Healthy Eating on a Budget Week 1

Tyler and I sat down at the beginning of the week and figured out our budget. Some friends of ours told us that they only spent $40 a week on their groceries. Before budgeting, we did not pay attention to how much we were spending on groceries. After looking at Meijer.com which tracks how much you spend every month, I learned that we had spent more than $400 a MONTH! We are only feeding two people. The $400+ was not including all the times we had eaten out that month. Obviously, we needed to change. While doing the Whole30 Challenge in November I lost 10 lbs and was feeling great, had no junk food cravings, and was less hungry. Tyler decided to join me as I completed my second round of Whole30. The Whole30 food list of what you can eat can be found here http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/ . After several hours of meal planning and forming several lists, I came up with our grocery list that ended up being $54.96 including sales tax. So for our first time doing this, we went one dollar over out budget not including tax. We also bought everything at Meijer because we needed to get groceries since our fridge was practically empty. Next time, I will be shopping at Aldi’s, Kroger, Meijer, Walmart, and Fresh Thyme and comparing prices and going where ever there are sales.

Grocery List Week 1

eggs (24 pack)

bananas (14)

Small Red apples (14)

Coconut milk or almond milk (1/2 gallon)

Spinach (lots)

Romaine Lettuce (3 hearts)

Berries (whatever were on sale- these are for snacks)

2 cans of tomato paste

1 can diced tomato

Chicken broth

Celery

Baby Carrots

1 sweet onion

Chicken (we buy frozen because it is typically more cost effective)

3 Cucumbers

1 green bell pepper

Salsa (Meijer organics and read ingredients to make sure there is no added sugar or preservatives)

4 Sweet Potatoes

(At home we already had: 2 lbs ground turkey, 2 lbs deer meat, 6 eggs, leftover chicken meat, left over italian sausage and veggies)

Meal Plan Week 1

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
MONDAY	Hard Boiled Egg, Cinnamon Roll Smoothie (http://www.paleocupboard.com/Cinnamon-Roll-Smoothie.html)	Left over chicken(from the previous week) on spinach, seasoned with olive oil and Mrs. Dash or sea salt and pepper	Paleo Chili (http://poorpaleo.com/the-bomb-paleo-chili/)	Berries, Homemade Popcorn-isn’t considered Whole30 but it’s cheap, healthy, and filling for a snack (http://www.bewellwitharielle.com/snack-2/home-made-coconut-oil-popped-popcorn-in-4-minutes)
TUESDAY	Hard Boiled Egg, Cinnamon Roll Smoothie	Left over sausage-veggie stir fry(from previous week) (http://www.thetwobiteclub.com/2014/05/kielbasa-pepper-onion-and-potato-hash.html	Chicken Nuggets and Parsnip Fries(already had)  (http://thedomesticman.com/2014/04/22/building-a-better-chicken-nugget-gluten-free-paleo-recipe/)(http://twentysomethingandpaleo.wordpress.com/category/luhnch/)	Berries, Baby Carrots
WEDNESDAY	Hard Boiled Egg, Cinnamon Roll Smoothie	Left over chicken nuggets, small cup of leftover chili, add spinach into chili	Tilapia (http://www.deliciously-thin.com/baked-tilapia-recipe.html) with green beans (already had), sweet potato	Baby Carrots, Celery, Popcorn
THURSDAY	Hard Boiled Egg, Cinnamon Roll Smoothie	Left over Chili, Spinach Salad	Taco Salad (http://www.dailyrebecca.com/2013/06/15-minute-paleo-taco-salad/)	Berries, Any small amount of leftovers, Popcorn
FRIDAY	Hard Boiled Egg, Cinnamon Roll Smoothie	Left over Taco Salad (add in some spinach if more lettuce is needed)	Stuffed Peppers (http://stupideasypaleo.com/2012/09/16/breakfast-stuffed-peppers/)	Berries, leftovers, Popcorn, Celery
SATURDAY	Hard Boiled Egg, Cinnamon Roll Smoothie	Salad with chicken (from previous week) or left over stuffed peppers	White Chili (already made and in freezer from previous week) (http://www.aspicyperspective.com/2014/01/white-chicken-chili-paleo.html)	Berries, leftovers, Popcorn, Celery
SUNDAY	Hard Boiled Egg, Cinnamon Roll Smoothie	Any Left overs with spinach salad	Sweet Potato hash, eggs, any leftover veggies http://cocoswell.com/sweet-potato-hash-browns/	Berries, leftovers, Popcorn, Celery

Snacks included Homemade Popcorn which isn’t considered paleo but we found a healthy alternative to microwave popcorn and we LOVE it! (http://www.bewellwitharielle.com/snack-2/home-made-coconut-oil-popped-popcorn-in-4-minutes) Additional snacks are any kind of berries, celery, baby carrots, and small portions of leftovers.

The majority of recipes that I use can be found at: http://www.pinterest.com/ellie21794/paleo-wife/

So obviously our breakfasts are very boring, but we are typically on the go and this is what works for us. You could easily do different types of breakfasts and budget those in too. For example, on Sundays we might do veggie and egg omelettes. I would love to hear your feedback, advice, and questions! Thank you for reading [=