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Monday, June 16, 2014

Eating Organic on $100 a Week

Photo Credit: Palosirkka/Wikimedia Commons

In our family, eating healthful, organic food is very important to us.  I love to follow real food blogs but for the most part, I can't utilize their suggested menus because we can't fit the ingredients needed into our budget each week.  It can be hard to make a meal plan that won't break the bank and satisfy our desire for organic real food.  Yet somehow we manage to come in pretty close to our budget every week!

I thought it would be helpful to share my grocery purchases each week along with what I plan on making. I hope it helps you feel like eating organic on a budget is possible!  In order to make it work we had to change the way we eat.  For example, we eat very little meat these days.  We felt like it was more important to have high quality, pasture raised meats less frequently than lesser quality, factory farmed meat every day.  Let's move on to what I purchased this week, shall we?

I wish I lived close to a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's but both are about 30 minutes from me.  I occasionally make the trek but I try to make do with what I can get in my town.  I usually do most of my shopping at Kroger.  I also shop at Meijer every week and I stop by Aldi every once in awhile.  This week I only shopped at Kroger and Meijer.  Here is what I got:


Kroger:

  • Simple Truth Organic Whole Wheat Penne - $1.29
  • Simple Truth Organic Chicken Broth - 2 @ $1.49 each
  • Jason's Toothpaste - $3.75
  • Simple Truth Organic Ricotta - $3.49
  • Organic Cantaloupe - $2.49
  • Earthbound Farms Organic Apple Slices - $2.49
  • Organic Carrots - $1.49
  • Organic Bell Peppers - $2.98
  • Organic Limes - $2.50
  • Organic Cucumber - $ .99
  • Avocados - $2.50
  • Simple Truth Organic Milk - $2.99
  • Horizon Organic Cream Cheese - $2.69
  • Organic Valley Raw Cheddar Cheese - $4.79
  • Simple Truth Organic Eggs - $3.69
  • Organic Bananas - $3.02
Total: $44.13


Meijer:

  • Frozen Organic Peas - $2.49
  • Meijer Organics Coffee Creamer - $2.69
  • Meijer Naturals White Whole Wheat Flour - $3.19
  • Organic Mozzarella Cheese - $5.99
  • Meijer Organics Olive Oil - $6.59 
  • Organic Spinach - $2.50
  • Meijer Organics Mustard $1.79 (expired!  Had to return it to the store.)
Total(minus mustard): 23.45 

Final Total: $67.58

I always try to leave money at the end so that I can restock produce in the middle of the week.  So the majority of the remaining money will go to that or other little things we need this week.  By adding these groceries to things I already have I plan to make:
  • Baked Penne 
  • Chipotle Lime Chicken with Rice
  • Overnight Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats
  • Homemade Whole Wheat Bread
  • Veggie Pizza
  • Breakfast for dinner
  • Chickpea Burgers on homemade buns

Extra Details

I  purchased the chicken last week but never got around to using it so I made use of it this week.  Also, I had originally planned to make potato soup, which is why I bought the stock, cream cheese and cheddar cheese but both stores didn't have organic potatoes this week.  Instead I will pull the chickpea burgers out of the freezer and use those.(Thank goodness I had a stocked freezer!)  I only plan for 4-5 meals because we usually have leftovers or eat out once or twice a week.  Lunch is usually leftovers or a sandwich and snacks will mostly be fruit.  Each week I try to make one or two things for the freezer.  This week I made two pans of the baked penne so I could have one for the freezer.  

If you have any questions, leave a comment below!  I hope you found this post helpful.  Thank you so much for visiting Joy Focused Learning!

~Angela





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