The next step in my project of feeding a family of 2 (including a growing teen) on only $367 for a whole month was to go grocery shopping. My budget for the week was $90. I went to Trader Joe’s and PCC and spent a total of $93.77. Not bad really, since I picked up a few extra items that were not on my list: 1/2 gallon of spiced cranberry apple juice, 32 oz. of organic chicken broth, an extra can of organic tomatoes with green chilies, 1.5 pounds organic zucchini, 1 bunch of organic beets and 1 gallon of organic non-homogenized milk. I also picked up twice as much cheese (pepper jack, parmesan and blue) than I had on my list due to the way they were packaged.
A word about the milk. My son developed cystic acne a few years ago, which we found out through trial and error with his diet, was triggered by milk. More recently, we have found that if I buy very high quality, non-homogenized milk, it does not trigger the cystic acne. This was wonderful! However, this very special milk costs about $5 per half gallon! And my son (did I mention he’s 6′ 3″??) LOVES to drink it. In fact, he can and prefers to consume a gallon a day ($10 X 30 days = too much money on milk per month!!). I generally end up purchasing about 2 gallons per week. On this new budget, I may only be able to purchase 1 gallon per week. For calcium, we also consume cheese and dark leafy greens.
What I learned about myself on this first budget restricted shopping trip: 1) I like to buy food 2) I like to buy impulse food items 3) I don’t like shopping on a budget! (see #1 and #2 above). I also have a bit of psychological issue with fear of running out of food (from childhood trauma I won’t go into just yet). However, since I had made out my menu and shopping list, my rational mind could easily see that we would have plenty of food for the week 
