How a Portland Foodie Balances a Backyard Garden, Online Groceries, and a $300/Week Budget

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Welcome back to Rose City Receipts, where locals share how they balance grocery shopping, eating out, and sticking to a budget. Want to be featured? Let me know!

Today, we hear from Nathalie from Foster/Powell. Nathalie walks us through running a local business while juggling a busy social calendar, hosting a BBQ, and making use of her husband’s prolific garden. 

Who are you? I’m Nathalie, co-owner of local events website PDX Pipeline and an ambitious home cook, posting on @nateatspdx on Instagram. I have two cats and a neurotic staffy/lab. 
Where do you live? Foster/Powell
What’s your weekly grocery budget (roughly)?: $200-$300
How many people are you shopping for?: 2
What are your favorite stores?: Fred Meyer, Fubonn, Misfits Market, Wellspent, La Bouffe
What’s your top priority when it comes to grocery shopping?: Avoiding food waste and only purchasing what I will use in a timely manner.

I do a lot of my grocery shopping online using Misfits Market and Instacart. While there are some fees associated with these apps, I find I save money by only buying what’s on my list. I get very hyped in grocery stores and will pull a bunch of random goodies I really don’t need/can’t afford. 

My husband and I keep a shared note on our phone and write down what we are out of or what is sounding tasty for the week. He also grows an amazing outdoor and indoor garden that saves us money on fresh veggies. I aspire to cook most of my meals, but since we work from home, we often need to get out of the house and eat out quite a bit. Portland has so many amazing restaurants to choose from!

Weekly total: $342
Eating out total: $50
Groceries total: $292
Most-expensive line item: $40 meats from Proletariat Butchery
Least-expensive line item: $1.79 Garbanzo bean can from Misfits
Number of grocery trips: 3
Number of meals out: 2
Stores visited: 1

It’s searing hot, so my husband/business partner Julian and I have some cold brew for breakfast at our ‘work station’ a.k.a dining room tablet. My go-to for lunch on hot days is a garbanzo bean salad situation with whatever bits of veggies, cheeses and meats are lying around and a homemade vinaigrette. I top everything with fresh herbs from Julian’s indoor and outdoor garden. 

We meet friends at Dot’s for happy hour. The kitchen there makes another guest a beef burger instead of a vegan burger so they give that to us. Free dinner! Dessert is a Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwich I found hidden in the freezer.

Monday total: $30 (drinks at Dots)

Cold brew for breakfast and garbanzo bean salad for lunch again. 

We are going to see a concert at the Moda Center and don’t want pizza for dinner, so I throw together a quick turkey meatloaf and broccoli slaw before we head out. At the show, I buy a frozen margarita that is way overpriced but delicious on a hot day.

Tuesday total: $20 (drink at the Moda Center)

Coffee for breakfast. 

We have some cabbage and other greens in our outdoor garden starting to bolt from the heat, so I sauté those with some garlic and soy sauce. Plop a couple fried eggs on top and that’s lunch. 

For dinner, our friends bring over some branzino from their seafood share. I cook them whole, stuffed with herbs and lemon on my Traeger smoker and make a Greek orzo salad on the side. 

My Misfits Market box also arrives today containing some fresh produce, a few good deals on proteins, like halibut, and some pantry staples like garbanzo beans.

Wednesday total: $86 (Misfits Market)

Another day, another caffeine breakfast and leftover orzo salad and fish for lunch. 

I have a doctor’s appointment after work and feel like I deserve a treat after. We have drinks at 5&Dime and pick up Taco Bell on the way home. When that craving comes up for me once or twice a year, I have to get a chicken quesadilla and cheesy Gordito crunch. I don’t make the rules!

I’m hosting a BBQ tomorrow for 8 people, so I also order Instacart groceries from Fred Meyer for that, as well as some stuff we are running out of for weekly meals. I also swing by Proletariat Butchery for burger meat and sausages. The owner gives me an insane deal on so much meat. It pays to befriend your local shop owners.

Thursday total: $206

Coffee and fruit for breakfast. For the BBQ, I make a miso-ginger broccoli slaw based on a Samin Nostrat recipe as well as Greek orzo pasta salad, French onion dip (from the packet, of course) and burgers and hot dogs on the smoker. Our guests bring more sides, cake and cookies and SO much wine. The spread is insane, and we stuff ourselves to the breaking point.

Friday total: $0

On Saturday, we are exhausted from hosting and just graze like feral animals on whatever food is leftover. 

The next day, I carpool with friends to the river with some leftover snacks and drinks from the BBQ. We find the perfect, uninhabited spot along the Wilson River and have the most idyllic picnic amongst the trees, birds and babbling waters. Somehow we still have burgers at home, so I throw a couple on the grill and call it dinner.

Weekend total: $0

I try to “shop” my pantry and freezer as much as possible. It’s fun to cook this way, like being on your own episode of “Chopped.” Also, be social and make friends with your local shop owners and cooks. I’ve exchanged garden vegetables and homemade meals for countless culinary delights. 

I created a recipe blog for a bit, and while it’s currently dormant, I still make these mini meatloaves nearly once a week. Ground turkey is usually pretty affordable and the recipe uses up veggies you might have sitting around. The recipe is for a Mediterranean flavor profile, but I also like to do a more traditional take with BBQ sauce from time to time. 

I’m so jealous of Nathalie’s friendship with the folks at Proletariat Butchery. Growing up, my parents would almost always buy a cow share or get awesome summer grill packs from a legendary Columbus butcher shop, and that high-quality meat is so much better than the stuff you get at the grocery store. 

I’m impressed with how many of y’all can whip up simple, flavorful, adaptable staple recipes and eat them throughout the week. I really struggle with eating the same thing every day, so I’ve never built this skill, but Nathalie (and everyone else who has contributed to Rose City Receipts so far) is making me think I need to change that. 

Want to be featured in Rose City Receipts? Email [email protected] and share your grocery shopping approach!

Happy saving!
Bryan,
Stumptown Savings