All your weather are belong to us.
I’ve either been transported to some form of dystopian something, or the Matrix broke.
July 28, 2014
Steps.
Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking – Week of July 28 – August 1
A number of people I know are completely flabbergasted when contemplating sticking to a budget while eating a primarily “paleo” diet. I’m hoping to shed a little light on that issue for those of you on the fence about eating healthfully in this manner – it *can* be done – and done well – without spending all the money. All it takes is a little planning.
A little background: I live in Brooklyn, NY, and the grocery prices here are definitely not the same as what you will find in other areas of the country. If you live in say, Raleigh NC for example – you may very well be able to cut this grocery bill by a third, depending upon where you shop. For where I live, where I shop and what I buy, $100 a week is a doable budget without having to sacrifice the quality I want too much. My DH thinks $130 is probably more realistic with our morning smoothie supplies, but I want to shoot for $100. I aim to make 4-5 dinners for two and 5 lunches per week, plus two smoothies per day six days of the week with my budgetary allowance and update you all weekly on what’s going on. Let’s see if I can make it.
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My CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares are going strong, so I will be doing things a little differently with the vegetable portion of my meal planning for the next few months (until October). My share averages out to $25 a week, which will come off the top of my budget allotment and will comprise the bulk of my non-smoothie-related vegetable purchases. If you’re curious to see how I use my CSA veggies up, check out my What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables posts.
Menu for Last Week (Week of July 21 – 25)
The Plan vs. Reality
This week’s meal planning was efficient – I ended up making pretty much what I set out to make.
Monday
- The Plan – Meat crust zucchini quiche
- Reality – Yum.
Tuesday
- The Plan – Zucchini soup with some sort of meat
- Reality – This was pretty great – the hubbs liked the soup. I served with bulgogi style beef, which didn’t go but was tasty.
Wednesday
- The Plan – Zucchini salsa verde with pork chops
- Reality – This actually tasted like salsa verde. Weird but good. I served with kale & chard & baby garlic to use some veggies up.
Thursday
- The Plan – Meat with CSA veggies
- Reality – I bought tri-tip steak and served with a big plate of veggies
Friday
- The Plan – Eat out
- Reality – That happened.
Lunches
- The Plan – Salads & leftovers
- Reality – Lunches this week were light on salads and heavy on leftovers again. My lettuce got used – but barely.
Extras
- The Plan – Nothing.
- Reality – Nothing made.
This Week: July 28 – August 1
I have leftover CSA veggies this week and $75 to spend on groceries. This week I sent the hubbs shopping alone. Let’s see how he did.
This Week’s Proposed Menu
- Monday: Cucumber tuna salad
- Tuesday: Basil cucumber gazpacho with chicken tenders
- Wednesday: Big salad with steaks and maybe leek butter
- Thursday: Meat with CSA veggie
- Friday: Meat with CSA veggie or dine out
- Lunch: CSA veg salads, leftovers
- Extras: Pickles or veggie stock if I have enough leftover
Shopping List & Cost Breakout
Grocery Store Key: TJ = Trader Joe’s, O = Optional if budget allows
Shopping List
Coconut oil
Coconut milk ($0.99 x 2 @ TJs)
Olive oil – If no coconut oil ($3.99 @ TJs)
Coconut milk ($0.99 x 2 @ TJs)
Olive oil – If no coconut oil ($3.99 @ TJs)
Avocado ($4.17 @ TJs)
cilantro ($1.79 @ TJs)
egg ($3.99 @ TJs)
lime ($1.69 @ TJs)
Green pepper ($0.99 @ TJs)
basil ($2.69 @ TJs)
Tomatoes ($6.99 @ TJs)
Chichherrones – did not get
Chicken strips ($7.03 @ TJs)
Steaks ($14.03 @ TJs)
A meat (ground beef – $6.99 @ TJs)
Coffee ($9.99 @ TJs)
Smoothie Supplies – $25 est
2 bags kale – ($2.29 x 2 @ TJs)
1 bag spinach – ($1.99 @ TJs)
5 apples – ($3.95 @ TJs)
3 avocados – ($4.17 @ TJs)
coconut water – ($3.69 @ TJs)
ginger – ($1.39 @ TJs)
Extras: None.
Total TJ: $81.92
Total For The Week: $81.92; $6.92 over budget. Boo. Over budget. We’ve been doing well with being under lately, so I’m not terribly worried – but I don’t like it. Still, he did pretty good – much better than pre budget. Technically, we could roll the coffee into another budget – but I will let it stick. Pretty good for spending $7 on fancy tomatoes.
Pantry/items repurposed from last week: fats, spices, CSA veggies.
July 27, 2014
One pooped pup @ Pier 6, Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Really, a dad-powered litter is the only way to travel. Regal. He is it.
Roasted Beet & Chard Greens aka “CSA Cleanup”
Did you get a mess of beets in your CSA box this week? Want to know what to do with all those random greens? Roast them! This recipe saves beautifully and leftovers can be re-worked a million different ways. Just think of them like spinach. Would spinach be good here? Like, say, tucked into an omelette or as a nice burger topper? Yes? Use a hand full of these greens instead!
Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Paleo, Whole30
Roasted Beet & Chard Greens aka “CSA Cleanup”
A boatload of greens – I used the tops of 1 large bunch of beets + 1 bunch of rainbow chard (8 cups or so total)
Garlic – I used 10 cloves
Fat – I used a drizzle of olive oil because that’s what I had. Bacon fat would be luurvely here.
Salt & pepper
Optional: citrus juice or preserved lemon
Set your oven to 375. Prep your largest baking sheet with a foil liner.
Wash your greens and slice into inch or so thick ribbons. Arrange on the prepped baking sheet as evenly as possible.
Chop your garlic roughly and sprinkle over the greens.
Drizzle with fat.
Salt and pepper liberally.
Roast 20-30 minutes, or until the greens are slumpy and the garlic is beginning to brown.
Serve. These greens are fantastic with a shot of citrus juice or some preserved lemon.
Makes 2 huge dinner servings if you’re using these greens as the “bulk” of your meal or a bunch of little additions for other meals.
July 26, 2014
Post Zombie Run 5k with the hubbs.
July 25, 2014
More Williamsburg robots.
July 24, 2014
Celebrate Brooklyn outdoor summer concert series: Secret Sisters and Nickel Creek.
July 23, 2014
CSA veggie inspection patrol.
What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables: Paisley Farm CSA Box 7
This year’s CSA is from Paisley Farm, a 25-acre operation located in Tivoli, NY. Paisley Farm grows organically and plants with the chef in mind. The 22-week CSA runs from June – October and I purchased the standard vegetable share. This share includes 8-9 vegetables and herbs per week (8-12 pounds) – enough to provide a family of three with 3-4 dinners’ worth of veg. The price equals out to $25 per week, the cost of which will be calculated in my weekly Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking posts.
Paisley Farm 2014 CSA Box 7
Pattypan Squash (lots)
Zucchinis (lots)
Spring Onions (lots)
Leeks (2)
Chioggia Beets (small bunch)
Red Leaf Lettuce (1 head)
Rainbow Swiss Chard (1 bunch)
Spring Garlic (1 bunch)
Leftover From Last Week
Carrots (non-CSA)
Spring onions – all of them. Every spring onion in 300 miles now resides in my fridge.
Garlic scapes – I think I’m up to 3 bunches?
Kale
Cucumbers
Spring garlic
How I Used My Share
I’ve been eating pretty much nothing but zucchini, it feels like. Zucchini + carrots were used in a sausage crust quiche dish; I used zucchini in a soup; and I made a salsa verde out of still more zukes. I also made zucchini fritters, which were delightful.
I’ve eaten a bit of the lettuce in lunch salads, but mostly I’ve just been trying to get on top of the zucchini. I need to do better next week, or I’m going to drown in produce.
My Favorite Dish From This Box
The zucchini fritters were great, as was the quiche. The soup was actually a big hit, too. Score!
Going into next week, I have aging carrots, a fairly sad looking bunch of kale, at least half of the lettuce (that might go to waste), a ton of spring onions, a ton of garlic scapes, leeks, beets, chard and a cucumber leftover. I think I need a massive stir-fry to clean some of this up!
