DAY 1 - How hard can it be?

Okay - here we go! Keep the goal in mind-meet the FDA recommended daily intake without going over $10/person and without spending more than 35 minutes preparing any meal. Here is our first attempt:

Breakfast

Egg on toasted English muffin with Swiss Cheese

Latte (12oz)

Lunch

Mashed Avocado on Wheat Toast

Veggie Drink from Farmer’s Market (8 oz)

Dinner

Roast Chicken Patty on a toasted English Muffin with Mayo and Mustard

Cucumber salad with Greek Yogurt

Braised asparagus in milk and butter

Total Expenditure for the Day: $11.06

Breakfast

Egg on toasted English muffin with Swiss Cheese

Latte (12oz)

Lunch

Mashed Avocado on Wheat Toast

1 cup Clam Chowder (Progresso)

Dinner

Roast Chicken Patty on a toasted English Muffin with Mayo and Mustard

Cucumber salad with Greek Yogurt
Braised asparagus in milk and butter

Total Expenditure for the Day: $9.68

Breakfast

Go Lean Crunch cereal with ½ cup Milk

Peach

Lunch
Mashed Avocado on Wheat Toast
Vanilla Yogurt (1 cup) with Raspberries (1 oz)
Veggie Drink  (8 oz)

Dinner
Roast Chicken Patty on a toasted English Muffin with Mayo and Mustard
Cucumber salad with Greek Yogurt
Braised asparagus in milk and butter

Total Expenditure for the Day: $9.36



Lessons Learned and Observations

Our first full day of tracking our food consumption was a Sunday so two factors were at play: first, we don’t usually eat so uniformly during the week, and second, Ed and Celia went to the farmer's market which had an interesting impact the day’s totals. Speaking of totals - don't you find it intersting that even trying, we didn't achieve our RDA of the basics (whole grains, milk, fruit, etc...) I admit, I sort of thought eating all this "healthy" stuff and avoiding the crap would automatically do it. It doesn't. This is definitely going to take more engineering than I thought.

The good news is that we had no trouble, as a family, coming in under the $30/day cap that we’ve set. Celia and I were slightly under and Ed was over. For the most part the food was tasty. Ed’s breakfast sandwich was a little bland to which I say – add a condiment! A small squeeze of mayo or dab of mustard is not going to sink us in any dimension.

The veggie drink that Ed bought for he and Celia to share at the farmer’s market is an interesting case study in the nutrition/cost conundrum. Ed’s logic was that a smoothie made of fruits and vegetables would make a good mid-day snack. However, this snack cost $5.00 (or $2.50 each) which is by far the most expensive thing on menu all day. Also, at just 8 oz of produce fluid each, it didn’t really fit the bill as a snack – Celia was hungry for lunch the minute she got home. But the most interesting thing, I think, is that it turned out to backfire a bit. Both Celia and Ed were high on their sugar intake for the day – Celia even more so because she snacked again later on a cup of vanilla yogurt and raspberries.

Hmmm… this brings me to a post topic for next time, how much of a good thing is too much of a good thing? Can you overdo it with the sugar in fresh fruit and vegetables?