Greetings from Maine, Purse readers! I’m about to head back to NYC after spending a few days enjoying the Maine wilderness with Chris’s family. A long weekend away is always restorative, but once we’re home, I’m actually looking forward to getting back into the groove of things.
Today’s Meal Plan offers a big dose of inspiration for just that. The writer shares a simple weekly routine for her meal prepping that I’m planning to try out this coming week (subbing shopping at Publix for our local Key Food, of course) as well as some great vegetarian substitutions to keep costs down. And she’s the second meal prepper in a row to use Google docs to streamline her planning.
Paid subscribers get access to her wonderful meal prepping tips, a full week’s meal plan, and a wonderfully simple burrito recipe. Interested in submitting your own Meal Plan? You can do so here!
And don’t miss our previous editions:
Alicia Adamczyk
Alicia Adamczyk
Age: 34
Location: Tampa, Florida
Household size: 2
Household income: $320,000. I am a project manager in an engineering and planning field, and my husband is a lawyer.
Monthly grocery spend: $800
Where do you shop for groceries? Publix, Costco, and Lotte Market, an Asian market chain
How did you start meal planning? Has it changed over time?
I started in college when I had a $20 per week grocery allowance. I would choose meals/recipes that could use the same ingredient multiple ways. For instance, I would buy bell peppers on sale and make bell pepper and cheese quesadillas, and then make spaghetti with red sauce, bell peppers, and cheese.
When I got my first full-time job, I really got into cooking and trying new recipes, while staying on budget. With my second full-time job (making a LOT more money) and moving in with my now-husband, our lives got much busier. I became more regimented with meal planning so we could maximize our time while still allowing me to engage with cooking as a hobby.
Our food budget expanded a LOT to prioritize both convenience and trying new things. Our diets have changed a lot over time due to preference and health, and we now follow a mostly pescatarian diet. To keep things simple, we both usually eat the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch.
