How Far Can $120 Worth Of Food Go

Monday morning was grocery shopping morning. With a view to NOT enter the supermarkets all produce was purchased from the local businesses. We're really lucky where we live because our green grocers has a huge variety of produce including accompaniments like sauces, spices, noodles...

Fruit and vegetables came to $70. Break down: sweat potato, 5 garlic bulbs, handful of fresh ginger, 6 mandarins, bag of apples, bunch of bananas, 500g strawberries, grapes, 6 figs, 4 large carrots, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas, free range eggs, trio of dips, a bag of walnuts to snack on and tomato passata.

Meat from local butcher, consisting of a handful of chicken necks for the dog, a handful of small chicken pieces and 3 chicken breasts, came to $18 (the necks and pieces are cheap).

Local bakery, three wholemeal loaves of bread came to $5.

Italian delicatessen, 3 bags of pasta, mozzarella, large bag of parmesan and large bag of Italian cookies (for school snacks), came to $25.

Monday dinssert = (Dinssert - a word coined by JOLI meaning having dessert for dinner)
Rhubarb and apple supplied by a friend who grows their own produce. Crumble made from ingredients already in the pantry (what I refer to as staples*).

Tuesday dinner =
Pasta neapolitana. One bag of rigatoni pasta topped with some left over tomato sauce I made the previous Sunday lunch (before shopping) and parmesan cheese.

Wednesday dinner =
Minestrone made with the handful of chicken pieces, onion, garlic, 4 potatos (from last weeks shopping), one carrot, rehydrated chick peas* and a quarter bag of riccioli pasta.

Thursday dinner =
Stir fry vegetables with rice.  Broccoli, snow peas, garlic and ginger, with an egg, coriander and oyster sauce*.

During this time a banana cake was made with old bananas and staples. I did a quick shop on Thursday to get milk and butter because I forgot to get these on Monday.

Friday dinner =
Cauliflower and chicken soup, with one whole cauliflower, one chicken breast fillet, garlic, onion, stock and a cup of dried lentils*.

Saturday dinner =
Left over minestrone.

Sunday dinner =
Bread and trio of dips.  The bread was warmed in an oven after being lightly tossed with olive oil then served with a trio of dips.

We made a carrot cake on Sunday with two of the carrots and a cup of the walnuts, eggs and staples.

This is to feed a family of three and by Sunday we have 4 bananas, two apples, half a bunch of grapes, garlic, ginger, cucumber and sweet potato, two chicken fillets, two loaves of bread (we must have had at least another half a loaf prior to shopping) and the accompaniments such as cheese, milk etc.

Monday dinner =
Chicken breast baked in tomato sauce with onion, garlic and mozzarella cheese, served with sweet potato mash.

Tuesday dinner =
Cucumber salad with feta cheese and home grown olives.  The last bag of pasta with parmesan cheese (with bolognese sauce made with mince from the freezer) plus home-made garlic bread with half a French stick (from the freezer).

Wednesday dinner =
Left over cauliflower soup with buttered bread.

Breakfast is cereal* and milk, lunch is a sandwiches, biscuits, fruit and water, afternoon snack is fruit or cookies, sometimes yogurt if we have it or cake if we've made some.

*Staples = from the pantry / freezer - items usually in stock.