What Our Family Eats--Week 1

This is inspired by a really fascinating book my neighbor turned me on to: What the World Eats. The authors portray 25 different families: their food for the week and a breakdown of categories, cost, etc. Very, very interesting. What will stand out the most if you've read this book is the variety available to my family (particularly in produce and type of grains/starches) as well as the low amount of meat (compared to other industrial countries/US families). Maybe I'll keep this up for a bit--it will help me know how much food to buy for us because it will show me how much we go through for a given time period. I don't have the cost breakdown for what is below and this was a particularly "light" week for us in some ways, but here it is:

Starches/Grains:

• cornbread (1 1/2 batches, homemade)
• 3 loaves whole wheat bread
• 5 c. raw rice
• 1 box Life cereal
• 1 box Cheerios
• 2 c. oats
• apple muffins (homemade)
  

Dairy:

• 4 c. cottage cheese
• 2 g. milk (including that used to make yogurt)
• 1-2 # cheese (not sure)

Eggs/Meat:

• 3 doz. eggs
• 1 4-pound chicken
• 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

Produce:

• 1/2 pound red beans
• 1 red pepper
• celery
• broccoli
• mustard greens*
• lettuce/salad*
• bok choy*
• snow peas*
• cucumber
• apples
• grapes
• onion
• garlic
• carrots (~1 pound)
• strawberries
• 2 c. blackberries* (frozen)
  
• 1 c. cherries (frozen)
  
• bananas
• 2 pounds potatoes
• 1 c. craisins
• 1 c. raisins
  

Beverages:

• 4-oz. loose tea
• 4-oz. coffee beans
• water
• (milk, mentioned above)
• 1 bottle wine
• 2 Dr. Peppers
  

Snacks:

• 1 bag tortilla chips
• 1 box graham crackers
• 1 jar peanuts
• 2 c. chocolate chips
• 1 large chocolate bar
• 1 c. corn kernels (for popcorn)
• 7 Cliff bars
  

Condiments:

• 1 bottle Ranch dressing
• 1/4 bottle Balsamic vinaigrette
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 c. honey
• 1 jar peanut butter
• olive oil
• canola oil
• miscellaneous spices
• mayo
• salt and pepper

*homegrown by me, a friend, or a local farmer

Main meals that this went toward:

• Cereal/breakfast (eggs on toast, cottage cheese pancakes, oatmeal, etc.)
  
• cheese and crackers/leftovers/pb&j for lunches
  
• Herb-Roasted Chicken, mashed potatoes, salad
• Red beans and rice, cornbread, greens
  
• chicken salad (made with leftover chicken)
• Baked chicken, leftover mashed potatoes, salad
• Risotto (made with leftover chicken and stock from roasted chicken), salad
• Leftover risotto, stir-fried veggies
• we still have greens left!!!