I have an abbreviated food diary for last week starting from when my houseguest left (miss you already Gaby!).
Wednesday
It’s a real old Mother Hubbard situation in here since I haven’t cooked anything in almost a week. Time to re-up on groceries and get back on track.
2 cans of coconut milk: $4.38
1 lb crimini mushrooms: $4.99
2 avocados: $3
2 lbs boneless pork loin: $13.98
1 bag frozen potstickers: $4.99
1 bunch cilantro: $1.59
1 bag stumptown coffee $13.99
4 limes $2.40
16 oz buttermilk $.99
1 head of cabbage $5.81
1 jar Better Than Boullion Chicken $4.99
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo $2.99
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 dozen eggs $3.69
1 box baking soda $1.09
Total spent on Amazon Prime/New Seasons: $85.03
Dinner
I have a business meeting tonight so J orders in a rotisserie chicken meal from a food cart. It’s a bit spendy for chicken but I try some later and it is insanely good. What in the world did they do to this chicken? What is in this fabulous green sauce? It also comes with crispy potatoes and a big salad. There is plenty of meat leftover that we can use in salads for lunch for the rest of the week.
Total spent on chicken dinner: $26
I have a couple margaritas and tacos at my meeting and then go home to watch the new season of Wet Hot American Summer.
Total spent on business meeting: $26
Thursday
Breakfast/Lunch
I make us both salads with the leftover rotisserie chicken. I’m thinking I should either roast a chicken next week or pick up a less expensive rotisserie bird from New Seasons to make life easy but we shall see.
Dinner
I’ve had a ton of heavy food the last week so I decide to make a simple thai coconut soup for dinner. I use this recipe from The Kitchn that bulks up the soup with frozen dumplings. I don’t usually buy pre-made frozen things, but I think I’ll be keeping a bag of these in my freezer from now on. The Annie Chun brand frozen potstickers taste really fresh and aren’t rubbery like the Trader Joe’s potstickers I survived on in college.
Friday
Breakfast/Lunch
We finish off the end of the chicken with salads for lunch. I have another business meeting that went really well, so we decide to celebrate by going out to dinner.
Dinner
The city’s best Ethiopian restaurant (in my opinion) is just a few blocks from our house. It’s the kind of place where they make you feel like family. If we don’t come in for a month or two….they get worried about us! It’s also a ton of food with plenty of healthy veggies for a good price. The leftovers, or fir fir, as the owner calls them, can be heated up with olive oil and a scrambled egg for an easy breakfast in the morning.
Total spent on Ethiopian: $31
Saturday
Breakfast/Lunch
I wake up to a text from a good friend wanting to go to brunch. I haven’t seen her in a while so I decide to spend the extra on a champagne brunch at a restaurant we both enjoy with an outside patio. J has the fir fir at home. I get an (amazing) cheeseburger with salad and a couple glasses if bubbles.
Total spent on brunch: $38
Dinner
I have a ton of mushrooms to use up so I make this balsamic mushroom pasta for dinner. There are complaints that no meat is in this pasta but I remind J I gave him the other half of my brunch burger earlier and something doesn’t have to die each time we have a meal 😉
Sunday
Breakfast/Lunch
I have a baby shower to attend today so I make J’s weekend breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and avocado before I run out the door. The shower is so much fun and has tacos and sangria PLUS a cotton candy machine. I eat myself silly. Thanks Lauren and Sean!
Dinner
I decide to make something a little more involved for Sunday supper since I am still really full of tacos. I try this Buzzfeed recipe for chicken and rice, which is apparently a popular street food in NYC. I’m pretty happy with the way it turns out, especially since I usually find some way to screw up cooking rice. I would cut back on the salt, though. There are plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Total spent on groceries $85.03
Total spent on dining out: $121
I’m definitely over budget this week and have at least one event this week that will require dining out. I’m going to try and ‘shop’ my pantry and freezer this week to avoid spending too much on groceries since I know I will be spending more of my eating out budget than I’d prefer. Thanks for reading!