On special request, I’m writing about how much it costs me, weekly, to eat according to the Canada Food Guide. Realize that economy of scale works against single people trying to plan a healthy menu for the week. Secondly, I eat some very premium products because I can afford to do so. So, without further ado...
I'm analyzing two weeks worth of groceries to provide more accuracy because some items aren't purchased every week. Milk isn't on the receipts because I buy it at a nearby corner store to lighten the bag I carry home from the grocery store. The big jug of OJ I bought will last me 3 weeks but I'll leave it in there because there are a few whole grains that I by en mass every few months that aren't shown here. So, adding the receipts, plus the milk, and a few dollars per week for my whole grains leaves me with an average, per week, of $46.90. The craziest item on these receipts is the $7.94 that I spent on 6 Cara Cara Oranges. I’m normally better at avoiding such expensive fruit but I love those oranges.
I shop at a rather expensive grocery store because they sell sliced roast beef. I avoid transformed meats like cold cuts and not many places sell regular roast beef like this. I could save a few dollars cooking it myself but it’s hard to find a roast that will only be 250 grams after cooking. I have about an ounce of mackerel every morning for the omega 6 and omega 3 fats and eat one can of those beans (prim mel legumineuse) per week. In total, for two cans of beans, roast beef, and smoked mackerel, I paid $20.15. I'll just round that up to $12 per week for protein because I sometimes have a little extra protein at work..
The total for the veggies on the receipts is $16.94. I think I bought a smaller bag of carrots than usual, and that isn't much broccoli, so I would say I spend, on average, $9 per week on veggies.
I paid a ridiculous amount for fruit on the first receipt. I don’t mind paying $6.99 for that bag of Cortland apples – they will last me at least 2 weeks. The $7.94 that I paid for the Cara Cara Oranges, however is a bit over the top. I absolutely love them with freshly grated ginger, however, so I won’t apologize. The total for fruit in my last two grocery runs was $17.90 so I'll just round that to an average of $9 per week. That’s far less than most people spend on carbonated syrup in a week.
I only spent $4.89 on whole grains in those two weeks but I order my hot cereal and hulled barley from a health food store because no grocery stores near me carry those things. I order a lot every few months to offset the cost of the shipping. I would say I spend an average of $6 per week on my whole grains – unless I splurge on some wild rice.
I spend about $6.00 per week on 1% milk and soy beverage. I mix them together to add to my hot cereal and my coffee in the morning. For me they are about vitamin D and calcium. The soy beverage also has some omega 3 fat.
$12.00 proteins
$09.00 veggies
$09.00 fruits
$06.00 whole grains
$06.00 milk and soy beverage
$04.25 condiments
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$46.25 total
I included the "condiments" in the final list because I buy some vinegar, mustard, oil, or other sort of sauce/condiment to mix with my veggies. My daily routine for veggies is to chop up nearly one liter of carrot, broccoli, snow peas, red onion, radishes, cucumber, tomato, and red pepper.
I mix in some beans and/or beef and/or roast pork and some kind of sugar-free sauce like the salsa or tomato bruschetta. I top it all off with crushed up crispy bread as croutons, or sometimes I eat it with stewed hulled barley.
My daily breakfast consists of hot cereal, beans, mackerel, fruit, milk, soy beverage, orange juice, coffee, and walnuts.
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