How Much Money Am I Eating?

Recently my husband has accused me (jokingly?) of eating the greater part of our grocery budget.  I eat low-carb/low-sugar and am considering transitioning to Paleo.  Right now I’m still eating conventional meat, so that’s not as expensive as it could be, but I eat a lot more meat than my husband does.  His staples are cereal, rice, etc.  So I decided to evaluate.

While I wouldn’t call this a typical week, it’s at least a random week.  Honestly, hot dogs are not something I eat as often as I did this week!  Peanut butter, sadly, is. I did not eat out at all this week, which is typical.

Nearly everything is a good estimate of the food price based on serving size, serving number per unit, and store receipts.  I had to estimate the mayonnaise, olive oil, and chicken.  I did not count consumables like plastic bags or energy used in cooking or storage.

12/12/2011 – $6.18

• breakfast ($1.41): 2 eggs, 1 yellow squash, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• lunch (1.75): 1 crown broccoli, 4 oz hamburger, 1 slice cheese
• snack ($0.41): 2 oz almonds
• dinner ($0.72): 2 hot dogs
• snack ($1.88): 6 slices of sandwich meat, 5 slices cheese

12/13/2011 – $6.62

• breakfast ($1.63): 2 eggs, 3 cups spinach, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• lunch ($1.81): half an avocado, 4 slices bacon
• dinner ($2.41): 7 oz tuna, 1 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 crown broccoli, 2 slices cheese
• snack ($0.31): 1.5 oz almonds

12/14/2011 – $6.62

• breakfast ($1.41): 2 eggs, 1 yellow squash, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• snack ($0.41): 2 oz almonds
• lunch ($2.17): half an avocado, 7 oz tuna, 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• dinner ($2.38): 2 hot dogs, 3 cups spinach, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, 2 slices cheese
• snack ($0.25): ¼ cup peanut butter

12/15/2011 – $5.80

• breakfast ($2.15): 2 eggs, 1 zucchini, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp peanut butter
• lunch ($1.26): half an avocado, 3 slices bacon
• snack ($0.93): 2 small tomatoes, 2 oz almonds
• dinner ($1.22): 2 oz chicken breast, 2 tbsp cheddar cheese, 1 crown broccoli
• snack ($0.25): ¼ cup peanut butter

12/16/2011 –$6.68

• breakfast ($2.48): 4 slices bacon, one zucchini, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• lunch ($1.86): half an avocado, 7 oz tuna, 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• dinner ($1.70): 1 crown broccoli, ¼ cup cheddar cheese
• snack ($0.63): 5/8 cup peanut butter

12/17/2011 – $4.56

• snack ($0.38): 3/8 cup peanut butter
• breakfast ($2.23): 1 yellow squash, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, 2 hot dogs
• snack ($0.25): ¼ cup peanut butter
• dinner ($1.45): 0.5 lb brussel sprouts, 0.75 tbsp olive oil, 1.5 slices bacon
• snack ($0.25): ¼ peanut butter

12/18/2011 – $5.72

• breakfast ($1.45): 0.5 lb brussel sprouts, 0.75 olive oil, 1.5 slices bacon
• lunch ($2.14): 8 oz hamburger, 2 slices cheese, ¼ cup peanut butter
• dinner ($1.63): 2 eggs, 3 cups spinach, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• snack ($0.50): ½ cup peanut butter

The average was $5.96/day.  Extrapolated, that’s approximately $180/month or 60% of our grocery budget, which is definitely more than 60% of the money we spend on food because our budget includes consumables and personal care items.  So I guess my husband was right that I eat more money than he does, but it probably isn’t more than about twice as much.  Plus, he eats out more than I do.  J  This exercise made me feel really good about not eating out much because I can eat for one to three total days on the amount of money I spend on one meal out.

Do you know how much money you’re eating?  Have you found anything interesting in your own analyses?