Stuffed peppers with sausage, roasted tomatoes, eggplant & kale
  • Wednesday: Corn and goat cheese stuffed peppers with ???
  • Thursday: Eggplant fries with ???
  • Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
  • Lunch: Leftovers.
  • Extras: None planned.

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

Steaks (flank steak – $12.95 @ TJs)
2 other meats (chicken thighs – $7.29 @ TJs + uncured hot dogs – $4.99 @ TJs)
goat cheese ($2.49 @ TJs)
coffee ($4.99 @ TJs)
 
Smoothie supplies
2 bags kale ($2.29 x 2 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach ($1.99 @ TJs)
4 apples ($3.16 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb $1.69 @ TJs)
3 avocados ($4.17 @ TJs)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ TJs)
Ginger ($1.39 @ TJs)
 

Extras: peanut butter dog biscuits ($3.49 @ TJs), sauerkraut ($3.99 @ TJs), thai chile almonds ($5.99 @ TJs)

I also ran into a sale at Whole Foods on grass fed beef for $5 a pound – I picked up 4 lbs. and plan to break that out over the next few weeks. Win! 

Total TJ: $67.16
Total WF: $20.31

Total For The Week: $75.00; $0.00 under budget. I *was* $8.84 under budget this week, but I’m going to count some of that beef surplus toward this week’s budget. I think I’m safely recuperated from the week I went over with party supplies last month; plugging the partial cost of the beef in this week will leave me a little wiggle room for later in the month. Plus, now I have extra ground beef + the Italian sausage I still haven’t used in my freezer store. Whoo hoo!

Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, CSA veggies, Italian sausage, ground beef. 

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of September 8 – 12

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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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of September 1 – 5)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was decent – I got corn in my CSA box again and decided to use it instead of waste it, even though corn isn’t paleo.

Monday

  • The Plan – Labor day – day off + a 5k – eat out
  • Reality – I had 1 bell pepper with some leftover eggplant dip for a snack and ate dinner out as planned.

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Bunless burgers with sweet potato fries & zucchini fries
  • Reality – Yum. I made sweet potato fries for the DH and perfected my zucchini recipe recipe for me.

Wednesday

  • The Plan – ??? Ground beef ???
  • Reality – We went out to eat with friends tonight. Figured ditching the weekly menu plan for socializing was a good enough reason to do so.

Thursday

  • The Plan – Something with eggplant and meat – asiany ground poultry bowl with eggplant puree, carrots, peppers and kale
  • Reality – This was good, but I forgot the kale.

Friday

  • The Plan – Broiled pork belly with a corn/leek salad and carrot top pesto
  • Reality – Delicious. Made a charred corn and leek salad (recipe coming soon) and the pesto was delicious.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Salads and leftovers.
  • Reality – Salads didn’t really happen, but I ate a lot of leftovers.

Extras

  • The Plan – Broil eggplants and tomatoes so they don’t go bad.
  • Reality – I also froze a ton of green peppers so they wouldn’t turn as well.

 

This Week: September 8 – 12

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Monday: Big meat with corn salady thing with green peppers.
  • Tuesday: Collard burrito wraps with peppers, big meat and carrots
  • Wednesday: Burgers with corn on the cob and some sort of herb or tomato butter
  • Thursday: Stuffed peppers if I get bell peppers in the CSA box
  • Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
  • Lunch: Leftovers.
  • Extras: None planned.

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

garlic powder ($1.99 @ TJs)
big meat ($17.44 @ TJs)
Sausage ($4.45 @ TJs)
basil or an herb ($2.99 @ TJs)
Canned tomatoes ($1.69 @ TJs)
 
Smoothie supplies
1 bags kale ($2.29 @ TJs)
4 apples ($3.16 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb $1.69 @ TJs)
2 avocados ($2.78 @ TJs)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ TJs)
Orange juice ($3.99 @ TJs)
Ginger ($1.39 @ TJs)
 

Extras: coconut milk ($0.99 @ TJs), almonds ($5.99 @ TJs), pistachios for the DH ($7.49 @ TJs), fruit bar impulse purchase ($0.99 at TJs), ???? something, I’m guessing for the DH, for $7.99 @ TJs – cheese?

Total TJ: $53.56

Total For The Week: $71.00; $4.00 under budget. Woop Woop! Under again.

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

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of September 1-5

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Paleo-On-A-Budget-Header

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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of August 25 – 29)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was decent – I made most of what I wanted to, though I had an off-track night where I ended up eating lunch for dinner.

Monday

  • The Plan – Leftover pulled pork tacos with peach/basil salsa
  • Reality – I forgot to make the salsa, but the tacos were fantastic

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Pork bowl with chard and leeks
  • Reality – I wanted tacos again. More tacos.

Wednesday

  • The Plan – Mexican-ish pork bowl with sweet potatoes, green peppers and onions
  • Reality – I kicked the taco habit and this was really good. Used 1 pepper + some sweet potato

Thursday

  • The Plan – Steaks with creamed chard and carrots
  • Reality – The steaks were good, but I served with corn since we got corn in the CSA. Yes, I know, corn isn’t paleo – but I don’t want to waste it, either, on top of the massive amount of veggies I chucked last week. I also made a nice little tomato/basil/shallot salad.

Friday

  • The Plan – Eat out
  • Reality – That happened.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Salads and leftovers.
  • Reality – Salads didn’t really happen, but I ate a lot of leftovers.

Extras

  • The Plan – Broil eggplants and perfect zucchini fries
  • Reality – Neither of those things happened

 

This Week: September 1 – 5

I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries. This week’s shopping was all tied up with Saturday’s game night.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Monday: Labor Day – eating out
  • Tuesday: Zucchini fries with burgers
  • Wednesday: Ground pork or turkey bowl with Asian flavors + eggplant, carrot, pepper and kale
  • Thursday: Corn salad with leeks, carrot top pesto & some sort of meat
  • Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
  • Lunch: Leftovers.
  • Extras: None planned.

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

Ground beef ($6.99 @ TJs)
Ground pork (ground turkey – $4.29 @ TJs)
Meat for 2 nights – big or otherwise (more ground beef – $6.99 @ TJs + pork belly – $6.49 @ TJs)
Sweet potato ($0.49 @ TJs)
Almond milk – did not get
Coffee ($7.99 @ TJs)
 
Smoothie supplies
2 bags kale ($4.58 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach ($1.99 @ TJs)
5 apples ($3.95 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb $1.99 @ TJs)
3 avocados ($4.17 @ TJs)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ TJs)
Ginger ($1.39 @ TJs)
 

Extras: coconut milk ($0.99 @ TJs), cashews ($6.99 @ TJs), cheese for the DH ($6.59 @ TJs)

Total TJ: $69.57

Total For The Week: $69.57; $6.43 under budget. I made up about half of last week’s budgetary overage by planning less and relying more on my CSA veggies for this week.

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

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of August 25-29

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Paleo-On-A-Budget-Header

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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of August 18 – 22)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was decent – I made most of what I wanted to, though I had an off-track night where I ended up eating lunch for dinner.

Monday

  • The Plan – Beef keema bowl over lettuce with cilantro and mint chutney
  • Reality – Ate leftovers for lunch and a chicken/peach/tomato salad for dinner

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Italian sausage, chard and sun-dried tomato stuffed peppers
  • Reality – Yum.

Wednesday

  • The Plan – Some sort of Asian flare eggplant sauce thing with steaks
  • Reality – I did broil the eggplant, but didn’t end up going that direction. I used about half in the keema bowl – which I heavily modified and didn’t end up serving with any sort of chutney or over lettuce.

Thursday

  • The Plan – Meat + csa veg.
  • Reality – I made chicken thighs with a vaguely asian sauce + a fresh little salad of green pepper & carrot

Friday

  • The Plan – Eat out
  • Reality – That happened.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Salads and leftovers.
  • Reality – Salads didn’t really happen, but I ate a lot of leftovers.

Extras

  • The Plan – Korean-ish pickles for game night. A tomato & macadamia ricotta tart – which didn’t happen.
  • Reality – Delicious

 

This Week: August 25 – 29

I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries. This week’s shopping was all tied up with Saturday’s game night.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Saturday Game Night: Korean style pulled pork tacos with dips & veggies & sweet potato chips and ice cream sandwiches for dessert
  • Monday: Crock pot pulled pork tacos with peach/basil salsa and some sort of side
  • Tuesday: Crock pot pulled pork Mexican style with peppers & onions & sweet potato
  • Wednesday: Crock pot pulled pork with chard and leeks
  • Thursday: Steaks with CSA veggie (maybe a riff on creamed spinach?)
  • Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
  • Lunch: Leftovers. More peaches + tomatoes.
  • Extras: Pickles or veggie stock if I have enough leftover. Tomato & macadamia ricotta tart. Zucchini fries.

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

5 lbs. pork shoulder – for game night + dinners ($35.55 @ WF)
2 onions – for game night + dinners ($2.12 @ WF)
Corn tortillas – for game night + dinner ($1.99 @ WF)
Cabbage – for game night + dinner ($2.58 @ WF)
Kimchi – for game night + dinner ($7.99 @ WF)
Bloody mix – did not get
Light lager (2 sixers) – bought 1 for game night ($9.49 @ TJs)
Celery – for game night ($2.49 @ WF)
Sweet potato chips – for game night ($1.99 @ TJs)
Doenjang (fermented soy bean paste) – did not get
Ice Cream – for game night ($6.99 + $6.99 @ WF)
Cookies – for game night ($4.99 @ WF)
Sprinkles – did not get
An herb – basil or mint ($3.99 @ WF)
Almond flour ($11.99 @ WF)
Almond milk – did not get
 
Smoothie supplies
2 bags kale ($4.58 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach ($1.99 @ TJs)
5 apples ($3.95 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb $1.69 @ TJs)
2 avocados ($2.78 @ TJs)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ TJs)
Ginger ($1.39 @ TJs)
 

Extras: almonds to possibly make almond milk ($5.99 @ TJs), matcha pop ($3.00 @ WF), worcestershire for a mixed nut flavor the DH wanted to make ($3.69 @ WF), a snack donut while shopping ($3.00 @ WF).

Grand Total TJ: $70.72
Weekly Grocery Total TJ: $62.65
Total WF: $97.62
Weekly Grocery Total WF: $27.20

Total For The Week: $89.85; $14.85 over budget. This is without splitting hairs, either. I could shave off a couple more bucks owing to things I wouldn’t have purchased if it wasn’t for game night, but I’m standing with the overage.

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

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of August 18 – 22

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Paleo-On-A-Budget-Header

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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of August 11 – 15)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was fairly efficient – I ended up making pretty much what I set out to make, for dinner at least.

Monday

  • The Plan – Tuna salad with aioli, tomato and cucumber in a cucumber boat for lunch and stuffed eggplant with beef and hopefully lamb for dinner.
  • Reality – Tuna salad didn’t happen because I ran out of eggs for the aioli. Dinner was good, though lamb ended up not being in the budget.

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Broiled lettuce + tomato salad with parmesan and balsamic for lunch and fingerling potato-leek hash with swiss chard, eggs & bacon for dinner.
  • Reality – Ok, so the lunch plan was a little ambitious and didn’t happen. Dinner was good though.

Wednesday

  • The Plan – Zucchini bowl with kale for lunch and meat + csa veg for dinner
  • Reality – I had a zucchini bowl for lunch, but it featured fried green tomato instead of kale. Dinner was macadamia crusted turkey tenders with zucchini fries.

Thursday

  • The Plan – Meat + csa veg.
  • Reality – Tried to perfect those zucchini fries (with no success) – served with pork chops and green peppers.

Friday

  • The Plan – Eat out
  • Reality – That happened.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Planned lunches + salads and leftovers.
  • Reality – The planned lunches didn’t happen. I ended up having lots of peach + tomato + cucumber + lime salads instead.

Extras

  • The Plan – Nothing.
  • Reality – Nothing made.

 

This Week: August 18 – 22

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Monday: Beef keema bowl over lettuce with cilantro mint chutney
  • Tuesday: Italian sausage, chard & sun-dried tomato stuffed peppers
  • Wednesday: Some sort of baked asiny eggplant with something.
  • Thursday: Meat with CSA veggie
  • Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
  • Lunch: Leftovers. More peaches + tomatoes.
  • Extras: Pickles or veggie stock if I have enough leftover. 1 ingredient ice cream. Tomato & macadamia ricotta tart.

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

Eggs ($2.79 @ TJs)
Cilantro – did not get
Ground beef ($6.99 @ TJs)
2 onions ($1.58 @ TJs)
Mint – did not get
Lemons ($0.98 @ TJs)
Italian sausage ($4.58 @ TJs)
Canned tomatoes ($1.69 @ TJs)
Garlic ($1.29 @ TJs)
Almond flour – did not get
Yellow mustard ($1.69 @ TJs)
Meat (2 ribeye steaks $5.30 + $5.21 @ TJs)
Meat (chicken thighs $7.24 @ TJs)
Vanilla extract ($4.99 @ TJs)
Dried dill – did not get
Shrimp paste or kombu – did not get; make due with pantry
Smoothie supplies
1 bag kale ($1.99 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach ($1.99 @ TJs)
4 apples ($3.16 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb $1.99 @ TJs)
2 avocados ($2.78 @ TJs)
 

Extras: pistachios ($7.49 @ TJs) and cashews ($6.99 @ TJs) for snacks.

Total TJ: $70.72

Total For The Week: $70.72; $4.28 under budget. Whoo Whoo. Under budget.

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

Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of August 11 – 15

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Paleo-On-A-Budget-Header

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. 

—

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.

Current Box of CSA Veggies

Menu for Last Week (Week of August 4 – 8)

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 – Slow cooked beef (barbacoa) with spicy broccoli slaw + red onion, cucumber & lettuce cups
  • Reality – The beef and broccoli slaw were good, but I forgot the lettuce cups.

Tuesday

  • The Plan – Paleo lasagna with zucchini noodles + leeks
  • Reality – This was pretty good, but I forgot to add leeks.

Wednesday

  • The Plan – Barbacoa with CSA veggies
  • Reality – I had leftover lasagna instead.

Thursday

  • The Plan – Chicken & kale zucchini harissa pasta
  • Reality – Yum.

Friday

  • The Plan – Eat out
  • Reality – That happened.

Lunches

  • The Plan – Salads & leftovers
  • Reality – Lunches this week were light on salads and heavy on leftovers again. I had tomatoes pretty much every day, had a warm skillet day with pattypan squash and dandelion greens, and had salad 1 day.

Extras

  • The Plan – Nothing.
  • Reality – Nothing made.

 

This Week: August 11 – 15

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

  • Monday: Meat with zucchini fries
  • Tuesday: Stuffed eggplant with ground beef
  • Wednesday: Fingerling potato-leek hash with chard & eggs & bacon
  • Thursday: Meat with CSA veggie
  • Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
  • Lunch: Tuna salad with cucumber, broiled lettuce with broiled tomato salad, zucchini bowl with kale, leftovers
  • Extras: Pickles or veggie stock if I have enough leftover. 1 ingredient ice cream.

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

Meat that would be good with zucchini fries (turkey breast cutlets $7.90 @ TJs)
1/2 lb. ground beef (1 lb ground beef $6.99 @ TJs)
1/2 lb. ground lamb – did not get; subbing for all beef
Fingerling potatoes ($2.29 @ TJs)
Bacon ($4.99 @ TJs)
Meat to eat with a veg side (pork chops $7.62 @ TJs)
Kosher salt – did not get
Peaches or other fruit (2 lb. peaches $3.49 @ TJs)
Smoothie supplies
Ginger ($1.39 @ TJs)
2 bags kale ($2.29 x 2 @ TJs)
Coconut water ($3.69 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach ($1.99 @ TJs)
4 apples ($3.16 @ TJs)
Limes (1 lb $1.99 @ TJs)
2 avocados ($2.78 @ TJs)
 

Extras: Coffee ($4.99 @ TJs), Thai Lime & Chile Cashews ($6.99 @ TJs), Old Amsterdam Gouda ($7.58 @ TJs)

Total TJ: $72.42

Total For The Week: $72.42; $2.58 under budget. Yay! Back to under budget – despite the snack foods we bought this week.

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

What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables: Paisley Farm Box 9

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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 accounted for in my weekly Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking posts.

20140806-103204-37924104.jpg

Paisley Farm 2014 CSA Box 9

4 Slicing Cucumbers
3 pattypan squash
3 zucchini
Leeks (3)
Red Onions (5)
Red Leaf Lettuce (1 head)
Green Leaf Lettuce (2 heads)
Lacinato Kale (2 bunches)

 

Leftover From Last Week

Carrots (non-CSA)
Cucumber
Spring garlic
Spring onions
Beets
Lettuce (2 heads, which were wasted)
Zucchini

 

How I Used My Share

I used half of the zucchini to make zucchini fries, which were great but need a little tweaking to be perfect.

I had a couple BAS (Big Ass Salads) with lettuce & cucumber for lunch.

I used more cucumber in a hearty salad with broccoli slaw.

I used 1 zucchini (and wasted most of 1) in a paleo lasagna.

And I plan to use the kale this week in a zoodle dish (providing I get more zucchini this week – I planned poorly and should have used the pattypan squash in the lasagna instead of the easily-zoodle-able regular zucchini. My bad.)

And that leaves tonight’s dinner, which will involve barbicoa and either a salad or some sort of massive stir-fry. Or I may just say screw it and work on my zucchini fry recipe.

My Favorite Dish From This Box

Those zucchini fries were crazy salty, but I can’t wait to tweak the recipe and share with you guys. The lasagna wasn’t half bad, either – the hubbs even ate (most) of it.

Next Week

Going into next week, I have ancient carrots, 2.5 pathetic looking heads of lettuce, 1 sad bunch of dandelion greens, a few shriveling beets, 1 lonely long zucchini, 3 huge pattypan squash, 5 cucumbers, 2 heads of kale, 2 spring onions, 2 heads of garlic and 3 leeks. Hopefully I can knock at least some of that out with dinner tonight, otherwise I’m not sure how I’m going to jam this week’s CSA bounty in my fridge.