We've been eating like crap lately. Or, I should say, eating even more like crap than usual lately. Working 7 days a week (regular work + full days on the weekends on our bathroom project) has made us extra lazy, and we've been eating fast food way too often.
Usually I go grocery shopping for an entire month at a time (because I hate it and am lazy), buying enough food to throw together one big casserole each week that we can eat for 3-4 nights, and then we eat frozen dinners the other nights. Usually we eat out at a sit down restaurant on Friday nights too, since we need an excuse to get out of the house, and usually there will be a fast food meal in there every other week or so.
But lately our junk eating has been out of control. So. Many. Fast food. Carbs! It's been a good month since I've really cooked anything, other than shoving a frozen dinner in the oven. So I want to try to do a couple weeks of healthier eating. I feel like I need a carb detox, so I'm going to try out some Primal and Paleo recipes, and commit to not eating out, at least until Labor Day weekend. I can't give up dairy (I need my coffee creamer and cheese!), but I will definitely be cutting down on my carb intake, with no bread, rice or pasta over the next few weeks.
But dang, carbs are so much cheaper than veggies and meat! No wonder our country is overweight. $420.98 for 19 days of food, rather than the about $350 I usually spend on about 27 days of food. And that $350 usually includes other random things from the grocery store, like toiletries, cleaning supplies, beer and wine. What I bought last night was only food and two bottles of wine, no other extras.
Although I should note that when I'm normally grocery shopping, I don't go out of my way to buy organic food. I know, I know, sacrilege! It's not "cool" to not buy organic, yeah, yeah, whatever. Except where I live now, there is a much smaller selection of organic food, so I know I'm not the only one not buying it. Here, it's sometimes hard to even find light mayo (true story, we could not find it at the cheap grocery store next to Lowes a few weeks ago. Luckily my normal grocery store at least carries it!). However, for this grocery trip last night, I did try to buy everything organic that I could, which probably contributed to the higher prices. I can't even imagine how high our grocery bill would be if we shopped at Trader Joe's (too far away) or Whole Foods (hate that place with the passion of a thousand burning suns).
So anyway, we'll see how this all works out. I am looking forward to trying some new recipes, and feeling a little better about what I'm eating, for at least a few weeks, but I'm not sure I can commit to cooking fancy meals 7 nights a week forever. Or spending twice as much as normal on groceries each month.
Here's what we're planning for dinners for the next few weeks (day 1 was last night):
For lunches I'm mostly planning on just eating chicken salads, like I normally do already, but without any croutons to cut down on the carbs. My husband will still eat his usual sandwiches and chips for lunch, because he's lucky and carbs aren't evil to him, like they are to me. And snacks will consist of things like almonds, cucumbers, celery sticks, jerky, string cheese and cherry tomatoes.
Have you ever gone on a healthy eating kick, after eating poorly for a while? Anyone else practice Primal Living or eating Paleo? I think the hardest part is just going to be keeping up with all of the cooking each night, rather than the giving up of carbs!
33 comments:
Get yourself to another store! HT is so expensive unless things are on mega-sale. Even their "sale" items sometimes are more expensive than full price somewhere else! I like HT for meat and seafood and will shop there for other things if they are a good price, but if I bought all my groceries there I would go through my budget in no time!
Where do you shop that is cheaper Debbie?
We have Food Lion nearby too, but that's the store we couldn't find light mayo at (although yes, I know there are different thoughts on eating "light" foods vs full fat, but I usually prefer to go for the lower calorie option). I know Food Lion is supposed to have good prices, but their meat and veggies aren't very good (so my sister in law tells me anyway). There's also a Kroger that is a little further away, but the few times I've been there the prices didn't seem much different than Harris Teeter.
Really, I just miss Safeway, which is where we shopped in California. They had great prices, and their store brand was often better tasting (and cheaper) than national brands.
I've started doing all my fruit and veggie shopping at the farmer's market separately from my normal grocery shopping trip, and I'll tell you this — the food is cheaper and tastes better! I don't buy organic because it's freaking expensive. Looking at your receipt, I'm literally flabergasted that your grocery store sells cilantro for $4. You can get that stuff fresh for 28 cents, and if you don't use it all, well it's only 28 cents lost!
Wish you'd come organize my groceries and plan my menu!! LOL Can't wait to hear how it goes.
I live in Maryland so I don't think we have the same stores, although we do both have Harris Teeter. I shop at Harris Teeter, Giant, Shoppers, and sometimes Safeway. We have Food Lion here too although it is far from my house so I rarely go there. I know this sounds odd but if there are any Asian supermarkets there you should check them out---produce has a high turnover at Asian supermarkets and they tend to sell it for less and it is fresh! :-)
My other tip is to look at the circular to see what is on sale before creating your menu.... That helps me a lot.
Good luck! My neighbor does the Paleo diet and he went from a 40" waist to 34" in one year!
Oh yeah, I wouldn't pay $4 for one bunch of cilantro either! It was actually the kind that is in the tube, which stays fresh a lot longer and is as much as 3 bunches, like this: http://www.gourmetgarden.com/us/product/view/Cilantro
The farmer's market is a good idea too, I just wish it wasn't so far away!
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I'm excited for you to try this new way of eating and let us know what you think! You probably gathered from my blog that my husband and I switched to a "mostly" vegan and no-added oil/fat diet about one year ago. The focus is on plant-strong meals with whole grains and no oil - which means, we mainly cook at home since it's nearly impossible to eat this way in public. We do go out occasionally, but have cut way back, and now only "cheat" on vacations, weekends away or when we are hosting friends in town. It is more expensive, but we save money on organic, local veggies with our weekly CSA box and shopping at the farmers' markets in the city. I agree that carbs and processed foods are still way cheaper, but I prefer to be ~10 lbs lighter with normal blood pressure (I've had issues with elevated blood pressure in the past).
How do you keep your vegetable fresh if you buy it like... a month ahead? We sometimes struggle with that and we almost shop weekly!
We ate Paleo for a good long while, and I really enjoyed it and would like to get back to it. Josh struggled with it, losing weight rapidly and having a lot of fatigue, because he didn't eat enough fats. EAT FATS. You will need them. I will say, it was pricey. But I felt really good and had a lot less health issues (sinus issues, acne, etc) while on it.
I know you say it is too far... but just wanted to say that Trader Joe's is NOT too expensive. I always always thought that, but we started shopping there in May and I am SHOCKED at how much cheaper they are than the normal grocery store. It makes no sense to me because the food is healthier and often organic, and yet somewhere between 50-75% of the price I pay at Giant Eagle.
Huh, I've never seen it in a tube like that! Makes more sense. Does it taste the same? How long do you think it keeps? We end up throwing away a lot of fresh cilantro. :)
A lot of planning and some freezing!
Usually when I shop for a month, I plan out our meals so that what we are eating later in the month doesn't need fresh veggies. I have good spinach lasagna recipe that usually works well because it calls for frozen chopped spinach and I just freeze the hamburger until I need it. Or I use freezer bags and freeze the veggies until I need them (bell peppers seem to do pretty well frozen, and I just put them in the fridge to thaw).
It definitely can be a challenge though, and occasionally I do need to make a quick run to the store mid-month for a couple of essentials like milk and a veggie or two. But I much prefer a quick trip here and there, rather than several larger trips each month!
I actually went back and read your Paleo post the other night when making my meal plan! I'll keep your note about fat in mind though. Good thing nuts and avocados have a lot of fat, because I plan to eat a LOT of those over the next couple weeks!
That's crazy (and good!) that Trader Joe's isn't expensive! I'll confess that I've never actually been to TJ's since we moved to NC though. But out in California it seemed pretty pricey--although everything is expensive in Cali, so maybe that was the difference. Mostly I'd just go there for their wine, since I loved that they had little descriptions of all of their wines, it made picking out something new to try easy.
I'm going to have to go check out TJ's again sometime. It's way over by the Costco that we go to every 3 months or so, so I think I'll make a trip out of it next time we head out that way!
We've been eating Paleo for about 6 months and we love it. I'm still struggling with how to keep it affordable though. First priority for me is organic, grass-fed, free-range, etc. meats and the organic produce on the "Dirty 12" list. Other than that I just try to load us up with veggies and healthy fats. We're lucky to live in California's Central Valley where local organic produce is abundant and cheap, but I can see where it would be difficult in other parts of the country. Good luck and hope it makes you feel better.
btw - the first few weeks are the worst! It gets much much easier after those craving subside.
I agree, HT can be pricey. But I gladly pay the extra $$ for the improved service there compared to every other grocery store in my area! I have never waited in line at an HT, and I love not having to load my groceries onto the conveyor belt.
wow that is a huge bill! but almost your entire month is planned and looks quite healthy :)
Yep, I think it tastes the same, although it's in more of a paste form, like the consistency it would be if you put cilantro in a food processor. And I just went and checked, it says it's best by November 16th!
Gotta love the Teets. We've taken to shopping at the commissary on post because it's so much cheaper. We also live next to the most ghetto Food Lion in Fayetteville (srsly, deadly shootout there last month).
It's unfortunately the same in New Zealand - between the two of us we spend around $100-$130 a week on groceries and healthy food but you can get by on much less by not eating well. I used to work in a grocery store in high school and we would have customers come through with WINZ grants (similar to food stamps?) with the most UNHEALTHY things in their trolleys. Part of it was just the quantities of food they could get for the monetary amount they were assigned and I think that part of it was probably a lack of education on how you can process simple ingredients into great meals. It's sad :(
t's unfortunately the same in New Zealand - between the two of us we spend around $100-$130 a week on groceries and healthy food but you can get by on much less by not eating well. I used to work in a grocery store in high school and we would have customers come through with WINZ grants (similar to food stamps?) with the most UNHEALTHY things in their trolleys. Part of it was just the quantities of food they could get for the monetary amount they were assigned and I think that part of it was probably a lack of education on how you can process simple ingredients into great meals. It's sad :(
I did Paleo a month ago and had great results. The thing I liked best was just feeling better. We've fallen off a bit lately, but plan to go back soon. I think the first week was the most expensive for us, but once we had some paleo staples, the other weeks didn't seem as expensive. Good luck! My favorite recipe on it is pineapple mango saalsa...goggle it. It's amazing. I puree it and use it as dip on paleo coconut chicken. It's my favorite paleo dish.
I'm interested to hear how this goes for you! I'm such a picky eater so a strict diet like this would be really tough for me, but I definitely want to try to start eating healthier and cleaner! I'm definitely going to check out your Pinterest board!
Harris Teeter ftw! That's my go-to grocery store! Good luck on you clean eating!
I have to agree with Lyndsey. TJ's is VERY reasonable when compared to HT. However, their fruit and veggies aren't always the best and don't stay fresh long.
I'm a fan of Papa Spud's, they deliver fresh and local groceries weekly or biweekly in the Triangle. That way you don't have to go to the store!
Can't wait to hear what you think of this diet. I'm considering a juice detox because my migraines have been out of control lately. I also think I'm wheat sensitive and need to get in for some testing. Arg....
Way to go for trying to be healthier, even though it can definitely be expensive. After months of eating too much junk, I have gone meatless for the last three weeks. It has actually been easier than I thought, and I hope to stick with it, even though I may cheat now and then.
I give you major bonus points for trying to eat healthier. It is easy to get caught in eating patterns.
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Hey Morgan! Just wanted to chime in and agree with the other girls about Trader Joe's. The only places we shop for groceries are Costco, TJ's, and the Farmer's Market and our grocery bill is never too crazy (we budget about $75/week on groceries). Good luck with Paleo! It's always exciting to start healthy adventures. :)
Go you!
I think the biggest thing I do to cut down on costs with healthy foods is to only buy what is in season (and if I need something that isn't, I only do so sparingly). Right now, we've been eating a lot of zucchini, salads, corn, green peppers, and broccoli. I keep track of which veggies/fruit are on sale and make sure to tailor my meals around those items so I don't have to purchase the higher priced items. It kind of makes you get creative...how many different things can I make with zucchini? ;) A lot, it turns out! Haha! About 75% or more of my weekly grocery bill is just fresh produce, and I know you don't like going to the grocery store weekly, but I think it does help. In my grocery store, at least, the sales change weekly, so it does help with switching things up and not getting bored.
Go you, eating healthy! For us, we try to save money by going grocery shopping once a week and we meal plan around what is on sale at the store. I also try to head to the farmer's market on the weekend if I have time. The produce is SO much cheaper plus we are supporting the local businesses!
Hey Morgan!
Your mom attached a link to your blog in an email and told me to come look at some of your recipes. I am trying a gluten-free and no artificial sweeteners diet for 2 weeks to see if one of those might be triggering my headaches. I've been doing it for a week and so far, no help. One of the problems with this diet is that I feel like there's no prepared foods for me to eat. I will probably try one of your recipes posted here instead of snacking for all my meals. Good luck with the diet! I hope it works!
Your cousin,
Megan
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