Food budget project

I have been challenged this week to create a food budget plan for 3 people that would be sufficient in protein for a pregnant person (no, it's not me...it's for a workshop). The respondents to my pre-class survey had varying amounts of food budgets anywhere from $80-$125 for an average of 3 people. Getting down to $80 for 3 people using the plan I did was not possible...though I got close! I think it would be possible if you assumed that you had some of the things on the list in your cupboard already or used non-organic produce and dairy products or more conventional meats. Just one note: I did forget to include canned tuna in the calculations because we already have it in our cupboard from Trader Joe's. Oops!

As usual...get ready for spreadsheet mania!




The first sheet is the shopping list, of course comparing Wegmans with Aldi in my usual fashion. Items in blue either are not available at Aldi or were cheaper at Wegmans (the eggs were cheaper if you buy the family pack). At the very bottom are some ideas of how to save money if your budget is under $107

The second list is of the Calories, Protein, Sugar, and Fiber (the last 3 all in grams) per person per day if ALL of the food/recipes planned were consumed throughout the week in equal amounts by 3 people (the total number divided by 21). The Recommended amount of protein for a pregnant person is about 70 grams per day...so this far surpasses that requirement! Even if you take away ALL of the meat (I didn't replace it with anything), each person would still get 69 grams per day on average. So cool!! But the thing that unpleasantly surprised me was the amount of sugar...even with this very bare-bones, no added sugar approach. If you take away the bananas, apples, and yogurt (you could replace them with veggies or cheese or plain Greek yogurt), it's much better. 

And lastly is our food plan and prep plan for the week. This was a particularly challenging week...after nearly a week off from working on the floor I have 4 in a row, then this workshop, then a class, then working again! It will be interesting to see how it goes. I made some compromises like boil-in-bag rice to make it easier for Matt since he'll be doing a lot of the food prep while working or being alone with Abe at home. Having a slow cooker certainly makes things nice, too! It's not included in this plan but last night I made brown rice (25 minutes) and pinto beans in the slow cooker (about 5 minutes prep) and they were delicious, with a recipe from 100 Days of Real Food. The ingredients total to make about 6 meals was under $3. And TONS of protein! So..here is our plan, with the projected/estimated prep times included for each day as well as the tasks required ahead of time, which is why it starts on Thursday (today) instead of Friday. Bagels are made! 

Meal Plan for December 11^th – December 17^th

Thursday, December 10^th: Katherine off, Matt working in office

Food prep: Make bagels, freeze half (1 hour active time)
Wash, peel and cut butternut squash and broccoli for tomorrow’s lunch (20 minutes)

Friday, December 11^th: Katherine working 11am-7pm, Matt working from home with Abe

Breakfast: 8 eggs, whole wheat bagels with avocado spread: 15 minutes prep
Lunch: Roasted squash & broccoli, quinoa: 45 min, Baking time only (prepped the night before)
Dinner: Brown rice (boil-in-bag whole grain) and frozen veg mix: 15 minutes prep

Prep in PM: Katherine – mix herbs and garlic, chop onions for tomorrow’s chicken (5 minutes)

Saturday, December 12^th: Katherine working 7am-7pm, Matt home with Abe
Breakfast: Yogurt with berries, banana (3 minutes)
Lunch: Hummus with pepper and carrot slices, Tuna melt sandwiches on WW bread  (10 minutes)
Dinner: Slow cooker chicken, peas, boil-in-bag rice (10 minutes prep)

Prep: Place chicken with herbs in slow cooker at 10 AM (5 minutes)
PM After work: Katherine set aside chicken for Sunday sandwiches, refrigerate chicken carcass  & bones to use for stock (5 minutes)
Press and then Marinate tofu (5 minutes)

Sunday December 13^th: Katherine working 7am-7pm, Matt home with Abe
Breakfast: Eggs with spinach, WW toast, avocado (15 minutes)
Lunch: Chicken sandwiches, Apple slices with peanut butter (5-10 minutes)
Dinner: Tofu and veggie stir fry with brown rice (15-20 minutes)

No prep needed tonight!

Monday December 14^th: Katherine at home until 11 PM, Matt office til 5:30 PM. Katherine naps 6-9 PM
Breakfast: Spinach & Pepper omelet, toast or bagels with avocado spread (20 minutes)
Lunch: Hummus sandwich on WW bread with spinach & peppers, sliced cucumbers (10 minutes)
Dinner: Chicken soup with carrots, celery, onions, peas, spinach (20 minutes, made in slow cooker starting at noon), homemade WW bread (30 minutes active time throughout day)

Tuesday December 15^th: Katherine home at 7 am, sleep til noon. Matt work from home til noon, office til 5 PM. Katherine to BCCA meeting at 5:30 PM
Breakfast: Cereal, banana (3-5 minutes)
Lunch: Grilled cheese on WW bread, chicken soup leftovers (10 minutes)
Dinner: Spaghetti squash with homemade tomato sauce and homemade meatballs (1 hour)

Special prep: making meatballs, making breadcrumbs from leftover WW bread (after Katherine done napping)

Wednesday December 16^th: Katherine at home til 5 PM, Matt in office til 5, Katherine teaching at 6
Breakfast: Yogurt with berries, banana
Lunch: Green Bean Casserole (45 minutes), Hummus sandwiches (15 minutes)
Dinner: Polenta with mushroom bordelaise, peas (1 hour)

Thursday December 17^th: Katherine at home til 2 PM, Matt in office til 2 PM, then working from home til 5. Katherine working 3-11 PM

Breakfast: Bagels, eggs with spinach, avocado (20 minutes)
Lunch: Green bean casserole leftovers (5 minutes), rosemary roasted carrots (20 minutes)
Dinner: Pulled pork sandwiches (10 minutes of work, slow cooker meal set up in late morning), spiced corn (10 minutes work on stove)

Snacks for the week: Cheese, hummus, apples, cucumbers, bell peppers, cereal and milk, berries, almonds (already in cupboard), venison, hard-boiled egg, bagels, peanut butter