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Welcome to Rose City Receipts, a weekly feature of Stumptown Savings where Portlanders take us inside their grocery shopping and meal planning strategies.
This week, we catch up with Ben, a web developer from northeast Portland's Boise neighborhood. Ben, who is gluten-free and car-free, created WelcomeToPortland.net as a resource for newcomers to the city, helping them get oriented. Working from home, Ben shares how he maintains a consistent meal routine and manages his grocery shopping on foot and by bike.
Meet Our Shopper
Ben is a self-described irreverent prankster. (Ben Seigel)
Who are you? I’m Ben, a Midwest transplant to Portland, a desk jockey by day (website wranglin’ at versastudio.com and elsewhere), songwriter/vocalist by night.
Where do you live? NE Portland’s Boise neighborhood
What’s your weekly grocery budget (roughly)?: $120
How many people are you shopping for?: 1
What are your favorite stores?: I’m polygrocery … I love Grocery Outlet (“Gross Out”) for prices and location, WinCo for cheap bulk items, Natural Grocers for “alternative” yogurts, chocolate, and New Seasons mainly ‘cause it’s close by, and they have a good gluten-free bakery.
What’s your top priority when it comes to grocery shopping?: I try to find a happy medium between quality and cost.
Ben's Shopping Philosophy
I don’t do a lot of planning, I have a number of kitchen tested recipes I return to often, and when I’m shopping I’ll think ahead to what I want to make in the next 5–7 days.
I spend too much on dark chocolate Kind bars, I really ought to make my own, but they’re about the healthiest, most reasonable snack with recognizable ingredients. Larger WinCo stores have the best deals on these — if you can get ‘em for around $1/bar, that’s pretty good. Occasionally Grocery Outlet has even better prices.
Breakfast is easy, because it doesn’t vary much: eggs, avocado, kimchi, a tortilla, nuts, a little dark chocolate.
Lunch is often replaced by grazing (the hazard of working three paces from your fridge), or I’ll make a green salad with protein (sardines, hard-boiled eggs).
For dinner, when I’m really focused on saving money, I’ll make a tried-and-true Instant Pot meal (chicken curry stew) that yields three or four large servings, or I’ll pan fry or grill enough chicken or fish for two or three servings and steam veggies in microwave to go with it.
Ben’s Grocery Diary
Weekly total: $144
Eating out total: $20
Groceries total: $124
Most-expensive line item: $16, chicken thighs
Least-expensive line item: 55 cents, onion
Number of grocery trips: 3
Number of meals out: 1
Stores visited: 2
Weekend
Ordered green beans & tofu on rice at the Thai food cart at the new food cart pod on MLK and Beech Street in Northeast Portland.
As I mentioned above, I stock up on my favorite Kind bars whenever they’re in stock at my local Grocery Outlet. Sunday, I popped in and scored three boxes of dark chocolate nuts & sea salt bars for $12.99 each. All told, I spent just over $50 on groceries.
Weekend total: $70
Monday
Breakfast was the same all week: Eggs, avocado, sausage, fermented or sautéed vegetables, chocolate, nuts.
An example of Ben's standard breakfast features eggs, sautéed veggies, a crispy tortilla, and some kimchi. (Ben Seigel)
I skipped lunch all week. I just graze on Kind bars and nuts throughout the day.
For dinner, I made tuna steaks, with veggies, and mozzarella cheese, and an egg protein shake.
Monday total: $0
Tuesday
For dinner, I made an Amy’s frozen enchilada entrée with eggs, sausage, and egg protein shake.
Tuesday total: $0
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Wednesday
For dinner, I grabbed takeout from New Seasons: lemongrass chicken. I ate with frozen peas.
Wednesday total: $24
Thursday
Ben's receipts from his two runs to Grocery Outlet during the week he tracked for his Rose City Receipts. He scored a killer deal on Kind bars on his weekend run. Ten followed it up with plenty of fresh produce and some organic proteins on Thursday. (Ben Seigel)
I stopped into Grocery Outlet again, scoring some chicken and veggies that I used to whip up my staple chicken curry stew (recipe below) for dinner. I also bought some fresh cherries at $1.49 per pound and had those for dessert.
Thursday total: $50
Friday
Same breakfast and lunch as all week. For dinner, I had leftover chicken curry stew along with more fresh cherries.
Friday total: $0
🔍 Ben’s Shopping Tips
Grocery Outlet has the best short term deals I’ve seen on shelf-stable stuff like Kind bars. So if you see them on sale, buy a ton and stash them.
Get your spices, nuts, and coffee in bulk from WinCo.
Use a cashback, miles, or points card when shopping at any store that takes ‘em. Yes, American Express et al. are one big racket, but if stores will take your card, why not use it?
🍽️ From Ben’s Kitchen
I’ve been making this dish for many years, it’s a favorite at dinner parties, high on flavor, and it’s pretty hard to screw up.
Ben’s Foolproof Curry Chicken Stew
Serves 3-6 depending on amount of meat used.
Ingredients:
1-3 lbs. chicken parts (or turkey)
1 small can tomato paste
1 sweet potato, cubed
3-5 large carrots, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large thumb-sized piece of ginger, chopped or grated
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
To Taste: Garam masala (at least 1 tbsp.), cumin seeds, curry powder, salt, pepper, cardamom powder.
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Cook according to the amount of protein you’ve added, as that will take the longest.
Serve hot over rice or quinoa.
Make It Your Own
Cooking Tip: If using a Slow Cooker, you may need to add extra water or broth to ensure all ingredients are fully covered.
Add Some Heat: For a spicy kick, stir in Sambal Olek or Sriracha to taste.
Veggie Variations: This stew is flexible. Feel free to add cubed squash, white potatoes, or most other vegetables you have on hand with great results.
Garnish: Top with fresh, diced mint or cilantro just before serving.
Flavor Boost: For a fantastic sweet and savory contrast, add a tablespoon of fruit salsa or chutney on top of each serving.
Spice It Up: Enhance the flavor by using authentic Indian spice blends (“masala”) from a specialty store like Fiji Emporium in North Portland (charmingly disheveled). Look for blends that include less common ingredients like unripe mango powder or mace.
Better the Next Day: This stew is even better as leftovers, as the flavors have more time to meld together overnight.
📓 Bryan’s Take
I'm with Ben on the Kind bars — especially the minis! The full-size ones are just too much for my early morning workouts on Wednesdays and Fridays. These little guys are perfect: quick, easy, and not as processed as a lot of other packaged snacks.
Short on kitchen space or time? An Instant Pot could be your new best friend. Seriously, beyond pressure and slow cooking (which is great for recipes like Ben's), some even let you make homemade yogurt — way easier than it sounds, I promise! If you've been thinking about it, this is your sign to go for it.
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Happy saving!
Bryan M. Vance,
Founder/Publisher,
Stumptown Savings
