Before I can disclose our spending for this week, I need to add some purchases from the end of last week:
When we went to the farm to pick up our (already paid for) CSA share, I bought 3 apples, a yam and a sweet potato. The total came to about $5 (I didn’t get a receipt and forgot the figure). So, for last week, our total comes to:
TOTAL: $66.89
With an overage of $16.89.
I know things would be smoother if, each night, I posted the food spending we did that day (if any), but this blog series is not about being perfect. It’s about doing better, and being open and honest, even in the face of wild imperfection. I wonder how much our perceptions of each other would change if we stopped trying to hide behind a veneer of perfection, especially when it comes to finances. None of us is perfect. We all have desires for things we can’t afford. And we all, also, have so much more wealth than we even realize.
THIS WEEK
We went over budget. Again. The goal is $50/week. And we’re not even taking into account the CSA veggies and eggs that are already paid for in advance. But, ditto what I said above. We’re not perfect. Just trying to do better & be honest. Here you have our spending for the week:
Meadowwood Farm, 08/07/2011
Yard-Fresh Eggs, 08/07/2011 (We found a lady with backyard chickens who has too many eggs. Score!)
Costco, 08/16/2011
- 5 lb block of Tillamook Medium Cheddar, 13.99 (This should last all month for Matt’s cheese eating & for shredding on Mexican dishes)
- 4 lb Cured Bacon, 14.99
Total: $28.98
Trader Joe’s, 08/17/2011
- 12 OR Bananas, 3.48 (We’ve been eating these a LOT, and I want to try making smoothies with some of them)
- Sweet Italian Pork Sausage, 3.25
- OR Free Range Chicken broth, 1.99
- 1 Liter Olive oil, 5.49
- Romano & Parmesan cheese blend, 3.77
- Feta, 5.99
- Granola, 3.29
- Graham Crackers, 2.99
- OR Tortilla chips, 2.49
- Guacamole 2-pack, 3.99
- OR Orange juice, 4.49
- Espresso beans, 9.49
Total: $50.71
GRAND TOTAL: $85.69
That’s an overage of $25.69.
The bacon and cheese will last us for awhile. We don’t have bacon for breakfast every morning, and when we do I only cook up 2 strips of bacon for each of us.
The guacamole was a bit of an indulgence, but I’ve been craving avocados, and the price on avocados was higher than the price on guacamole. So I splurged. There are probably other purchases we could’ve done without, but that’s what we bought.
Lastly, I’ve been gleaning food from our neighborhood, going blackberry picking a few times. Blackberries are yum…they are summer turned in to a fruit. On my way home from blackberry picking yesterday, I happened upon a plum tree. Score! The fruit was a little bitter on first taste, but I’m going to let it sit out to see if it sweetens up over the course of a few days.
WHAT HAVE WE BEEN EATING?
Matt works long days and can only eat in the car. In addition, while I’m taking care of Phoebe during the day, I often have to skip lunch. So, I try to cook up a hearty, protein-heavy breakfast every morning. We eat eggs, often suplemented by sausage or bacon. If I have time, I’ll make biscuits or pancakes. If we’re eating a fast breakfast,it’s yogurt, fruit and granola.
A typical lunch for Matt consists of a banana + peanut butter crackers + cuts of cheese. If I have leftover meat, I’ll throw some in there. If I have tortillas made, I’ll try to give him a wrap. Also, when there’s broccoli or cauliflower from the farm, I’ll cut that up for him.
For dinner, we’ll grill up chicken that we have in the freezer (a Costco pack) and intentionally make leftovers. We’ll eat it with couscous. Or in quessadillas. Or with rice. Twice this week we had nachos for dinner: chips, cheese, chicken, olives, tomatoes. We also eat a lot of beans and rice, or “Haystacks”…a Mexican dish pile-up consisting of the following: chips, taco meat, rice, kidney beans, sour cream, salsa, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, ranch. It’s delicious. We used to eat lots of salads for dinner, but we haven’t been getting much in the way of salad greens from our CSA share. I miss grilled chicken salads.
I have had requests for meal plans to be posted on the blog, but I didn’t have time this week to write up a meal plan. Just bought ingredients, froze whatever was in danger of spoiling, and we’re cooking from one day to the next. I crave a lot of protein, with the breastfeeding, and Phoebe has been ravenous these days. I suspect a growth spurt. Regardless, I’ve been losing weight slowly but surely, so we must be doing something right by way of nutrition.
I have a lot of whey set aside from straining our own sour cream from yogurt, and I’ve been hankering after some smoothies. Now that I have bananas, I’m going to try making some smoothies this week. And I’ll throw in some greens, for the first time. Fingers crossed! I hope it’s tasty, or at least not revolting!
By ekwetzel
2011-08-17
