Benjamin Gardening: A Year Of Eating Locally - Meal Plan + Food Costs: Week Of August 12, 2018

So, I completely forgot to post our meal plan and food costs last week. What I can tell you is we spent $72.47 and I focused on developing recipes that are very simple and quick. I'm continuing my development of recipes and will begin sharing the winners with you soon.

Life is hectic, isn't it? It doesn't matter if you're s single person, a couple minus kids, a couple with kids, or any other combination. We all need quick and easy (and delicious) options. I'm trying to use my instant pot and slow-cooker more, and experimenting with creating new homemade sauce recipes that will freeze well.

I was not able to get veggies yet this week. I was too busy at the farmer's market on Sunday and unable to break free so I'm using our extra's from last week as well as what's ready in the garden until our market Wednesday. Luckily, our garden is in full swing! You'll see noted below my weekly CSA amount of $18.00 but no veggies listed, because I'm not sure what I will be picking up.

I'm thinking of doing a pantry challenge next month. This week's menu has inspired me because I'm using mostly what I have on hand. Are you interested in joining me? The month of September I will attempt to buy no groceries and only eat from our pantry, freezer, refrigerator and garden. One exception is that our CSA runs through the second week in September, so I will be getting fresh fruit/veggies for 2 weeks, but not after that, unless it comes from the garden.

The goal is two-fold:
1. to reduce back-stock including using up some of the canned/frozen/packaged items that might be getting close to expiring. Because J is the only one who eats meat, when we purchase it we usually get at least 2 servings in the package, so I typically freeze one (or more) servings. Needless to say, we've got quite a bit of meat in the freezer. 2. to save money. It's a great boost to your budget if you can go a period of time without purchasing groceries. You've seen that we spend anywhere from $60.00 to $140.00 per week on groceries. The money that we would have spent will go right into our savings account. If you have debt that you're trying to pay down, it's a great way to put a little extra money toward it. Or even putting that money into a holiday spending account.

Even if you can't make it quite the full month, think of how much money you could save AND the benefit of using up some of the items close to expiration in your pantry or freezer!

So are you in?

I hope you decide to join me.

Now, on to the meal plan!

If you’re just tuning in, this is our 1 year challenge in which I share our weekly meal plan as we try to eat primarily locally grown food. You will see that I often I make 2 different meals because I am primarily plant-based and my husband is not. Most of what we eat is made from scratch and any boxed, canned and/or frozen products follow the Real Food guidelines. Meal planning is my way of controlling the grocery budget (read as a LOT of dollars saved), ensuring there is no food waste for the week, as well as saving time. You can read more about meal planning here.

Read the entire series here.

Weekly Meal Plan:

Sunday

Breakfast - Breakfast Burritos

Lunch - PB&J Sandwich, Raw Veggie Sticks

Dinner - (me) Veggie & Bean Stuffed Sweet Potato, (J) Whole Roasted Chicken, Rice & Squash/Corn Sauté

Monday