Stephanie Moram

Project Green Foot- Week 20

Project Green Foot

I eat too much, and just for the record I am heathy! Look at our grocery bill- it is absolutely crazy. <sigh>

People wonder how we can afford to eat this way and I often wonder the same thing. We have decided that food is where we want to put our money. It is important to us to eat foods that are not only good for us, but the environment as well. This week I ate and juiced a large amount of fruits and veggies. Therefore, I bought lots and had some left from the following week.

The weather is nice here in Texas. I think I am going to start looking into when the farmers market begins to help reduce our food bill. Also, one little thing I am pledging is to no longer order tortillas chips when we eat at Chipotle. First, it adds up over time and second, they are a whopping 570 calories per serving. For what? 5 chips? If I feel the need, I am going to bring a small bag of organic ones with me to eat that I can purchase in a paper bag.

Do you find it difficult to eat local/organic foods?

1-PURCHASES

Groceries: Whole Foods

  • 1 celery stalk
  • 2 bunches of dandelion leaves
  • 4 red/yellow pepper (bonus fair-trade)
  • 4 glass bottles of kombucha
  • Raw honey x2
  • 8 local oranges in bulk (4.38 lbs)
  • 9 apples in bulk
  • Sunflower seeds in bulk
  • 7 pints of blueberries (4.99 each….ouch!)
  • 8 local portobello mushrooms (2.54 lbs)
  • Amaranth in bulk (2.63 lbs)
  • Millet in bulk (1.37 lbs)
  • Raisins in bulk
  • Peanut butter in bulk
  • 2 packages of tempeh
  • 6 bunches of bananas (8 lbs)
  • Carrots in bulk
  • 1 loaf of honey wheat bread
  • 2 cucumbers on bulk
  • 4 raw treats….oops I couldn't resist

Sub-total: 187.12

Non-food items

  • Toilet paper
  • New chapters organic prenatal vitamins (I am not pregnant, still nursing for those wondering)
  • Plexy glass to cover the firs place 25.96

Sub-Total: 86.95

Restaurants

  • Tuesday and Saturday: we went to Chipotle for lunch 28.88
  • Friday: We went for pizza, beer and water at Fire Side Pies 46.05

Sub-Total: 74.93

Total: 349.00

2-COMPOSTING

I really love to compost and I am looking forward to the day I will be able to compost in my backyard ! The total weight of our compost was 11.8 lbs. Looking at the composting bin, it became quite clear that we eat a crap load of banana’s.

3-RECYCLING

We purchased more blueberries this week that came pre-packaged in plastic. I am really trying to reduce our plastic purchases, but it can be so hard at times, especially when Little E is chowing down on blueberries like crazy. We also had some plastic wrap from the tempeh and plastic film from the plexiglass that needs to be recycled.

4-TRASH

The trash this week comprised of: veggie/fruit stickers, plastic banana wrap, receipts, plastic from Kombucha bottles, and plastic wrap from the tempeh. Some of the veggies were wrapped with plastic elastics, but I will keep them incase I ever need them again.

5-TRAVEL

This week, we travelled to Frisco, Tx for little E’s doctor appointment, the little gym, to get food, and J.P drove to work once this week. We most definitely drove more because Frisco, Tx is about an hour away- so you can approximate the miles travelled to and from. One thing I am going to work on is trying to get my food all at once and not want a few little stops here and there. This way we use less gas and mileage and also reduce our gas emissions! The total distance traveled on the TDI was 368.9 km (229.2 mi). We didn't have to fill up this week!

Lining up: Meet and greet Monday , Mingle Monday, Give it to me Monday, Monday blog hop, Monday Madness, Monday beauties, and The cure for the common Monday

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Comments

  1. Small Footprints says

    Wow … I look at your grocery list and I’m so impressed … every single item is healthy. I do find it difficult to find local, organic food … especially at this time of year. Basically, in my area, the only thing local is apples. But, I try to stay as local as possible … if I have a choice between something that is grown in California vs. South America, I choose California. It’s not perfect but it’s the only way I can get a variety of foods (and nutrients). Food which comes in plastic is another tough one … there just aren’t many other options. I write letters and I’m vocal about it but … it’s still either do with the plastic or do without the food. Some of the farmers in our area will take them to sell their fruits and veggies in during the summer so … at least I feel like they aren’t going straight to a landfill.

    We do the best we can, right … and hopefully, if we continue to talk about it and ask for something different, companies will begin to listen.

  2. Jennifer @noteasy2begreen says

    Hello! Found you through the Small Footprints linky. I am also impressed with your grocery list! What do you do with amaranth? I like the name but have no idea how to cook with it. Same with tempeh!

    I can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods all the time, so I get most of my produce from the nearby greengrocer and the rest of it from the Asian supermarket. Not all of it is organic, but my spouse and I are both light eaters, so we eat well on mostly whole foods (hey! who put the potato chips in the cart?) for about $50 a week. Being in California makes it a lot easier to eat locally even in the winter, and it’s definitely cheaper, too. Even my banana-loving spouse has agreed that he probably doesn’t need imported bananas every week!

    • Good Girl Gone Green says

      Amaranth is similar to quinoa and millet. If you google it, you will find different ways to cook with it. It is sweeter than quinoa though, so many people use it in the morning as a porridge,

  3. RumpyDog! says

    Where I live some of the local farmers have an online virtual farmer’s market. They list what they have available (some are hydroponics this time of year) and I can order and pick up at a scheduled time. If your state has a website for local farmers, check and see if there’s something similar there.

    • Good Girl Gone Green says

      WOW, that sounds so awesome. Thanks, I will look not that! I do get a CSA basket every 2 weeks from a local farmers but it is not nearly enough veggies and fruit to last a 2 week, maybe a week! 🙂

  4. Tonja says

    In Colorado in the winter it’s definitely hard to get organic food. And I don’t just buy it because it’s organic, I want it to come from around here, not Peru, where a lot of organic fruits come from. Just because it’s organic doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a HUGE carbon footprint!

    And don’t feel bad about your food bill, in countries like Italy, France, and Spain where they value good food and the gathering together of friends and family to eat, they spend more on food each month than almost any other purchases they make. Long live good eats!

    • Good Girl Gone Green says

      I try to buy all my foods locally and at least from the USA. I know some organic foods come from other countries but I just don’t buy organic for the environment, it is for my health too! I refuse to eat conventional potatoes and berries. My daughter loves blueberries and for a while that is all she wanted. I had to buy them from Mexico. I could have bough conventional from California but I don’t want her eating pesticides and herbicides. Like I said I try to buy everything locally but sometimes it is really hard. When I move back to Montreal, Quebec- nothing is in season really during the winter, and everything pretty much comes form the USA, so that is going to be a challenge. we all do what we can! 🙂

  5. mrs green @littlegreenblog.com says

    Hey from the meet and Greet! I loved reading about your eating habits because my friends are shocked at home much I spend, but like you, I prioritise good food. I feel it’s the ‘greenest’ thing I can do in many ways because if I’m healthy then I have the energy to continue my daily green practises. WHen I’m ill, out comes the convenience in every form – jumping in the car, chucking something from a tin on a plate to eat, needing lots of baths of hot water for comfort, putting the heating on because I’m chilled – then you go in a downward spiral. Over here in the UK I’m blessed that I live in farming areas so have the choice of 3 local organic farm shops and a couple of health food shops. We have lots of local orchards for fruit and I can even buy organic meat, cheese and eggs. So I feel very lucky!

  6. The Organic Blonde says

    Love the list!! I use a lot of amaranth when I can find it! Not so much the portabello mushrooms but everything else (except the fact you can get dandelion greens… so jealous) sounds like my grocery list except for half the price (if not more… damned Doha!)
    Anyway, it sounds like you are doing everything right. Now all I have to do is beat the Qatari government into submission to do the same!
    Stopping by from the Meet & Greet!

  8. Jessica says

    Hi, I am a new follower from the Blog it Forward Tuesday blog hop. Your grocery list is amazing! I always want to buy healthier foods, but I do still have some snack/junk type foods that I buy. I definitely want to work on getting more food at once, I know I make way to many trips to the store.

    Jessica

  9. Kris says

    You know what..I was really really big into couponing etc the last several years. I had a system and was able to save a ton at the grocery store and on health/beauty/home items. Then I decided to make a life change and really focus on eating healthy and using organic products, making things (including cleaners) from scratch etc. I noticed the food bill going up because organic is more expensive, but as I convinced husband to cook from scratch and not eat chips, etc, I stopped buy as much processed foods. I noticed the grocery bill going back down. So yes..organic items are expensive but if we aren’t buying the expensive processed stuff, our bills are ok. Plus making some of the cleaning supplies and using wool dryer balls etc, doing that kind of thing lowered the bills at other stores. I figure we’re coming out even on monday but ahead on life.

  10. Lori Popkewitz Alper says

    It’s really fun seeing how others shop. Thanks for sharing your list! I have three hungry boys so my groceries are never ending! I can’t keep up. I buy a lot of the same items that you have on your list. We also belong to a CSA which a great source for fresh produce, but I definitely need to supplement. Thanks for the peek into your very green life!