I am finding it to be more difficult to shop organically on a budget. I know that I don’t have a lot of practice with it and am now in a new location trying to navigate where the best deals are but the past two weeks I spent $85 and this week $95!!!! That is WAY too much! Part of it might be that we are now purchasing our own meat. But last week the only meat I bought was a whole, free-range, local, organic chicken (2.6lbs for $9!). And this week I did splurge and buy organic lunch meat from Whole Foods. There were a few items this week that were non-food items or pantry stocking items that I was not planning on using for meals this week. But I still feel like it’s absurdly high for two people. There’s gotta be a better way! Did anyone just have a Joey from Friends milk commercial flashback?? 🙂 ) Another part of it could be that I honestly think Austin food prices are higher.
Last week I bought the whole chicken hoping to squeeze 3 meals out of it (chicken, quesedillas, and chicken noodle soup). The chicken was way too small to be able to get that much out of it. But it was already $9 for that puny little thing! Chris and I barely ate any meat the first night and all edible meat was gone. So that left no meat for quesedillas. When I went to make stock for soup so much of it evaporated that I had to add boxed stock to get enough for a soup out of it. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not planning on resorting back to my old ways of shopping, I am just temporarily discouraged. I need to spend more time researching budget friendly recipes that aren’t solely compiled of starches. Last night I made eggplant parmesan which I’m hoping will go a long way in the leftover department. This is all just a lot more work than I anticipated. If I was a mother and working a full-time job I don’t know if I would have the time or energy to invest this much into purchasing and planning our food. It’s a good thing that I am doing all this prep work now with out those added life stressors. Hopefully all this heartache now will set me up in the long run. If people would like to know I can post what I actually bought so you can see how it added up. I was just shocked. And it really doesn’t feel like we have a bounty of food in the apartment. Any suggestions?
Transitions 
It does take awhile to get into the *zone* – being able to plan meals, organize your pantry, shop for deals, etc. Once you’re there, you’re golden, and it feels very empowering, but these are not skills that most people have been taught.
It might help to post your list, just to see where the money is going, and maybe another set (or sets) of eyes can see some ways to cut costs that you might not have noticed.
AFA organic, sometimes we have to prioritize. Ideally I’d buy only organic because I know it’s so much better for the environment. But in reality? I’ll choose to buy organic peaches and non-organic bananas. Frozen veggies are just as nutritious (sometimes even MORE nutritious), and they are often cheaper. Organic meat is a must, but we buy the cheapest cuts and make it work.
Feeding your family is stressful because it’s so important and it’s a part of how we nurture and care for those we love. I TOTALLY understand how stressful it can be to make it all work. Hopefully you’ll get some good help and suggestions ❤
Oh, Kayla – I totally, totally am with you on this!!! It’s tough to eat well on a budget! I try to keep us to $65 a week for groceries, including a glass of table wine with dinner every night (I think we’re french when it comes to food!!), and it really takes a lot of thought, and strategy, doesn’t it? I don’t know if it’ll help or not, but here are some current themes getting a lot of play in my kitchen:
– Raw milk. I have a farm nearby (thank-you-good-Lord!!), and buy fresh raw milk from them for a dollar a quart. That’s what we drink for milk, and with it I make our own yogurt (SO easy, it’s ridiculous), butter, and sour cream. All as good (we think better) than what you get in the store, and WAY, WAY cheaper. (I’m learning to make cheese, but I don’t totally have it down yet.) On weekdays, Dan and I do yogurt with a little honey (also from the farmers market – $5/lb) and a handful of berries (frozen blackberries are $1.99/lb at hannaford here usually), and that’s our breakfast. I’m hoping local blackberries, blueberries and raspberries get cheap soon – I want to stock up and freeze them!
– Eggs – also from the farm for $2.50 a doz, and they’re from happy outdoor chickens. = ) More good cheap protein – we do omelets SAturday and sunday mornings.
– Wrap veggie sandwiches for lunch, made with whatever’s in season from the farmer’s market – lots of tomatoes and cucumbers right now, with sprouts that we grow in our kitchen, and a dash of honey-mustard based dressing (anything with just a few good ingredients and no corn syrup!) … sprouts are our little kitchen garden lately – seeds for alfalfa sprouts are about $6/lb – about 26 times cheaper than buying sprouts in the store, or something like that, and you can grow them even without a sprouter – just a mason jar with cheesecloth over the top works well…seeds at amazon.com. All our other veggies come from the farmer’s market right now – SO SO SO much cheaper for pesticide-free produce than the grocery store!
– We’re not doing a lot of meat lately (Dan got really turned off from meat when we watched food inc.), so I try to do Salmon once a week, stocking up when it’s 6.99/lb for wild sockeye. Also – I’ve been getting a 1lb bag of frozen shrimp or scallops each week (4.99 or 5.99), and using it as the protein for two meals. (Often a big salad with shrimp cocktail on the side, or a seafood stirfry, or pasta with a lemon/olive-oil based sauce and shrimp on top…
– I often cook up a 1lb bag of beans (usually black, organic, less than $2), in the crock pot and use it as the basis for two meals (sometimes three) – some combo of burritos, rice and beans, or bean and cheese enchiladas, usually.
My big sins/spluges lately – I’ve been buying non-organic shredded cheese. I know. Shame. And three pints of ice cream each week (summer-long sale on ben&jerry’s…how can we pass that up?!) And usually I do Annie’s organic boxed mac&cheese once a week – easy and cheap, but I know – still not all that healthy!
Anyway – so those are the kicks I’m on right now. How about you? Any new recipes or budget-grocery-shopping survival skills to share?
Hope you’re doing well! Looking forward to seeing you in October. = )
Wow girls thanks for the response! Em I think I’ll post this weeks shopping list. Last week included items like laundry detergent and a couple pantry stocking items(black beans,olive oil,sage,tea). Also after buying 2 snack items last week I put one away for this week. I also bought my produce from Whole Foods (big mistake) rather than the farmers market.
Anna, uh WOW! You are incredible! What a pioneer woman!And you must be saving a killing by being able to buy your own milk. I’ll have to look into that because we do use a lot of diary. I understand the non-organic shredded cheese buy. It’s really hard to find. In Tx is the first time I’ve seen it and there are only 2 types. How do you cook your rice and beans? I’m looking for some good recipes.
The newest thing I’m trying is squeezing as much as possible out of a roasted chicken. They are $3.50/lb for an organic pasturized chicken. I roast it with veggies, try to stretch it to quesidillas and then make soup.
I think I did a little bit better this week but not down to $65…..