Hellobee

Since I’m horrible at meal planning, I’m always fascinated by what other families buy and eat and how they plan it all out. I try to batch cook on Sundays, or sometimes I cook 2 dinners every other evening during the week so I don’t have to cook every night. Because I don’t like planning, I also don’t like freezing and defrosting food (except for brothy soups) so I go to the grocery store 3 times week. But that’s common for many New Yorkers who don’t have cars and walk everywhere, and we can’t buy in bulk because of limited space.

I loved reading Mrs. Jack’s series on budget eating, so I kept track of our groceries for a week for our family of four, and it seems like we eat a lot! But we usually eat all of our meals at home during the week, pack the kids’ lunches daily, and eat out once or twice on the weekends. Here is what we actually bought and ate for dinner the past week, not including things that were already in our pantry and freezer.

Protein
rotisserie chicken
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
2, 8oz salmon fillets
1 dozen eggs
1 lb breakfast sausage
1 package Applegate Farms ham

Vegetables
1 head cauliflower
1 head broccoli
1 bunch asparagus
1 bunch brussels sprouts
1 container white button mushrooms
1 spaghetti squash
6 persian cucumbers
1 container cherry tomatoes
4 avocados
1 red onion
1 container mesclun mix salad

Fruit
1 bag red grapes
1 bag green grapes
1 container cut watermelon
1 cantaloupe
2 Asian pears
8 Fuji apples

Dairy
1 container shredded cheddar cheese
1 container feta cheese
1 block butter
1 package American cheese
1 gallon milk

Grocery
Chicken Tikka Masala spice mix
1 container olives
1 bag ground coffee
1 maple syrup
1 bag Pirate’s Booty
2 boxes frozen mozzarella sticks
1 box ice cream sandwiches
1 box Nature’s Path Koala Crisp cereal
1 box Earth’s Best Organic cereal bars
1 box Envirokidz crispy rice bars

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B R E A K F A S T

We keep it pretty simple and the kids eat the same things over and over like pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, and cereal. The adults tend to stick to eggs and oatmeal.

chocolate pancakes with bacon and milk

L U N C H

A lot of the groceries we buy actually go towards the kids’ lunches. You can see a post I wrote here on the foods I usually buy. Lunches typically include a protein, vegetable, fruit, dairy and small snack.

D I N N E R – M O N D A Y

– salmon (salt, pepper, minced garlic, olive oil, baked in cold oven at 400 degrees for 40 min)
– asparagus (sauteed in butter, salt, pepper)
– roasted kabocha squash
– rice

Charlie finished his rice and salmon, had one bite of squash and I don’t think he touched his asparagus. Olive finished her rice, half her salmon, and almost all the asparagus and squash. Olive tends to eat vegetables better while Charlie tends to eat proteins better. Overall they’ve both been eating pretty well lately!

T U E S D A Y

– rotini with mushrooms, onions, ground beef, in marinara sauce
– spaghetti squash (sliced in half, baked face down in 400 degrees, then sauteed in a pan with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley)

W E D N E S D A Y

– Rotisserie chicken
– roasted cauliflower (minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, 400 degrees)
– mac and cheese

T H U R S D A Y

Kids:
– sullungtang (beef broth soup) with rice
– broccoli sauteed with garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil

Adults:
– Ground turkey with taco seasoning wrapped in lettuce cups with tomato and cilantro

F R I D A Y

– Chicken porridge
– roasted brussel sprouts (minced garlic, salt, pepper, 400 degrees)

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I keep the vegetables pretty simple and roast as much as I can because it takes the least about of work (squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts). Just add minced garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil and pop it in the oven at 400 degrees. When I need something fast I boil frozen peas or corn. Other dinners in frequent rotation include:

• chicken katsu
• egg battered tofu (or just boiled and then dipped into a soy sauce/sesame oil/water mixture)
• fried rice with egg, sesame oil, soy sauce and whatever veggies we have on hand (like onion, carrot, mushrooms)
• steamed eggs
• seaweed soup
• meatballs
• pizza (on weekends)
• chicken stir-fry

What does your weekly grocery list look like?