Okay, so in my last post I said we’d figured out some new guidelines to follow (now that our official real food rules are over), and that we were embracing our new freedom of flexibility. Well, as it turns out, all of that is easier said than done…for me at least. My children seem to have no problem whatsoever scarfing down something that I consider downright nasty (pizza from the school cafeteria anyone?), but my husband and I on the other hand feel that we are just going through the motions of pretending it’s okay to occasionally eat “junk” food when we are out. Now that we know the hidden truth behind all the junk out there it’s just turning out to be harder than expected for us to truly feel carefree about eating something with an unknown origin.
So the truth is…most of the time I am just putting on an act that I have no problem scooping some dip (that contains mystery ingredients) with store-bought tortilla chips when in my head I am really thinking I wish I had brought some Triscuits in my purse. Now, I am the first to admit this is unusual behavior for me because I used to eat absolutely whatever I wanted and not care. For example, I used to order ice cream even when it was only supposed to be for the kids, and I promise I would have almost never ordered a salad for my lunch. So in summary, I still can’t say I’ve found my optimal place between the processed and real food worlds, but I am working on it. I guess it is a longer process than expected so I am slowly but surely learning the instances where “rule-breaking” truly is okay vs. not (and I’ve had the stomach aches to prove it).
Pictured is one of the few examples so far where we truly had no problem breaking our previous “100 Days of Real Food” rules. I know the sweet potatoes and BBQ sauce most definitely contained sugar and the bun was obviously made from white flour (here I go again breaking down the ingredients in my head!), but what you see here was a plate from a recent Farmer’s Market sponsored BBQ. The pork was raised locally and smoked all day. The side items were provided through a partnership with local farms and restaurants. The event, which ended up being on an evening with absolutely perfect fall weather, was just lovely, and as it turns out it’s been one of the few situations (so far) where I truly felt at peace with my “rule-breaking” meal. So clearly I still have a long way to go before I find that “new normal” that will work for me, but in a weird way I consider all of this newfound knowledge progress!!
On a completely different note, I would like to announce that I’ve decided to take on another real food project (why not?). I truly appreciate all of the people who take the time to read this blog and as a tribute to those readers I am going to do something with your feedback top of mind. I am going to take on another 100 Days of Real Food pledge, but this time on a strict budget! And I need your vote (through the comment section below) to help me decide what my new budget should be. We are a family of four eaters, and I will be tracking our food budget weekly. Things like household products, alcohol, entertaining, food while traveling, and eating out (which doesn’t happen often and will be tracked separately) will not be included, but just about everything else will be coming out of this weekly budget. I will also add that we will mostly be following our original real food rules, but since a strict budget is the focus this time around some “rule-breaking” in moderation will be allowed. I have been doing some “research” on facebook and am personally landing somewhere between $125 – $150 a week. I want it to be challenging, but reasonable…and I would love to get your input on the final number!
Before you cast your vote though, let me share that this whole budget thing is going to be a real challenge for me. I know there are a lot of meal budget and couponing blogs/websites out there, and most of those people are clearly experts. I will be the first to tell you I am not one of those experts. I have shopped on a strict budget before, but never while also focusing on real food. Our first pledge was the best way for me to learn about shopping for real food, but now it could get scary when I have to do it all on a strict budget. I admit that I haven’t been paying enough attention to my spending and can easily drop 200 dollars at Earth Fare …and then another hundred at Harris Teeter (…and then another $60 at the Farmers Market – don’t tell my husband!) So I obviously have a lot to learn and plan to blog about my trials and tribulations along the way. Stay tuned and don’t forget to leave your weekly budget vote below…I will be getting started very soon!
Kasandra Brown
September 30, 2010 at 7:50 pmI vote for a weekly budget of $125. I am sure I will learn a ton! Thank you for paving the way for us penny pinchers and showing us how to do it. Good luck, I can’t wait to read about your adventures.
Cheryl Mitchell
September 30, 2010 at 7:56 pmI’ve been looking at trying to do the same thing, because I volunteer for Operation Frontline and many of those families are receiving assistance (food stamps, other subsidies) and must exist on no more than $1.40 per serving per meal! That tallies to $4.20/day or $126 per month PER PERSON!
The only way to accomplish this to 1) grow some of your own food. that entails making an investment in a garden 2)shop sales at the grocery store, buy directly from a farm in bulk (for your animal proteins), 3) shop strategically at Farmer’s Markets.
it can be done! A number of leaders at Second Harvest Food banks are attempting to do the same.
At the other end of the spectrum, there sites that talk about “broke ass” eating, essentially going gourmet for cheap. Always less than $5/serving and most dishes are 4-8 servings. You’ll get more since you have small children.
Strategize before you start – do your due diligence on what’s seasonal (especially given that our climate has been weird this year), see if you can get a “share” of beef, pork, chicken before they’re sold out for the season (next opportunity is for the spring slaughter), and be prepared to have to get creative if there is a bumper crop of an item. For example, I had way more zucchini this summer than I could eat at once, so I found creative ways to prepare it to enjoy over the winter.
I think many people will join you. You can eat well for very little!
Amy
September 30, 2010 at 8:13 pmOooh – this is going to be good!!! I would also say $125 – that’s $500 for the month, a nice round number. I try to stay within our budget – but I haven’t been. I’d just rather have the organic products. So sometimes it comes down to – staying within the budget – or organic milk… yeah – I’m giving my babies organic milk! (I buy 3-4 gallons a week- easily $10-$12, just in milk!)
Ashley
September 30, 2010 at 8:21 pmFor me, I have found Trader Joe’s to really help with the budget on Organic milk and produce (but sometimes the fruit comes from outside the U.S.) What is your policy on “organic strawberries from Mexico?” I know you try to stick to locally grown produce, just wondering if this could be one of the “flexible” rules to help with the budget?
Jan
September 30, 2010 at 8:54 pmI would say 4 people $100 a week but that seems low for you.
Sara
September 30, 2010 at 9:39 pmI buy for just 2 of us and our budget is $100/week, so if you can somehow feed 4 people on only $125/week I’ll be totally impressed, but I’m actually voting for $150/week ;) I figure that since you all do a LOT of eating at home and barely any eating out, it’s fair to be at $150.
In regards to how you keep thinking about all the ingredients, etc – I do that too. I basically use it to my advantage, however, in that I let those thoughts that pop up guilt me into not eating a brownie at the work potluck, or to skip the second slice of bread from the bread basket at a restaurant. I’m not harsh at all about it, in my head, but mainly just think “I’m about to eat white bread… make sure not to have any other ‘cheats’ this week” (or something along those lines). Basically I’m just saying to not necessarily try and STOP those thoughts, but instead learn to use them to your advantage. Personally, I hope that I pretty much never eat a non-whole food without at least feeling SLIGHTLY guilty that I’m not sticking to my desires, because that way I won’t get back in that comfort of eating what I wanted, when I wanted!
100 Days of Real Food
October 8, 2010 at 2:55 pmSara I am so glad you said this about how you keep dissecting your food in your head too. At least I know that this must be my “new normal” now so I will stop expecting it to go away!
The Table of Promise
September 30, 2010 at 10:13 pmCheck out this interesting article from grist.org I loved reading it. I found out that I am spending what an average Manhattanite spends, only I spend it all on groceries, not restaurants. The average for your hometown of Charlotte is $116. So I would say with $125 you would be right on target.
http://www.grist.org/article/food-what-us-citydwellers-really-spend-on-food-and-drink
100 Days of Real Food
October 8, 2010 at 9:44 pmLet’s hope that article is right because I need all the encouragement I can get with our $125 budget!
The Table of Promise
September 30, 2010 at 10:16 pmAlso–you should check out non certified organic meat sources-like direct from farms you trust, or consider purchasing in bulk (like a side of beef–grass fed beef is perfectly healthy, so don’t be afraid of it!!). There are direct from farm sources that would probably cut you a deal if you buy large quantities.
Shauna
September 30, 2010 at 10:31 pmI too would love to see this – and I vote for $150 otherwise you may struggle.
Here is a good website if you have not checked it out before
http://www.cookforgood.com/ She does mostly local and organic for cheap! Think lots and lots of beans!
100 Days of Real Food
October 8, 2010 at 9:47 pmYes, you are right…beans are cheap and filling! I am going to have to plan some meals around that soon. Thanks for the comment!
Devonne
September 30, 2010 at 10:36 pmI vote for $150 but it looks like $125 is the most popular…I think it is easier for some people in certain areas to stay on a tighter budget than others, based on availability of organic fruits,veggies and local meats….I had a much easier time finding a reasonable deal in the SF area (plenty of delivery too where there is literally only one here) then here in Nj….I have to work a lot harder to find certain things and the cost is definitely higher on certain things….I can’t wait to hear what you decide and follow along! I sure need a reasonable budget and a helping hand on how to eat right on that budget!
Michele
September 30, 2010 at 11:16 pmI vote for $150. I think it will still be quite a challenge. $125 would be reasonable for a family without “real food” rules.
Michelle P.
September 30, 2010 at 11:39 pmHow about in between at $135? I bet you won’t have a problem with the meat purchases because it sounds like you don’t eat much meat anyways. Is your milk delivery expensive? That may push your budget up a bit. I’m currently blogging about keeping my family under $100 on my blog, which is especially hard because I hate going to 4-5 stores a week! $135 may give you some “wiggle” room each week. Lori over at Natural on a Budget has a lot of great tips for buying real food and not spending a fortune too. Good luck, cna’t wait to read about it!
100 Days of Real Food
October 8, 2010 at 9:48 pmThanks for the comment and tips!
Angela
September 30, 2010 at 11:51 pmI say 150 is good. I am afraid 125 would cause you to struggle a bit.
Angela
September 30, 2010 at 11:53 pmI say 150 or 175. I have been trying to stick to 125 a month just for my husband and I and am haveing a tough time. Good luck with whatever you decide:O)
Mari
October 1, 2010 at 12:14 amI was going to say $100 a week, but I think I will go with $125. Some people may think that that is setting you up for failure, but others may have said that about your original rules anyway!
100 Days of Real Food
October 8, 2010 at 9:49 pmYou know what Mari…that is a very good point! I think a lot of people probably doubted our first pledge so hopefully we can somehow push through this one too!
AMB
October 1, 2010 at 12:21 pmI would say $125. We’re a family of 2 adults + 4 animals, and we’re able to feed ourselves and the animals, and include all of our household supplies, alcohol, and toiletries in that budget…with going out to eat maybe 1 time per month. We often feel like that is a high budget, but we plan ahead (i.e. cooking a big dinner so we have leftovers the next night when I’m at class), eat well and quite “real,” and it covers our additional expenses, too. You can do it!
100 Days of Real Food
October 8, 2010 at 9:50 pmThanks for the encouragement!
Misty
October 2, 2010 at 2:53 amI came across your blog when you were at the tail end of your first challenge. So, I’m excited to read about your next journey from the start. I have three kids (3 to 7) and have been focusing on real foods since early spring. I really wish it was easier to make all the changes I want to but with higher food bills and lack of time it’s a battle…and sometimes stressful. Your blog and recipes have really helped me to keep fighting the battle…yes, I mean with my kids to eat heathy. It will be very interesting to follow along on the budget challenge…I may just have to play along from Wisconsin. I went an area co-op last weekend and my 5 bags came to $335 so I will be very impressed if you keep a weekly budget of $125. Good luck with the challenge!
100 Days of Real Food
October 8, 2010 at 9:51 pmWow, $335 for 5 bags of food…welcome to my world! My old world at least. I love to hear that this blog is helpful to others so I am glad to have ya! :)
Wendy
October 2, 2010 at 2:43 pmI vote for $125. I think this is a great idea and I look forward to your challenge!
Amy
October 4, 2010 at 1:53 amSome people seem to think $125 is low – but if you don’t eat alot of meat – it’s definitly do-able. We’re a family of 5, still buying diapers(but he eats too! and drinks alot of milk!) and we stay at $140. But we only eat meat about twice a week where it’s the center of the meal. Before switching to organic though – every meal was focused on meat. I think I’ve only bought beef 4 times since June. and twice it was for burgers.
Carly
October 4, 2010 at 11:54 amThis is such a great idea! I have also been feeling like I’ve been spending far too much money on groceries each week (and I am not buying junk!), so I can’t wait to hear how you go! I think $125 is low, however I am from Australia and food does seem to be more expensive over here. So I vote for $150, as I think thats still a fair amount. Good luck – keep us posted!
Kelli
October 4, 2010 at 12:48 pmI vote for $150/week. That is $50 a person. I think that is fair amount since, unfortunately, healthy foods usually cost more then junk foods. Good luck! I look forward to reading about your new adventure!
Dana F
October 4, 2010 at 1:21 pmI vote $125. We have been cooking and eating healthier in the last couple of months and I would love to see how $125 works out for you. Thanks!
Natalie K
October 4, 2010 at 2:24 pmI would also love to see how creative you can be with $125/wk. I am trying to stick close to that for a family of 5 (kids ages 5, 6 and 10) and it is very tough when choosing only local and/or organic. And when the kids are all 3 going through a growth spurt and my husband is training for an Ironman next year! Oh AND I didn’t have time to garden this year. Oh AND my husband didn’t hunt last fall. Sheesh! So. I would love to have someone on this journey with me. Let’s see how creative we can get! : )
100 Days of Real Food
October 8, 2010 at 9:56 pmSo we are all in this together! :)
Renae
October 4, 2010 at 5:40 pmI found your blog just a couple weeks before you ended but I’ve been following it closely and love that you decided to do updates as well. Because of you, I have taken my own 100 day challenge and I’m currently on day 39! It’s been such a learning experience for me!!! I’m voting for $125/week. When you think of it in terms of $500/month that sounds like plenty. On my own journey, I’ve found it’s much easier to plan ahead and use leftovers in lots of creative ways. Whenever I find a casserole that follows my ‘rules’, I make two and stick one in the freezer for those days when time is short (which happens often). I’m anxious to follow your journey! Thanks for the motivation!
http://www.100daychallenge-realfoodjourney.blogspot.com
Sally
October 5, 2010 at 12:58 amMy budget is 125.00 for the whole month. I did have good garden this summer, but the winter will be slim. One apple today was seventy nine cents. 2 servings. Will be looking around for apples to make some sauce with here this week. You go girl!The protein will be the hardest part.
Victoria
October 5, 2010 at 5:38 amMy vote is for $125. As it is, my budget is $225 for every two weeks(for 2 adults and 2 toddlers) and I struggle so much just trying to keep it within budget while trying to eat healthy and organic. I look forward to your new challenge! Best of luck!
Order hostgator
October 7, 2010 at 12:08 pmExcellent post I must say.. Simple but yet interesting and engaging.. Keep up the awesome work!
Dotty Petrucelli
November 17, 2010 at 5:29 pmThanks for that. We’re having a big potluck party next week, kind of for Xmas I guess and I’ve been trying to find something unique.. found some awesome ideas at this potluck recipes site. You know, someone should invent a website where you can write what you’ll be taking, and it would check no one brings the same thing!
janet
December 1, 2010 at 2:56 amMy vote is for $125 a week.
We spend $150 a month on food and grocery items a month, but it is just 2 of us. I think the REAL FOOD aspect is so important, I believe it is cheaper to eat whole foods than it is to eat processed food. Good luck, I look forward to seeing how you and your family fare. YOU CAN DO IT :)
Maggie
May 7, 2011 at 6:48 amI have been enjoying reading your blog and can’t wait to read this next challange. I am very cheap, but am trying to look at what is also best to put in my families bodies, this will def help me in that area…
Freida
May 28, 2011 at 7:37 pmWe have been a family of 8, & the past two years have eaten for right at your #, $125/month/person. Yep it adds up for 8. 4 of those are teenaged/young adult boys!
My son just got married and said they upped their budget to $30/person/week and it was going pretty well.
Here, we get a side of grass fed beef once a year and also have some chickens to slaughter, as well as eggs. The gardening has gone down the tubes the past couple of years, but am hoping to reverse that this year :)
I teach nutrition classes for parents and the biggie is “it’s expensive to eat well”.
TLSF
November 19, 2012 at 9:02 amFreida, I am glad that there are people out there like you that can teach parents that it does NOT have to be expensive to eat very well. A big pot of red beans with gluten free bread is a lot less expensive than a 10 dollar frozen lasagna. A spinach and mushroom frittata is less than 8 dollars, with free range eggs, even! Pair that with a pumpkin and coconut milk soup or garden salad, and you are still feeding a family very well, for a small amount of money.
I am sorry to hear that your garden has been sub-par for the past couple of years, and I hope that it flourishes this year!
christy
September 8, 2011 at 8:38 pmI know my comment is late so I will just say that we feed 9 people on $300 and we try to eat real food as much as possible. But the organic meat would kill our budget. We try to eat meatless meals as often as 3 times a week but my teenage boy loves his meat.
I am happy to see this new challenge and will be following along. I just your site via Pinterest.
Beckie
November 5, 2011 at 9:46 amI think it is great your family is doing this. I vote for $125. Cut out the alcohol and add it to your food budget. Whole food plant based is the way to go. Think of all the money you could spend on whole foods if you didn’t buy processed foods, meat, eggs and dairy products! Read The China Study if you want to learn more. Knowledge will always be in your head trying to come out in action.
Missy
January 25, 2012 at 12:55 pmI vote for a budget of $100 a week. I know I am trying to feed my family real food on about that much and sometimes a little less….I would LOVE some research. It seems to me that every month I am a little short- any help would be appreciated.
Beth
March 1, 2012 at 12:23 pmOur family of 9 has eaten on $75/week for years. I know it seems ridiculous, but it really is very doable. We don’t eat 100% healthy food, but the vast majority of our food is whole and unprocessed. We eat very little meat or dairy. Lots of beans and whole grain pasta, brown rice, soups, stews, etc. Oatmeal for breakfast…lots of ways to change it up and make it yummy. I have made all our bread/tortillas/rolls/sweet treats (cookies/cake/granola/muffins/etc.) for years. Scratch cooking is SO MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE!! We rarely eat out…a few times a year at most. Our most-consumed beverage is water…we have a good private well and filter it in a Brita pitcher. Even adding the cost of filters to my grocery bill it is still a super economical beverage. I think one important thing is to buy in bulk. Large bags of beans/rice/oatmeal/flour are less expensive than 1-2 lb. bags at the grocer. Another thing is to PLAN AHEAD. Don’t get caught without a meal or you will end up making poor or expensive choices. Have LOTS of different spices/seasonings on hand. The flavor of food is so important. We eat beans 3 times a week, but I work hard to keep it interesting. Researching the food of other cultures helps…lots of the world eats very frugally. I try to incorporate new flavors/textures/ingredients often. And lastly HAVE A GARDEN! We have grown at least a portion of our own food for over 25 years. We now are blessed to own 10 acres, but when we started out we grew food on the balcony of our apartment in hanging baskets and containers. In our suburban rental homes we did raised beds, and in one house I converted all the flower beds to vegetable beds. We eat an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies that we have grown and we enjoy them throughout the winter by preserving them…canning, freezing, and drying. Oh…also gathering. We have a friend who has a lovely set of apple trees. She doesn’t want to eat the apples and each year we go, gather all the apples and make quarts and quarts of applesauce, dry apple slices, freeze for pies, and make delicious apple butter. (We do use some sugar in this.) In the same way we gather the blackberries that are indigenous to our area and dry them, make syrup and jam out of them. There are 2 friends who have Meyer lemon trees and let the fruit rot…we gather this and use it through the year. Freeze the juice and freeze little packets of the zest. I guess the point is that it doesn’t matter where you live (rural or urban…house, apt., acreage) a healthy and INEXPENSIVE lifestyle is completely available if we will learn and then WORK to apply what we have learned. I do not want to come across as a know-it-all. This is just what has worked for us. We are now blessed to be able to raise and process the majority of our own meat (pork/chicken…we are trying a beef steer this year), maintain a laying flock, and have dairy goats for milk and cheese. However, we were committed to healthy eating and economical living LONG BEFORE we had the property to accommodate all we have now. I love your blog and follow it religiously…your family is an inspiration! I am thankful for your transparency, balanced views, and encouraging can-do attitude. All the best to you and yours from me and mine!!
TLSF
November 19, 2012 at 8:34 pmBeth, you are my HERO! I do not think you come off as preachy in the least. I get the feeling that many people could learn at least one things from you in regards to kitchen husbandry.
Jamey
January 22, 2013 at 3:22 pmI love this blog and I’m trying to get the courage to take the pledge. That being said, where do you buy your oatmeal, rice, flour, etc. in bulk?
Jason Leake with 100 Days of Real Food
January 22, 2013 at 3:54 pmHi Jamey – Glad to hear you are enjoying the blog. We get those items at our local Earth Fare grocery store. Prices vary but bulk is roughly 50% less than packaged equivalents! Good luck with the pledge…maybe start out with the mini-pledges if you find yourself procrastinating.
Victoria
June 12, 2012 at 10:04 pmI’ve read through several of your posts on your project. Fascinating – I’ve learned a lot. I am wondering, though, if you can speak to how you FELT by eating no processed foods? Health, energy, skin, hair, medical issues going away, weight loss, etc.? I would think there would be tremendous health benefits to doing this, but didn’t see you describe any of that in the posts I read.
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill)
June 17, 2012 at 9:14 pmHi Victoria. Check out Lisa’s posts (5 total) on her family’s changes in health here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-resources/#healthbenefits. Jill
Renee
December 6, 2013 at 1:21 pmJust discovered your blog and am excited to see what you have learned. I can’t do most processed foods due to a soy allergy and am always looking for recipes to make from scratch that are both economical and yummy for a family of 4.
Jen
December 9, 2013 at 12:30 amI have made my way through your 100 days the past week and have thoroughly enjoyed it( and i realize this is an old post)!! I have already been thinking about making January our family’s month of real food( shhh, don’t tell them). Then I got to this post and my heart sank. Our budget for a family of 7 is $100 a week here in Indiana( 2 adults, kids ages 13, 12, 10,8 and 1 1/2). I knew it would cost a little more to get organic more fruits and veggies and so forth but man, I don’t know that we can afford to wipe out processed foods based on this =( I know it saves on medical bills down the road but I can’t make money appear out of thin air to supplement our budget. Feeling very discouraged(but will continue reading!).
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
December 20, 2013 at 9:38 amHi there, Jen. Do not be discouraged! Read through the budget posts as well as the comments that follow. There are readers out there eating real on much smaller budgets than Lisa’s and they also have a lot of great advice to share. And remember, you do not need to strive for perfection just improvement. Take it one step at a time and know that stretching dollars some weeks might be more difficult than others. :) ~Amy
Anetra
January 4, 2015 at 3:18 pmI am on a food money budget as well….Sometimes I am unable to buy fresh, organic green beans. Libby’s at Walmart had no salt green beans on sale for 50 cents a can. With a large family, Costco, has an abundance of offerings for large families on tight budgets. I am not sure of the cost to join. I like Earth Fare, but it is to far away for me to travel to. I rely upon Walmart and farmer’s markets for real veggies, etc…I need to begin a small garden in plant containers. I think that would make me feel well-grounded. I would love to especially grow spices and fresh mint.