Gastography

This Week’s Menu

Monday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover Thai food from last night

Dinner: Thai-inspired ground pork bowl with carrots, scallions and ginger

Tuesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover Thai pumpkin chicken curry

Dinner: I made a huge pulled pork shoulder and left the DH with buns to make sandwiches. I had zero time to eat, so I grabbed

Wednesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover Thai pumpkin chicken curry

Dinner: Chipotle bourbon steak with paprika brussels sprouts

Thursday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: The last of the leftover Thai pumpkin chicken curry (boo)

Dinner: I made a pumpkin protein smoothie in an attempt to solve the no time for dinner & Simple Squares bars + Epic bars don’t really count as dinner conundrum

Friday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Out

Sunday

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Out

 

This Week’s Grocery List

Fennel, 1 bulb ($2.00 @ Whole Foods)
Asian pear ($1.99 @ Whole Foods)
Yams, 2.62 lbs. ($6.52 @ Whole Foods)
Pomegranate ($2.00 @ Whole Foods)

Smoothie Supplies

Ginger, 7 oz. ($1.60 @ Whole Foods)
Orange juice ($2.99 @ Whole Foods)
3 Apples ($3.47 @ Whole Foods)
Turmeric, 0.63 lb. ($5.03 @ Whole Foods)
4 Avocados + 1 avocado ($5.99+$2.50 @ Whole Foods)
Kale, 1 lb. ($2.99 @ Whole Foods)

Totals

Carryover from last week: ??
CSA meat: $40.00
Whole Foods: $38.08

Budget Breakout

This week, I spent $78.08; $21.92 under budget. I have kind of sucked at grocery shopping, meal planning, and eating dinner in general lately. My last CSA shipment hit about 2 weeks ago (more on that when I finally use the last few items), I was traveling and then sick, my DH and I have both had hectic schedules, and things have just been generally chaotic around dinnertime lately. This week, I actually went grocery shopping and was happy that I got to make 2 whole meals at home for the two of us. My Tuesday/Thursday night schedule is going to remain kind of difficult around the time I usually eat dinner throughout the next few months, so I’m going to have to either forcing some really early dinner on myself or figure something better than a couple granola bars or some deli meatballs out to do to feed myself.

 

Leftovers From This Week

At the end of the week, I have a whole chicken, a few carrots, some parsley, some scallions, an onion, 2 sweet potatoes, a pound of ground beef, and a tiny steak left over.

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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.