We did very well last week. We stuck to our meal plan and didn't have to dash off to the supermarket for anything extra, unless you count an extra half-gallon of organic milk to satisfy Baby B's milk addiction. (There are worse addictions, I think.) We even squeezed out another day before I had to go shopping, because one night we were invited to a barbecue, so that was a free dinner. It was a rather nasty one, but beggars can't be choosers. Baby B, to my middle-class horror, adored her rubbery cheeseburger and clamored for more. I'm sure nothing in it was grass-fed or organic. Again, beggars can't be choosers.
I ended up using up some things that I'd planned to keep for another week. For example, we ate all the tortillas, because it transpires that we don't actually want to eat steel-cut oats with yogurt and fruit every morning. Some days we made scrambled eggs and served it in a tortilla, like a breakfast wrap. For this reason, we also used up most of the 18 eggs I'd bought. Then there were a few things we didn't eat all of. Several romaine lettuce leaves were left over, so I gnawed on them for a rabbit-like late night snack. We also didn't use one of the zucchini, which went bad in the refrigerator. I was annoyed that I hadn't noticed it, since I could at least have put it in the freezer to use for making stock.
This week, I spent only $52.78 on groceries, or $7.54 per day per person. But this isn't the real cost, because I already had several ingredients that I didn't need to buy. Some were things left over from last week's shopping: I still had 2.5 lbs of carrots, half a head of celery, about a cup of rice, and several servings of steel cut oats. I also had some of the ingredients lurking in corners of my kitchen: I discovered a pound of ground grass-fed beef in my freezer, which probably cost at least $7; I also found a bag of frozen green beans which were on the verge of getting freezer burn; and I already had staples such as garlic, oil, pepper, and cumin. So the true cost of this week's meal plan is probably $15 more than I actually spent.
The Meal Plan:
Breakfasts: steel cut oats with yogurt and fruit, OR scrambled eggs/omelettes/boiled eggs/etc.
Lunches: bean and cheese burritos, carrot and celery sticks, apples or oranges or nectarines.
Snacks: raw fruits and vegetables
Dinners:
1) Almost-Foolproof Roast Chicken with basmati rice, slow cooker refried beans, and steamed broccoli.
-> reserve 2 cups of leftover cooked chicken for use in anothe recipe
-> make slow cooker chicken broth overnight for use in another recipe
2) Moussaka, using sliced boiled potatoes instead of eggplant because I couldn't find an eggplant today. Side of steamed green beans.
3) Sausage-tomato-spinach risotto.
4) Shrimp fajitas.
5) Chicken-broccoli calzone.
6) Leftover moussaka with a side of steamed broccoli.
7) Leftover sausage-tomato-spinach risotto.
THE GROCERIES
Vegetables and Fruits
5 lbs onions: $2.48
1.5 pounds potatoes: $1.17
10 oz fresh spinach: $1.38 (I could get frozen cheaper, but sometimes the quality of frozen is variable)
1 red bell pepper: $1.48
1 avocado: $0.88
2 heads of broccoli: $1.68
4 bananas: $0.62
2 lbs nectarines: $1.98
2 lbs Fuji apples: $3.16
2 lbs navel oranges: $1.96
Bulk
1.28 lbs arborio rice: $2.15
1 lb sugar: $0.52
1 lb pinto beans: $0.87
Dairy
1 gallon Organic Valley whole milk: $5.96
Nancy's low fat yogurt: $2.43
Sargento reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese: $2.68
Meat
1 whole chicken (that claimed to be approved by the American Humanitarian Society..hmmm): $7.18
3/4 lb Italian turkey sausage: $2.68*
3/4 lb broken shrimp meat, pre-cooked: $3.18**
Misc.
Guerrero whole wheat tortillas, 11ct: $2.48***
1 14oz can store-brand diced tomatoes: $0.63
Red Rose tea bags, 100ct: $3.34
1 container store-brand table salt: $0.44
*This was less than half price because it was the day of its expiration date. I figure that they put these dates pretty early to be cautious, and that it'll be fine if I throw it in the freezer today and defrost it when I need it.
**Very pleased with this discovery. I used to get peeled, deveined, pre-cooked shrimp as a bit of an extravagance, because Baby B adores shrimp. But today I discovered, on a lower shelf in the seafood section, something called "broken shrimp meat" that appears to be smaller or less attractive specimens of shrimp that probably taste just the same as the expensive ones. They were less than half the price! Definitely loving this idea.
***I won't be getting these again. Once I was home I realized they contained palm oil. We are far from being perfectly conscientious shoppers, but we do try to avoid palm oil because of the danger to orangutans. Baby B is a friend to all the animals, and she is particularly fond of orangutans, so there it is.
Observations: while I was pleased with my spending, I could have done this for less. I bought a few things that weren't super-cheap, such as the red bell pepper. We could spend so much less on milk if we got non-organic, but I'm squeamish about that. Again, we really don't have to eat meat every night, but ever since my brush with gestational diabetes, my blood sugar has been a bit weird and I tend to do really well if I make sure I have enough protein and not too much starch.
Other observations: I want to figure out a way to eat this cheaply without having so many leftovers. We tend to be a bit repetitive in our eating habits because we don't really care that much if we eat the same thing several times in a week. But we want Baby B to be an adventurous eater, and to do this we'll need to expose her to more variety from week to week.
Dinner recipes:
Homemade "refried" beans (which aren't refried at all)
I know canned refried beans can be bought for fifty cents and taste just fine, but this is even cheaper and it tastes so much better that I am loath to buy the canned ones ever again.
Exceedingly complex instructions! Throw the following into your slow cooker:
1 onion, chopped medium
2 cups dried pinto beans (no need to soak)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 to 1.5 teaspoons salt (start with the smaller measure, then adjust at the end to taste)
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6 cups water
Cook on high all day. It's fine to go out to work for nine hours, it won't boil dry! Next, simply strain the beans, reserving the liquid. Mash the beans with a fork, adding the cooking liquid little by little until you get the consistency you like. Taste and season. This makes loads--enough for dinner plus lunches for two for a week.
The sausage-tomato-spinach risotto is an adaptation of this amazing Smitten Kitchen recipe. I can make it more cheaply, however. Here are my ingredients:
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
A canful of my homemade chicken broth
3 cups water
1 tablespoon oil
3/4 lb turkey sausage
1/2 an onion
1/2 cup leftover wine (if you don't have this, I honestly can't tell the difference if you leave it out)
Salt and pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
5 oz washed, sliced spinach
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese
[...I leave out the butter]
...and you proceed as in the Smitten Kitchen recipe. It would probably be nicer with Parmesan, but I don't have any of that.
Shrimp fajitas
I adapted this from a Skinnytaste.com recipe. A couple of changes: I substitute cumin for chipotle chile powder because that's what I had; I left out the lime and cilantro because Baby B doesn't like those. Don't be put off by the name "Skinny Taste"--the author is an amazing cook and all her recipes work. I detest recipes that don't work.
I don't make homemade guacamole for this, but I top them with slices of fresh avocado.
Chicken-broccoli calzone
Making calzone is one of my favorite activities. It impresses guests and it's really quite easy. Here's how:
Prepare 1 recipe of my all-purpose bread dough. Follow all instructions up until the second kneading. (You could also use bought pizza dough, but that's more expensive.)
Preheat your oven to 430 F, or about 220 C.
Cut one head of broccoli into small pieces (they don't have to look attractive) and put into a pot with an inch or so of boiling water over high heat for about 5 minutes or until the broccoli is steamed, but still has a bit of bite to it.
Get your leftover chicken from the other night and cut it into small cubes.
Now get your bread dough, divide it into four pieces, and roll each into an 8-inch circle on a floured counter-top. Divide the chicken and broccoli equally between the pieces, and top with a generous pinch of shredded cheese. Fold the circles in half and pinch up the edges to seal them, then roll them over for extra protection. Place the calzone on a baking sheet covered with foil or parchment paper. Poke a couple of small air vents in the top with the tip of a knife. Bake for around 15 minutes, or until the tops and bottoms of the calzone are lightly golden brown.
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