Gastography

This Week’s Menu

Monday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover zucchini fritters & hard boiled eggs

Dinner: Slow cooked balsamic beef – much like this recipe – with corn on the cob

Tuesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover balsamic beef with peaches

Dinner: Leftover balsamic beef with leftover zucchini mash

Wednesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover balsamic beef with peaches & lettuce

Dinner: Paleo stuffed globe zucchini with sausage & veggies

Thursday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftovers from last night

Dinner: Thin little NY Strips pan seared + roasted eggplant

Friday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover balsamic beef with peaches & lettuce

Dinner: Out

Sunday

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Out

 

This Week’s Grocery List

Bottom round roast, local source & happy cows ~ 4 lbs. ($29.22 @ Whole Foods)
Top round, local source & happy cows ~ 1.5 lbs. ($15.53 @ Whole Foods)
French green beans ($5.99 @ Whole Foods)

Smoothie Supplies

Coconut water (~$4.00 @ Brooklyn Fare)
4 Apples ($4.14 @ Whole Foods)
1 lb. limes (~$3.00 @ Brooklyn Fare)
4 Avocados ($10.00 @ Whole Foods)
Bagged kale (1 lb.) ($2.99 @ Whole Foods)
Bagged spinach (~$3.50 @Brooklyn Fare)

 

Totals

Carryover from last week: +$35.17
CSA veggies: $25.50
CSA meat: $40.00
Whole Foods: $72.82
Brooklyn Fare: ~$10.50

Budget Breakout

This week, I spent $113.65; $13.65 over budget. I spent a bunch at Whole Foods this week, but I’m still on track – I didn’t end up using the top round I bought, so I have bonus meat to roll over to next week. I also forgot a few key smoothie items while shopping at Whole Foods, so the DH had to stop at the overly expensive store to compensate. Whomp, whomp.

 

Leftovers From This Week

At the end of the week, I have some CSA veggies and meats, plus the top round beef I bought left over. I need to incorporate these items into my menu for next week.

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Think eating healthfully is too expensive for you? Think again. According to the USDA, to ensure a nutritious diet as of December 2014, a family of two aged 19-59 years should spend between $388.90 and $776.10 on food per month, or $89.80 – $179.30 per week. Source 

For my family of two adults, I spend roughly $400 a month on groceries or $100 a week – and we eat well. Not caviar and lobster well, but I do manage to serve a predominately paleo diet with little to no processed foods, and I get to throw in a few luxuries here and there (like expensive snacks for the hubbs and the occasional ridiculously expensive bag of coffee). We even manage to buy “good” meat (grass fed beef and free-range chicken) most of the time – and I make this budget work even on the weeks we pay for convenience by getting delivery groceries. I make: 10 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 10 dinners a week – plus enough snacks to satisfy and fuel two active adults.

I’m hoping that this series will help shed a little light on the day-to-day things a “paleo” person really eats — and how that way of eating can work on a budget. I want to nudge anyone sitting on the fence right over the edge by showing that it *can* be done and that you don’t just eat meat, meat, meat and more meat.