Jonesinforfood

Although D.Jones and I have been members of various local co-ops in the Twin Cities, I’ve never been as diligent about shopping at them as Doug would like.  I used them mostly for specific items that would be unavailable elsewhere, like Japanese food items like nori, fresh miso, etc., but never used them for our regular weekly grocery shopping.  I’ve always told D.Jones that it would be just too expensive.

Today we decided we’d actually see how much more expensive….so having a good idea what I typically spend on groceries, off we went to the Wedge to do our shopping.  Today I shopped “smart”, though, and actually created a menu plan for the week, and a shopping list that we didn’t stray from…well, we strayed a little, but only for necessities I forgot to add to the list.

Our total…$187.42.  However, that included Doug’s $40 vitamins and my $10 vitamins.  Since that’s not a weekly expenditure, that brings our total down to what I usually spend at one of the “warehouse” food stores.  We’ll have to see how the week’s menus play out and how we manage the groceries we bought, but I’m thinking it’s not going to end up being that much more…especially since I usually shop without a list, which, embarrassingly enough, results in way too much food being thrown out because it doesn’t get used or it goes bad.

I’m trying out all new recipes this week, and I’ll let you know how it goes.  I may even snap a pic or two.  Don’t expect that it’ll be the quality of the beautiful pictures on Vegan yum yum, but there will be pictures, nonetheless.

Some items on this week’s menu:

Tofu Ramen Noodle Soup w/pepper strips

Oval Office Vegetarian Enchiladas

Salmon Burgers with Brown Rice al Fresco salad

and Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Cashews

Oh, and if you’re wondering why salmon cakes are on our menu, I should mention that we’re not vegetarians and I’ve been trying not to use that actual title…we’re simply not eating meat and we really limit our use of fish…but with the health benefits to us and Cooper from fish oils and omega 3s we decided to incorporate small amounts of fish.  So there ya have it….