I am already talking about sacrifices, and it is only the third day! I was always confident we could do the first 100 Days of Real Food pledge, but to be honest I am doubting this budget pledge often.
- Exhibit A: The amount of raspberries you can have in your cereal when you are on a $125/week budget.
- Exhibit B: The beverage you have to (at times) force your children to drink when you run out of milk and can’t afford to buy more yet.
- Exhibit C: The one super cheap fruit that I will always be able to afford on this budget, but that I am already getting tired of eating.
I guess I really shouldn’t be complaining about my one raspberry. I wanted to buy a whole $4.99 container of organic raspberries at the store, but it was one of the many things I had to put back when I saw how much my bill was adding up to be. Then I was outside checking on my garden when I realized there were 5 ripe raspberries on our raspberry bush! It was very exciting until I remembered it would only be fair for me to share them with my family. That darn family. So anyway, only one lonely raspberry for me even though I love all things berry when it comes to my granola cereal in the morning!
So in addition to raspberries, some of the other things I had to put back when I was checking out at Earth Fare the other day were mushrooms, an avocado, some almonds, cream cheese, and about half a bag of grapes. Yes, I only bought half of the grapes. I also had a few things on my list I didn’t even attempt to buy once I started adding things up in my head. This included espresso, jelly (I figured we must have some left in the fridge somewhere), celery, parmesan cheese, and fontina cheese. I needed the fontina cheese for our lasagna the other night, but just had to do without!
One more negative comment then I promise I will be nice! Since everyone obviously knows the pros of “budgeting” I thought I would share some of the cons I have observed so far…
- You can’t stock up or buy things on an impulse (just in case you might need them) without going over budget, which means you have to go to the store more often.
- You may end up with a lot less variety in your diet since you have to stick to the cheap stuff (like the lovely banana pictured above).
- You might be forced to become a vegetarian.
Okay, now that I got that off my chest I do have something nice to say. Even though I couldn’t buy an avocado (which all of us love) or fresh mushrooms like
I wanted for our fajitas tonight they did end up being delicious. I got lucky again like I did with the raspberries and “found” some dried mushrooms in my pantry that have been in there a long, long time. After a little warm water and TLC they were reconstituted and made a great addition to our fajita mix (pictured). I have a feeling that the more I use up these little “finds” in my pantry the harder this budget thing is going to get.
So as promised, this is what my $67 got me at Earthfare the other day…almost all of it was organic by the way…
- Raw Cashews $7.90
- Pumpkin Seeds $3.35
- Coffee Beans $8.99
- Unsalted Butter $4.29
- Cheddar Cheese $4.89
- Monterey Jack Cheese $3.39
- Ricotta Cheese $5.99
- Cheese Sticks $4.39
- Applesauce Squeeze $3.29
- Unsweetened Coconut $2.79
- Whole-Wheat Pretzels $4.39
- Bananas! $1.74
- Baby Carrots $2.00
- Ginger Root $0.21
- Green Grapes $1.45
- Leeks $3.83
- Yellow Onions $3.46
The total (with tax) was $67.68. And on a positive note, the milk man comes tomorrow…yay!
What about making your own ricotta cheese? It’s just milk, salt, and lemon juice. You can also make your own butter, peanut butter, yogurt, bread, and even some cheeses. So maybe paying for an extra milk shipment and putting some time in will cut out expenses later.
Dear Lisa: Am enjoying your website, finding it when searching for a perfect sauce for crockpot pork. I do a lot of research myself, as mother of 6 grown children with families- who have such busy working lives and little time to spend doing medical research. I am mainly concerned about meat quality and pesticides, especially a list of produce that lists those that absorb all of pesticide and can not be washed off! I believe that Grapes fall into that category so I avoid them like the plague unless I know for a fact that they are not in the least tainted. Neurological conditions are rising because of these toxic chemicals- and not just food items but personal as well as other everyday products. On a more positive note, you and your family are off to a great start. If we all speak up and support those that are making efforts to provide healthy products. As you grow older, you can see the changes in elderly health as well. Good luck to you on your journey! God Bless you and take care, Marilyn L. Flaherty
This Friday I was out of lunch meat for my husband’s sandwich. I had a bit after making the kids’ lunches, so I took what I had and added extra veggie, lettuces, avocado and tomatoes to give the sand which some weight and thickness. Gave him boiled eggs and fruits including bananas, nuts and oh his sardine snack. …. Gotta go.
I really enjoy reading about your adventures trying to eat healthy, and recognise the struggle it is having to put away things you want but can’t really afford. You have a lot of good advice.
One thing, though, why can’t you stock up on things just because you are on a weekly budget? I mean, it is only a matter of budgeting properly. I have a budget of around 120 dollars/week much like you had in your experiment. The difference is that my actual weekly budget turns out to be around 60 dollars/week since shortly after payday (which rolls around once a month) I stock up on essentials that I know we will use throughout the month to get a good price on them and to cut down on the shopping trips. Things like organic, grass fed beef would be out of my price range if I stuck to a weekly budget like you are doing since it is horribly expensive to buy what you need, when you need it. But by buying in bulk once a month directly from the farmer raising the animals I get a much better price. Same thing with things like dried beans, whole wheat flour, eggs, onions etc. By buying things that I know we will use up in bulk I can afford more and better food.
Setting a weekly budget is really, really, really important (as you pointed out) when you are trying to make ends meet, or save money for something. it is really a must knowing exactly how much you can spend without going over budget each week. However, if you get paid monthly I think it is best to draw up a monthly food budget first. Do your bulk purchases for the month, then divide what is left between the weeks. That way, you save both money and time. :)
I would suggest adding a little to your budget so you can stock up when things go on sale. Frozen fruits, cheese and beans do go on sale. I shop at Winco (they have regular and organic foods) and buy many of my staples from the bulk bins. I love to cook and am very happy when my freezer is full of leftovers. I hope to start making freezer meals in the near future.
Why all the cheese? Cheesesticks are processed and probably have a lot of non-cheese components. Seems like you could do better.
My problem is knowing how to use the real foods. I have zero recipes and ones I do find online seem to be very complicated and time consuming. I know I could do better with eating clean if I knew how to cook the foods. I know you have a cookbook, but that’s not in my budget, as of right now. Any suggestions on where to find clean, cheap, and easy recipes?
Hi there. Just use our recipe index: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/recipe-search/.
I love coming back to re-read these posts and get ideas for when our family’s budget is slim! I only just now realized you bought your grapes for $1.45 (so I’m presuming if you bought the whole pack they would be about $3?) Wow! Up here a dinky bag of grapes is about $12…Canadian (so what is that, maybe $10 US?). Food in general is crazy expensive here. I wonder if there are any frugal bloggers in BC…