"Nothin' Ain't Worth a Dime"

And thus begins my experimentation.

These next couple weeks I'm buying all my own groceries (though still living at home) to see if it's possible to eat healthily, and even sometimes luxuriously without breaking the bank and burning the proverbial hole in my pocket. Goal? $25 a week, and if I find that is easier than expected once I master a few principles, than fewer.

The aim is not to starve myself or to deprive myself but rather to test if it's possible to eat enough and nutritiously without going bankrupt. Mom read an article from the 50's once that said, if you are in a dire situation, keep in mind that most people can live off of 1/3-1/2 of what they normally eat. Now, that is obviously deprivation, because it's in the case of bare necessity, but it was also the 50's and we eat much more, and a far wider spectrum, these days.

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Here's a chart of the groceries I bought at Ray's and Hy-Vee Saturday 7/16/2011:

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Of course, some of it was staples that will last quite a few weeks. I spent $62.50 at Ray's and $25.68 at Hy-Vee. I also spent $6.36 at a Farmer's Market in Topeka, and got:

3 medium tomatoes

2 small russet potatoes

1 thin long hot green pepper

2 medium cucumbers

1 medium and 2 small peaches

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Gas to go into Topeka was $20 so I think it's really more cost-effective to shop at Ray's, unless I just got the cheap staples (like Whole Wheat Pasta) every so often in Topeka, when I was there on some other purpose.

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Tuesday is a big sale on bananas at Ray's, and later in the week I'll get some tuna or fish (also some raisins). The ideal is to shop every couple days and spend a couple dollars, just keeping it light and simple and fresh. I like "localism" so I'd like to buy from locals, or get it from the garden. This morning we harvested 7 carrots, which I blanched and froze. I may plant another round to harvest mid- to late October. Their season is roughly 3 months.