So what did you eat this week?
TIME ran a great photo essay entitled 'What the World Eats'. The photos are from husband-wife team Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio's new book, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, available from Amazon. The book looks at 30 families in 24 countries with a week's worth of their food purchases, weekly food-intake lists with costs noted and even some typical family recipes.
It was very eye-opening and made me more appreciative - not just for the variety of foods we can eat, but also for the beautiful cultural diversity in the world. Take a look at the photos below or see the photo essay in its entirety. (Or buy the book and then loan it to me.) I noticed as I was going through TIME's 16 featured families that the ones who appeared to be happiest were often the ones living with less. Interesting.
And here's a bonus you won't find in the book - the last photo in this post is my attempt at capturing our week in food.
The Revis family of Raleigh, N.C.
Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
The Ukita family of Kodaira City, Japan
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen, or $317.25
The Ayme family of Tingo, Ecuador
Food expenditures for the week: $31.55
The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar, or $221.45
The Aboubakar family of Darfur province, Sudan, currently in Breidjing Refugee Camp, in eastern Chad
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA francs, or $1.23
The Masson family of Lyon, France
Food expenditure for the week: 52 euros, or $80.83
Figuring out our average week of food was harder than I originally thought. I made a list of meals we'd eaten for dinner in the past week:
- spinach and goat cheese lasagne
- black bean chili cheese fries
- zucchini pesto pasta
- sausage and shroom pizza
- hamburgers and fries
- pork roast and veggies
- roasted veggie sandwiches
Then added work/school lunches:
- veggie couscous (2)
- curry lentil wraps (3)
- turkey sandwiches (5)
And lastly our breakfasts (including Saturday brunch), snacks, and desserts.
From this list I figured out the ingredients required and estimated the amounts. Since we make a lot of our food from scratch, the list of food items was loooong. Way longer than I'd expected.
12 carrots
5 cups spinach
6 potatoes
4 zucchini
4 onions
3 red peppers
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch asparagus
1 cup mushrooms
1 cucumber
1/3 cabbage
5 cloves garlic
12 apples
6 bananas
6 peaches
6 oranges
2 pounds of cherries
12 dried apricots
8 prunes
½ c raisins
¾ cup lentils
1 ½ cup BB
1/2 cup dried chickpeas
1 cup wheat germ
¼ cornmeal
¼ cup sesame seeds
¾ cup dried coconut
4 cup flour
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
5 cups of tomato purée
1 can crushed tomatoes
½ box lasagne noodles
1 cup vermicelli pasta
1/2 cup couscous
6 eggs
1 small container carrot salad
1 box of red grape juice
2 cans of Coke
14 slices bread
2 individual packs of breakfast cookies
½ box fruit and fiber cereal
3 Tbsp peanut butter
½ small jar of pesto
¼ cup salsa
3 flour tortillas
1 small bag tortilla chips
1 1/2 round loaves of Turkish bread
1 1/2 cups mozzarella
1 ½ cups goat cheese
1 cup Gouda cheese
3/4 cup Emmental cheese
2 1/2 liters of milk
3 yogurt pots
½ cup sour cream
4 slices bacon
1 small chicken
1 pound ground beef
1 garlic sausage
5 turkey slices
1 bag of Moka coffee
10 English breakfast tea bags
Yowzers.
As you can tell the photo doesn't include everything. Much as I love blogging authenticity, I wasn't about to measure out the flour, pull meat from the freezer or run to Monoprix to buy more Gouda and lentils.
So what do you think? How does your weekly grocery shopping list compare?
It was very eye-opening and made me more appreciative - not just for the variety of foods we can eat, but also for the beautiful cultural diversity in the world. Take a look at the photos below or see the photo essay in its entirety. (Or buy the book and then loan it to me.) I noticed as I was going through TIME's 16 featured families that the ones who appeared to be happiest were often the ones living with less. Interesting.
And here's a bonus you won't find in the book - the last photo in this post is my attempt at capturing our week in food.
The Revis family of Raleigh, N.C.
Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
The Ukita family of Kodaira City, Japan
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen, or $317.25
The Ayme family of Tingo, Ecuador
Food expenditures for the week: $31.55
The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar, or $221.45
The Aboubakar family of Darfur province, Sudan, currently in Breidjing Refugee Camp, in eastern Chad
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA francs, or $1.23
The Masson family of Lyon, France
Food expenditure for the week: 52 euros, or $80.83
Figuring out our average week of food was harder than I originally thought. I made a list of meals we'd eaten for dinner in the past week:
- spinach and goat cheese lasagne
- black bean chili cheese fries
- zucchini pesto pasta
- sausage and shroom pizza
- hamburgers and fries
- pork roast and veggies
- roasted veggie sandwiches
Then added work/school lunches:
- veggie couscous (2)
- curry lentil wraps (3)
- turkey sandwiches (5)
And lastly our breakfasts (including Saturday brunch), snacks, and desserts.
From this list I figured out the ingredients required and estimated the amounts. Since we make a lot of our food from scratch, the list of food items was loooong. Way longer than I'd expected.
12 carrots
5 cups spinach
6 potatoes
4 zucchini
4 onions
3 red peppers
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch asparagus
1 cup mushrooms
1 cucumber
1/3 cabbage
5 cloves garlic
12 apples
6 bananas
6 peaches
6 oranges
2 pounds of cherries
12 dried apricots
8 prunes
½ c raisins
¾ cup lentils
1 ½ cup BB
1/2 cup dried chickpeas
1 cup wheat germ
¼ cornmeal
¼ cup sesame seeds
¾ cup dried coconut
4 cup flour
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
5 cups of tomato purée
1 can crushed tomatoes
½ box lasagne noodles
1 cup vermicelli pasta
1/2 cup couscous
6 eggs
1 small container carrot salad
1 box of red grape juice
2 cans of Coke
14 slices bread
2 individual packs of breakfast cookies
½ box fruit and fiber cereal
3 Tbsp peanut butter
½ small jar of pesto
¼ cup salsa
3 flour tortillas
1 small bag tortilla chips
1 1/2 round loaves of Turkish bread
1 1/2 cups mozzarella
1 ½ cups goat cheese
1 cup Gouda cheese
3/4 cup Emmental cheese
2 1/2 liters of milk
3 yogurt pots
½ cup sour cream
4 slices bacon
1 small chicken
1 pound ground beef
1 garlic sausage
5 turkey slices
1 bag of Moka coffee
10 English breakfast tea bags
Yowzers.
As you can tell the photo doesn't include everything. Much as I love blogging authenticity, I wasn't about to measure out the flour, pull meat from the freezer or run to Monoprix to buy more Gouda and lentils.
So what do you think? How does your weekly grocery shopping list compare?
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10 comments:
This is a great post!
I want to play along and I want to eat as healthy as you do.
With a daughter with severe food allergies though, our post might be a bit weird.
Great post Kari! I think you need to start posting your weekly menus and linking them to your recipe pages :)
-Ashley Pigford
This IS a great post! Although, I wouldn't say the family that only spent $1.23 looked really happy. The family in Ecuador sure did, though!
We probably spend about $125 every week and a half at the grocery store. We, unfortunately, are surrounded by the temptation to eat out as well. So we eat dinner or lunch (about four to five times a week) at a restaurant (usually Moe's, Chick-fil-A, maybe Applebee's, Mexican or Thai. I was actually just commenting this weekend how I wish we had all the fresh markets and stuff you guys have in France.
We really do have a lot, though! That first family looked like they eat a little more on the junk food side. Of course, if we laid out all our food, I'd like to think it would be healthier, but I'm not positive. The Japanese family's food looked extremely healthy!
Kari, your blog posts are always so interesting. I can't believe that family in Raleigh spends so much each week! We live here and only spend $60 at the store each week, including toiletries and cleaning supplies, and if we eat out (rarely do we eat out together) it comes out of our "personal" allowance.
Our grocery list is always changing, based on what's on sale and what I have in the freezer. On Friday I bought: coffee creamer, a gallon of milk, 8 bananas, 2 red and 1 yellow pepper, 3 zucchini, 3 yellow squash, 1 cantaloupe, 2 lbs grapes, 3 lbs onions, 8 oz cheddar cheese, 3 cans tomato sauce, 1 sm can tomato paste, 1 head lettuce, 1 lb tomatoes, 1 can olives, 1 sm can mushrooms, 1 can pineapple chunks, a bag of rice, 2 lbs broccoli, fettuccine noodles, half and half, butter, corn syrup, and...that may be it. No meat because it wasn't on sale...we're eating out of the freezer this week!
Anyways, I won't go on. Just thought I'd reply for once. Very interesting! Hope you're well...you can have this heat anytime you'd like it!
I'm really posting a comment about your "half of a lifetime" post. I was touched by your comment about all the relationships to come and encouraged as Nate and I still aren't positive about where we'll be in a year. I like how well I think you've turned out (:))...considering I believe my own little girl's life is sure to turn out much like yours. One option is that we'll spend 10 months in France...if so, we'll need some "American" friends! We'll let you know....
Hi Meaghan,
Yeah, I debated whether or not to include the part about them looking happier (for the most past) after realizing that the ones I had chosen didn't reflect it - but overall the ones in the book do (I think).
Enjoy Chick-Fil-A for us!!
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Salaam malecum Becky,
Email me sometime. I'd love to ctach up with you guys and talk about your plans. Sounds like we're in similar places right now.
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Hi Michelle,
It's nice to know that others are on a budget too. Our meals are always based on what's on sale. It's like modern day hunting. :)
Really cool post. I'd seen that Time article awhile back ... very fascinating to see how other families eat!
We spent roughly $80 (sometimes 100 or 120) every two weeks in groceries ... just depends on what needs to be restocked and what's on sale ... that includes toiletries and cleaners. We're a family of 3 ... well 4, including the lil' one to be born in a few months.
Oooh, oooh, I want to do this. But first, I have to finish my work for you. then I will do this.
Ya, we saw this on TV not too long ago here. Very interesting. Love your photo too!
Wow. I was really surprised too at the family in North Carolina -- almost $350 a week for a family of four. I always hear people say that junk food is cheaper than healthy food, but I suspect that's not always the case.
Meaghan and I average $750 to $800 a month on groceries and eating out combined. (The "groceries" number includes toiletries, cleaning products and dog food, as well.)
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