I’m not a blogger but enjoy your blog VERY much so, as a new mom and green-ite.

I’m VERY interested in how you spend less than $200 a month for your family on groceries. Looking forward to your posts on your expense-tracking. Could you please include possibly a few days’ worth of meals so I can get some great money-saving ideas?

So far it looks like I’m spending more like $175/month. Food prices have gone up a lot since I came up with that $150 figure (when I tracked two years ago, I was spending $120/month–so when I wrote this I rounded up a bit to account for the higher food prices and the age of my daughter).

Anyway, the $66/month I spend on the organic veggies comprises the bulk of our food. At the grocery store I buy stuff like milk, eggs, cheese, nuts, flour, and oil. We are kind of light eaters compared to a lot of people, so for example last night we had a salad with hard-boiled eggs and sunflower seeds for dinner, and the night before we ate baked potatoes and asparagus. For breakfast we eat toast (on homemade bread) or oatmeal. I eat leftovers for lunch, my husband always eats a black bean burrito (homemade & frozen), and Audrey eats things like peanut butter sandwiches.

After I am done keeping track of all my expenses, I plan to write a few posts about it. I’m curious to hear other people’s methods for saving money on groceries, too!

Personally, I eat little meat for various reasons (health, cost, environment, animal welfare), but have found during this pregnancy that I can’t tolerate meat at all (and I’m well beyond the 1st trimester). I don’t worry about it, but just try to be conscientious about getting protein from other sources.

Seafood being expensive, I can’t claim your low grocery bills (plus we eat a lot of convenience foods, and organic frozen meals aren’t cheap). My husband eats meat (he cooks it) and I feel that our son should make his own decision when he’s old enough to understand.

For now (he’s 2 and a half), he doesn’t like meat, and while he used to eat fish, that joined the long list of foods he no longer eats now that he’s in his picky eater phase. So he’s currently vegetarian by choice. He does just fine on tofu and beans and whole grains–he’s been sick less often than most toddlers I know, and he is certainly full of energy!

After my son was born I started to cut out all meat. I just couldn’t eat chicken and turkey. This time it was a combination of taste and I started believing it is just cruel. I tried going vegan and I liked that. However, I got sucked back into eating cheese and drinking milk with baby number on the two on the way. Not bc I do not think it is not healthy to be vegan and pregnant because you can, but because I always loved milk and cheese anyway and now more that I wam pregnant. When there is an option of a vegan meal or not I always choose vegan ( I love vegan muffins).

My husband though is a huge meat eater. He has been good with all the “green” changes I made in the household so I will let him have his meat. Only problem though is I cook it. I found a CSA in my area that is all organic and they have your average fruits and veggies but they also have a meat and egg option which I took. I think this meat will last for the year because he is the only one eating it. My son will it occassionaly but it excites me when he spits it out and runs to me for another cucumber or tomato. In the long run I think this will save me money monthly at the grocery store. I will already have my healthy organic grass fed meat for my husband and all the fruits and veggies for my son and I.