Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
March 27, 2015
Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
March 26, 2015
Spring scarf 1 knitting project: complete.
March 25, 2015
D’aww.
March 24, 2015
Jazzy = fast, right?
March 23, 2015
Now there’s some sort of yellow casing.
Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of March 16 – 22
This Week’s Menu
Monday
Breakfast: Boo. The DH was up and out the door before groceries were delivered, so no smoothies. I made paleo pancakes (the kind with sunflower seed butter + banana + egg) instead
Lunch: I was still so full from breakfast I skipped lunch
Dinner:
Tuesday
Breakfast: Green smoothies
Lunch: Leftover kalua pork & cabbage
Dinner: More cabbage! This time broiled with an almond/sesame/pistachio sauce. Served with pork chops
Wednesday
Breakfast: Green smoothies
Lunch: The last of the leftover kalua pork & cabbage
Dinner: Pork chops again – this time with a guajillo beet puree (coming soon)
Thursday
Breakfast: Green smoothies
Lunch: Different cabbage (leftovers from the sauced cabbage from Tuesday) + a leftover pork chop
Dinner: Honey Chipotle Turkey Meatballs with roasted brussels sprouts – note: not the DH’s favorite flavor profile.
Friday
Breakfast: Green smoothies
Lunch: Leftover sauced cabbage + leftover turkey meatballs
Dinner: In protest of the snow, we stayed in
Sunday
Breakfast: Out
Lunch: Out
Dinner: I had planned on making burgers, but we ordered delivery instead.
This Week’s Grocery List
Ground turkey, 1 lb. ($5.99 @Amazon Fresh)
Broccoli crowns, 1 lb. ($1.78 @Amazon Fresh)
Pat LaFrieda Grass Fed London Broil, 1 lb. ($11.99 @Amazon Fresh) – and it came this week!
Brussels sprouts, 1 lb. ($2.50 @Amazon Fresh) – Yes, brussels sprouts again. What can I say? They’re my favorite and sprouts season is waning.
Beets, 2 lb. ($2.98 @Amazon Fresh)
Embasa chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 7 oz. ($1.38 @Amazon Fresh)
Chock Full o’Nuts Coffee, 11.3 oz. ($3.98 @Amazon Fresh)
Guajillo chile pods, 2.25 oz. ($1.41 @Amazon Fresh)
Smoothie Supplies
Ginger, 8 oz. ($1.99 @Amazon Fresh)
Zico Natural coconut water, 1 liter ($3.50 @Amazon Fresh)
5 Apples ($3.95 @Amazon Fresh)
1 Avocado ($2.00 @Amazon Fresh)
Satur Farms kale, 5 oz. (x2) ($6.98 @Amazon Fresh)
Satur Farms spinach, 5 oz. ($3.49 @Amazon Fresh)
Limes ($3 @Brooklyn Fare)
Totals
Amazon Fresh: $37.92
Brooklyn Fare: $3
Budget Breakout
This week, I spent $40.92; $59.08 under budget. Whoa. This week was waaaaay under budget, thanks to having extra meat on hand – and a credit from last week’s London Broil mixup. I’m happy to report that we got the London Broil we ordered this week. But, I’m still bummed that the bagged kale we like was still not in stock. I wish they’d straighten out whatever is up with Taylor Farms – or suspend listing their items from the site and find another vendor. Satur Farms veggies are great, but they’re a: more expensive, and b: come in inconvenient clamshell packaging that takes my whole fridge up. While we’re on the complaint train, I’d also like it if the website – and especially the app – were easier to browse shop from. Fresh Direct has a fantastic app/website that allows you to browse by aisle — which comes in handy when you know you need a vegetable side dish, but you have no idea what you want. I’d like to be able to browse by what’s best in season and what is on sale. /end complaint. Ok, 1 more complaint: why on Earth do they only sell broccoli crowns? I miss my broccoli stalks!
Leftovers From This Week
At the end of the week, I have a few jalapeños, ground beef, and some wilty celery 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.
March 22, 2015
Seen near Washington Square Park (/NYU).
March 21, 2015
Post book club burgers
Bacon and Egg Stuffed Paleo Pancakes
This majesty started with an Instagram shot posted by my brother in law.
This bananas stack of fabulosity was had at SuperChef’s Breakfast and More, a superhero-themed restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.
To say this photo made me jealous is an understatement. I’ve been inexplicably craving pancakes for weeks (I don’t even *like* pancakes generally – sugar is not really my thing), and then this shot came into my life – pancakes where I can replace the syrup with egg yolk. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?
In a shower of blessed cosmic benevolence, Lexi’s Clean Kitchen also happened to post a really good looking fluffy paleo pancake recipe around the same time.
Call this spectacular convergence divine intervention, synchronicity, or something else entirely – I call it a damn good dinner.
And let me just say these pancakes aren’t just ‘as good’ as “regular” pancakes — they’re better. My pancake loving hubby inhaled his (his only complaint was that I used only 1 tsp. maple syrup for the drizzle). I had no idea pancakes could be this satisfying.
Gluten-free, paleo
Bacon and Egg Stuffed Paleo Pancakes
6 eggs
4-8 slices bacon
Grass fed butter
Drizzle maple syrup or honey
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Kosher salt & black pepper
First, make some quick applesauce. If you happen to have unsweetened applesauce on hand, cool, use that – I did not.
Peel and chop your apple. Place in a bowl with 1 Tbsp. water, cover, and microwave on high 4-7 minutes, or until very tender.
Remove from the bowl and puree until smooth (I used a stick blender). Let cool a bit before assembling your pancakes.
When the apples are coolish, blend 1/4 cup of the applesauce with the almond flour, tapioca flour, 2 eggs, baking powder, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Whisk to break up any clumps.
Heat 1-2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium – medium-high heat. Add batter by big spoonfuls (small pancake size) and let cook 3-4 minutes until the batter bubbles (just like with regular pancakes). Flip. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Continue on. My batch made seven 3-4 inch pancakes.
When the pancakes are done, crisp the bacon and fry the eggs.
To serve, make stacks: pancake, egg, bacon, pancake, egg, bacon, pancake, bacon & drizzle with maple syrup.
Serves 2 for dinner
March 20, 2015
If you look closely, you will see that that is SNOW. On The First Day Of Spring. AND IT’S BEEN FROZEN PRECIPITATION OF DEATHING ALL AFTERNOON.
Life is not fair.
