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 July 28 – August 1)

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 – Basil cucumber gazpacho with pork rind crusted chicken tenders
• Reality – After searching high and low for pork rinds and coming up empty, I made almond-crusted tenders instead. The tenders were great; the soup was so-so.

Tuesday

• The Plan – Big salad with steak and leeks
• Reality – This was good.

Wednesday

• The Plan – Cucumber tuna salad
• Reality – This was great, though it was really light.

Thursday

• The Plan – Meat with CSA veggies
• Reality – I bought ground beef – turned it into burgers and served alongside baked zucchini fries (which were great, if a bit salty).

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.

Extras

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

This Week: August 4 – 8 

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: Big beef with spicy broccoli slaw and lettuce cups
• Tuesday: Paleo lasagna
• Wednesday: Chicken & kale zucchini harissa pasta
• Thursday: Big beef with CSA veggie
• Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
• Lunch: CSA veg salads, 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

Extras: None.

Total TJ: $60.69 – I lost this week’s receipt; luckily I had logged the total.

Total WF: $17.37

Total For The Week: $77.86; $2.86 over budget. Boo. Over budget again. We need to have another string of under budget weeks!

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

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.

Paisley Farm 2014 CSA Box 8

Leftover From Last Week

Carrots (non-CSA)
Cucumber
Spring garlic
Spring onions
Beets
Lettuce
Zucchini
Garlic scapes
Parsley
Kale
Chard

How I Used My Share

I used up the zucchini, parsley and garlic scapes in a tomato-less zucchini salsa verde, which I served with a quick stir-fry of the kale, chard & 1 head of baby garlic and pork chops.

For breakfast one day, I had leftover zucchini salsa with half an avocado and sliced cucumber as the “chip”.

I had a big lunch salad, using up some cucumber and beet one day.

I had a big salad, using up some lettuce and cucumber + a side of sauteed leeks with steaks one night.

I made a cucumber gazpacho with a bunch of the cukes for dinner.

I plan to use a bunch of cucumbers, as well as the last of the spring onions in tonight’s dinner. Fingers crossed that we don’t get spring onions again this week!

The bush basil was wasted – it turned black within two days and I just wasn’t fast enough. Boo!

My Favorite Dish From This Box

The zucchini salsa verde was pretty good and I’ve ended up eating it here and there all week.

Next Week

Going into next week, I have aging carrots, two pathetic looking heads of lettuce, 1 sad bunch of dandelion greens, a few beets, some zucchini and cucumber left over. I think fridge pickles are in order for some of those cukes and I need to buckle down and force myself back onto the lunch salad train.

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 July 21 – 25)

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 – Meat crust zucchini quiche
• Reality – Yum.

Tuesday

• The Plan – Zucchini soup with some sort of meat
• Reality – This was pretty great – the hubbs liked the soup. I served with bulgogi style beef, which didn’t go but was tasty.

Wednesday

• The Plan – Zucchini salsa verde with pork chops
• Reality – This actually tasted like salsa verde. Weird but good. I served with kale & chard & baby garlic to use some veggies up.

Thursday

• The Plan – Meat with CSA veggies
• Reality – I bought tri-tip steak and served with a big plate of veggies

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. My lettuce got used – but barely.

Extras

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

This Week: July 28 – August 1

I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries. This week I sent the hubbs shopping alone. Let’s see how he did.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: Cucumber tuna salad
• Tuesday: Basil cucumber gazpacho with chicken tenders
• Wednesday: Big salad with steaks and maybe leek butter
• Thursday: Meat with CSA veggie
• Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
• Lunch: CSA veg salads, leftovers
• Extras: Pickles or veggie stock if I have enough leftover

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

Extras: None.

Total TJ: $81.92

Total For The Week: $81.92; $6.92 over budget. Boo. Over budget. We’ve been doing well with being under lately, so I’m not terribly worried – but I don’t like it. Still, he did pretty good – much better than pre budget. Technically, we could roll the coffee into another budget – but I will let it stick. Pretty good for spending $7 on fancy tomatoes.

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

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.

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

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. 

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.

Last Week (Week of June 30 – July 1)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was back on track and not too far from reality.

Monday

• The Plan – Roasted beet greens & chard with pork, sage & apple burgers + caramelized onions
• Reality – The greens were great, and so were the burgers – even if they ended up being turkey instead of pork.

Tuesday

• The Plan – Some sort of meat my DH picked out while shopping + CSA leftover veggies
• Reality – The DH brought home rack of lamb, so I cooked that up and served it with broiled radishes from the CSA & carrots from the crisper. Decadent and delicious.

Wednesday

• The Plan – Big salad with green beans, red onions, espazote, kale, tomatoes, olives, etc. with sage and bacon wrapped chicken thighs
• Reality – The chicken was good (but not as good as the sweet potatoes), and the salad was the exact CSA cleanup dish I needed it to be.

Thursday

• The Plan – New CSA veggies with leftover barbicoa
• Reality – It was just me for dinner, so I ended up having 2 zucchini cooked in butter with a little seasoning + a leftover pork chop and dinner was fantastic.

Friday

• The Plan – New CSA veggie with leftover barbicoa
• Reality – We actually ended up grabbing burgers & sweet potato chips at the store while grocery shopping – much more 4th of July-ish.

Lunches

• The Plan – ????? + that big salad
• Reality – I had leftovers all week and they were great.

Extras

• The Plan – Sage lemonade
• Reality – Y-U-M.

This Week: July 7 – 11

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: Zoodles with roasted beets, dill + horseradish sauce, chevre & chicken
• Tuesday: Roasted beets + greens with grapefruit & pistachio butter + pork shoulder
• Wednesday: Sausages with turnip “potato” salad
• Thursday: New CSA veg with sauteed peaches + mint and leftover pork
• Friday: New CSA veg with leftover pork
• Lunch: CSA veg salads
• Extras: Mint lemonade, bourbon mint drink

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

Extras: I had enough leftover, so we got spinach for the smoothies ($1.99 @ TJs). I also forgot to list limes ($1.79 @ TJs).

Total TJ: $35.30
Total WF: $27.43
Total FT: $6.98

Total For The Week: $69.71; $5.29 under budget. Whoo hoo!

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

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.

Last Week (Week of June 23-27)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week’s meal planning was pretty much nonexistent. We were on vacation last week, so I told the DH to pick up 5 meats + smoothie supplies and call it a day.

Monday

• The Plan – Burgers with sweet potato fries
• Reality – Always a great dinner to have in my back pocket. Today, the day after getting back from vacation, was no exception.

Tuesday

• The Plan – Some sort of meat my DH picked out while shopping + CSA leftover veggies
• Reality – The DH brought home rack of lamb, so I cooked that up and served it with broiled radishes from the CSA & carrots from the crisper. Decadent and delicious.

Wednesday

• The Plan – Some sort of meat my DH picked out while shopping + CSA leftover veggies
• Reality – The DH picked out Cabernet Pot Roast (one of the pre-marinated meats from Trader Joe’s). I made that and served it with CSA mystery greens (mustard greens??) + collards. Yum.

Thursday

• The Plan – Some sort of meat my DH picked out while shopping + CSA leftover veggies
• Reality – Pork chops with baby bok choy from last week, big bok choy from this week, carrots from the crisper and some of the 999999 spring onions we now have.

Friday

• The Plan – Some sort of meat my DH picked out while shopping + CSA leftover veggies
• Reality – The hubby brought home chicken as well, but we ended up eating snacky things from the grocery instead.

Lunches

• The Plan – ?????
• Reality – I ordered rotisserie/grilled chicken on Monday and ate that as my protein all week with scrounged CSA veggies until Wednesday and lettuce & stuff from Wednesday on. It worked.

Extras

• The Plan – Nothing planned
• Reality – And nothing made.

This Week: June 30 – July 4

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

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: Big salad with lots of veggies + such – big enough that I can eat the leftovers for lunch
• Tuesday: Chard + beet greens roast with pork/sage/apple burger & caramelized onion
• Wednesday: Bacon-wrapped sage sweet potato wedges with Barbicoa
• Thursday: New CSA veg with barbicoa
• Friday: New CSA veg with barbicoa
• Lunch: CSA veg salads
• Extras: Sage lemonade, sage ice cubes and maybe sage honey

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

ghee – $4 est – O
coconut aminos – $4 est – O
worcestershire sauce – O
Coconut oil – $5 est – O

Lemons – $1 est ($0.49 @ TJs)
Apple – $1 est ($0.79 @ TJs)
Green beans – $3 est ($2.69 @ TJs)
Cherry tomatoes – $4 est ($2.49 @ TJs)
Parsley – $2 est ($1.79 @ TJs)

Bacon – $5 est ($4.99 @ TJs)
Garlic – $2 est ($1.29 @ TJs)

Onion – $1 est ($0.79 @ TJs)
Sweet potato – $1 est ($0.49 @ TJs)

Ground pork – $8 est (TJs did not have, so I bought ground turkey instead – $3.99)
Chicken – $7 est – use leftovers from last week
5-7 lb. brisket – $30 est – $20 MAX (more like 2 lbs – $17.65 @ TJs)

salt – $4 est ($1.49 @ TJs)
eggs – $4 est ($3.99 @ TJs)

$86 estimate – without smoothie supplies. This is $11 over my $75 mark. 

$73 estimate without the Optional items. 

Smoothie supplies estimate:

2 bags kale – $5 est ($2.29 x 2 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach – $2 est ($1.99 @ TJs)
5 apples – $5 est ($3.95 @ TJs)
3 avocados – $4 est ($4.47 @ TJs)
5 limes – $5 est (1 lb. bag – $1.79 @ TJs)
Coconut water – $4 est ($3.69 @ TJs)
Celery – $2 est – did not get
Cilantro – $2 est – did not get

$29 est for smoothies

Need to cut $27 worth of groceries from the list. 

Buy cheaper meat – $20 max (cuts $10)
Cut the chicken (cuts $7)

STILL NEED TO CUT $10 WORTH OF GROCERIES FROM THE LIST 

Extras: I forgot to list ginger in smoothie supplies – $1.39 @ TJs. The hubbs was with me and bought some snacky food for Friday night’s dinner – $2.69 for pita crackers + $7.47 for Old Amsterdam gouda — and those could both have come out of the “entertainment” budget bucket. We also had to buy an emergency bag to carry groceries home, since one of ours was horrible smelling once we unrolled it.

Total TJ: $76.03
Total WF: $0.00

Total For The Week: $75.00; $0.00 over budget. This was one of those weeks that shopping on a budget sucked. But I made it – barely. I did manage to get the coconut aminos I needed + some fruit to snack on for the week (cherries), but those came out of our weekly entertainment budget, since things like Friday night’s dinner + beer were purchased at the same time. I’m calling this week even on budget – technically, I spent a little under, but it all evens out in the end.

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

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. 

—

The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program I have joined 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 veggie-only 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. To see what I’ve been up to with my CSA shares, check out the posts labeled ‘What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables‘.

—

Last Week (Week of June 9-13)

The Plan vs. Reality

Monday

• The Plan – Quick-pick meat from the grocery + CSA veggies
• Reality – I grabbed some bbq spice rubbed chicken breasts and the hubbs wanted something light, so I whipped up a chipotle/scallion/lettuce/arugula/cucumber/radish salad. Yum.

Tuesday

• The Plan – Meatball subs with braised rapini
• Reality – The rapini was on the salty side, but the dinner was a success. I had no roll, and it was still satisfying. The hubbs absolutely loved the meatballs.

Wednesday

• The Plan – CSA day, so something quick – quick-pick meat from the grocery + asparagus salad
• Reality – I grabbed a nice big sirloin steak from the grocery and we had that along with a mostly-raw salad of thin sliced asparagus, spring onion, balsamic vinegar and asiago cheese.

Thursday

• The Plan – Chicken with chipotle BBQ sauce and braised turnips & radishes
• Reality – Yum!

Friday

• The Plan – Quick pick meat from the grocery + whatever looks most appealing in the crisper
• Reality – a great plan.

Lunches

• The Plan – Salads & leftovers
• Reality – ALL THE SALADS – yum.

Extras

• The Plan – Nothing planned but fresh fruit for dessert
• Reality – And nothing made

This Week: June 16 – 20

This week is another vacation week, so I won’t be cooking for dinner (or shopping for groceries). We will pick this back up next week.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: Travel day – I do hope to grab some healthy snack options so I don’t eat craziness on the road
• Tuesday: I’m hoping for pulled pork
• Wednesday: Hopefully something delicious but not crazy
• Thursday: Hopefully something delicious but not crazy
• Friday: Hopefully something delicious but not crazy
• Lunch: Hopefully something delicious but not crazy
• Extras: I’m sure there will be

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

Shopping List

None to speak of this week, though I intend to grab simple snacks – things like plain nuts, maybe some sort of fruit bowl, possibly a jerky, and I may make paleo banana/nut butter “muffins”

Total TJ: $0000
Total WF: $0000

Total For The Week: n/a

Pantry/items repurposed from last week: n/a. 

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) 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. 

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 May 26 – 30)

The Plan vs. Reality

Monday

• The Plan – Road snacks on the drive back from vacation. Hopefully nothing too terrible.
• Reality – We did pretty well here. I had unsalted mixed nuts and some fairly healthy jerky to snack on, and the choices we got from gas stations and travel plazas along the way were actually not that bad – a cheese cube & cured meat cup for the hubbs and fresh cut fruit for me. Go, good gas stations.

Tuesday

• The Plan – ?????
• Reality – We stopped for a bite on the way to grocery shopping.

Wednesday

• The Plan – Something from the grocery store – menu planning on the fly
• Reality – I picked up some pre-marinated adobo chicken from Trader Joe’s and broccolini. Dinner was decent.

Thursday

• The Plan – Something from the grocery store – menu planning on the fly
• Reality – I picked up pork chops, leeks and peas and made a nice little simple dinner with them.

Friday

• The Plan – Something from the grocery store – menu planning on the fly
• Reality – I bought my favorite standby – burgers and sweet potato fries – but we ended up going out before grocery shopping for next week.

Lunches

• The Plan – Something from the grocery store – menu planning on the fly
• Reality – I grabbed my favorite Cruciferous Crunch mix from TJ’s, plus pre-cooked chicken and strawberries and had variations of that all week. Yum.

Extras

• The Plan – Strawberries
• Reality – My nightly snack was balsamic and black pepper strawberries a few nights and man, were they good.

This Week: June 2 – 6

Whoo hoo – we get a “normal” week again. Back to the big meat for 3 nights + 2 extra nights formula.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: “Noodle” salad with caramelized chicken and chili oil
• Tuesday: Shredded beef with some sort of side
• Wednesday: Shredded beef with some sort of side
• Thursday: Shredded beef with some sort of side
• Friday: Picadillo with Spanish yellow butternut squash or cauli rice
• Lunch: Apple dill chicken salad
• Extras: None planned

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

This week, I have my full budget for groceries.

Shopping List

2 bags kale – $5 est – ($2.29 x 2 @ TJ)
1 bag spinach – $2 est – ($1.99 @ TJ)
Cilantro – $2 est – ($1.79 @ TJ)
Scallions – $1 est – ($1.29 @ TJ)
Celery – $2 est – Did not buy. I remembered having extras at the house.
Cucumber – $1 est – ($2.49 @ TJ)
Zucchini or other noodle – $2 est  – (subbed for broccoli slaw: $1.99 @ TJ)
Butternut Squash or Cauliflower – $3 est – (butternut squash: $2.29 @ TJ)
3 sides – $9 est  – (Side 1: Artichokes $2.99 @ TJ), (Side 2: Sugar snap peas $2.99 @ TJ), (Side 3: Cauliflower mash $2.49 @ TJ)
5 apples – $4 est – (2 lb. bag: $2.99 @ TJ)
Apple – $1 est – (I swear I bought this, but I’m not seeing it on the receipt)
5 limes – $3 est – The great lime shortage of ’14 has hit Trader Joe’s. Not a lime in sight this week.
Onions (2) – $2 est – ($1.58 @ TJ)
Red pepper – $1 est – ($1.19 @ TJ)
Ginger – $2 est – ($1.39 @ TJ)
3 avocados – $3 est – ($4.47 @ TJ)
Green olives – $2 est – ($2.29 @ TJ)
1 coconut water – $4 est – ($3.69 @ TJ)
Coconut Milk – $1 est – ($0.99 @ TJ)
Tomato Paste – $1 est – ($0.89 @ TJ)
2 cans diced tomatoes – $2 est – ($1.69 x2 @ TJ)
Capers – $2 est – ($2.69 @ TJ)
Chicken  – $7 est – ($4.89 @ WF)
Big Chuck Roast – $30 est – ($21.31 @ WF)
Ground Meat – $7 est – (ground pork: $7.99 @ WF)
Coffee – $10 est – ($5.38 @ WF)

$99 estimated total (minus coffee)

Extras: I had hoped for some fruit, but nothing was looking great this week. Bummer.

Total TJ: $50.44
Total WF: $39.57

Total For The Week: $90.01; $9.99 under budget. Whoo hoo! I ended up having enough in the budget to buy my coffee, plus kick a little toward my hubby’s beer allowance for the week. Score.

Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, celery for the smoothies. 

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 May 19 – 23)

The Plan vs. Reality

This week we were on vacation. We brought our Vitamix with every intention of making breakfast smoothies … and then didn’t make it to the grocery store. So, that didn’t happen and our amount spent on actual groceries was $0.

This Week: May 26 – 30

After coming back from vacation, orderly and budget-regimented grocery shopping was the last thing on our minds. I didn’t plan a menu for this week and we spent under our budgeted allowance. How much under, I can’t remember.

This Week’s Proposed Menu

• Monday: Road junk driving back from vacation
• Tuesday: Ate out before grocery shopping
• Wednesday: Adobo chicken with broccolini
• Thursday: Pork chops with peas and leeks
• Friday: Burgers with sweet potato fries
• Lunch: Cruciferous crunch and chicken
• Extras: Strawberries

Shopping List & Cost Breakout

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

We’ll see this feature again next week.

Shopping List – 1 week of smoothies

No real grocery store plan for this week. I picked up smoothie supplies and staples for quick and easy meals.

I spent under my budget allotment, but no idea how far under since I forgot to save the receipt.