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I’m an Accountant in Los Angeles — Here’s How Much I Spend on 2 Weeks’ Worth of Groceries

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Credit: Courtesy of Cindy

• Name :
• Location :
• Number of people in household :
• Age :
• Occupation :
• Where did you grocery shop? And for how long? Whole Foods (in person) and Gelsons (via Instacart). These groceries will probably last me for at least 2 weeks.
• Amount spent on groceries : $196.34
• Dietary restrictions :

Credit: Courtesy of Cindy

How did you choose where to shop?

I am pretty busy with work and I play tennis four or five days out of the week, so it is hard to get to the grocery store. I started using online grocery delivery as soon as it came out, this was many years ago (well before Instacart ). I justified the extra cost, figuring it was better than ordering takeout all the time. During the pandemic, I was ordering grocery delivery around 95 percent of the time. But this week, I went to Whole Foods for a proper grocery shopping excursion (for the first time in about a year-and-a-half). My cousin and I arrived about an hour-and-a-half before closing time, and I felt like the options were slim. I didn’t like what was left of some items, so I had some things delivered the next day.

Credit: Courtesy of Cindy

What do you plan on making?

I only plan for about two or three different meals because my plans shift so frequently. The truth is that I don’t really like leftovers. Anything that I make has to be to be delicious and also maintain its integrity for a few days so that I look forward to eating it again.

Meals

• Spanish chopped salad with tuna, piquillo peppers, and a Spanish salad dressing. (This is a recipe from the Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen cookbook It’s All Good .)
• Bistek Philippine-style. (This has been my favorite Filipino dish since I was itty bitty. It is made of thinly sliced beef braised in a mixture of citrus juice, soy sauce, onions, and garlic, and always served with steamed rice.)
• Halal cart-style chicken and rice with white sauce. (After taking a trip to New York many years ago, I fell in love with this dish. Ever since, I’ve been trying to replicate it and found a recipe that comes close. I’m still tweaking!)

Snacks

• Milton gluten-free crackers + avocado
• Siete grain-free churro strips
• Koia protein shakes (to grab and go for early morning tennis sessions)
• Cherries, nectarines, and mangoes
• Matcha smoothies
• Cold brew w/ Oatly oat milk (I love Groundwork’s Big Easy coffee )

Credit: Courtesy of Cindy

What did you buy?

Protein

• Organic chicken thighs, $16.54 for 2.07 lbs
• Beef sirloin flap, $25.30 for 2.11 lbs

Produce

• Organic spinach, $4.69
• Organic haas avocado, $4.98 for two
• Organic nectarines, $4.63
• Mangos, $1.80 for two
• Organic Rainier cherries, $11.96 for 1.33 pounds
• Vine ripe tomatoes, $2.19
• Organic Italian parsley, $1.49
• Organic bananas, $1.81
• Organic green onions, $1.29
• Vidalia onions, $2.19
• Organic garlic, $1.99 for one pound
• Organic lemons, $3.75 for five
• Happy Living butter lettuce, $3.99
• Organic iceberg lettuce, $2.99

Dairy/Cold Section

• Oatly oat milk, $4.22
• Koia horchata protein beverage, $7.98 for two
• Koia vanilla protein beverage, $3.99
• Koia chocolate peanut butter protein beverage, $3.99
• Kerrygold butter, $4.99
• Ellenos lemon curd yogurt, $1.79
• Chobani plain Greek yogurt, $1.19
• Challenge unsalted butter, $5.79

Shelf-Stable

• Basmati rice, $4.04
• Naan, $2.89
• Sherry vinegar, $6.39
• Organic chicken broth, $2.79
• Siete churro strips, $9.98 for two
• Organic salted classic popcorn, $2.39
• Organic garbanzo beans, $2.19
• Organic ground paprika, $6.49
• Tonnino yellowfin tuna, $3.69
• Flat Anchovies, $2.49
• Napolean piquillo peppers, $3.55
• Genova yellowfin tuna in olive oil, $3.69
• Jif peanut butter, $4.49
• Swanson chicken broth, $1.59
• The Good Bean sea salt chickpeas, $4.99
• Canada Dry bold ginger ale, $4.29 for 6 cans

Credit: Courtesy of Cindy

How is this different from how you normally shop?

Pre-pandemic, I used to do half grocery delivery and half in-person shopping. I would have groceries delivered during the week and shop during the weekend to cook for my family when they came over. It was a fun project that I looked forward to weekly.

During the pandemic, I started shopping mostly online and ate almost every meal at home. I had groceries delivered twice a week and ordered a lot of takeout. I really took the “Safer at Home” situation seriously. When I realized that we weren’t going back to work and I was going to be working from home indefinitely, I (safely) went to Seattle to spend time with my sister’s family and my parents for about five months. When I was there, I had groceries delivered and cooked two or three meals a week for everyone.

Credit: Courtesy of Cindy

I live alone again and now that restrictions are being lifted, I am much busier and there is much less cooking going on. I still do most of my shopping online for delivery, unless I am planning to cook something special. If that’s the case, I enjoy going to different grocery stores like HK Market (a Korean grocery), Seafood City (a Filipino market), really any Asian market or farmers market. I also ordered a new dining table that is arriving next month. Because most everyone I know is vaccinated, I will be planning what I call “project dinners” again and having people over. I know that will motivate me to cook!

At Kitchn we believe setting a food budget for you and your family is an essential part in getting your financial life in order. Don’t know where to start? We have a guide for that . Want to share your Grocery Diary with Kitchn? See how here .

Lauren Masur

Lifestyle Editor, Groceries

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Source : food