This Week's Shopping List

It's winter (nearing the end, finally!), so I guess it only makes sense that at some point, illness would strike. And so, it has. Starting with my daughter near the end of last week, then adding my husband last weekend, and finally me today. The beast has stricken us all. It's only a cold, but it's still making us all a little miserable. So, given the state of things, I started out the week's menu with a plan for lunch: chicken soup. That and a couple of sicky soup days (Ramen Noodles) have made life a little more tolerable.

The rest of the week was almost an after-thought. The chicken soup was clearly the key to making it a happy eating week. The rest is gravy. Nonetheless, here is the week's menu:

Lunch: Chicken Soup with english muffins

Dinner:
- Grilled Salmon with Spicy Soy Glaze over coconut brown rice and steamed bok choy (leftover from last week)
- Spaghetti with marinara sauce and zucchini
- Beef Saag over brown rice

I know, I know, beef saag sounds strange. After all, beef is not exactly served in India. Nevertheless, it's what I have in my freezer, and lamb is a bit pricey. Since when do I worry about authenticity? As long as it takes good ...

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

carrots
onions
garlic
parsley
spinach
ginger
tomatoes
zucchini
bananas
apples
oranges
Bosc pears (1.69/lb sale)
crushed tomatoes
brown rice
milk
yogurt
eggs
frozen mixed veggies (1.89 sale)
OJ*
bread
ramen noodles ($0.95 sale)
english muffins ($0.35 coupon)
raisins
Annie's cheddar bunnies

The only item I was unable to get this week was the parsley. That was for the chicken soup. I used dried parsley instead, and that worked out fine.

The grocery total for the week came to $75.19. That would have brought us back to the plus side of things, but unfortunately we also had two other shopping bills this week: Costco and Frontier. The Costco trip came to $50.96 and included these items: cereal, wild salmon, shrimp, and bread. Although I don't generally make shellfish (in fact, I just about never make it since my husband doesn't eat it), I bought the shrimp in anticipation of cooking it for a friend and her family after she gives birth to her second child. She's due in March, so I thought I'd better be prepared. The Frontier order, consisting only of tea and coffee, came to $31.10.

So, the grand total for the week is $157.25, which is $34.75 over the weekly budget. Unfortunately, that means we sink further into the negative column. The deficit is now $58. We should be able to make a good dent in that next week. After that, we'll have yet another challenge: a big order (to last several months) is going in to our wholesale food co-op, Neshaminy Valley. Following that, we should have a few regular shopping weeks to look forward to, which should help to bring us back up to budget.