100 DOLLARS A WEEK - Post Mortem By The Numbers...

Here is a link to my mostly food albums where I post just about every single meal I cook every single day.

This is the 4-burner range (2 of which are wonky, the biggest one included) in the roughly 7.5' x 6.5' (I think I previously reported 7' X 6' but it's slightly bigger than that) kitchen in which all of the cooking happens.

In the past 4 weeks, I spent $390 on weekly grocery runs, and an additional $20 on what I would call band-aid meals - the $8 Panda Express lunch the Man bought that one day I didn't have dinner leftovers to send with him and $12 in coupon fried chicken meals.

The $390 breaks down as follows:

Produce - $101 or 26%
Meat - $96 or 25%
Pantry - $63 or 16%
Dairy - $59 or 15%
Indulgences (wine, desserts) - $31 or 8%
Grains (bread, cereal) - $18 or 5%
Misc. (cleaning supplies, toiletries) - $23 or 6%

Considering how much more expensive all other foods are by the pound, that means we eat a lot of fresh produce. That is something I consciously strive for, and I feel affirmed by the data. :)

Including the aforementioned band-aid meals, we have eaten 225 meals total between me, the Man, the kids (who are with us on the weekends), and very occasional guests.

- 73 breakfasts at an average of $0.76 per serving,
- 75 lunches at an average of $1.09 per serving, and
- 77 dinners at an average of $2.23 per serving.

An overall average of $1.33 per serving.

Included among those meals have been California Rolls, Lasagne, Vietnamese Summer Rolls, Braised Pork with Kale & Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Black Bean & Chorizo Chili, Korean Style Braised Chicken, Sauteed Bulgogi With Shiitakes & Onions, Korean Style Spicy Stir Fried Octopus, Havarti & Egg Croissants, Gumbo, Soy Ginger Beef & Potato Stew, Caprese Croissants, Mole Inspired Chicken Tacos, Fried Whole Fish Thai Style, Sweet Potato Ravioli, Bacon & Egg & Havarti Bagels, Fried Chicken, Kimchi & Bacon Fried Rice, Tandoori Chicken With Aloo Gobi, Pernil With Platanos Maduros Fritos, Korean Bossahm (Lettuce Wraps), Yakisoba, Broiled Salmon With Homemade Tartar Sauce & Collard Greens Braised With Bacon, Udon With Poached Egg, Red Velvet Cake, Club Sandwiches, Brownies a la Mode, Teriyaki Chicken With Tamagoyaki & Garden Salad, Angel Hair Pasta With Fresh Tomato Ragu With Sauteed Mushroom & Romaine Salad, Bacon & Cheddar & Caramelized Onion Omelettes, Arroz con Pollo, Crepes With Spiced Apple & Rum Soaked Raisins, Picadillo Empanadas With Lime & Cilantro & Jalapeno Curtido, and the occasional glass of wine, some sparkling, some not.

That's 35 different dishes inspired by at least 8 different cuisines, and I didn't even list them all (though I did list most).

Considering that, as of this writing, an Egg McMuffin costs $3.29, a Big Mac $4something, and an Angus Burger $6something (the Man just drove past a Cracky D's menu to gather data for me but alas it is breakfast time and lunch prices are not yet up), it's really hard to think of a good reason to pull up to that drive through most days (though I'm not saying we never do or never will).

In the past 4 weeks, we have gone out to eat 3 times. It happens that none of those 3 times was on our dime. But when we do dine out, we average between $20 and $25 per person, largely because a lot of what we like to eat when we dine out in the immediate area is sushi. Since I have the luxury of staying home and cooking almost every meal, it doesn't make much sense to dine out in a not quite ready for primetime restaurant environment.

It is now 9:25 AM, and I have big plans to buy 24 fresh oysters for $20 from a local aquafarm, dress them with a lovely little ponzu-inspired mignonette and some microplaned horseradish and wash them down with a $5 bottle of cava from Fresh & Easy.

It's off to the shower...

shinae