Eating Well on Sixty: 6/12-6/18

I could easily spend an entire paycheck at the store each week. Sometimes I make excuses to go to Whole Foods when I really don't need to. Luckily, Brett is quite good at knowing when we really do need to, and when I'm just having WF hallucinations. (That alone probably saves us close to $1000 each year).But now that new school bills are looming in the very near future, it's time to get serious. And since I couldn't find many $60 meal plans that were healthy, delicious and vegetarian, I decided that I would create my own. Armed with three $20 bills, we will eat. And we will eat well.

I think one thing that can really kill a food budget is food waste (am I stating the obvious?). I know that it's easy to go over budget on snack items, but over here- I can go over budget with some interesting produce selections. Which is why I have a rule- I need to be able to see the shelving of my fridge. There cannot be so much food that I begin to forget that there are clear shelves somewhere in there. This is what our $60/week fridge looks like:

Keep it clean, kids!

(Oh, the soda behind the brita? Not mine. There's someone living with me that enjoys watching hockey with his friends, and friends brought over ginger ale. No. I have not had one glass. Have I?)

This week, for $74 (EMMA, YOU SAID 60 OR LESS?!- Yeah, well.I got carried away this week. I promise to be better next time. You can still do these dishes for 60 if you DON'T buy organic, freal!) this is what we are eating:

*Also, can I just say- summer meals are more expensive, and I really need to figure out how to cut the bill down. It's just so hard to resist fresh, farmer's market produce...*sigh*. Winter/fall is so much easier with soups and whatnot*

Breakfast

-oatmeal with raisins and walnuts and butternut squash

-toast with peanut butter and fruit

-greek yogurt/granola/berry parfait

Lunch

Most days, leftovers from dinner will be eaten the next day as lunch. Other days, these are what I rotate in:

-veggie burger veggie wrap with veggies and slice of cheese

-baby green salad with green peppers, tofu

-brown rice, broccoli, spinach, and tofu

Dinner

Sunday

-Tofu Saag Paneer (From Skinny Bitch cookbook)

(Hear me out: I am NOT a food photographer or a food stylist. There is no way to make this dish look like a basket of joy. BUT- it tastes incredible and it's loaded with healthy nutrients, so give it a whirl, wouldja?!)

Monday

-Quesadillas with black bean n' sweet corn salad

Tuesday

-Veggie chickpea coconut curry with fresh basil

(Use leftover coconut milk from saag paneer!)

Wednesday

-Butternut squash ravioli made with homemade wonton wrappers and salad (Again, this recipe is from SB book- I LOVE it. However, I am too frugal to buy it and so I got it from the library and I've made copies of the recipes that I'm using. Is that legal?)

The wonton wrappers recipe is so simple, and we made them on Sunday before storing them in a ziplock baggie in the freezer. I cannot wait to try this recipe!

 Thursday

-Tempeh lime cilantro salad (from this book)with walnuts and garlic knots (The garlic knots came from THIS book- a wonderful Christmas present from my mawmma!)

Friday

-pasta with roasted veggies, salad

Saturday

-Pizza on homemade dough!

Snacks/Treats

-popcorn with Parmesan cheese and spices

-greek yogurt with grapes

-mini smoothies with frozen fruit

Last Week

Enjoy!

(I'm obsessed. Sorry)