Meal Planning Exercise

I'm recovering from a bout of stomach flu, so I couldn't eat anything other than rice porridge all week.

In lieu of posting what I bought this week for groceries, I am posting what I plan to eat this week, how much it will cost, and how I plan on cooking everything for the week.

Here is the allotment for a male adult:

From this, I plan on the following (prices from Wegmans):
Total: 40.0 lbs = $29.98
   Grains: 4.9 lbs = $6.79
      Whole Grain: Brown Rice - 2.4 lbs @ $1.20 per lb = $2.88
      Whole Grain Cereal: Honey and Nut Toasted Oats - 0.9 lbs @ $2.59 per lb = $2.33
      Non-Whole Grain: White Rice - 1.6 lbs @ $0.99 per lb = $1.58
   Vegetables: 9.0 lbs = $7.36
      Potatoes: Whole White Potatoes - 2.5 lbs @ $0.40 per lb = $1.00
      Dark-Green Vegetables: Bulk Spinach - 1.25 lbs @ $1.69 per lb = $2.11
      Orange Vegetables: Baby Cut Carrots - 1 lbs @ $0.99 per lb = $0.99
      Canned Beans: Cut Green Beans - (2) 14.5 oz can (1.8 lbs) @ $0.39 per can = $0.78
      Other Vegetables: Turnips - 2.5 lbs @ $0.99 per lb = $2.48
   Fruits: 8.75 lbs = $5.43
      Whole Fruits: Oranges - 7 lbs @ $0.62 per lb = $4.34
      Fruit Juices: Orange Juice - 1.75 lbs @ $0.62 per lb = $1.09
   Milk Products: 11.4 lbs = $2.51
      Low Fat Milk: 1% Lowfat Milk - 11.4 lbs @ $0.22 per lb = $2.51
   Meat and Beans: 4.0 lbs = $4.39
      Pork: Boneless Center Cut Pork Chops - 0.5 lbs @ $2.69 per lb = $1.35
      Chicken: Chicken Quarters - 2.5 lbs @ $0.49 per lb = $1.23
      Fish: Frozen Whiting Fillets - 0.25 lbs @ $2.50 per lb = $0.63
      Nuts: Honey Roasted Peanuts - 0.25 lbs @ $2.99 per lb = $0.75
      Eggs: Large Eggs - 0.5 lbs @ $0.86 per lb = $0.43
   Other: up to 2 lbs = up to $3.50
      Table Oils: Wegmans Vegetable Oil - up to 1 lbs @ $0.80 per lb = up to $0.80
      Sauces: Kikkoman Soy Sauce - up to 1 lbs @ $2.70 per lb = up to $2.70
      Seasonings: Sugar, Salt, etc sparingly

Weekly Meal Plan:
   Bowl of Cereal w/ Milk (x7)
   Sunny-Side-Up Egg (x5)
   Chicken and Vegetables (2 batches)
   Greens and Stir-Fried Pork (1 batch)
   Pan-Fried Whiting Fillet (1 batch)
   Turnip Soup (1 pot)
   Mugs of Milk as required
   Oranges as required
   Cups of Orange Juice as required
   Nuts as required

I will post recipes throughout the week. Look forward to them!

Grocery Shopping and Unit Prices

Now that I FINALLY finished the leftovers, I did the grocery shopping for the week. I tried to buy the cheapest items in each Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) category:

Here's the receipt:

The unit prices for the groceries today:
Eggs: $1.20 per pound
Cereal: $2.59 per pound
Canned green beans: $0.43 per pound
Canned sweet peas: $0.52 per pound
Pork shoulder: $1.29 per pound
Chicken quarters (wings and thighs): $0.49 per pound
Imitation crab meat: $3.49 per pound
Squash: $0.99 per pound
Carrots: $0.99 per pound

I also bought 20 pounds of rice (5 pounds brown rice, 15 pounds white rice):

The unit prices for the rice was:
Brown rice: $1.20 per pound
White rice: $0.99 per pound

I bought more than usual today because my wife is in town for the week, so I'm buying for two people. The TFP calls for 73.37 pounds for the two of us this week. I didn't buy any dark green vegetables, potatoes, fruit, juice, or milk because I still have some in the fridge.

The current unit prices for these items (thank you, wegmans.com!) are:
Dark green vegetables:
- Baby bok choy: $2.99 per pound
- Spinach $3.20 per pound
Potatoes: $0.40 per pound
Onions: $1.00 per pound
Fruit:
- Apples: $1.99 per pound
- Clementines: $1.20 per pound
Milk: $1.79 per gallon (about $0.21 per pound)
Orange Juice: $3.98 per gallon (about $0.47 per pound)
Apple Juice: $3.98 per gallon (about $0.47 per pound)

There's also a 1-lb container of crab meat ($4.99 per pound) in the fridge.

Some things I noticed today:
- Some items cost a lot less when frozen or canned instead of fresh. Fresh green beans were selling at $2.99 per pound, while the canned ones were only $0.43 per pound.
- Some items cost a lot less FRESH. Fresh milk is $1.79 per gallon, but a box of powdered milk (not baby formula!) that makes 2 gallons is $6.99, or $3.50 a gallon.
- Cereal (even the store brands) is a rip-off. Just get oatmeal ($1.48 per pound) or make rice porridge (yum!)

Some other thoughts:
- It's a waste of money to buy something that you don't like and will never eat. Flour sells for $0.20 per pound ($0.66 per pound for whole grain flour), but I don't bake (yet!), so it doesn't make sense for me to buy flour when I won't eat it. Rice is more expensive, but I love the stuff, so I'm willing to spend a little more for it. The same goes for the imitation crab meat (which is made out of fish); I could get canned tuna for less, but I don't like the stuff, so why buy it when I won't eat it?
-- On the other hand, if it's all you can afford, then I guess you don't have a choice... but that will be for another blog post.

I start cooking tomorrow, so stay tuned!