This Weeks' Shopping List

This week has required a fair amount of cooking, but nothing too time-consuming. In fact, one of the things I made this week, the Banana, Carrot & Kale Bread, gave my daughter and me an opportunity to make a mess together in the kitchen. That's always a fun bonding experience. With snow coming down outside and temperatures in the teens, what better way is there to spend the day than with something full of cinnamon baking in the oven?

My Asian obsession continues, but I've now been warned by my husband that this must stop at some point. Really, only one Asian dish this week means that I'm trying my best to keep my inner infant quiet.

The menu for the week goes like this:

Lunch: Lentil Soup with english muffins and sardines.

Snacks:
- Hummus with pita and crudite
- Banana, Carrot & Kale Bread

Dinner:
- Vegetarian Pad Thai with kale & carrots (cashews replace the peanuts)
- Broiled Salmon with apple-date chutney (changes made: grilled salmon fillets in a cast-iron pan, skipped the olive oil, skipped the apple juice) served with sweet potato mash
- Greek meatballs (changes made: substituted ground turkey for other meats, finely diced onion) with spinach risotto

Dessert: Lemon granita


The shopping list for the week was like this (* indicates non-organic):

scallions
shallots
bean sprouts*
kale
lime
lemons
sweet potatoes
apples
broccoli crowns* ($0.99/lb)
oranges
grapefruit
bananas
milk
eggs
brown rice noodles*
orange juice* (2/$5)
seltzer*
ground turkey* (free range)
white wine*
brown rice wine vinegar
oatmeal
barley
molasses*
pita

I was able to buy everything on the list this week, and I bought no extras. How about that! The total for the grocery bill was $74.10, way under the weekly budget. But, what would a week be without some sort of complication?

This week, I pick up my ground beef order. One of the mothers in my local chapter of the Holistic Moms Network arranged for a group order of 50 lbs. of local, organic ground beef. I am taking 8 lbs. of it, at $3.50/lb, for a total of $28. That's rock bottom cheap! I hope I bought enough. This brings the week to a grand total of $102.10, $20.40 less than our weekly budget. We're beginning to nibble away at our deficit. We are now down to $67 in the hole.