So this week was the first week of month two of my Food Budget Challenge. As lessons learned from month one, where I stayed under $100 for a month of food, I have decided to add to the budget a stipend for eating out in social settings. My new food budget is $125 for food purchased from supermarkets, farmers markets, and discount stores; and $75 for eating out socially. This whole budget thing is a learning process and I hope after this month I will have a greater grasp of what budget works best for me, while allowing me to occasionally splurge on more decadent fixings.

I am already at greater ease by adding farmers markets into the mix. I went to the Union Square Farmers Market and really had to control myself from purchasing everything. The yellows, greens, purples, reds of the vegetables shouted out to me – “take me home!” I must have walked up and down the market at least 5x and spent well over an hour there. The #1 thing I have to remember is farmers market produce has a short shelf life and I must either purchase in small quantities, or create dishes to freeze for later.

My new budget also allowed me to have my guilty pleasure – pickles! I’m not really sure if that can even be considered a guilty pleasure, however they are high in sodium. I love, love, love pickles! My favorite pickle vendor (that now delivers nationwide!), Pickle Me Pete, had a booth at a street fair and I just had to pick up a quart! Yum, yum, yum! I plan to try to grille some of them next week. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

So overall during the first week I had a few splurges – like some huge portobello mushrooms for a summer bbq – but it’s summer and when you have a grille, you just have to use it!

$2.00 kale
$4.50 2 portobello mushrooms
$2.00 6 fresh onions with stems
$7.00 1 container raspberries, 1 container blueberries
$4.00 3 large red peppers
$2.29 broccoli
$1.99 chocolate coconut milk yogurt
$3.99 nynaise
$1.31 1 cup walnuts
$2.39 thai curry sauce
$1.39 whole wheat penne
$2.29 chopped garlic
$35.15 Current Total

$9 1 Quart Pickles & 1 Fried Pickle
$8.50 Veggie Chik’n Vietnamese Sandwich
$8 Sesame Bean Curd
$25.50 Eating Out Total