Gastography

This Week’s Menu

Monday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover innards from last week’s stuffed zucchini

Dinner: Crock pot paleo butter chicken

Tuesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover pulled pork with peaches, kimchee and broccoli slaw

Dinner: Eggplant and beef meatballs

Wednesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover pulled pork with peaches & kimchee

Dinner: Kielbasa with Instant Pot pork broth, potatoes & cabbage

Thursday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover balsamic beef with peaches and cabbage

Dinner: Beet & cherry gazpacho with avocado + london broil

Friday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover balsamic beef with peaches and cabbage

Dinner: Out

Sunday

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Out

 

This Week’s Grocery List

Sheep romano cheese ($5.39 @ Whole Foods)
Tomato paste ($0.99 @ Whole Foods)
Grass fed ground beef ($7.49 @ Whole Foods)
Celery ($2.99 @ Whole Foods)
Frozen cherries ($4.99 @ Whole Foods)
2 onions ($1.50 @ Whole Foods)
2 bulbs garlic ($1.05 @ Whole Foods)
1 avocado ($1.25 @ Whole Foods)
Parsley ($1.99 @ Whole Foods)
Coconut milk ($2.79 @ Whole Foods)

Smoothie Supplies

Coconut water (~$4 @ Brooklyn Fare)
5 Apples ($5.05 @ Whole Foods)
5 limes ($3.75 @ Whole Foods)
4 Avocados ($5.00 @ Whole Foods)
Bagged kale ($3.99 @ Whole Foods)
Bagged spinach ($2.99 @ Whole Foods)

Impulse Items

Smoked pork hocks ($2.07 @ Whole Foods)

Totals

Whole Foods: $54.01
Brooklyn Fare: $~4
Overage from last week: $13.65

Budget Breakout

This week, I spent $71.65; $29.35 under budget. Yay, budgetary wiggle room! This week, I kept the impulse buying to a minimum and had enough meat from my CSA (plus extras from last week) to carry me through.

 

Leftovers From This Week

At the end of the week, I have lamb riblets for stock, 1 green pepper, a few carrots and a jalapeño 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.