The first question everyone asks is "How much do you spend on groceries?" Of course it is possible to spend A LOT. I have to admit that in the beginning I definitely broke my budget. I was excited to try new things, and I was having a blast creating new dishes. I am feeding four now since my girls no longer live at home. I had a few weeks when I spent over $200. My average is $175 a week, but it is important to note that we are eating every meal from home. Eating out is something we rarely do. I take leftovers for lunch to work. The kids take water bottles and healthy snacks/lunches from home to school. After over a year of eating this way we have settled into sort of a regular rotating menu consisting of our new family favorites. This helps the budget by allowing consistency at the check out. At this point I guess I could be blogging about healthy organic eating on a budget. I am spending the same as we always did on groceries and I find this has more to do with all of those things that I no longer buy. There are certain "staples" I keep stocked in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer.
Here is a list of staples:
Pure Spring Water
Green Tea Extra Virgin Olive Oil (cold pressed)
Sesame Oil
Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Beef tallow from grass-fed beef
Flaxseed Oil
Organic "grass-fed" butter (unsalted)
Grass-fed cheeses, by the block
Organic cage-free eggs
Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
Apple Cider Vinegar
Rice Vinegar
Low-sodium soy sauce
Jars of organic marinara sauce
Jars of organic preserves and jams
Bags of garlic
Bags of organic sweet onions
Bags of sweet potatoes
Bag of organic lemons
Bags of walnuts
Bags of almonds
Bags of pine nuts
Organic nut butters
Organic mixed greens
Various mustards; honey-mustard, dijon, stone-ground, creole
Raw unfiltered honey
Pure maple syrup
Organic coconut sugar
Sea salt, pink Himalayan salt, pepper
Whole ginger root
Fresh and dried herbs such as; basil, oregano, rosemary, cilantro, coriander, thyme, sage, cinnamon, cayenne, marjoram, chinese five spice, nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, sesame seeds, saffron, etc.
Organic wheat flour
Ground flaxseed
Whole-grain breads, organic flourless breads
Whole grain pasta
Quinoa
Brown rice
Wild rice
Beans such as; lentils, field peas, black beans, red beans, blackeyes
Yes, those are the staples. Seems like a long list. A lot different from the items I used to keep in my pantry. I need only buy fresh meat and in-season fresh produce. I buy as much local and organic as I can. I refuse to buy anything that is not all natural, hormone and steroid free, nitrate and nitrite free, sugar free and low sodium. Most of the meat and produce I buy is farmed right here in Louisiana, and of course our fresh caught fish and shrimp is local as well.
The second question I get, after I tell people how much I spend and what I buy is "What do you eat?" As I said, we have settled into a regular rotating menu of items we all like so I call them our new family favorites. I have posted a couple of these recipes and I will continue to post them. Here is a list of what we eat from week to week. I will put a (*) in front of our special dinners we may have on Sundays or for a special treat.
Our new family favorites:
Organic Chicken spaghetti with whole grain pasta, shaved grass-fed cheese, salad of organic mixed greens with homemade balsamic vinaigrette
Locally farmed all natural pork chops baked with herbs or pan cooked and smothered with onions, served with a rice medley and vegetables.
Organic Garlic-Herb Balsamic Chicken atop organic mixed greens with walnuts and red onion and a warm balsamic vinaigrette, served with fresh lemon- butter steamed asparagus or baked sweet potato.
Pan seared wild-caught Ahi tuna steaks, homemade Asian broccoli slaw with mandarin oranges and almonds, and sesame-garlic bok choy with leeks.
Caribbean style grilled organic chicken with fresh grilled pineapple, yellow pineapple rice, and sauteed garlic green beans.
All-natural homemade turkey burgers with avocado and grass-fed cheese on a cracked wheat bun with homemade oven baked sweet potato fries.
*Grass-fed beef or venison roast with homemade gravy, brown rice and organic salad of homemade roasted and marinated beets with mixed greens, red onion, grass-fed cheese and walnuts.
Whole baked organic chickens with baked sweet potatoes or rice medley, and a vegetable, such as steamed broccoli, balsamic asparagus, oven-roasted brussels sprouts, or sauteed fresh squash and zucchini.
*Baked wild caught salmon filets encrusted with curry, turmeric, and ginger served with baked sweet potato and organic salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Wild caught salmon filets that have marinated in Ponzu, soy, garlic and lemon and are pan-seared in sesame oil, served with a spicy medley of quinoa, brown rice, vegetables, herbs and seasonings.
Fresh caught shrimp tacos or tostadas with homemade quacamole and freshly fried corn tortillas and
homemade salsa.
Beans seasoned with all natural pork loin served with brown rice and cornbread.
Lentil stew made with locally raised beer braised pork ribs, lentils, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, herbs and seasonings.
Fresh caught shrimp fried rice with stir-fried vegetables.
Homemade organic chicken soup with herbs, vegetables and whole grain pasta, quinoa or brown rice.
Organic eggplant marinara and organic salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
All-natural locally raised pork loin cooked with sauerkraut, onions and beer, served with brown rice, and in season steamed or oven-roasted vegetables.
French onion soup made from a grass-fed beef stock and organic onions.
Southwest style organic chicken breasts with black bean jambalaya.
Grilled marinated portobello mushrooms topped with grass-fed cheese, a salad and in season steamed or oven-roasted vegetables vegetables.
*Grass-fed beef meatballs and organic spaghetti sauce over whole grain pasta.
Club sandwiches made with Sara Lee low-sodium hormone free, nitrate and nitrite free oven roasted turkey, grass-fed cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, served with organic beet chips and fermented pickles.
Homemade fajitas made from organic chicken or grass-fed beef with homemade chips and guacamole.
*Grilled grass-fed beef steak topped sauteed baby bellas and onions, steamed broccoli and organic salad with balsamic vinaigrette or steamed lemon butter asparagus.
Our regular "dessert" items now are organic yogurt parfaits with fruit and granola, fresh fruit, organic banana, pumpkin, sweet potato, lemon or blueberry bread, spiced upside down cakes, or smoothies made in our Ninja. I make fruit smoothies and ones that taste like milk shakes made from healthy ingredients.
Of course some nights I just throw something simple together with ingredients I have on hand. Those meals are great too, and every now and then one has made it to the regular menu. Now that I have compiled this list for anyone reading, and myself, my intention is to post the recipes to these favorites. I would like to post recipes for my vinaigrettes soon since I have had a lot of requests for those. Then maybe my smoothies, desserts and so on until I have covered all of the new healthy foods that we love to eat. I haven't mentioned breakfast or lunch because we are a typical family who have a quick breakfast in the morning, leave the house, and then come together each evening for a nice dinner. I will go into what we eat for breakfast and lunch in a future blog post. We try to have at least one nice cooked family breakfast a week. Lunches are packed, and are sometimes leftovers. I welcome questions, comments and suggestions to my blog.
Until next time,
~Sherry
