Why my food budget will always be a bit high...
Posted 01-07-2009 at 07:33:27 PM by thriftycj
The thing is, I love food. While I'm a huge fan of down home cooking and count several total dives in my list of all-time favorite restaurants (Shout out to the Augusta Tap in Augusta, Iowa!!!), I love fancy pants food too. The real snootie-patootie stuff.
And I really love goat cheese. That tiny little brick of gooey goodness that will set you back $6 a pop. And I know that if I'm going to committed to cooking a LOT more at home, I'll fall off the wagon if I don't work to satisfy my inner gourmet.
So tonight, I gots me some goat cheese. Spending at the store tonight included:
$6.88 2 whole chickens (on sale @ $0.79/lb)
$2.99 Package cremini mushrooms, sliced
$1.02 1 zucchini
$5.49 Goat cheese
$4.66 4 Red peppers
With tax, $22.14. Monthly grocery budget remaining: $142.36
I got the chickens because one of my goals for this year is to cook more whole chicken and then use the bones and some of the dark meat (I generally eat breast meat only) to make homemade chicken stock. Much better than buying. I'm saving my veggie scraps in a ziploc in the freezer to throw in the soup pot as well.
For dinner, I'm having:
Red Peppers stuffed with wild/brown rice, onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. Oh! and goat cheese!
Broiled salmon, served with stuffed pepper on bed of fresh spinach
Got the salmon last year at Dillon's on markdown. Will get 2 servings of fish and 4 servings of stuffed peppers, so the cost of the produce will spread out. Normally, I'd get some of this at Aldi, but I got out of work late, had to run an errand, and it would have gotten me home really late. Plus, I'd have to cook. So, I went with Sunfresh instead. I'll compare prices over the weekend to see how much more I spent by not going to Aldi.
I only used half the zucchini and mushrooms I bought for the stuffed peppers. I went ahead and cooked the remained in the same fashion (diced fine and sauteed with onions), and I'll be using those veggies for the rest of the week with my morning egg(s).
Easy Eggs at the Office:
1-2 eggs, beaten
big handful of fresh spinach, torn with hands
large pinch of cheese
1/2 c or so of other veggies-- tomatoes, peppers, etc.
milk, sour cream, yogurt...whatever you'd add to make your scrambled eggs fluffy (I'm using this as a way to make sure I don' t waste all the free sour cream I got in Nov!).
Cook spinach in container in microwave for 30-45 seconds until reduced signficantly. Drain. Then add egg(s) and other veggies with some salt and pepper. Microwave in 30-45 second increments, stirring after each cooking period, until eggs are sufficiently scrambled. Add cheese, and put lid on container until melted. If you use a lowfat cheese or didn't precook veggies, you may need to drain off liquid before eating.
It's an easy way to do breakfast at the office, or a fast stove-free way to have a morning (or afternoon or evening) omelette. I'm doing my best right now to get back on track with eating healthy (I"m a big believer in the south beach diet way of eating), and this for breakfast gets me a ton of good veggies and some good protein. I'll have it with 6 oz. of low-sodium V8 and a small bowl of cereal or a single Kashi waffle.
So, in the end, I'm not going to feel guilty for spending around $15 on a spur of the moment grocery whim (not counting the chicken). Out of that money, I'm getting:
4 servings of stuffed peppers (will eat leftovers for lunch @ work and dinner)
2 servings veggies for breakfasts
Before I was serious about budgeting, I would have probably stopped at Lulu's and got soup with a side of brown rice. One meal, almost same price.
Are you a strict grocery planner, or do you do last minute trips like I do? Tips?
And I really love goat cheese. That tiny little brick of gooey goodness that will set you back $6 a pop. And I know that if I'm going to committed to cooking a LOT more at home, I'll fall off the wagon if I don't work to satisfy my inner gourmet.
So tonight, I gots me some goat cheese. Spending at the store tonight included:
$6.88 2 whole chickens (on sale @ $0.79/lb)
$2.99 Package cremini mushrooms, sliced
$1.02 1 zucchini
$5.49 Goat cheese
$4.66 4 Red peppers
With tax, $22.14. Monthly grocery budget remaining: $142.36
I got the chickens because one of my goals for this year is to cook more whole chicken and then use the bones and some of the dark meat (I generally eat breast meat only) to make homemade chicken stock. Much better than buying. I'm saving my veggie scraps in a ziploc in the freezer to throw in the soup pot as well.
For dinner, I'm having:
Red Peppers stuffed with wild/brown rice, onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. Oh! and goat cheese!
Broiled salmon, served with stuffed pepper on bed of fresh spinach
Got the salmon last year at Dillon's on markdown. Will get 2 servings of fish and 4 servings of stuffed peppers, so the cost of the produce will spread out. Normally, I'd get some of this at Aldi, but I got out of work late, had to run an errand, and it would have gotten me home really late. Plus, I'd have to cook. So, I went with Sunfresh instead. I'll compare prices over the weekend to see how much more I spent by not going to Aldi.
I only used half the zucchini and mushrooms I bought for the stuffed peppers. I went ahead and cooked the remained in the same fashion (diced fine and sauteed with onions), and I'll be using those veggies for the rest of the week with my morning egg(s).
Easy Eggs at the Office:
1-2 eggs, beaten
big handful of fresh spinach, torn with hands
large pinch of cheese
1/2 c or so of other veggies-- tomatoes, peppers, etc.
milk, sour cream, yogurt...whatever you'd add to make your scrambled eggs fluffy (I'm using this as a way to make sure I don' t waste all the free sour cream I got in Nov!).
Cook spinach in container in microwave for 30-45 seconds until reduced signficantly. Drain. Then add egg(s) and other veggies with some salt and pepper. Microwave in 30-45 second increments, stirring after each cooking period, until eggs are sufficiently scrambled. Add cheese, and put lid on container until melted. If you use a lowfat cheese or didn't precook veggies, you may need to drain off liquid before eating.
It's an easy way to do breakfast at the office, or a fast stove-free way to have a morning (or afternoon or evening) omelette. I'm doing my best right now to get back on track with eating healthy (I"m a big believer in the south beach diet way of eating), and this for breakfast gets me a ton of good veggies and some good protein. I'll have it with 6 oz. of low-sodium V8 and a small bowl of cereal or a single Kashi waffle.
So, in the end, I'm not going to feel guilty for spending around $15 on a spur of the moment grocery whim (not counting the chicken). Out of that money, I'm getting:
4 servings of stuffed peppers (will eat leftovers for lunch @ work and dinner)
2 servings veggies for breakfasts
Before I was serious about budgeting, I would have probably stopped at Lulu's and got soup with a side of brown rice. One meal, almost same price.
Are you a strict grocery planner, or do you do last minute trips like I do? Tips?
Total Comments 3
Comments
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I am not the gourmet you are, but one month I spent....to embarrassed to say. It was thousands. We had steak, shrimp, lobsters, and some fine cuts of meat.
Every time I loose weight it costs us a mint. We like to eat meat and veggies and skip the desserts and cereals. Kind of low processed foods.
Just costs an arm and a leg to eat the way we love. No wine tags around here either.
Back to your question....yeah normally we make special grocery trips. This year though we are eating out of the freezer. I am trying to make a blog about it.
Erin posted a link to a website once, that you typed in your pantry list and it gave you meals. so you don't have to run out and buy something. I will be trying that again after we get tired of the same old same old.
edit: supercook.com
type in an ingredient and it gives you choices you can makePosted 01-07-2009 at 07:45:27 PM by thickbluebug
- I'm a low-processed food/south beach diet kind of girl, too. Or at least I try to be. I'm not quite the foodie you sound like, but I'd rather shoot myself than eat something with "helper" in the name. I've been working on creative ways to make south-beach friendly, foodie meals on a budget. I can't tell you how much goat cheese I bought in December when I traded for a bunch of $1 off cheese WTs!!
I have found recipes where I can use the dark meat without noticing it (and in sparing enough quantities to not be unhealthy), or I will buy split chicken breasts and cook a big batch, then use the bones for a stock. I also grow my own herbs, which saves me a fortune. And because I always have a good stock of spices, sauces, etc, it's not as much more expensive for me to cook this way as it used to be, because I can stretch the cost of that saffron, say, over many meals - and I bought it with a coupon while on sale - heehee! One day God will smile on me and make a SBD-friendly risotto, so I can make saffron risotto again... well, a girl can dream...Posted 01-07-2009 at 09:17:59 PM by austingirl 
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Thanks so much for the tips! :)
Couple things.....
1) I've made risotto before with short grained brown rice and have been fairly pleased with the results. Usually, I use pearl rice (can't find here in the midwest, but would get for $0.99/bag when I lived in FL. Got 10 when I was there on vacation in October)
2). I've been working my way through a pan of leftover SBD friendly homemade "helper":
Mexican version:
1 c. uncooked whole grain rotini or penne pasta (I "heart" heartland... can't tell it isn't "normal"!)
2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes (I like muir glen... either the chipotle or adobo)
1 can black beans
1 can white beans (I used canned organic soybeans)
1 lb. lean ground meat (this time used bison that I got from my CSA last summer, usually I use ground turkey)
1 packet of taco seasoning (or from a jar)
2 c. shredded cheddar or mexican cheese... low fat works fine
1 c. plain yogurt or low fat/FF sour cream
1 small can of sliced olives
Brown meat and then prepare with taco seasoning. Mix tomatoes and beans together. Pour 1 c. on bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Mix meat in with remaining tomatoes/beans. Top mix in pan with cooked pasta. Top that with yogurt/sour cream. Then, pour remaining meat/bean/tomato mix on top of that. Top with cheese and finish with a sprinkling of olives. Bake at 350 until cheese is bubbly.
I also make an italian version. Sub 2 cans of cannelini beans for the black beans and soybeans. Use mozarella cheese instead of cheddar/mexican, and diced italian seasoned tomatoes instead of the adobo or chipotle fire roasted ones.
You don't have to use the yogurt/sour cream... I like that it makes the sauce a bit creamier. It's hearty and filling, and full of good for you stuff like lean protein, beans, and tomatoes. I pair it with a spinach salad or some steamfresh veggies to get some green stuff along with it. Nothing fancy about it, just good food that I've made for decidedly non-snootie patootie family members and have received rave reviews.
May not be cheaper than the "helper" in a box, (though, the pasta and sour cream were free, I paid $.19 a can for the tomatoes and the beans were on sale too) but it is definitely much healthier.Posted 01-07-2009 at 10:39:25 PM by thriftycj
