Gastography

This Week’s Menu

Monday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover slaw mix with the last of last week’s cherry tomatoes + a leftover pork chop

Dinner: I had intended on making the Indian rice paper wrapped beef samosas I wanted to make last week, but where I shopped for groceries this week also did not have rice paper wrappers, so I scrapped the idea and made something up again.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftovers – the last of the coleslaw mix with some pulled pork

Dinner: Cauliflower crust stromboli with ham and pepperoni

Wednesday

Breakfast: Boo – life got away from the hubbs this morning, so no smoothie. I made eggs with some leftover pepperoni and tomato sauce

Lunch: Half an apple, half a mango and leftover flank steak

Dinner: Tonight we attended a cookout. I brought two varieties of vegan/allergy-free salad – stone fruit and spring pea and radish (recipes coming soon).

Thursday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: I had the last of the leftover flank steak with some of last night’s stone fruit salad

Dinner: I bought chicken and green beans and had intended on making a simple dinner, but decided to use up some leftovers instead. I served some leftover pulled pork over the spring pea and radish salad I made yesterday. Simple, took like 3 minutes, and delicious.

Friday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Leftover spring pea & radish salad with leftover polled pork (again)

Dinner: Ate out

Sunday

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Ended up having a bunch of snacks for lunch and dinner – some I bought at the grocery that day, and some I had on hand from previous trips.

 

This Week’s Grocery List

Just BARE no antibiotic chicken breast tenders, 14oz. ($5.49 @Amazon Fresh)
Green beans, 1 lb. ($1.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Organic broccoli slaw, 9 oz. ($2.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Radishes ($0.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Crimini mushrooms, 8 oz. ($2.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Lemon ($0.69 @ Amazon Fresh)
Cauliflower ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Snow peas, 1 lb. ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
BelGioioso fresh perline mozzarella, 8 oz. ($3.19 @ Amazon Fresh)
Green seedless grapes, 2 lb. ($6.98 @ Amazon Fresh)
Fuji apple ($1.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Applegate Naturals mini pork pepperoni, 4 oz. ($4.59 @ Amazon Fresh)
Applegate Naturals Virginia ham, 0.50 lb. ($5.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
Scallions ($0.79 @ Amazon Fresh)
Eden Organic pizza sauce, 15 oz. ($3.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Dole pineapple chunks, 20 oz. ($1.59 @ Amazon Fresh)
Red mango ($1.99 @ Amazon Fresh)

Smoothie Supplies

Ginger, 8 oz. ($1.92 @ Amazon Fresh)
Zico Natural coconut water, 1 liter ($3.98 @ Amazon Fresh)
5 Apples ($3.75 @ Amazon Fresh)
1.5 lbs. limes ($2.49 @ Amazon Fresh)
2 Avocados ($4.00 @ Amazon Fresh)
Bagged kale, 16 oz. ($5.99 @ Amazon Fresh)
Bagged spinach, 9 oz. ($1.99 @ Amazon Fresh)

 

Budget Breakout

This week, I spent $87.34; $12.66 under budget. I am seriously thankful delivery groceries was an option for me this week. Saturday was a big race, and when Sunday rolled around I was too sore to want to walk to the store, let alone carry groceries back home. Delivery groceries, you are a lifesaver – even if you don’t have everything I wanted.

I tacked on $10 to this week’s grocery total to account for the last-minute fruit run I sent my DH on the day of the cookout to pick up plums, nectarines and a red pepper. I don’t know how much those items *actually* cost, but he went to the expensive fancy store, so I’m guessing it was a bunch.

 

Leftovers From This Week

At the end of the week, I have burgers, chicken breasts, green beans, some herbs, some carrots, and a few serrano peppers left over. I need to incorporate these items into my menu for next week. I also have more than enough meat to get myself through the week for lunch, so all I have to worry about while grocery shopping is vegetables – score!

—

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. 

This Week’s Menu

Monday

Monday was a holiday, so we treated it like a Sunday and ate out.

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Out

Tuesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Roast chicken + leftovers

Dinner: Paleo teriyaki skirt steak with grilled shishito peppers

Extras: Vegan cheese ball + chili-dusted baked tortillas & chili-lime cantaloupe spears for book club

Wednesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Coleslaw mix + roast chicken + cherry tomatoes + grapes + balsamic vinegar

Dinner: Pork chops with Spicy Thai Broccoli Slaw (recipe here)

Thursday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: More of the same from yesterday, with added sunflower seeds

Dinner: I had my very own version of Chopped going on this night – The grocery store didn’t have everything for the dish I wanted to make (beef samosas in rice paper wraps), and I didn’t want to just make that because I want to try again next week, so I improvised with what was in my fridge and made a springy dish with meatballs, spinach, peas and preserved lemon (recipe coming soon).

Friday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: The last of the roast chicken + Thai broccoli slaw

Dinner: Takeout for the hubby + some hot bar meat & veggies for me, grabbed on the way home after yoga

Sunday

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Out

 

This Week’s Grocery List

Olive oil, 1 liter ($7.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Unsweetened shredded coconut ($1.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Boneless center cut pork chops ($6.62 @ Trader Joe’s)
Raw cashews ($6.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Corn tortillas ($1.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Shishito peppers, 6oz. ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
Grass fed ground beef, 1 lb. ($7.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Cantaloupe spears ($3.69 @ Trader Joe’s)
Bagged spinach ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
Flank steak ($13.76 @ Trader Joe’s)
Garlic, 3 oz. ($1.49 @ Trader Joe’s)

Smoothie Supplies

Ginger ($1.39 @ Trader Joe’s)
Zico Natural coconut water ($3.69 @ Trader Joe’s)
4 Apples ($3.16 @ Trader Joe’s)
1 lb. limes ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s)
2 Avocados ($2.98 @ Trader Joe’s)
Bagged kale (2) ($4.58 @ Trader Joe’s)
Bagged spinach ($2.29 @ Trader Joe’s)

Impulse Buys

Speculoos cookie butter ice cream, 1 quart ($4.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Non-dairy chocolate coconut milk ice cream, 1 pint ($3.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Roasted chicken breast ($6.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Organic broccoli slaw, 12oz. ($1.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Roasted plantain chips ($1.69 @ Trader Joe’s)
Smoked paprika ($1.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Grass fed ground beef, 1 lb. ($7.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Fleur de sel caramel sauce ($3.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Coconut milk ($0.99 @ Trader Joe’s)
Heirloom mini tomatoes, 1 lb. ($3.49 @ Trader Joe’s)
Old Amsterdam gouda ($7.19 @ Trader Joe’s)
Thai lime & chili cashews ($6.99 @ Trader Joe’s)

Items That Were On The List But TJ’s Did Not Have

I had originally planned to make cauliflower crust stromboli this week, but TJ’s did not have cauliflower. Which knocked: cauliflower, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and pizza toppings off my list. I had also wanted to make a collard green salad one night, but no collards were to be found. And the samosas were supposed to be wrapped in rice paper instead of loose. I also needed nutritional yeast for a vegan cheese ball I made for book club, but that was a bust as well.

Budget Breakout

This week, I spent $126.75; $26.75 over budget. This week was fairly ridiculous, both in the planning and the shopping. I over-planned dinners (I forgot that Monday was a holiday when planning last week) and then went a little crazy with the impulse shopping at Trader Joe’s. Hey, I was excited – I haven’t been actual grocery shopping since it was last not freezing outside. And I had my DH with me to help carry groceries back, which totally added to the ‘I can buy all the things’ mentality. Plus, I was hungry. Never a good plan at the grocery store. But on the plus side, I have lots of leftovers for next week – and the start of this year’s CSA is imminent.

 

Leftovers From This Week

At the end of the week, I have burger patties, carrots and ground beef left over. I need to incorporate these items into my menu for next week.

—

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.