Adventures in the Produce Market on Day 7

Russo's is a great produce market near my house and I decide it's time to focus on fruits and vegetables. At least a little bit. Next week, I am going to "use" Bounty Bucks, which "provides farmers' market with EBT terminals (like a food stamp ATM) and promotes the use of SNAP benefits by providing a dollar-for-dollar matching incentive for all SNAP purchases up to $10." Bounty Bucks is MA based but there are many programs/versions across the county, one of which is Wholesome Wave. 

Here is what I purchased at Russo's:  

3 lemons $1.00

2 heads cauliflower ($1.98 each) $3.96

6 or 7 Pink Lady apples ($1.49/lb) $3.90

1 bunch celery $1.98

5 lb bag carrots $1.98

Total = $12.82

I also went to the Ocean State Job Lot down the block from Russo's and 
Here is what I purchased:

4 16 oz. cans diced tomatoes ($1. each) $4.00

1 pound roasted almonds $5.99

Total= $9.99

Total so far= $86.95

Conventional Grocery Store vs. Russo's
On the first day I shopped at a conventional grocery store and purchased 1 head of cauliflower that cost $3.99, double what I just paid at Russo's, 1 bunch of celery for .50 more, and 3 pounds of carrots for $1. more than I just paid for 5 pounds.  I've always said that Russo's was not only higher quality but less expensive but I never realized to what extent. It really pays to know prices.

Russo's is the kind of store where you want everything: crates are piled and piled and piled with every color fruit and vegetable imaginable, from the most mundane to the most esoteric. There are often vegetables I have never used nor heard of. It's like a really high end produce market (with great prices) crossed with an Asian market. I usually go in and buy whatever I need and whatever I find most tempting. I think nothing of buying pints and pints of berries for my son to inhale (I figure: better that than junk).

But there were so many fruits and vegetables that 

were completely off limits: strawberries, raspberries, dried fruit, asparagus, the list goes on. I can't wait for Bounty Bucks!

Almond Butter Craziness
I made almond butter out of the almonds and while it was absolutely delicious (and seemingly less oily that store-bought), I would never ever recommend anyone else do the same. Recipes I read said it would take 20 minutes but it took almost an hour and practically destroyed my food processor. And plus a food processor is definitely a luxury.

Mushroom Barley Soup Snafu!!!
On Day 8, I cheated at lunch. But I truly didn't mean to. I froze two quarts of Lentil Soup and thought I was grabbing one out of my freezer but mistakenly took a container of Mushroom Barley that I made pre-SNAP TestKitchen and hadn't labeled. Honestly, they do look really similar. It made me realize how monotonous the Lentil Soup was getting and how hard it is not to have options.

My son and the hazards of cooking for one
My 18 year old son, Ben, is curious about all this but wants no part of it. If I were cooking for two, it would be easier, I could buy more ingredients and there would be more options. When you cook for one, you pretty much have to eat whatever you've made until it's gone. That's always the case but now amplified.

Day 7 Meals:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled with 1 ounce cheddar cheese, dried basil and red pepper flakes

Lunch: Lentil Soup

Snack: Almond Butter and celery

Dinner: Pasta with Broccoli and White Beans

Day 8 Meals:
Breakfast: Coffee with milk; 1 cup yogurt and apple

Lunch: Mushroom Barley Soup!
Snack: Almond Butter and apple

Dinner: Lentil Soup

Day 9 Meals 

Breakfast: Coffee with milk, 2 Lacey Edged Fried Eggs 

Lunch: Mushroom Barley Soup! (because it was a quart)

Dinner: Turkey Burger;  Whole head Roasted Cauliflower!

Snack: Almond Butter and apple

As an aside, I am not running all over town to these stores: they are all within walking distance of each other.