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Is that possible? I know that put in global perspective, $100 is quite a bit of money and we should all be able to feed our family for that amount. But in America, with fuel and food prices being the way they are, is that really reasonable?I was prompted by this blog post to see if we could do this ourselves. Now, I'm not a couponer. I like to get deals, but I don't hunt for them, and I don't always go to the cheapest places. There's a Schnucks about thirty seconds from my house and I would prefer to shop there. It's closer. Dierbergs has a large organic USA-produced selection and lots of allergy-sensitive foods. Neither are particularly inexpensive, and I know that periodically, I'll shop at hole-in-the-wall health food stores, farmers markets in the summers and fall, and we're working on growing most of our own food. I wanted to see if I could shop at the places where I would normally go, buying the things I would normally buy... just plan it better.
But, there's a backstory (Isn't there always? I can never just tell a story without telling a bunch of other ones first. You knew it wouldn't be as straighforward as that!). First, let me say that we're vegetarians and have been on a $500/month food budget for about a year, which is a bump up from our $400/month food budget, where it stayed for several years.
But, our food choices weren't very healthy. Like, not very healthy at all. Like, pretty atrocious, actually. I'm talking, processed-straight-from-a-box-or-a-can quickie meals. Lots of pasta, vegetable oil, starches with a side of starch and less and less fresh produce. Shiloh has a hyperactivity/attention issue, so I was a good mom and careful to avoid high fructose corn syrup and color dyes. But, the busier we got with children's activities, involvement in leadership roles, a new job with a more demanding schedule.... we began, like most of America, to favor convenience over quality. And that's sort of where we languished. I tried to plan healthier meals, but I just didn't have the time. We were definitely in a food funk.
In mid-January, though, after struggling with a myriad of health problems, I was finally diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This, as many of you know, required a radical change in diet. A complete abstinence from all things gluten (boo! hiss!). After removing gluten from our diet (Shiloh as well), we noticed a drastic improvement in our overall health, as we had unknowingly been poisoning ourselves with gluten all these years, while watching our family's health worsen. After removing gluten from our diet, it became evident that my body had begun treating soy as its gluten substitute, and while I'd always had a soy sensitivity, I had now become all-out allergic. Furthermore, while I was able to tolerate dairy in respect to Celiac, I discovered that with the removal of all other allergens, dairy aggravated a separate health problem with which I'd been struggling for years.
So.
No meat. No gluten. No soy. No dairy. This was way worse than the standard remove-all-gluten mandate with which I had previously begun. What were we going to eat?!
My ever-gracious husband, after seeing the difference that the diet changes had made in Shiloh and I, refused to allow any gluten or soy in our house whatsoever and was willing to part with the dairy as well, his only request being that I keep a stick of butter for him to add to his morning oatmeal. Fair enough. I *guess* I can concede. ;o) (As an aside, Shiloh's allergies aren't as severe as mine, but as I am currently the fourth known generation dealing with essentially the same set of health problems, the odds of her inheriting them as well is quite high. So, she and I are on the same diet.)
Aaaand to finally bring it back to the original topic..........
I assumed since we would be eating specialty foods and mostly fresh produce, that our grocery bill would skyrocket. We added an extra $200/mo, bringing our final monthly total to $600. I wasn't sure where to start, so I just began scouring the internet for recipes and running to the grocery store for random ingredients. I was beginning to get aquainted with all the various flours I would need in lieu of 'regular' flour, some good base recipes that we could recycle, where to buy some good organic fruits and vegetables, etc.
As I was sort of barging into this whole lifestyle change haphazardly, it was reflected in the amount of money spent. Even though we had been eating unhealthily before, I planned our meals every two weeks and was never surprised by the amount we spent on groceries. Now, I felt out of control of our grocery budget, but chalked it all up to "well, i guess this is just how it'll be if we want to be healthy." I just didn't feel like I knew enough about the types of food we were eating to go at it any other way.
This time, though, I decided to try to go at it differently and try to meal-plan once again. Not only that, though, but I was going to keep it under $100/week. My two-week budget was going to be $200. I had serious doubts.
I did some online research, paired with some of our favorite meals we'd been eating lately, and came up with a plan that covered 15 days -- 15 dinners, various options for lunches and breakfasts, plus some extras for snacks. Mind you, these may not be what you would normally consider 'snacks' or a 'good, hearty' lunch or breakfast. However, it's what our vegetarian/gluten-free/soy-free/dairy-free family has embraced and actually begun to (dare i say it?) prefer to the Standard American Diet.
Here's our menu for the next two weeks, from this evening (Friday the 16th) until Thursday the 29th, the night before I budget for our next two-week pay period.
- Vegetable Pizza on Gluten-Free/Soy-Free/Dairy-Free Crust. Crust bought at Dierbergs in their allergy aisle, brushed with olive oil and sea salt, with a chopped green pepper, half a can of marinated artichoke hearts, one chopped tomato, and one chopped onion, with basil/oregano/garlic cloves sprinkled on top. This is the most expensive meal b/c we bought the crusts 2 pkgs at 2 per pack, they're personal sized. They were $5.40/pkg. This meal is AMAZING. By far one of our favorites, which is why I pay the extra.
- Eggs and Pancakes. I bought a gluten-free mix, 100% Pure and Organic Maple Syrup, and a dozen cage-free Organic brown eggs.
- Rice and Beans with Tomatoes. We usually plan family lunches on Sundays so we aren't tempted to eat out. It's easier to resist McAlister's potatoes if I know that we have food waiting for us at home. This may sound 'blah,' but this is one of our favorite meals and why we repeat it later on. It's just brown rice on one side of the bowl, seasoned black beans on the other and topped with fresh tomatoes. So simple, but quick and easy and cheap. :o)
- Potato Gnocchi in Mushroom and Sweet Pea sauce. Dinner. This is a new recipe, although we do like Potato Gnocchi, just haven't tried this one yet. Excited about the mushroom sauce, especially.
- Quinoa Pilaf. Another simple favorite that makes a ton and we love, thus repeat often. It's simply unseasoned quinoa, with sauteed/raw sweet peppers and onions. Sooooo good!
- Shepherd's Pie. Good ol' fashioned Shepherd's Pie. Minus the meat. :o) Cooked carrots, peas, corn, green beans, vegetable broth topped with mashed potatoes and parsley. YUM!
- Tomato Basil Soup with Spinach. Yet another recent favorite. Cooks up in about twenty minutes and makes a ton. Sooo good with a side of baked potato or a slice of freshly baked homemde bread.
- Rice and Beans with Tomatoes. Seriously. We love this meal.
- Baked Potatoes, Steamed Carrots and Homemade Baked Beans. Okay, this is two types of starches in a meal, which we don't normally do, but Rick makes the BEST homemade baked beans, and it just seems to "fit."
- Spaghetti Squash in Garlic/Olive Oil sauce. Another new recipe, but spaghetti squash is SO good, and a much healthier alternative to pasta. :o)
- Sushi -- Nori wraps, sushi rice and avocado. This is more for a light dinner, but so filling and we love it!
- Vegetable Stir-Fry -- Raw/steamed onions and peppers with baby corn and water chestnuts mixed in with whatever sauce Rick decides to try that night. He is a MASTER at sauces.
- Quinoa Pilaf. Again. Serious favorite.
- Garbanzo Potato Curry Over Brown Rice. This is actually a recipe we've had in our rotation for a long time, but it just happens to be meat/gluten/soy/dairy free and also one of our favorites. Cubed potatoes, onions, sweet peas in a curry sauce over brown rice.
- Tomato Basil Soup with Spinach. Okay, so we repeat our favorites. Who doesn't?
Now, I also added these following "spare" meals in case we weren't in the mood for one of the others:
- Rice Noodles in Thai Peanut Sauce (we could have this every night, it's so good!)
- Organic Gluten-Free Pasta with Red or Garlic Sauce
- Leftover Vegetable Crockpot Soup in Seasoned Vegetable Broth
Additionally, I picked up fresh fruit and greens (at least half of which are organic) that we use for morning breakfast juices and sides to gluten-free hot cereal and oatmeal, which we buy in bulk every few months. We also eat fresh fruit as morning and afternoon snacks, and lunch sides. This particular trip, I picked up:
- 3 pounds of Organic green apples
- 2 pounds of Organic oranges
- 2 pounds of Organic bananas
- 1 pound fresh blueberries
- 1 pound fresh blackberries
- 2 pounds green seedless grapes
- 2 large bunches Organic Dinosaur Kale
- 2 pounds Organic Spinach
- 1 large bunch asparagus (for juicing)
Lastly, I bought ingredients for extra yummy snacks, namely:
- 1.5 pounds raw cashews
- 2 pkgs pitted dates
- 1 pkg allergy-free chocolate chips
We use the former three ingredients to make our own version of "Lara" bars, blending them all together in a food processor and making them into balls or bars. This doesn't use all of the chocolate chips, though, and I have a recipe that uses different types of flours to make Chocolate Chip Cookies or Mint Chocolate Chip cookies. YUM! We also regularly keep stove popping corn for snacks and dessert, tossed with sea salt, garlic powder and onion powder.
As far as Rick's lunches, he packs leftovers, and Shiloh and I may eat sandwiches on homemade bread made from Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free mix with a few of my own modifications, leftovers, lettuce wraps or baked potatoes.
Beverages -- we drink water. and that's all. So I don't buy anything in this category.
So. The grand total? For two weeks' worth of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, desserts....
$182!!!
I will concede that of this list, I already had a large can of tomato puree, a can of corn and green beans, a bag of onions, a can of baby corn and water chestnuts and the spaghetti squash. All told, less than $10 worth. But then, I also bought some things that weren't necessary, either -- two chocolate candy bars to snack on on the trip around town, a real Lara Bar for Shiloh, a more expensive brand of toothpaste than we normally use, etc. All told, it all evened out.
And, we have about $18 left to replenish the fresh fruit next week.
So. While it may not be ideal, it's definitely possible to eat a varied menu with plenty of options to spare on $100/week or $200 per two week pay period.
Woo-hoo!
