We did slightly better this week, still over budget ($125) by $25.20.  I definitely tried to shop less, only hitting the stores 3 times this week apparently!  Not bad.  It’s weird because I feel like I have been using tons of produce every day – huge salads and 4-5 cups of veggies for dinner just for me! – but we have still had plenty of food in the fridge.  That is my sign that I have a problem  Anyway, here’s what we bought this week:

PRODUCE:

• Asparagus $2.49
• Avocados $4.49
• Bananas $3.48
• Bell Pepper $1.40
• Baby Bok Choy $1.99
• Broccoli $1.59
• Carrots $5.49
• Cauliflower $1.81
• Celery $2.50
• Chard $1.99
• Fennel $1.99
• Ginger $.78
• Green onions $.99
• Kale $2.29
• Kiwi $.93
• Lemons $1.00
• Lettuce $2.03
• Mangoes $2.38 – sadly these were rotten
• Portabellos $2.99
• Onions $2.70
• Mixed greens $1.99
• Spinach $3.99
• Strawberries $4.99
• Sweet potatoes $2.12
• Yams $4.36
• Zucchini $2.49

OTHER:

• Applegate sliced turkey $4.99
• Cashews $14.99
• Coconut milk $1.99
• Organic ketchup $1.99
• Mini peppers $3.49
• Quinoa pasta $3.49
• Ponzu $2.49
• Prunes $1.72
• Rice paper $2.29
• Salt $1.49
• Bay leaves $1.98
• Frozen blueberries $11.49
• Chicken and lime burgers $3.49
• Frozen green beans $1.99
• Whole wheat Pita bread $1.69
• Lara bars $5.00
• Pomegranate molasses $3.99
• Orange blossom honey $13.99
• Date cookies $4.99

Looking at that, it seems like we got quite a bit of food!  I’ve been spending a little more time at Trader Joe’s, trying to figure out what are the good deals and what aren’t really.  I really like that there are smaller packages of things that only I like, so I can get them and not worry about wastage or trying to force them on M & K  I should do a post about things I love at Trader Joe’s.  Some things are great value-wise, and others not so much.  If I were eating whatever I wanted right now, I would probably avoid TJ’s since I would be buying way too much stuff!

Still lots of room for improvement here so I am really going to make an effort this week to finally get under $125 this week.  When I look at our spending for this month overall though, we are doing really good.  We have been buying less random stuff, and most of what we have spent has been on groceries, which is a good place to invest IMO

Not a good week over here!  The budget is $125 and we spent a whopping $208.57!!  So we overspent by $83.57.  In our defense, we stocked up on a few things, like the apples, oranges, macaroni, and Naked drinks.  The fridge is also pretty full right now so we have enough stuff for a few days maybe.  Although with K starting a juice fast tomorrow I can only see the food spending going up higher.  Oh well.  It won’t be like this every week!  Once we are all done with the fasting stuff I will really try and buckle down and make up for these overages!  My plan is to hit up the co-op more this week, I got some pretty great deals there this past week.

Here’s what we bought:

PRODUCE

• Apples $12.73
• Avocado $1.96
• Beets $.98
• Bell peppers $3.43
• Broccoli $1.08
• Brussels Sprouts $3.69
• Cabbage $3.61
• Cantaloupe $3.62
• Carrots $10.98
• Cauliflower $2.39
• Celery $2.98
• Chard $7.96
• Cucumber $2.51
• Grapefruit $2.28
• Grapes $6.30
• Green onions $.55
• Lemons $1.50
• Limes $1.54
• Onions $2.96
• Oranges $13.20
• Mini peppers $3.99
• Pineapple $6.98
• Yukon potatoes $2.00
• Salad blends $6.98
• Baby spinach $7.98

OTHER

• Cereal $7.48
• Chana Masala from Costco $7.59
• Naked smoothies $19.47
• Annies’ macaroni $12.00
• Tea $10.97
• Canned tuna $12.69
• Sprouted wheat bagels $2.49
• Crackers $6.67

I can never remember if I am including Sunday’s spending on Sunday’s post.  I don’t think I am.  I colorfill all of the days that I’ve already accounted for on my numbers sheet though, so I am not double counting any days.  Anyway!  I am not going to include Sunday spending on Sunday, only the previous Sunday.  Confusing? ok!  That was more for my benefit anyway

We spent $146.80 this week, and the budget is $125, so we overspent by $21.80.  Still not doing horribly I guess, considering that I am on a juice fast and we are buying a lot of produce.  This past Sunday we did kind of stock up though, so the spending will probably be a bit higher.  Here’s what we got this past week:

PRODUCE

• Apples $5.44
• Bell peppers $6.49
• Strawberries $1.98
• Brussels sprouts $3.69
• Cabbage $1.79
• Cantaloupe $5.99
• Carrots $4.99
• Cauliflower $2.06
• Celery $4.58
• Mixed greens bag $2.29
• Cucumber $2.07
• Basil $2.49
• 2 bags of chopped kale $4.58
• Lemons $1.00
• Mini sweet peppers $3.99
• 2 pineapples $6.98
• Baby spinach $3.99

OTHER

• Frozen cod $15.99
• Frozen mahi mahi $23.99
• Naked smoothie $5.99
• Pepitas $5.79
• Brown rice $12.99
• Sleepytime tea $4.99
• Edamame $10.99
• Pita bread $1.69

We also picked up our meat CSA over the weekend!  And we got a new chest freezer and put it downstairs, so now our freezer isn’t overflowing anymore.  It is so nice!!!

We didn’t do too badly this week, considering I am on the juice fast!  Things did start to add up quickly though.  And I have been using oranges and apples that we had already up until the weekend.  The bill will probably go up even more this week.  There were 4 different shopping trips this week.  Oh and also this includes 2 extra days, or 1 extra shopping trip.  The budget is $125 and we spent $166.90, so we went over by $41.90

Here’s what we bought:

PRODUCE

• Apples $10.95
• Bananas $4.14
• Bell peppers $6.49
• Broccoli $2.27
• Brussels sprouts $3.69
• Red and green cabbage $4.40
• Cantaloupe $1.68
• Carrots $4.99
• Celery $3.98
• Cucumbers $1.96
• Garlic $.67
• Ginger $1.91
• Grapefruit $3.52
• Pre-cut kale $4.58
• Lemons $4.00
• Lettuce $2.49
• Limes $4.00
• Onions $1.96
• Oranges $3.79
• Snap peas $4.13
• Pears $1.81
• Pineapple $6.98
• Tomatoes $2.99
• Yams $4.58

OTHER

• Cheese $8.49
• 3 pounds chicken breasts $9.51
• Mahi mahi $23.99
• Almond milk $8.99
• 2 bottles kombucha $5.98
• Frozen blueberries $10.99
• Mary’s gone crackers $6.99

So again, not great, but considering the juice fast this is pretty good.  You should see the pile of veggies I use every day for juicing!!  More on the fast in the next post

Did not do so great this week.  We got a Bountiful Basket and had 4 shopping days.  I think we hit up Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Costco and Harmon’s.  Harmon’s we hit 3 times!  Someone didn’t tell me he bought $20 worth of Larabars last week too, so I added that to this week.  The budget is $125, and the total spent was $163.60.  We went over by $38.60.  Here’s what we got:

PRODUCE:

• Our basket had bananas, strawberries, apples, oranges, avocados, potatoes, salad savoy, onions, mini peppers, and I think that’s all?  I didn’t snap a pic this week.
• Avocados $1.98
• Bell peppers $2.32
• Blackberries $2.64
• Broccoli $1.27
• Carrots $2.35
• Celery $1.70
• Ginger $1.02
• Basil $2.99
• Org. romaine hearts $2.49
• Limes $2.00
• Onions $4.49 – we like onions
• Potatoes $1.74
• Baby greens $10.00 – they were on sale at Sprouts for 2/$5, I got 4 and stuck 3 in the freezer for smoothies.
• Hard squash $2.07

DAIRY

• Cheese $16.10 – this was 3 different kinds
• Cottage cheese $4.00
• Heavy cream $2.69
• Ice cream $6.82 – yes this was a cheat on our real food rules, but it did have only 5 ingredients!
• Gallon milk $4.79

MEAT/FISH

• Chicken $6.64
• Salami $4.49
• Swordfish $8.63

OTHER:

• Popcorn kernels $1.99
• Pumpkin seeds $6.99
• Soda $5.98
• Vinegar $1.79
• Chips $8.97
• Crackers $3.29
• Larabars $20.00

Did we spend enough on chips this week?!  Anyway in the past 3 weeks we have spent $585.60 on food, which also includes our meat CSA.  That is already $85 over our monthly budget and we haven’t even gotten to week 4 yet.  I knew we would go over with buying the CSA, of course.  And that will last us a few months.  My plan is to do my best to not go to the store at all this week unless we really, absolutely need to, and I’m not planning on getting a basket for the next couple of weeks.  Hopefully we can keep the total where it is now, or close to it anyway.