Food Challenge January: Week 1

We are one week into my 2017 cut the cost of eating challenge.  And I am already in trouble, I think.

The government, specifically the Department of Agriculture, keeps track of the cost of eating a nutritious diet.  There are three different levels but I decided to see if I could feed Mike and I at what the government labels the thrifty level.  This is the level upon which SNAP benefits are based.

According to the government, it should cost me $86.20 per week or $12.31 per day to feed us.  That means in January I have $381.61 to cover food eaten at home or away from home.

I think deciding to start a food cost challenge the same time I decided to start a high protein/ low carb diet may not have been my brightest move.

Protein costs money, as we all know.  And we are eating a lot of protein.

And, when we traveled home from D.C. we paid a lot of money to buy that protein.
This diet had better work, or I have really wasted a lot financially.

So, what have I bought:
butter, cheese, eggs, nuts, summer sausage, low carb wraps and bread, almond meal flour, sugar freechocolate and hard candy, flax tortilla chips, vanilla protein powder, psyllium, sweet peppers, blackberries, pickles, soda, heavy cream and dry soy beans.

And what have we eaten:
Wraps, meatza and spinach patties, almond flour chocolate chunks cookies, sugar free pistachio pudding, chef salad, eggs and bacon, omelet, chicken, turkey sandwich on lettuce, ham with asparagus and broccoli, mushu pork with fried green beans and blackberries, soybean and ham soup with grilled cheese.

What have we spent:
Restaurant.    $63.18. ( The D.C. trip and Mike's barstool sailing )
Groceries.       $140.22
TOTAL Week One:     $203.40

Money remaining for the month:  $178.21.

I still have salvage grocery shopping to do next weekend.  But, if I can keep us out of restaurants, we MIGHT just do this.

Fingers crossed.