Sun time.
June 17, 2015
Sun time.
June 16, 2015
Watching parts of a brick facade go up.
June 15, 2015
1 skein of yarn in a certain little Miss’ color.
Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of June 8 – 14
This Week’s Menu
Monday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Spicy beef tacos with avocado crema, paleo tortillas & chipotle lime broccolini
Tuesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: I had planned on making The Lady And Pups’ Xi’an Style Smushed Lamb Burgers (or a riff on that, anyways), but the meat gods weren’t smiling at me in the grocery store, and the DH ended up working anyways – I improvised instead, and ate leftover spicy beef with avocado crema + sautéed some mushrooms in butter. Dinner didn’t really “go together”, but it was delicious and I got to eat all the mushrooms I wanted (the DH is not a fan).
Wednesday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: A riff on PaleoOMG’s spaghetti pie, only with butternut instead of spaghetti squash.
Thursday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Dinner was supposed to be simple grilled chicken & green beans with TJ’s sriracha garlic bbq sauce. Green beans straight on the grill = fail. We ended up having just chicken (which was delicious) and snacks.
Friday
Breakfast: Green smoothie
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Ate out
Sunday
Breakfast: Out
Lunch: Out
Dinner: Out
This Week’s Grocery List
Eggs ($2.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Tomato paste (tube) ($1.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
Italian sausage ($4.76 @ Trader Joe’s)
Basil ($2.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Tri tip roast ($29.12 @ Trader Joe’s)
Broccolini ($2.79 @ Trader Joe’s)
Ground turkey ($3.79 @ Trader Joe’s)
Sugar snap peas ($2.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Ready cut butternut squash ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
Black pepper grinder ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
Russet potato ($0.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Onions (3) ($2.37 @ Trader Joe’s)
Garlic ($1.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Cilantro ($1.79 @ Trader Joe’s)
Bell pepper ($0.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Smoothie Supplies
Ginger ($1.39 @ Trader Joe’s)
5 Apples ($3.95 at Trader Joe’s)
1 lb. limes ($2.69 at Trader Joe’s)
4 Avocados (1 extra needed for dinners) ($5.56 at Trader Joe’s)
Bagged kale ($2.2 at Trader Joe’s)
Impulse Buys
Pizza sauce ($2.49 @ Trader Joe’s) plus
Cheese tortellini ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s) for Sunday’s dinner (DH)
Can crab ($1.99 @ Trader Joe’s) plus
Red bell pepper ($0.99 @ Trader Joe’s) for Sunday’s dinner (me)
Brooklyn Bangers sausages ($5.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Sriracha BBQ sauce ($2.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Bulgogi beef strips ($6.74 @ Trader Joe’s)
Cruciferous Crunch ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
Budget Breakout
This week, I spent $104.28; $0.00 over/under budget. HaHaHa – I need to stop shopping while hungry; I impulse buy too much meat. Which is better than chips health-wise, but more expensive. I’m calling this week dead on budget, since I bought dinner for the night for both my DH and I while shopping, and those $4 would have had me under for the week.
I also had to think on my feet again this week – TJ’s did not have the ground pork and lamb I wanted to make this crazy Xi’an Style Smushed Lamb Burgers – I’ll do what I can with turkey. They also did not have spaghetti squash – I had planned on making a pizza casserole, but will have to cobble something together with the butternut squash instead. I did manage to grab everything else on my list – plus, I found out after shopping that the DH won’t be home one night for dinner – so this week will be full of substitutions.
Leftovers From This Week
At the end of the week, I have burgers, korean beef, ground turkey, some pretty old serrano chiles, various and sundry cooked meats, a couple lonely scallions, a hand full of carrots, green beans, snap peas, a bell pepper, and some stock bones I need to attend to left over. I need to incorporate these items into my menu for next week. Next week also starts this year’s CSA – whoo hoo!
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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.
June 14, 2015
There is nothing better at the dog park than a wiener hop.
June 13, 2015
BAAAM. 10K: achievement unlocked.
June 12, 2015
Made a card for one of my fellow NF Rebels.
Spring Greens & Meatballs
Picture it: Brooklyn, 2015. Obama is in the White House, Congress is ineffectual, the whole Northeast is tottering between Spring and Summer, and I forgot how to change gears rapidly when the grocery store is out of the ingredients I want for dinner.
This dinner was basically me playing Chopped the home game one night, when a Thursday hit and I realized I had only about half of the required items for the dinner I had planned on making, but had not really come up with a solid B plan. So I played. And it worked! Go, hours of watching cooking shows on television!
Gluten-free, paleo
Spring Greens & Meatballs
1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1.5 tsp. fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic
Kosher salt & black pepper
1 wedge preserved lemon
2 tsp. aged balsamic vinegar
1.5 tsp. curry powder
1.5 tsp. baking soda mixed with 1 tsp. warm water
2 ounces double smoked bacon
1 leek
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. rosemary
1 c. frozen peas
1 Tbsp. unsalted grass fed butter
6 ounces baby spinach
First, make your meatballs. Add the ground beef to a large bowl. Pick and chop 1/2 tsp. thyme and 1/5 tsp. rosemary. Add to the meat. Grate 1 clove garlic and add. Add 1 big pinch of Kosher salt and a few grinds black pepper. Dice the preserved lemon and add 2 tsp., reserving the rest. Add the balsamic vinegar, curry powder and baking soda slurry. Mix and form into ping pong ball sized meatballs. Add to a large pan over medium heat and brown on all sides.
While your meatballs are cooking, cook your greens. First, chop your bacon and add to a pan over medium heat. While the bacon is working, wash and halve the leek and cut into thin half moons. Slice the second clove of garlic and chop the last 1 tsp. thyme and 2 tsp. rosemary. Add to the pan when the bacon is half rendered. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leek is getting soft and browned in spots. Add the peas and stir, letting cook for a few minutes. Add the butter and stir, letting melt. Add the rest of the preserved lemon (about 1 tsp.) and half the spinach and stir until wilted. Add the rest of the spinach and wilt.
Serves 2 for a light dinner, with meatballs leftover for lunch
June 11, 2015
Reflections
June 10, 2015
Shadow.
Gastography 