Meal Planning Monday (now with lunchbox and snack ideas and a budget!)

As our economy heads into a tailspin, I've been thinking a lot about what this means for our family. Ever since I had Bunny in 2002, we've learned to basically live on one income. My work as a freelancer isn't always steady so we view anything above and beyond my husband's salary as icing on the cake. We've been living on a budget for six years now, so as people around me tighten their belts yet again, I thought I'd add a little twist to my weekly meal plans: I'll share how much I spent (roughly) on groceries for the week, and I'll also share some lunchbox and snack ideas. Of course I share these ideas (the weekly meal plans, lunchbox, and snack ideas) hoping that you will do the same since I get so much inspiration from all of you. If it takes a village to raise a child, maybe we can pull together to share some economical tips on how to continue to feed our families healthfully, locally, organically...without breaking the bank.

Lately, I've been doing lots of our grocery shopping at a small, local market in Silicon Valley called Milk Pail Market, pictured above. (For me eating locally also means supporting local grocery stores as much as possible.) It's the kind of market that carries an abundance of local produce including an absolutely dizzying selection of fruit (maybe a little banged up or bruised) and hundreds of different kinds of imported cheeses and a plethora of dairy items. It caters to an ethnic population (lots of items appeal to Asians or the growing Russian population in our area) so prices are reasonable. It also has quite a following among people who love to bake so their freezers are chock-full of bread dough, unbaked croissants and pizza crusts, and bulk items like cream cheese, farmer's cheese, butter, and heavy whipping cream sold by the quart.

This week, I spent $65 on:

organic milk
cage-free vegetarian-fed brown eggs
a wedge of Pecorino Romano
2 containers of crumbled imported French chevre (reduced for quick sale)*
a 6-ounce hunk of "gourmet" cream cheese (reduced for quick sale)*
1 container of buffalo mozzarella in water (reduced for quick sale)*
1 lb of unsalted butter
2 packages of veal pelmeny
2 packages of dried pasta
couscous from the bulk bin
dried white beans from the bulk bin
a loaf of whole grain bread
zucchini
cabbage
roma tomatoes
a container of cherry tomatoes
carrots
celery
spinach
lettuce
dill
onions
cauliflower
an English cucumber
2 pomegranates
8 russet potatoes (my girls are on a baked potato kick)
bananas
a 5lb bag of organic apples
fresh corn

*all of these "expire" in October, so the "specials" section is a great place to shop in this market

With all of that, and supplementing things I already had at home, here's what I plan on cooking this week:

• Monday—Bratwurst w/ sauteed onions, cauliflower soup (a staple in our house, also--fascinated by Sam's experiments!), baked potatoes, salad (the chevre goes on the salad)
• Tuesday—Italian pasta and bean soup
• Wednesday—Shakshouka and couscous
• Thursday—Russian sweet and sour cabbage soup and pelmeny on the side
• Friday—Saturday I will be attending West Coast Green so I'm not sure what I'll do to make sure my family is eating.

Yes, it's a lot of soup (because we are a family of soup freaks), but my aim is to freeze a batch of each kind for a later meal.

In terms of healthy school lunches, here are some of the things I've been packing in Bunny's lunchbox (Lucky for me, she actually could eat the same thing every day without complaint. She likes "regularity."):

• peanut butter and honey sandwiches
• Swiss cheese sandwiches
• tomato, cucumber, and cream cheese sandwiches (she likes to eat what Frances in "Bread and Jam for Frances" eats for lunch)
• hummus and whole wheat pita
• little containers of snap peas, cherry tomatoes, and or carrot sticks
• yogurt tubes (frozen)
• cut up cheese and crackers
• cut up apples (she has two wiggly front teeth and can't eat whole fruits)
• thermoses full of soup or leftover pasta
• tofu cubes, rice balls, and little packages of nori

I've been buying her favorite "sweet and salty nut" granola bars, but this week, to save a little more moolah, I am going to start making my own using a recipe from 101 Cookbooks.

Whew!  That was a blog-ful, but I hope it was helpful.  What are you cooking and packing this week?

Comments

[Rattling the Kettle]

I hope she's able to make her school lunches come out even...

[Lauren]

I love your blog so much, Stefania. This was great info, and I love reading about how others live and are making ends meet right now.

Thanks for sharing!

[Nicole]

LOVE Milk Pail.

I need to get my family more into soups- cheap and they last.

[Amelia Sprout]

We're trying to do more cooking at home, but it is still warm, and the grill is broken. I make a mean meatloaf, packed with oatmeal and extra veggies to make it go farther, then pack it in meatloaf sandwiches for lunch. I've also been trying to hit the end of season specials at the farmer's market where they sell half/quarter bushels of tomatoes, peppers, etc for cheaper. Still not sure what I can freeze/pickle yet though.
My one major saving thing to do is to buy meat when it is on special, and take advantage of our chest freezer (originally purchased to hold breast milk) One of our best purchases ever.

[Karen]

what a great post - so much info! I will absolutely have to check out the Milk Pail. We had a great little shop like that when I was going to school in Santa Cruz - Prospero's. It was great for a student's budget. We are also eating a lot of soups these days. I know I am always going on about Persian food but I can stretch a dollar making Persian stews and rice and everyone eats happy. My biggest problem these days is school lunches. My daughter's class is nut free which really limits my protein choices since my girl eats little meat and only feta cheese. Now that it's cooler I can send her with a thermos of leftovers, but it is still a challenge to find something that she likes and will keep her going. I love that Bunny wants a "Frances lunch" - that was always one of my favorite books. Keep up the good work Stefania. I get lots of ideas here and my family always likes your recipes.

[Kayris]

Bread and Jam For Frances is a great favorite in our house.

My meal plan for the week is here. I'm going for the things I can make in my sleep, because I have a busy week ahead of me.

My son is in preschool and they only have snack time, which is fruit and water. He is not a big fruit eater, so I'm hoping he'll have expanded his choices by the end of the year.

[erin]

Thank you for reminding me of Bread and Jam for Frances. Maybe I can get my one twin off his "brown / white food diet".

We have been awful about cooking in the past 6 weeks. Tonight W was stressing about a million things and one of them on his list was making a meatloaf. I was like, dude, let's get Thai. This is our first week of normalcy in a while and I told him that next week...we had to have a food plan (including kids lunches). So look for my post next week and thank you for your ideas this week.

[Lisa]

Funny, my co-editor/blogger & I have just been writing about restraint (& lack thereof) regarding fresh berries. I wish I could find it in me to spend $65 a week on my food bill. That's about what I spend at my local farmer's market in the winter. I will try hard to remember your example next week, though I probably spent more that even before I had kids. Sigh.

This week I'm cooking:

Monday: local farm eggs (we eat these once a week), broccoli,roasted peppers w/anchovies & garlic (these come out every night)
Tuesday: grilled halibut, green beans
Wednesday: pesto, fresh tomatoes
Thursday: Trader Joes Teryaki chicken, frozen edamame (playdate dinner, my housecleaner comes)
Friday: homemade pizza (every friday, w/o fail, fresh chard
Saturday: something grilled or roasted, depending on the weather, I have a nice pork shoulder waiting in my freezer for a cool day and a milk braise and a few small lamb chops)
Sunday: probably fresh fish, that I'll pick up at market

[porter]

I'm going to make you a huge big bet that I couldn't buy all that for $65 up her in Canada! That said, there is something to be said about cooking from scratch...it's cheaper not to mention better tasting and better for ya!
I'm making both of those soups asap, do they both freeze well? I'm assuming yes since you plan to freeze a batch. We are huge soup fans here (only homemade though).
You are LUCKY that your kids can still do nuts and peanut butter at school...we are nut free at every school in the area.
And last but not least (sorry for the really long comment) we FINALLY got hold of a copy of Pinkalicious....SUCH A GREAT BOOK! Thanks for recommending it..there was another about sisters but I can't remember the title now.....

[Stefania]

Lisa, i could easily spend $65 at my farmer's market every week, and sometimes do, esp in the winter time when i crave fresh veggies.

That's what I spent this week knowing we had some staples in the cupboard. If I were buying meat or fish i'd add another $20-$40 to the spending. Wine? Another $20 at least.

We're making a conscious effort to eat mostly veg so that, surprisingly, has been saving us money.

[Asianmommy]

I'm not so organized to have planned out a whole week's menu. Last night, we had baked honey mustard chicken drumsticks and tonight will probably be spaghetti.
As for lunch, our preschool is also nut-free, so I pack soynut butter and jelly or turkey or cheese sandwiches, with yogurt, grapes, raisins, carrots, applesauce, or crackers.

[Kady]

Awesome post, Stefania. My family's on a budget kick as well, but we haven't really gotten to the food bill yet. Our food bill is astronomical compared to yours.

I'm so excited for soup season, and you've now inspired me to do an all-soup weekend this weekend.

P.S. Loo LOVES Bread and Jam for Frances and she desperately wants me to pack Albert's lunch for her (including all the accoutrements). I tell her to keep dreaming.

[crazedparent]

So do you plan out your entire menu before you go shopping? (You may have mentioned it before but I can't remember?) I can never manage to spend less than $150 (including farmer's market, csa box and grocery store). Trying so hard to reduce.

[Anne]

*waves from San Jose* Hi neighbor! I never knew that MilkPail was back behind that shopping center, even though I've been there often. Too bad it's on the other side of the valley from me, or I'd visit more often!

If you're ever in Sunnyvale, check out the produce market at the corner of Wolf and Old San Fran Road (it's in the same shopping center as Subway, across the street from Safeway). They have a great assortment of produce at reasonable prices. They also have a section of purple bags, filled with bulk fruit and veggies that are either nearing their life (not rotting but very ripe) or just not up to par (extra bruises, too small, etc). I've found some great deals there....as long as you can deal with the loud hispanic music. ;-)
Anne

[Leticia- Tech Savvy Mama]

Wow- $65 for all that is amazing! I've been going to the Milk Pail since I was little and going there when I'm back in the Bay Area brings back memories. I always have to pick up the unbaked croissants, pack or 2 of Its Its, check out the cheeses, and walk among the bulk food bins. They have some of the freshest and reasonably priced produce. My mom is always talking about her "finds" at Milk Pail on the phone to me!

[kat]

i'm a *huge* fan of the milk pail and my parents are recent converts. i love the idea of an open air market 7 days a week. just as nice as a farmers market on a sunday!

[kat]

i'm a *huge* fan of the milk pail and my parents are recent converts. i love the idea of an open air market 7 days a week. just as nice as a farmers market on a sunday!

[katelin]

i love all the different foods you make, such eclectic tastes, it's so cool.

[Mara]

Cannot tell you how happy it makes me that you plan your meals like this! I thought I was the only one out there who did so. Discovering your site has been a big hallelujah for me in many ways. I may not comment much, but I learn something every time I'm here.

I've been saving all my weekly menus (written on scraps of paper and posted on the fridge) since the beginning of the year. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them at the end of 2008, but I'm carefully keeping them in a folder.

[kelli]

I love the Milk Pail! My weekly route used to be Milk Pail, Trader Joe's (on the other side of the mall), Target and Bumble Bee Foods.