Grocery Budget & Meal Plan for Mar 5-11

It’s been a weird week, folks.  Maybe it is the weather finally acting a little like winter, maybe it’s stress, but I have been in a bit of a funk all week.  To top it all off, I allowed myself to get a little excited as I wrote my grocery list, because it seemed like so little.  I thought I’ve have more than a few dollars to stock up.  Unfortunately, I forgot how much dairy eats up our budget.  Don’t you dare try to swing me on that dairy-free lifestyle–I absolutely love all things dairy.  Cheese, ice cream, milk, yogurt…<3  But our current consumption schedule has made it so that we tend to run out of our dairy products in the same week, and then there goes my budget.

I’ve been wanting to get some nuts for snacking and some sauces and such, but my extra dollars usually go towards something more pressing.  This week, I did know that I wanted to spring for some of those herb paste tubes at Giant.  Specifically, one each of cilantro and lemongrass.  They are a few dollars each, but (especially the lemongrass) lasts forever, since the paste is concentrated.  So while I was disappointed to pass up the cashews, I knew that I would be rewarded with super flavorful dishes.  And, maybe I could stop spending $1 each week on fresh cilantro.  However, I definitely underestimated the price of these herb pastes.  I thought I had saved enough money to get both, but these things are $4.50 a piece!!  Oy.  Only one this week, then.  The lemongrass is definitely worth it, so I will have to save a few dollars to pick up that one soon, but I will pay attention to our use of the cilantro paste to see if it is actually worth that price.

I mostly let go of my deprivation funk today when I realized that we have popcorn kernels in the pantry and then when I used one of last week’s zucchini to make my Chocolate Surprise Muffins.  (I used all flax eggs, plus replaced all of the various vegetables with one large zucchini, undrained.  Also added in a 1/2 cup of shredded coconut! They ended up being vegan.)  A little bit of that crunchy popcorn and chocolate went a long way towards making me forget the cashews, peanut butter, and chips that were left behind at the store this week.

I also planted the first seedlings of the year in our garden plot!  Kale and swiss chard, to hopefully survive our cooler temperatures.  I also planted some carrot and radish seeds, which will have a few weeks for the weather to warm up by the time they sprout.  A second batch of bone broth had been in the crockpot for a few days, as the last of the broth from the previous batch will be used up in this week’s soup.  I also tried flavoring my kombucha for the first time: with vanilla beans, which made a perfectly pleasant brew.  I’m even getting M hooked on kombucha, now that it is readily available!

Here is the breakdown for this week:

Hungry Harvest Produce Box: $15.00

Aldi: $26.27 ($8 was spent on a pilates ring I found in their home-goods aisle.  Super excited to try that out!  But of course, it doesn’t count towards our food budget.)

Giant: $6.23

Total: $47.50

I came out under budget this week.  I’ll put the change towards last week’s overage and keep the $2 in bills for a future trip.  Maybe this is how I’ll be able to afford those cashews…build up my change!

This week’s groceries:

Hungry Harvest Produce Box: 2 bell peppers, 1/2 lb. brussels sprouts, snow peas, 2 oranges, 3 apples, an onion, 3 sweet potatoes, 2 carrots, and a pint of cherry tomatoes

Giant: coconut milk, cilantro paste

Aldi: goat cheese, sausages, ground ginger, persian cucumbers, hummus, spinach, yogurt, half-n-half, artichoke hearts, white northern beans, an avocado, bread, milk

Plus a dozen eggs from my mother’s chicken lady hook up. 🙂

Here is the meal plan for this week:

Sunday: Roast Chicken and Vegetables with gravy using the whole chicken from last week, some bone broth from the freezer, lemon from a few weeks ago, and some of this week’s carrots, sweet potatoes, and onion

Monday: Zuppa Toscana using last weeks red potatoes and kale (I found the recipe right after I made last week’s meal plan and knew I needed to make it!), plus the last of the bone broth and some sausage, white beans, and half-n-half from this week’s groceries

Tuesday: Leftovers  M is out, as per usual, so I will figure something out, or eat more soup.

Wednesday: Veggie Curry Stir-fry using this week’s snow peas, peppers, carrots, brussels sprouts, and coconut milk, with curry paste from the freezer and rice from the pantry

Thursday: Tomato & Goat Cheese Tart with salad  I froze the other half of the pie dough when I made quiche last week.  That will thaw, then drape over those cherry tomatoes, tarte tatin-style, with a little balsamic vinegar and dried thyme from the pantry.  Goat cheese will be crumbled on top after it’s cooked.  I’ll pair it with a salad that uses up any remaining kale plus some of the spinach

Friday: Tuscan Chicken Sandwiches  based on what I ate from the sandwich shop almost every day of my freshman year of college, before I was gluten-intolerant.  Some chicken from Sunday’s roast, with goat cheese, spinach, (freezer) pesto, roasted red peppers, artichokes, and aioli.  If I feel extra proactive, I might try some baked sweet potato chips

Saturday: Chicken Tacos  with the last of the roast chicken, plus tortillas and various fixings from odds and ends in the pantry and fridge

Breakfasts will be yogurt with fruit, zucchini muffins, avocado toasts, or eggs.  Lunches will be leftovers from dinner or cucumbers and hummus + hardboiled eggs, with fruit.

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