Month: October 2013

October Week Four Healthy Food Budget: $42.68

Excellent week! I’m on track to be way under budget – I’m shooting for $340 this month.

Oct Wk 4 Food Spending $42.68 / Total $289.72 / Balance $110.28

Dining Out: $0 / Total $74.34
Groceries: $42.68 / Total $215.38

No dining-out spending this week, but unfortunately, there was no shortage of “junk” food meals. We had frozen leftover Chinese take-out, and I had the girls over for a take-out luncheon (entertaining budget) plus we were lucky to be treated for dinner on Saturday evening.

Needless to say, the October Unprocessed challenge is out the window!

Where I Spent My Grocery Dollars This Week

Market Basket $16.76 for 2-1/2lbs grapes ($2/lb), 1lb bananas, Turkey Hill natural vanilla/chocolate ice cream, Green & Black milk chocolate, and cashews.

Market Basket $8.98 for Plainville Farms presliced honey maple ham ($4) and Teddie organic peanut butter ($5)

Seven Acres Farm $7.50 for 2 dozen jumbo eggs

Farm $7.45 for local apples & farm chard

Market Basket $1.99 for organic half & half pint

About My Healthy Budget

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. DH occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

October Week Three Healthy Food Budget: $102.11

I almost stayed within my preset maximum of $60 for groceries, but I purchased some local vanilla extract at the farmers market, which put me slightly over.

My dining out was a little more than anticipated because we splurged on Sunday for Chinese, and again on Friday for more takeout.

October Unprocessed isn’t going as well as I want, but I’m happy that I’ve stayed away from the fast food junk and restaurant chains!

Oct Wk 3 Food Spending $102.11 / Total $247.04 / Balance $152.96

Dining Out: $38.06 / Total $74.34
Groceries: $64.05 / Total $172.70

I decided to make my own “ground” beef this week. I bought a small bottom round roast at Whole Foods on sale, then cut up about half into chunks, froze for a few minutes, then batch processed in food processor. It seemed to work pretty well. I made some yummy tomato pepper sauce, and also froze 2 small 8oz packs for later use, along with a small roast.

And as I mentioned, I found some lovely local vanilla extract (Nashoba Valley Extract Co) at the farmers market. I had run out of vanilla last week, and was ready to purchase Frontier Vanilla Extract (Fair Trade) in my next Amazon Subscribe & Save order. Since I had over 5 items, I was saving 15% on my whole order, bringing the price down to $7.22 for 4 oz. A 4 oz bottle from Nashoba Valley was $10, so I figured I’d splurge and support someone local for $3!

Where I Spent My Grocery Dollars This Week

Market Basket $3.69 for ice cream

Whole Foods $21.04 for 1-3/4 lbs sweet onions (.79lb sale), 1/2 lb bulk peanuts, 1-1/2 lb bananas, 2+lb boneless turkey breast ($5/lb sale), and 1/2 lb grass fed 93% beef

Farm $5.07 for broccoli crowns, small cabbage, shell beans, and local apples

Market Basket $2.78 for Domino’s cane sugar (4lb sale $2) and bananas.

Whole Foods $19.48 for organic celery, local heavy cream, local mcintosh apples, and 3-1/4+ lbs of bottom round roast (sale @3.49/lb) PLUS they were giving away tubs of cedar’s hummus. I prefer the organic, but for free, I’ll take the regular!

Farm 1.99 for red lettuce

About My Healthy Budget

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. DH occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

Oct Week Two Healthy Food Budget: $71.85

I’m starting to plan ahead to next year’s budget, which begins in November. I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for 2 years already! It’s been such a learning experience.

Oct Wk 2 Food Spending $71.85 / Total $144.93 / Balance $255.07

Dining Out: $17.82 / Total $36.28
Groceries: $54.03 / Total $108.65

My goal was to spend no more than $60 for groceries. It’s definitely easier when the allotted cash is placed in an envelope. I’m also carefully thinking about exactly what I’m buying and if I truly need it, or if it can wait.

My dining out goal was approximately $20 and I found a great bargain at a local pizza shop that was having a one-day sale for their jumbo cheese pizzas @5.55 each. I bought 3 and divided the slices into 4 freezer bags for future meals.

Where I Spent My Grocery Dollars This Week

Whole Foods $15.75 for organic ketchup, 4 cans of Muir Glen tomatoes (sale, coupons = $1.50 ea), bulk organic raisins, Calrose white rice, bulk peanuts

Farm $11.55 for local Shaw farm whole milk quart ($3.49), farm beets, farm lettuce, local & farm apples.

Open Meadow Farm $3.52 for beefalo shank (meat from the farm is paid in full, so technically no real money is actually spent, but I apply the cost to my budget as we consume it. )

Market Basket $15.68 for grapes, bananas, organic cheddar, Blake’s white chicken pie, organic chocolate

Market Basket $3.99 for another Blake’s chicken pie

Farm $3.54 for local apples

About My Healthy Budget

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. DH occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

Oct Wk 1 Healthy Food Budget: $73.08

This is going to be a LONG month with five almost full weeks of shopping, plus I’m trying for my 3rd year of October Unprocessed. I set a goal of $60 for groceries, and I kept to it! I’m off to a good start for the month, as I usually go a little spending-crazy for the first week.

Oct Week 1 Food Spending $73.08 / Balance $326.92

Dining Out: $18.46
Groceries: $54.62

Where I Spent My Grocery Dollars This Week

Whole Foods $28.54 for bulk peanuts, 3+lbs of boneless chicken breast, 3.5lb butternut (sale $.50/lb), olive bar, deli ham, fair trade chocolate.

Farm $5.29 for apples and kale

Mann Orchard $4.08 for apples and local potatoes

Farm $8.13 for carrots, lettuce, cabbage, and radishes

Market Basket $8.58 for bananas, natural vanilla ice cream, frozen pizza

About My Healthy Budget

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. DH occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.