Restocking the Larder, or Being a Carnivore Is Expensive
Warning: Long rambly entry ahead. Feel free to ignore this and skip down to the next entry on your Friends Page.
Vacations are lovely, but it always takes some time to readjust from them back to normal life.
For instance: groceries.
The week before I went on vacation, I refused to go grocery shopping - mostly because I knew that I'd not be using all of what I purchased, and also because I wanted to use up as much of the perishable food in my fridge as possible before leaving, so I wouldn't find a crisper full of sludge when I returned. (Which was fairly successful - I came back to a handful of wilted herb salad mix, a moldy block of cheese, some moldy yogurt, and some slightly squishy beets.)
So when I arrived home from up north, with two hours before I had to scramble to work, it was to a mostly empty larder. Not only did I not have time to buy food, but I also had no money - the trip left me dangerously broke (as in, negative signs in my bank accounts), with a week left until the next paycheck. The first two weeks back from my trip were spent mostly attempting at first to scrounge around the kitchen (finally ate that frozen pot pie that had been lingering in the freezer for a few months, and the blocks of cheese I picked up at the Tillamook factory), and then giving up and eating out as cheaply as I could while avoiding fast food. Because really, what can you do with a whole lot of canned stewed tomatoes and tuna? (No, really ... if you have recipe suggestions involving those two ingredients, please let me know!)
Finally, today I woke up with time and energy and money to hit the grocery store. The plan, originally, was to buy cheap foods to live off of at work and home so I could save more money for the upcoming September of Trippage (Reno, Austin, and having Jes coming to visit from Arizona). I had a list, and planned on sticking to it. Honest! And I did, for the most part ... until I hit the MEAT department.
Being a carnivore is expensive.
I'm hoping, though, that the $167.71 I spent on this trip (umm ... making up for almost a month of not going at all?) will last me more than the usual two weeks' worth that a normal trip covers for me. I bought in bulk (at least, I bought meat in bulk) and shoved a bunch of it in the freezer.
MEAT list:
4lb bag of frozen chicken thighs (10 - 15 pieces, should last me almost two weeks' worth of meals) = $9.99
4-steak ValuPack of NY Strip Steaks (worth 4 meals) = $19.65
2 packages of ground beef (for pasta sauces, chili, and Shepherd's/Cottage Pie, worth about 4 or 5 meals) = $7.69
Package of Lamb Shoulder Chops (pure luxury, worth one meal) = $5.79
Package of 4 pork chops (worth about 4 meals) = $4.21
Total meals worth of MEAT: ~25
Total price: $47.33 (less than $2 per meal of MEAT!)
Crap, I only spent $50 on raw meat? What else did I buy?
Fresh produce list:
1 head broccoli (1 meal) = $1.15
1 eggplant (1 meal) = $1.00
3 onions (6 meals, using half of one per, and I was bad and got the expensive sweet ones here) = $3.44
2 avocados (4 meals) = $3.89
1 bunch kale (1 - 4 meals, the higher amount if I use it for soup? Never had it that way) = $1.69
3 serrano peppers (spread around several meals, more of a spice) = $0.15
2 packages of herb salad mix (probably 8 to 10 salads worth, total) = $6.00
2 bell peppers (2 meals) = $2.11
Total meals worth of fresh produce: ~5-10 (lots of overlap, since I like salad AND veggies with my meals)
Total price: $19.43 (about $2-4 per meal)
Too bad produce only lasts so long - this will probably last me a week or so, depending. I guess it's cheap enough to continuously restock. And, of course, it is worth it. Mmm ... veggies.
Canned and Frozen produce list (for when fresh just isn't available):
2 cans cut green beans = $1.38
3 cans corn = $2.07
2 cans kidney beans = $1.54
2 cans garbanzo beans (maybe I'll learn to make hummus one day) = $1.54
3 packages frozen spinach = $3.87
1 bag frozen edamame (tired of not having healthy snacks around the house) = $1.66
1 bag frozen "veggie combo" = $3.29
1 bag frozen peas = $2.50
Total meals worth of frozen produce: ~15-30 (I like to mix and match my canned veggies, too, so it's hard to approximate)
Total price: $17.85 (about $0.60-1.20 per meal)
"School" (work) lunch list:
3 "Taste of Thai" instant noodle thingies (three meals) = $11.97
Small jar of mayonnaise = $2.89
2 packages of turkey lunch meat (about 12 sandwiches, at two slices per) = $7.38
2 loaves of bread (about 20 sandwiches, buy one get one free) = $2.79
10 containers of yogurt (1 per meal, on sale) = $6
Total meals worth of lunch: ~18, considering I will use the rest of the bread with the PB&J I already have at the office, and knowing that some shifts I will eat more than one sandwich a night.
Total price: $31.03 (average of less than $2 per meal)
(By the way, please note I'm not doing Atkins at the moment; hence, bread and noodles are allowed back into my eating schedule. Dieting is too expensive when you're brown bagging it.)
Okay, granted, I'm getting about 25 days of food (a month's worth, give or take) for $115.64 - that's about $4-5 per day (if I don't buy more fresh veggies, which would increase the costs, but leave me more canned stuff for the future). Plus beverage costs (Diet Coke, I love you). I'll never be like Sweetness, who used to get by on $15 a week in groceries ... but he didn't buy meat to cook too often, and lived on Hot Pockets, pasta, and sandwiches. Me, I can't live like that - I actually enjoy cooking and I don't want to get sick of eating the same dreck over and over (plus, cooking is healthier than packaged food). So perhaps I'm not doing too bad.
Still needed: jar of thai curry paste (for soups and, of course, thai curries), potatoes and yams (for shepherd's pie), sliced almonds (for salads).
Vacations are lovely, but it always takes some time to readjust from them back to normal life.
For instance: groceries.
The week before I went on vacation, I refused to go grocery shopping - mostly because I knew that I'd not be using all of what I purchased, and also because I wanted to use up as much of the perishable food in my fridge as possible before leaving, so I wouldn't find a crisper full of sludge when I returned. (Which was fairly successful - I came back to a handful of wilted herb salad mix, a moldy block of cheese, some moldy yogurt, and some slightly squishy beets.)
So when I arrived home from up north, with two hours before I had to scramble to work, it was to a mostly empty larder. Not only did I not have time to buy food, but I also had no money - the trip left me dangerously broke (as in, negative signs in my bank accounts), with a week left until the next paycheck. The first two weeks back from my trip were spent mostly attempting at first to scrounge around the kitchen (finally ate that frozen pot pie that had been lingering in the freezer for a few months, and the blocks of cheese I picked up at the Tillamook factory), and then giving up and eating out as cheaply as I could while avoiding fast food. Because really, what can you do with a whole lot of canned stewed tomatoes and tuna? (No, really ... if you have recipe suggestions involving those two ingredients, please let me know!)
Finally, today I woke up with time and energy and money to hit the grocery store. The plan, originally, was to buy cheap foods to live off of at work and home so I could save more money for the upcoming September of Trippage (Reno, Austin, and having Jes coming to visit from Arizona). I had a list, and planned on sticking to it. Honest! And I did, for the most part ... until I hit the MEAT department.
Being a carnivore is expensive.
I'm hoping, though, that the $167.71 I spent on this trip (umm ... making up for almost a month of not going at all?) will last me more than the usual two weeks' worth that a normal trip covers for me. I bought in bulk (at least, I bought meat in bulk) and shoved a bunch of it in the freezer.
MEAT list:
4lb bag of frozen chicken thighs (10 - 15 pieces, should last me almost two weeks' worth of meals) = $9.99
4-steak ValuPack of NY Strip Steaks (worth 4 meals) = $19.65
2 packages of ground beef (for pasta sauces, chili, and Shepherd's/Cottage Pie, worth about 4 or 5 meals) = $7.69
Package of Lamb Shoulder Chops (pure luxury, worth one meal) = $5.79
Package of 4 pork chops (worth about 4 meals) = $4.21
Total meals worth of MEAT: ~25
Total price: $47.33 (less than $2 per meal of MEAT!)
Crap, I only spent $50 on raw meat? What else did I buy?
Fresh produce list:
1 head broccoli (1 meal) = $1.15
1 eggplant (1 meal) = $1.00
3 onions (6 meals, using half of one per, and I was bad and got the expensive sweet ones here) = $3.44
2 avocados (4 meals) = $3.89
1 bunch kale (1 - 4 meals, the higher amount if I use it for soup? Never had it that way) = $1.69
3 serrano peppers (spread around several meals, more of a spice) = $0.15
2 packages of herb salad mix (probably 8 to 10 salads worth, total) = $6.00
2 bell peppers (2 meals) = $2.11
Total meals worth of fresh produce: ~5-10 (lots of overlap, since I like salad AND veggies with my meals)
Total price: $19.43 (about $2-4 per meal)
Too bad produce only lasts so long - this will probably last me a week or so, depending. I guess it's cheap enough to continuously restock. And, of course, it is worth it. Mmm ... veggies.
Canned and Frozen produce list (for when fresh just isn't available):
2 cans cut green beans = $1.38
3 cans corn = $2.07
2 cans kidney beans = $1.54
2 cans garbanzo beans (maybe I'll learn to make hummus one day) = $1.54
3 packages frozen spinach = $3.87
1 bag frozen edamame (tired of not having healthy snacks around the house) = $1.66
1 bag frozen "veggie combo" = $3.29
1 bag frozen peas = $2.50
Total meals worth of frozen produce: ~15-30 (I like to mix and match my canned veggies, too, so it's hard to approximate)
Total price: $17.85 (about $0.60-1.20 per meal)
"School" (work) lunch list:
3 "Taste of Thai" instant noodle thingies (three meals) = $11.97
Small jar of mayonnaise = $2.89
2 packages of turkey lunch meat (about 12 sandwiches, at two slices per) = $7.38
2 loaves of bread (about 20 sandwiches, buy one get one free) = $2.79
10 containers of yogurt (1 per meal, on sale) = $6
Total meals worth of lunch: ~18, considering I will use the rest of the bread with the PB&J I already have at the office, and knowing that some shifts I will eat more than one sandwich a night.
Total price: $31.03 (average of less than $2 per meal)
(By the way, please note I'm not doing Atkins at the moment; hence, bread and noodles are allowed back into my eating schedule. Dieting is too expensive when you're brown bagging it.)
Okay, granted, I'm getting about 25 days of food (a month's worth, give or take) for $115.64 - that's about $4-5 per day (if I don't buy more fresh veggies, which would increase the costs, but leave me more canned stuff for the future). Plus beverage costs (Diet Coke, I love you). I'll never be like Sweetness, who used to get by on $15 a week in groceries ... but he didn't buy meat to cook too often, and lived on Hot Pockets, pasta, and sandwiches. Me, I can't live like that - I actually enjoy cooking and I don't want to get sick of eating the same dreck over and over (plus, cooking is healthier than packaged food). So perhaps I'm not doing too bad.
Still needed: jar of thai curry paste (for soups and, of course, thai curries), potatoes and yams (for shepherd's pie), sliced almonds (for salads).