Wow. From 9/27 to 10/27 we have spent $1,000 on groceries. That is almost double my budget! Time to reign that in a little bit. So here's the plan for 11/1/2010 to 12/1/2010:
Weekly Food: Normally ~$30 ($6.20 for dairy for DH, $13 for sirloin steak, $10 for a couple heads of cabbage, red beets, collards, whatever other veggie he has available). I will increase this by another $30 for 1 lb ground pork, 1 medium (4 lb) broiler chicken, 1 dozen eggs and 1 lb breakfast sausage.
Monthly UNFI coop: I spent $115 this month including a $30-something credit from last months HUGE bulk order. I got maple syrup, tortilla chips, buckwheat flour (pancakes), hazelnut milk (for coffee), and bacon basically removing my need to go to Wegman's every week for said flour and milk and removing the temptation to spend more money. I will keep this at $115 for next month.
Monthly Salmon/Coffee: This is a new one for me that I'll be starting 10/28. I will buy 4x8 oz packs of salmon of which we'll use 8 oz per week for a meal. I will buy 2 packs of coffee ($11 each, unknown size as of yet) and see how far I get with that. I may need to cut my coffee consumption down to accommodate this but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. This will be ~$50/month.
That's $375 before going to the grocery store. However we've already got 1 steak, 1 pork, 1 fish, 1 whole chicken, 1 use of leftover meat and 1 day of leftovers. I may add a pork tenderloin to the rotation until the arm roast order through Polyface. Polyface arm roasts are $3.90/lb but my other farmers charge over $6/lb. On the flip side, Polyface charges $15/lb for a max of 2.4 lb package however my little farmer charges $7/lb for a max 2 lb package. I'll consider it for next week's order. In fact, I just placed next week's order:
1 gallon milk - $5.25
1 dozen eggs - $3.50
1 sirloin steak - $8.50/lb, usually 1.5 lbs, we'll say $13
1 lb ground pork - $4.20
1 4 lb chicken - $14.00
1 lb breakfast sausage - $4.50
1 bunch beets - $2.50
1 head cauliflower - $3.00
Subtotal: $49.95
Delivery: ~$8
Total: $57.95 (will vary)
My weekly grocery bill varied from $85 to $120 over the last month so I will increase this budget to $100/week though I will try to stay under it. Let's say I'll aim for $80 but be a little forgiving! That brings us to a total of $775 for the month. Oh, except for the Larabars which breaks down as:
16xChocolate Coconut Chew: $16.99
16xCoconut Cream Pie: $16.54
16xCherry Pie: $15.47
Total: $49.00
If I divide that by 4 weeks, I get $12.25. If I cut my grocery bill down by that amount it is $87.75. That I think I can do.
Meal plan to come as it is bedtime here.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Status and Goals
I realized I've been doing this blog for 5 weeks now! I thought I should review what I've done so far and make some new goals.
I've made a roast a week and it's something I look forward to continuing. I made stock each week and used it to make soup (filled with tons of veggies and good fats) for the week *and* I finished eating all of it. I began a rotation of fermenting veggies and, surprisingly, found I *craved* them. I now have carrot sauerkraut to use and it's so good! I haven't had fast food in 1 month and I don't miss it. I also don't consider Chipotle fast food as nothing I eat there is fried and they focus on increasing the sustainability and health of the foods they provide (my standard order is rice, pinto beans, chicken, pico de gallo, guacamole and lettuce) and I've had it now 4 times in the last month. It is nice to have this option when life gets hectic (when your husband is in IT, has to be on call every so often plus work until 3 am some nights in addition to caring for two kids, a dog and maintaining a house...).
The Freedom Ranger chickens were good alternatives to the cornish cross chickens. We ended up with more meat than we wanted with the cornish cross so I think I'll order only Freedom Rangers now.
I made 3 batches of sofrito and put it in the freezer. It's not as much as I wanted to do in my first post but it's better than nothing!
We went gluten/dairy free so no bread on Sundays. :P
I got my UNFI order and put black beans and great northern beans into FoodSaver bags. I'm still in the process of "preserving" everything, but I have giant jars (originally purchased for Kombucha making which I'll get to eventually another time) filled with brown rice, white rice, and lentils. I have 18 lbs of raisins in 3 lb FoodSaver packages. All that is left is to "crispify" the walnuts, almonds and sunflower seeds. I was thinking about soaking beans then freezing them which is convenient but I want to maximize nutrients so I'm going to try soaking as I need them.
My goals for the next month are:
Sundays continue to be Roast Day. I will continue to make stock to use for soup for the week (though I need a new soup recipe, feel free to recommend one in comments!).
I will pick one day a week for a couple of weeks to be Beef Roast Day and I will likely use the crock pot. This day I will take advantage of having free of dinner prep and do something fun with the kids, whether that is the library or maybe apple picking? This will be a trial to see how difficult it is compared to normal dinner prep.
I will increase my fermented food intake to twice a day. I've been enjoying Polyface's breakfast sausage with my homemade sauerkraut at lunch. It's also good with roast chicken. My batch of ginger carrots was very salty so I hardly used it. Thanks to some ladies in one of my yahoo groups I've got some great ideas for other veggies to ferment. In fact, I have some radishes I don't know what I'm going to do with...
I will continue my UNFI ordering each month for maple syrup, nuts, cleaning supplies, and some other things I need to investigate my cupboards/household on. I've got a good stock of olive oil, beans, grains and raisins to last a long while.
I joined a local Mountain Rose Herbs coop where I'll be getting some cumin seed, mustard seed (both for adding flavor to ferments), garlic powder, chili flakes (both for making our own chili powder), and some other things as I see we need them.
I need to buy a pepper grinder of all things. I've been using those grocery store sized pepper grinders and I went through one in just a couple of weeks now that I'm cooking at home so much!
I will try to keep variety in meal planning - one steak, one whole chicken, one roast, one fish, one pork a week if possible. I can get wild caught frozen salmon through one of my farmer's connections straight from the boat in Alaska for around $10/lb, though I will need to figure out a plan other than weekly to get it as it's a drive I don't want to make every week. An added bonus is that I just discovered this coop charges $7 less for my cod liver oil capsules.. :D
The same coop I can get salmon from procures coffee from Sommo Coffees so I think I want to add that at some point. I have not investigated enough to see how the cost will impact me, though. I would like to move away from Dunkin Donuts coffee! I like supporting local businesses who support the same ideals I like to follow.
I've made a roast a week and it's something I look forward to continuing. I made stock each week and used it to make soup (filled with tons of veggies and good fats) for the week *and* I finished eating all of it. I began a rotation of fermenting veggies and, surprisingly, found I *craved* them. I now have carrot sauerkraut to use and it's so good! I haven't had fast food in 1 month and I don't miss it. I also don't consider Chipotle fast food as nothing I eat there is fried and they focus on increasing the sustainability and health of the foods they provide (my standard order is rice, pinto beans, chicken, pico de gallo, guacamole and lettuce) and I've had it now 4 times in the last month. It is nice to have this option when life gets hectic (when your husband is in IT, has to be on call every so often plus work until 3 am some nights in addition to caring for two kids, a dog and maintaining a house...).
The Freedom Ranger chickens were good alternatives to the cornish cross chickens. We ended up with more meat than we wanted with the cornish cross so I think I'll order only Freedom Rangers now.
I made 3 batches of sofrito and put it in the freezer. It's not as much as I wanted to do in my first post but it's better than nothing!
We went gluten/dairy free so no bread on Sundays. :P
I got my UNFI order and put black beans and great northern beans into FoodSaver bags. I'm still in the process of "preserving" everything, but I have giant jars (originally purchased for Kombucha making which I'll get to eventually another time) filled with brown rice, white rice, and lentils. I have 18 lbs of raisins in 3 lb FoodSaver packages. All that is left is to "crispify" the walnuts, almonds and sunflower seeds. I was thinking about soaking beans then freezing them which is convenient but I want to maximize nutrients so I'm going to try soaking as I need them.
My goals for the next month are:
Sundays continue to be Roast Day. I will continue to make stock to use for soup for the week (though I need a new soup recipe, feel free to recommend one in comments!).
I will pick one day a week for a couple of weeks to be Beef Roast Day and I will likely use the crock pot. This day I will take advantage of having free of dinner prep and do something fun with the kids, whether that is the library or maybe apple picking? This will be a trial to see how difficult it is compared to normal dinner prep.
I will increase my fermented food intake to twice a day. I've been enjoying Polyface's breakfast sausage with my homemade sauerkraut at lunch. It's also good with roast chicken. My batch of ginger carrots was very salty so I hardly used it. Thanks to some ladies in one of my yahoo groups I've got some great ideas for other veggies to ferment. In fact, I have some radishes I don't know what I'm going to do with...
I will continue my UNFI ordering each month for maple syrup, nuts, cleaning supplies, and some other things I need to investigate my cupboards/household on. I've got a good stock of olive oil, beans, grains and raisins to last a long while.
I joined a local Mountain Rose Herbs coop where I'll be getting some cumin seed, mustard seed (both for adding flavor to ferments), garlic powder, chili flakes (both for making our own chili powder), and some other things as I see we need them.
I need to buy a pepper grinder of all things. I've been using those grocery store sized pepper grinders and I went through one in just a couple of weeks now that I'm cooking at home so much!
I will try to keep variety in meal planning - one steak, one whole chicken, one roast, one fish, one pork a week if possible. I can get wild caught frozen salmon through one of my farmer's connections straight from the boat in Alaska for around $10/lb, though I will need to figure out a plan other than weekly to get it as it's a drive I don't want to make every week. An added bonus is that I just discovered this coop charges $7 less for my cod liver oil capsules.. :D
The same coop I can get salmon from procures coffee from Sommo Coffees so I think I want to add that at some point. I have not investigated enough to see how the cost will impact me, though. I would like to move away from Dunkin Donuts coffee! I like supporting local businesses who support the same ideals I like to follow.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
It's About Time
Figuring out how I want our family to live and eat is confusing. There are so many options. There's vegetarian, vegan, raw, traditional, Feingold, no carb, low carb, whole foods, etc, etc, etc. On top of that you've got to consider the sources of your food, the ingredients in your food, any food sensitivities, and above all else the cost to maintain. Like many Americans in this economy we are trying to be smart with money. We'd like to one day be debt free so that translates to keeping costs to a minimum and trying to keep food from being wasted.
Not long before DD was born I decided to have a look into local grass-fed, grass-finished beef and pasture-raised chicken. I found a co-op and they recommended becoming a member of the Weston A. Price Foundation. I bought a copy of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig. The traditional diets that they spoke of struck a chord in me. It just made *sense*. All of the suggestions are backed up by studies and data not to mention Dr. Price's findings when he went among the traditional peoples. I started talking to many people through these co-ops who had seen significant increases in their health and quality of life. I learned about the Raw Milk Revolution and we started drinking it at home.
Over the last three years I have wavered in following it completely. Some times we've had to budget out the good stuff for the cheaper alternative (pasteurized, homogenized, factory farm milk and Costco meat). It is easy to get into old routines, though thankfully we're not subsisting on Hamburger Helper and Mountain Dew which was the status quo when my husband and I met!
Last week we were able to finally sit down and watch Food, Inc. I knew what was going to be in it (though there were a few things that surprised me still!) but it was important to get my husband on board. He needed to watch it and really grasp it. I needed him to want to improve our diet if not for him then for our kids. Seeing Joel Salatin on his farm and talking about food and farm and life really brought out the urge to focus back on good, pure food again.
The next day I went over to my Polyface account (Joel Salatin's farm) and started perusing costs. I compared it to the other co-ops I am involved in and found Polyface to be the cheapest option. Deliveries happen every 5 weeks except a break in the winter. I looked up this chest freezer that is small enough to live in my dining room yet large enough to hold a few chickens and some ground beef, ground pork and sausage. I know in order to do this I will need to purchase that chest freezer and meal plan for 5 weeks at a time a week before the delivery dates in order to have the order placed in time.
My plan at this point:
I will also strive to bake bread on Sundays as well. I will start with an all-purpose loaf and gradually work into a whole wheat loaf then into sourdough. I will also plan for a meatless day each week in order to use beans and incorporate more fiber into our diet.
In addition I am getting involved in my United Natural Foods buying club to purchase bulk grains, nuts and beans as well as vinegars/spices and personal care items (shampoo, conditioner). I'm trying to stay away from canned goods because of BPA in the lining (there is no current alternative).
The above is my starting goal. From here I want to get more into preparation of grains/beans, addition of organ meats to our ground meat (which I have a recipe for and will post at a later time), and learning the different cuts of meat, how to cook them and eating well on a tight budget. My goal for this blog is to have a place to be accountable and see progress in not only the learning process but our health overall.
Not long before DD was born I decided to have a look into local grass-fed, grass-finished beef and pasture-raised chicken. I found a co-op and they recommended becoming a member of the Weston A. Price Foundation. I bought a copy of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig. The traditional diets that they spoke of struck a chord in me. It just made *sense*. All of the suggestions are backed up by studies and data not to mention Dr. Price's findings when he went among the traditional peoples. I started talking to many people through these co-ops who had seen significant increases in their health and quality of life. I learned about the Raw Milk Revolution and we started drinking it at home.
Over the last three years I have wavered in following it completely. Some times we've had to budget out the good stuff for the cheaper alternative (pasteurized, homogenized, factory farm milk and Costco meat). It is easy to get into old routines, though thankfully we're not subsisting on Hamburger Helper and Mountain Dew which was the status quo when my husband and I met!
Last week we were able to finally sit down and watch Food, Inc. I knew what was going to be in it (though there were a few things that surprised me still!) but it was important to get my husband on board. He needed to watch it and really grasp it. I needed him to want to improve our diet if not for him then for our kids. Seeing Joel Salatin on his farm and talking about food and farm and life really brought out the urge to focus back on good, pure food again.
The next day I went over to my Polyface account (Joel Salatin's farm) and started perusing costs. I compared it to the other co-ops I am involved in and found Polyface to be the cheapest option. Deliveries happen every 5 weeks except a break in the winter. I looked up this chest freezer that is small enough to live in my dining room yet large enough to hold a few chickens and some ground beef, ground pork and sausage. I know in order to do this I will need to purchase that chest freezer and meal plan for 5 weeks at a time a week before the delivery dates in order to have the order placed in time.
My plan at this point:
- Sundays are Roast Day. I will either rotisserie or roast in the oven one chicken.
- Polyface is trying out a batch of Freedom Ranger chickens as an alternative to the Cornish Cross. I'll be buying one of each initially to compare them.
- From Sunday's chicken: I will clean the meat from the bones and put the bones immediately into a crock pot and make stock. The meat will be used for at least one additional meal that week.
- I will purchase 4 lbs of ground beef and ground pork. Each week will have one pound allotted of each ground meat for use in meatloaf, burgers, meatballs, Pork 'n Cabbage, chili, stuffed peppers/tomatoes, bolognese, etc.
- I will purchase 4 lbs of bulk breakfast sausage for use in my mom's awesome sausage and bean soup (which I will post the recipe for at a later time) to be made with the stock from Sunday's chicken.
I will also strive to bake bread on Sundays as well. I will start with an all-purpose loaf and gradually work into a whole wheat loaf then into sourdough. I will also plan for a meatless day each week in order to use beans and incorporate more fiber into our diet.
In addition I am getting involved in my United Natural Foods buying club to purchase bulk grains, nuts and beans as well as vinegars/spices and personal care items (shampoo, conditioner). I'm trying to stay away from canned goods because of BPA in the lining (there is no current alternative).
The above is my starting goal. From here I want to get more into preparation of grains/beans, addition of organ meats to our ground meat (which I have a recipe for and will post at a later time), and learning the different cuts of meat, how to cook them and eating well on a tight budget. My goal for this blog is to have a place to be accountable and see progress in not only the learning process but our health overall.
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