Spending the Bacon on Bacon

When we lived in Florida, and beans, breads, and pasta were much bigger staples in our diet, we could get away with spending $60-80 a week on groceries and household goods.  Now that we eat more meat, TONS of veggies (almost always fresh), and barely any processed foods, our grocery bill is closer to $100 a week! Geesh.  I cringe when I checkout at HEB.  I don't even shop at Whole Foods or Sprouts as much anymore because then I'd really faint at the register.

I mentioned before that I subscribed to the Sunday paper with one reason being the coupons.  Every week I'm continually disappointed that the majority of the coupons are for processed junk.  Bright colored yogurts filled with sugar, microwaveable dinners and pizza, processed breakfast foods, etc.  Junk.  I manage to find coupons for things like string cheese, almonds, and laundry detergent sometimes.  More household goods than foods.

We've really overhauled the "food" part of our lifestyle recently.  It's not just about going "paleo" or "primal" or cutting carbs, it's really about cutting out crap and processed foods.  I'm not going to act all perfect and say I don't eat anything processed, I buy processed dairy (milk, cream, cheese, greek yogurt), and I buy salamis and sausage.  I still buy some processed foods for Mimi, like goldfish, pretzel crisps, and those funky applesauce pouches.  I don't bake or cook with grains (white flour, wheat flour, corn meal), but use alternative "flours" like quinoa (it's a grain but it's gluten free), almond meal, and coconut flour.  I use natural sweeteners when necessary like honey and real maple syrup($$$).  Making these changes has not been cheap.  It's not going to get any cheaper when we transition to buying grassfed beef and other "healthier" version of our meat and protein staples.  It's frustrating when I watch people's grocery hauls' and they boast spending only $60/week.  I have to remind myself that food is the one thing we spend money on that actually becomes a part of us.  If that's a place in our budget that needs some growing room, and it's for whole foods to nourish my family, I can accept that.

When I had first talked to my friend Emily, who actually "went primal" during her 6th month of pregnancy, I instantly thought she was crazy and irresponsible.  Then I stumbled on the book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes.  It's about fats, carbs, and the controversial science of diet and health.  It is not light reading.  It's filled with analyses of clinical trials dealing with saturated fats, cholesterol, coronary disease, carbohydrates, diabetes.  The book is kind of eye opening for me.  If you're into non-fiction books about the science of nutrition, check it out.

Tomorrow I go for my followup with my general doctor to evaluate my bp meds and get all new blood-work done. We'll see what he says about my dietary changes and what my blood-work reveals.

I'll leave you with a photo I took tonight of the two most important people in my life.