A post of mine, about how I feed my family on $300 a month, has been getting a lot of attention lately. It was featured on Forbes.com and Lifehacker. Very flattering. Especially considering how dry that post was. Especially considering that I thought this was pretty much how everyone eats. Shows what I know.
Most of the feedback I’ve received has been positive. I ignore that, of course.
Instead, I choose to focus on those that have left really insightful comments like:
“I’d like to see more fresh fruits and vegetables in this menu”.
Uh, yeah. ME TOO.
“This is so unhealthy, you’d be better off eating at McDonald’s.”
Really? Can I, please? After fifteen years, I’m SO over cooking.
Other people have commented that they would never be able to follow our menu because they require much more meat, or seafood, or less carbs, or less pesticides, or something. I HEAR YOU. I’d love more meat, more seafood (please, God, let me come back as a shark) and organic/free-range/grass-fed vegetables! I mean, seriously, I’d substitute lobster for pasta any day. Unfortunately, I have a very limited budget, a very large family, and a major aversion to being arrested for shoplifting.
My menu was never intended to be an example of “best-practices” in nutrition. It is simply an example of how I feed my family on the budget I have.
However, I thought it might be fun to live, if only virtually, in a world where money was no object. So, here’s how I’d feed my family on $300 A DAY.
A couple notes before I get down to the nitty-gritty:
- I can’t provide any actual recipes, because my cook, Vera, is in charge of all that. The kitchen is simply where I get my coffee. My fair-trade, organic, rainforest-protected coffee, sweetened with organically grown raw sugar and organic cream from local, grass-fed, happy cows.
- I also can’t provide any real prices. The places I shop have a strict “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. If you need to know how much it costs, you shouldn’t be shopping there.
- I know this menu looks pretty bare. That’s because we eat out (Zagat approved, only!) a lot and pick up many meals from the Whole Foods buffet when we are in a hurry. After all, sometimes you don’t know what you’re in the mood for until you see it, and we can’t overburden poor Vera, what, with all the running from Farmer’s market to Co-op to Fresh-catch seafood to Dean and Delucca’s she has to do.
So, without further ado:
Day One:
Breakfast: Fresh bagel from the local Jewish bakery, topped with lox, cream cheese from the dairy down the road, capers and tomatoes – both purchased at the local farmer’s market. Raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries artfully displayed around a broiled half grapefruit.
Lunch: Sushi, of course. Perhaps a rainbow roll with with salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and brown rice. A salad of locally grown baby greens, heirloom tomatoes, avocado, artichoke hearts, various exotic mushrooms, and pine nuts.
Dinner: An appetizer of whole artichokes with dipping sauce; kale salad with mandarin oranges, red onion (none for the kids, please) toasted sliced almonds, and roasted beets; steamed Maine lobster – flown in, if possible, asparagus, and roasted butternut squash with a drizzle of real maple syrup.
Dessert: Anything Boo Gordon makes – especially that Lemon-coconut cake, served with decaf coffee and Bailey’s Irish Cream.
Day Two:
Breakfast: Frittata with asparagus, spinach, uncured bacon, and a sprinkling of gouda; banana, mango and greek yogurt smoothie.
Lunch: Steak fajitas with grass fed beef, organic bell peppers, and whole wheat tortillas; side of sautéed zucchini and squash (imported extra virgin olive oil only, please) and non-GMO corn.
Dinner: Veal Marsala; broiled heirloom tomatoes stuffed with risotto, mushrooms and orange bell peppers.
Dessert: none, even we aren’t that gluttonous.
Day Three:
Breakfast: Belgian whole-wheat waffles with low-fat, organic sour cream, fresh berries, and real maple syrup; fresh made vegetarian sausage.
Lunch: Bed of organic spring greens topped with grilled salmon, blanched green beans, and feta cheese.
Dinner: An appetizer of oysters on the half shell, steamed shrimp for the children; beef tenderloin, sweet potato wedges and medley of whole green beans and wax beans steamed with fresh herbs.
Dessert: Creme brûlée.
Day Four:
Breakfast: Green Goddess smoothie; multi-grain toast with part-skim ricotta, broiled peaches, and local honey.
Lunch: Lobster bisque; salad of spring greens with more heirloom tomatoes and a sprinkling of blue cheese.
Dinner: Grilled mahi-mahi; roasted root vegetables, broccolini.
Day Five:
Seriously? There are so many lovely restaurants to try…
Perhaps we’ll begin at The Westin by breakfasting on this $1,000 bagel:
For lunch, how about some Indian? We’ll pop over to London, hit the Bombay Brasserie, and pick up an order of this Samundari Khazana. At $3,200, it’s a bit of a splurge, but we’ve saved so much by eating at home this week.
The most expensive curry contains Devon crab, white truffle, Beluga caviar, gold leaf, a Scottish lobster coated in gold, four abalones and four quail eggs.
Finally, for dinner, let’s slum a little and go for ramen. Yes, yes, we’re killing our diet but we’ll begin our cleanse Monday. I’ve heard there’s little spot in Tokyo where we can pick up a bowl for just $110.
“Five-Taste Blend Imperial Noodles”
Alas, I hear my todschoolers waking upstairs. It’s time to return the real world. I’m going to wander into my kitchen and make yet another pot of oatmeal, no it’s not even steel-cut. But it does include raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon and all my love and best intentions. My kids eat it up.
If you’d like to see how we really eat you can go here.
Featured image from TaxCredits.net and modified by your’s truly.
Superb!
Not as good as your cake!
Those are the exact same choices I would make! Love that you select tomatoes for so many menus…the tomato is a uniter, as well you know, fellow Eastie-at-heart!
Tomatoes: bringing fruits and vegetables together!!
Perfect! Seriously, commonsense has left the planet!
Get an auto reply that says, “GET OVER YOURSELF” with a photo of your kids attached to send to all the haters. They have no idea what they’re missing with all their expensive fru fru foodieness.
Hi, just a note from your “older” reader, Mrs. Gottrocks. I’m enjoying my civet-poop coffee this morning as I peruse your new post. I’m glad the original was picked up by Forbes and Lifehacker because it deserves to be read by everybody. I’m thinking now of the nutritional judges, like the McDonald’s commenter.
I like posting on Facebook about my various bargains and finds. We have a fresh produce store in this neighborhood that is indescribably wonderful, and I can eat like a queen from Aldi and the produce store. My produce store bill in the summer is about $6/week. (I know that because that’s the minimum amount you can spend and use your debit card.) My small freezer is always busy putting up fruit or berries or certain veggies so I’ll have them to enjoy when they’re out of season. I also use Leann Brown’s “Good and Cheap” cookbook, and it was through her that I found your original post.
Most of my friends applaud all this, vow to drive out to visit the produce store, or report that they’ve started shopping at Aldi. But a couple of folks make the oddest comments. My stuff isn’t organic, and it’s probably GM, and I’m going to die young. Aldi’s is some kind of plot to take over the world. Instead of Leann’s divine cold spicy Asian noodles with thin sliced fresh veg, I should be making my own instant lunches from dehydrated organic chicken and vegetables with whole wheat noodles and vegetarian broth powder. And then there’s my personal favorite, the yogurt. I like plain (not Greek) vanilla low fat yogurt in 32 ounce tubs costing $1.89. I’m told I should be eating nothing but organic Greek yogurt made by a certain company that costs $6.95 per single serving container.
You’re doing a great job with your kids and your family food budget. They’re getting plenty of good, nourishing food that sticks with them, and little if any junk. You have lots of variety in your meals. And you’ve published them here so that everybody can benefit. My guess is you’ve changed some lives for the better. The Interwebs are full of experts who aren’t really experts, and they really come out of the woodwork when people start talking about food. If you’ve got one way of doing things, it somehow implies criticism of what they’re doing. You haven’t passed yourself off as an expert. You don’t preach, you don’t pontificate, you just shared your excellent budget and menus.
Besides, I have a guilty secret: Once a month, I spend about eight dollars on a slab of ruby-red ahi tuna from the nearby Giant (referred to here as the “Gucci Giant.”) And on another day, I buy myself either a coronary-on-a-bun from Mickey D’s, or a serving of fried chicken and ranch fries from Royal Farms, or a Philly cheesesteak from the local pizzeria. Keeps me on the straight and narrow the rest of the time, but I’m only one person. Now I’ll just finish my civet-poo coffee, if you don’t mind…
Love it Anne!
You go Girl!
i support thinking about what you buy for meals, how much it costs ans where you show even if you don’t have to do it, because your wallet is fine. However, with that mean post you Just lowered yourself to the level of people who placed negative comments under your eating post and Forbes article. It is a shame to See ‘an educated college professional’, as you were called by the Forbes, go into such unintelligent direction. And do not forget to delete my comment because i Just noticed a small fact about this post.
Hi “Be”,
Sorry you didn’t like the post. I’m not sure what was “mean” about it, though I have had a few people stick up for the poor baby cows required to feed my family veal in my fantasy menu. However, I’m glad I rescued your comment from the auto-spam folder. For some reason, my spam-blocking software thought your comment wasn’t worth mentioning. I disagree. As a “college educated professional” I welcome debate and divergent points of view. Happy Easter!
Jen,, I love the menu selection, however, could you please send VERA
back? She was only meant to be loaned out to you after Hazel left you cause of “all those younguns screaming for more flan”
It’s a tough thing to find a great cook like Vera…..Don’t you agree ?
Good help is always hard to find.
Perfect response!
That was awesome! I found your blog through Forbes and it has inspired me take a look at my food budget even as a single college student!
Great job. Keep up the great blog posts because what you have to share is defiantly valuable and don’t mind the haters because “if they ain’t hating, you ain’t doing something right”!
God bless!
Hey thanks!
How do u make those darn salmon thingys? I’ve got the goods from ur menu, what to do now?
Gaaawwwd, did you add the $300 a day DREAM menu recently or did I miss it altogether? You have fine taste. Some day when we are millionaires, lets have one of those coffees and a creme brulee together. In the mean time, I’ll settle for the realization of how much I LOVE the simplicity of Aldi’s and the joy of saving HUNDREDS of dollars every month. Nearly one month into it, we will be at $350 this month, compared to $700!!!! Thanks for the not-so-extra change!
This, this and this all of the way! I keep referencing your menus because they are the most realistic, well balanced and in my humble opinion, healthy for a large family. Love that little is processed. I bought everything on it in November and now I’m back for that list again!
The more I read the more I find to love. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to write down your thoughts. Many hugs and well wishes to you and yours. Please keep up the great work.