2013 USDA Cost of Groceries

I promise not to beat this egg anymore after today, but Deborah Stein was kind enough to send the most up-to-date version of the link I posted yesterday.

Here's the new link, and you can also click the photo below to enlarge it and see what the gov't has to say about meal-preparation costs in 2013:
 

According to this, every one of you who commented on my original groceries post is doing really well keeping costs in check -- even as we all try to prepare healthful, tasty, relatively interesting meals for our families.

We should all be proud of ourselves! Keep up the good work, folks!

(The "thrifty" plan AKA the "eat a bunch of crap or starve" plan is still disgustingly low to me, but that's a rant for another day.)

Aaaaaaand, now I'm hungry! Who's up for second-breakfast?

Feeling good about groceries (and a recipe to share)

Now see? This is just another reason why I'm so glad I started blogging.

Hearing from all of you about your grocery shopping budgets and philosophies not only made me feel good about what we're doing, but it also gave me a lot of great ideas for how to save more, or do things differently, if necessary.

Thanks, guys! Really. Your thoughts were all very, very reassuring - and helpful!

One of the most interesting responses to yesterday's blog post came from my friend and colleague Deborah Stein. Debbie sent me a chart from the USDA, showing what the gov't considers to be the amount a family should/could spend on home-cooked meals per month.

Couple things I took away from this chart:

• It's the government, and they notoriously UNDERestimate how much it costs to feed people (hello, food stamps?) so whatever they say here is right, I know to add way more.
• It's from 1994, and everything has gone up a thousand times since then, so again, I add more money to whatever they say.
• Look how ridiculously low the "low-cost" level is. And the "thrifty" level? Debbie tells me that that's the level they base food stamps allotments on. Seriously? Seriously, gubment?! That's ree-dic. Sometimes I just can't believe how much our society seems to hate poor people.

So, based on that - we are doing awesome!

Anyway, I wanted to give something back to you all for your thoughtful and helpful responses. So in the spirit of feeding our children healthful, tasty, inexpensive meals, here's a recipe I made that was quick, delicious, inexpensive and a huge hit with the kids, me and Lester, too:

Homemade Sloppy Joes

Yummy in everyone's tummy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 carrots, coarsely grated (2 cups) [ I used shredded carrots, because it's easier.]
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced [ I used a little more garlic, because garlic = yum!]
• Coarse salt and ground pepper [Regular salt and pepper worked just fine.]
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 pound ground turkey (93% lean, dark meat)
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons dark-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 4 whole-wheat hamburger rolls, split

Directions

1. Step 1

   In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium; add carrots, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Step 2

   Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add turkey; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Step 3

   Add tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve on whole-wheat rolls.

Easy-peasy! I served these with baked potato wedges (just sliced potatoes, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and baked for 15-20 minutes at 450-degrees, turning once during baking) and salad greens.
 
Huge hit! Clair now can even say, "More soppy joe, pees!" That's how much she liked it.

(Note: The recipe was a smidge too sweet for my tastes, even with me adding more vinegar and more Worcestershire [I like my sloppy joes twangy!] so next time I make these, I'll add less brown sugar.)

 And Janna, I know this recipe won't help you so much, but I'll try to find something meatless to share just for you! Xxoxx!

 Happy eating, all!