Hey y’all! Welcome to the series Weekly Eating.
Here is where I’ll talk about the week’s meal plan versus reality, what we ate for the week, and how we did budget-wise. I hope it gives readers a behind-the-scenes look into our life through the lens of food, and it’s also a way to keep us on track with meal planning and grocery budgeting.
Feel free to share your wins and lessons in the comments below!
Last weekend was great fun! You can read all about the farm adventures and refillable soap here. Then on Sunday I went to my first Cary Food & Flea Market to represent Triangle Food Tours. It was a drizzly day, but we still had a good turnout.
I also got the last of the fall seeds planted, and we had a lovely bonfire in the evening, complete with farm fresh milk hot cocoa.
This week I processed several of the giant pile of Carolina Reapers still hanging around my kitchen. Their season is nearly over, so I’m trying to stock up as much as I can to get us through the cold winter with some heat. I think we will have more than enough… in fact those tiny containers are literally just reapers and vinegar, destined to be traded with some brave soul at the next Food Swap!
Monday:
Breakfast – banana muffins
Lunch – leftovers
Dinner – I made a white bean stew with butternut squash steamed in the pressure cooker and blanched sweet potato leaves. Served over quinoa, it was healthy, local, seasonal, and delicious.
Tuesday:
Breakfast – blue berry oatmeal
Lunch – leftover Chinese from the weekend & berries
Dinner – summer squash, peppers and onions stir fried over quinoa
Wednesday:
Breakfast – smoothie with berries and kefir and frozen banana
Lunch – leftover brisket, roasted carrots, and steamed sweet potato leaves, with peppermint tea + ginger & lemon
Snack – a friend at work gave me this Kind banana and chocolate bar because she didn’t like them. It was certainly weird, but okay, and kept the hangry at bay until it was dinner time.
Dinner – Cod in the instant pot with fresh green beans, red potatoes, a sprinkle of cranberries and walnuts. IT WAS SO GOOD GUYS. So simple, so tasty, and so fast (15 minutes). I get why people are all about the instant pot now.
I bet this same combo would also be amazing with Thanksgiving turkey! Or just minus the cod as a delish side dish.
Thursday:
Breakfast – more blueberry oatmeal! This time I sprinkled them on after cooking rather than cooking them in with the oats, and added a few walnuts too.
Lunch – kale salad and carrot/sweet potato soup
Dinner – summer squash ‘zoodles’ with rustic tomato & kale sauce and chickpeas. Basically threw a bunch of things from the fridge together in a pot and called it dinner!
Friday:
Breakfast – uhhh just coffee oops! I’m off, and slept in, then got caught up packing and cleaning and doing things around the house
Lunch – whatever is left in the fridge; probably red beans and rice
Dinner – hopefully, deep dish pizza!
The Weekend
We will be in the Windy City this weekend for a family wedding! By the time you’re reading this we will probably be home already. My cousin has excellent taste so I can only assume the wedding/ reception dinner will be excellent. I’m sure there will be at least one deep dish pizza involved, and probably a glass or five two too many of wine. But that’s what celebrating love is all about right??
Food Total: $61.62
Not bad at all, especially when you consider half of that was decorations for the fall/upcoming Halloween party! I didn’t have a Produce Box delivery this week since we’re out of town for a wedding, and we have plenty of produce/ dairy/ pantry items that need used up prior to that. Next week will be a big spend for party food items and beverages though.
| Staples | $1.87 | Fruit/Veg | $19.15 | Extras | $37.11 |
| Baking soda | 0.49 | Strawberry quart | 1.99 | Mums x3 | 8.97 |
| Baking powder | 0.99 | Blueberry 2 pint | 2.99 | Pumpkins 2 big | 4.98 |
| Iodized salt | 0.39 | Acorn squash | 1.19 | Halloween candy 100pc | 9.99 |
| Butternut squash | 1.96 | ||||
| Bananas | 0.97 | Winking owl 3L | 10.89 | ||
| Lemons | 2.79 | ||||
| Red onions | 1.19 | tax | 2.28 | ||
| Avocados 6 | 3.49 | ||||
| Yellow onions | 1.09 | ||||
| Pineapple | 1.49 |
Lessons Learned
This week was all about quick, easy, and healthy. Sometimes you just go through phases in life where you don’t feel like cooking big or complicated recipes. (For some, this is every night). And that’s okay. Actually, sometimes the simplest things are the healthiest, a quick steam or stir fry of some frozen veggies and you’re good to go.
It’s also helpful to prep a big batch of something to have on hand, like a grain, some steamed veggies, some fruits, and some proteins. Then you can just mix and match for almost instant dinner. Having already cooked quinoa, pinto beans, rinsed and shredded kale, and washed berries ready to go was great all week long.