Thursday, February 10, 2011

Week 5: Project Food Budget

Week 5 of Reluctant Vegetarian's Project: Food Budget

Goal: $100
Actual: $144.59

Yikes! Could the overage be because I went grocery shopping six times, to Right By Nature, Trader Joe's, Giant Eagle, Giant Eagle Market District, Whole Foods, and Bombay Food Market? It was one of those weeks where, in order to use up leftover ingredients from one recipe, I had to buy one or two more things to make another. But really, I just bought too much. Here's how it all played out.

Spices: I spent $16 to re-stock some herbs and spices.

Fruits and Veggies: Same story. Each time I shopped, I combed the produce section for what was on sale. At one point I had three bunches of bananas overflowing from my fruit bowl.

Meals: I bought more food than I have time to cook. Now I need to feverishly cook so nothing goes to waste.

Meals include:
As usual, I saved money by baking my own whole wheat bread, baguettes, and pizza dough and will be cooking veg stock and baking pitas this weekend.

Lessons Learned:
  • Trader Joe's is not good for greens! Their mix of greens was $3.99, compared to $1.89 for a bunch at Giant Eagle. This week, kale and collards are on sale for $.89!
  • My appetite for trying new recipes is sometimes greater than my actual appetite. This weekend I bought a new vegan cookbook, which definitely fueled my cooking obsession.
  • Indian markets are great for spices. A huge bag is about $2.99, compared to a small container at the same price. I keep my spice containers and then refill them from these big bags.
  • I should NOT allow myself to go grocery shopping six times in a week. Ridiculous!
Hope everyone did better than I did this week!
Posted by Unknown at 6:00 AM
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