3/13/09

What Groceries We Buy Each Week, Video Courtesy of My Daughter


I just got home from our weekly Friday shopping trip and I happened to lay everything down on the table in preparation to put it all away when I thought, "this would make a great picture!" I pulled out my lovely digi cam and realized that it didn't fit in the pic! My daughter had the great idea of making a video instead, and she wanted to do all the talking as well.

As you can see, we buy a lot of bananas! I once assumed that I buy about 20 lbs of bananas, but I added it up from the receipt and it was 69. 72 pounds! What do we do with all those bananas???? I'm not sure either! LOL I know that I like to make a lot of banana ice cream. I also know that I put bananas in a lot of my green smoothies. I actually don't like to eat bananas plain, but about once a month I will eat some with Rory's raw cacao sauce. Rory likes to eat a lot of bananas in his breakfast cereal, and he eats a lot with his raw tahini as well. My daughter eats some in smoothies and also eats the ice cream. I guess little by little it all gets chowed down.

We do spend a lot of money on our groceries, but we don't break the bank. We feel it's justified since we are soooo much healthier now that we eat raw. I have lost a lot of weight, my husband has lost a lot more (150 lbs between us). I can see better on raw food, Rory's scars have nearly healed, his cavities no longer hurt and some seem to be going away. My daughter is happier and healthier looking, and never gets sick. To me, that makes it worth it to spend about $100.00 more per week on groceries.

So how much did we spend on all this? We went to 2 different stores, in order to get the best deals. The first store we spent $55.24 and the second we spent $86.28. So total we spent $141.52. This is actually a little less than usual since I was on a budget this week (since we are moving). We usually spend closer to $180 or $200 (for 3 people) in the Winter months. In the Summer we shop at farmers markets and that usually allows us to spend only half as much. Spring is on it's way!

How much are you willing to spend on good health?

9 comments:

  1. I am willing to spend anything! However, I make very few money working once a week at my job but I do the best I can. My mom occasionally helps me out, but she doesn't seem to understand that I need to eat a huge volume of food on 811 raw.

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  2. She is all LOVE, just like her T-shirt says!

    I don't think that's a lot of $$$ for a family of three, especially if you're buying organic produce.

    The way I look at it: it's far less than a health insurance premium and a dozen prescription meds. And, I still spend far less on food than I did when I was the take-out-drive-thru-window queen.

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  3. Paulina, I have also been getting into 811, although I prefer a hybrid of many philosophies, and I agree, it does need a high volume of food. Bananas are very cheap though, 70 lbs was less than $30. A watermelon is 30 lbs of food for only $5.00. Our grocery store usually offers $1.00 if something is expired or almost over ripe. So we are always looking for deals like that. Rory told me last night that Indoor farmers markets are great to look out for because they usually sell in bulk. I never knew there was a difference between indoor and outdoor besides the quantity of sunshine. It's great that your mom helps you out sometimes! When I was in high school I didn't eat meat, so I just didn't eat! She told me that she always felt bad because when I got my first job (around 13 yrs old) I bought brussel sprouts and filled the refrigerator with them!

    earthmother, I agree, it's not too much money, but most people I know don't spend over $100.00. I know a guy that supports his 3 kids and wife on less than $100/week. He is interested in the raw food, but refuses to spend more money for it. My sis has 3 people and doesn't spend more than $100. We usually spend close to $200.00, so that's double! It's definitely worth it though, because all of those people I mentioned have a lot of health problems and some have even nearly died from them. "Knock on wood" my family has had no health problems and has even 'cured' a few. I wouldn't trade raw food for anything else! Oh, and you're right, my daughter is LOVE. She's a wonderful, compassionate child. Thank you!

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  4. Amanda, your little girl looks like a cutie!! adorable little thing!!! That looks like a hella lotta nanas, but like you say, they go in most things!! esp banana icecream ;0)
    We spend more than that on food but sadly that is the cote d'azur for you (my grocer bill is nearly half when we go home to the south west of France)

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  5. Wow, I haven't even tried to shop for one week all in one day!!

    Usually I just shop for like 2-3 days but that looks exactly like how much we get in a week as well.

    It is much smarter to shop all at once like that! You probably actually save money that way. I think what holds me back is having all the money at once since I get paid at different times (I have multiple jobs).

    Thanks so much for sharing! <3

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  6. The video with your daughter was so cute! And you got lots of good stuff! We buy lots and lots of bananas too, mostly for our smoothies. From time to time we order a box of young coconuts to have on hand. Yum!

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  7. Loulou, I can't imagine spending more than that on food, but when we move to CT next week the food prices will be almost double! We are looking to join a local CSA or co-op.

    Tawni, we live so far out in the boonies that we have to shop once a week. It takes us 45 mins to get to our favorite grocery store! It would love to be able to go more than once a week since it often seems like I forgot something or we run out of something. When we move to CT there will be a grocery store within 5 min, but they don't have any organic. We won't have a refrigerator though, except for one of those cube ones. We'll have to make due somehow.

    HiHiRosie, I'd love to have young coconuts! We don't buy them often because no one sells them around here and I never get around to purchasing them online. I love that bananas are so cheap! They are only .44/lb here, which means I can fill my shopping cart without emptying my wallet!

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  8. Just found your blog as I was checking out Tooth Soap. Is there a place on your blog listing what your family eats in a given day? I do see the food you bought, but are you consuming it in salads, smoothies, or just by itself? My daughter just started a blog w/raw food recipes. She has to have the desserts it seems, because she would lose too much weight if she didn't. My husband is coming around to more raw, but he needs alot of calories because he works so hard at his job, so he is a bit hesitant to just live on smoothies, fruit, salads and nuts. He can't seem to give up on his soups or Gardenburgers.

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  9. Anonymous,

    I don't think I ever listed what I eat in a day, but I can give you a pretty good idea. For breakfast I usually eat fruit, fruit salad, or a big fruit smoothie. For lunch I may have something more "gourmet", like a raw taco, a pie, or a raw burger and a green smoothie. For dinner I usually have a gigantic salad and and a green juice. My husband actually has a great website with recipe ideas and an e-book that has recipes for burgers, tacos, burritos, bread, "stir fry" veggies, fajitas, "buttery" green beans, pasta, stuffed peppers, unchicken noodle soup, etc. Your husband might really enjoy a lot of those recipes. There is also a lot of great dessert recipes as well. His website is www.rawdawgrory.com

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