As you know, I’m doing my “No Grocery Shop” project. Basically, my idea is to see how long I can go without going to the grocery store. I did mention that I would probably go to the Farmers’ Market and might order something from an online grocer. I purchased $16 worth of fresh veggies and fruit at the Farmer’s Market and I ordered $50 of groceries last week. The order included more fresh fruit/veggies/eggs/sugar and turkey bacon (it’s a green grocer LOL). The entire time I have brought my lunch to work and basically eaten at home. I purchased 3 small meals (went hiking one day needed extra food, got a $1.08 Jimmy John’s 8″ sub on their customer appreciation day, and a meal at the amazing Nepalese place near my work for $8.50 (I did get a 10%) discount. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my colleagues and told them about the challenge. They are a pretty frugal bunch so they usually take my projects in stride. This time one of my colleagues jokingly said that by the end of the challenge I would be eating lobster and dough balls. Well, I have already eaten the lobster tails that were in the freezer and I made soup with dumplings (dough balls) so, mission accomplished. My goal is to last 7 weeks and finish the challenge on October 15, 2012 October 31,2012! So, how did I do this?
1.) I do 1 big shop a month because I get paid once a month (the last business day of the month)
2.) The shop was the same as usual
3.) Made a recipe plan based on what I had on hand
4.) Cooked a lot. Again, I typically cook a lot.
The most frequently asked question is “What about fresh food??” This question is kind of funny when you think of all the prepared foods that most Americans eat. So, I decided to do a breakdown of how it works.
Weeks 1-3
Eat: Lettuce, fennel, tomatoes, fresh berries, broccoli, pears, yogurt, zucchini (made zucchini bread)
Weeks 3-4
Eat: Cauliflower, cabbage, citrus fruit (has lasted longer-I usually juice this), apples, yogurt
Weeks 4-6
Eat: Apple Sauce in those cute little containers (organic), frozen berries in smoothies/pastries/etc, frozen peaches, frozen peas, frozen mushrooms (Whole Foods-AMAZING product) potatoes and carrots
**Picked up some items from the Farmer’s Market, and ordered some items from online grocer**
Week 7+
Picked up some more fresh veggies from the Farmer’s Market. Was able to REALLY stretch my grocery envelope and ran out of cash at this point. Was quite amazing.
Entrees
Homemade Pizza, lime and garlic marinaded chicken with cauliflower salad, channa masal, rice and beans, chicken, beef stew, hummus and pita, pancetta with fennel salad and milk feta, smoked salmon with vegan cream cheese onion and capers on Wasa crackers
Will let you know if I felt like it was worth doing this after October 31, 2012. Btw…I spent $7.03 at Whole Foods, I felt so guilty. Wow. I really missed the grocery store. Its siren’s song called to me. I just wanted to go inside and things had CHANGED! It was a revelation. It was also a sign that I might be slightly crazy about the grocery store. Will reflect on that.
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