And we're back with another update on Frugal Weekly Meal Planning. We've got a $60 budget for 2 active adults.
The biggest change to our meal plan this week is that we started using Hungry Harvest. I've used CSAs in the past, but this one is actually for produce that might otherwise be discarded. I'm so excited that this company exists, not just for me, but for the world. Hungry Harvest is basically a reclaimed produce CSA. They work with farms to take all the extra produce they can't sell. Some of it is ugly, and some of it is just excess. All of it is still good, and all of it is super discounted! I really hate to see good food go to waste, especially considering how many people in the world are malnourished and/or starving, so this is a really honorable cause.
The box! We got the Full Harvest + 6 limes, and with our 50% off discount code, it came to $13. Everything was really great and satisfying except for the nectarines, which were mealy and lacked flavor. We've still got a lot of bell peppers left, as well as some of the fruit. Next time we will get the Mini Harvest, and probably opt for the Veggies-Only option for $20. It's 30% of our weekly budget, but it's worth another try if it means we get more veggies for our buck! I got an email listing everything that would be in our box, but we got even more than was listed. For example, it said 3 bell peppers, but we got 6!
In our box:
2 Bartlett Pears
2 Valencia Oranges
5 Small Tomatoes
2 lbs of Sweet Potatoes
2 Mangos
3 Corn Cobs
3 Sweet Onions
6 Suntan (Greenish Red) Bell Peppers
3 Granny Smith Apples
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
3 Nectarines
1 lb Organic Carrots
And now, The Meals:
Breakfast:
Monday: Strawberry-Banana Green Smoothies (with collards) + Overnight Oats
Wednesday: Eggs + Bread + Pesto + Tomatoes
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: Southwestern Frittata w/ Sweet Potato Hash Browns
--I don't have a recipe for the Southwestern Frittata. I sautéed half an onion and a green bell pepper, then added ¼ cup salsa. I whisked together 6 eggs and ½ cup milk, and poured it over the onion & peppers, then topped it with salt, pepper, and ¼ cup queso fresco. You can see the cooking method with this recipe.
Lunch/Dinner:
Stovetop Pan-Roasted Corn & Tomato Salad (w/ Avocado)
Vegan Cauliflower & Black Bean Tacos
Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Biscuits <-- I mashed up the extra sweet potatoes and froze the mash to make this next week.Baked Sweet Potato Tuna Cakes (my version + nom nom paleo's version)
Blue Cheese Mac & Cheese
Leftover (Frozen) Philly Cheesesteak Pizza + Salad
Snacks: mangos, pears, apples, nectarines (all in our Hungry Harvest), snap peas, a few hard boiled eggs, peanuts & raisins, dark chocolate covered pretzels, and a few stale rice cakes.
So this week was challenging. I cooked everything on Sunday after running a 5-mile race and walking around Annapolis for 2 hours. My brain and body parts were very slow. I burned my arm super bad, my oven refused to keep a consistent temperature, and I started cooking the black beans waaaay late in the game. Which means I was in the kitchen for a total of FOUR hours. This is not the norm. Usually I'm done in 2-3 hours, start-to-finish, including dishes, so this was a little disappointing.
I also got a huge bag of free basil from my boss on Tuesday, so I made a batch of pesto using about 2 Tablespoons of pecans (not really a recommended pesto nut), some lime juice, olive oil, and a bit of Parmesan cheese we've had for about a month (I love that it lasts forever!). We've eaten a little bit here and there, but I plan to save the majority of it for Pesto Quinoa with Roasted Tomatoes for next week.
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