Week number three of groceries, and I know for sure that I am completely neglecting a lot of the food my family eats. I’m a cheap skate and not one for fast food meals, but sometimes I have my wife pick up a meal for the family when I don’t feel like cooking. I usually don’t have any of the fast food, because I would rather satisfy my hunger with snacks we have at home … a can of soup or tuna, some nuts or a piece of fruit … sometimes I make myself a sandwich that would make Dagwood proud (look it up kids).
Food confession: I proctored the S.A.T this morning, and I was so hungry that I grabbed a BIG meal at McDonalds. I got to school by 7:30 and had only a coffee, so by one in the afternoon, I couldn’t wait any longer and succumbed to the conveniece of grabbing a meal for the half hour drive home. I got an Angus Burger meal (with a Coke) and an extra chix sandwich (which I didn’t eat and had to hide from my family).
Send me a picture of your groceries and let’s show the world what we’re eating.
Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2009. All rights reserved.
Drinks
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1 gallon Hawaiian Punch (Blueberry Blast)
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½ gallon of milk
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1 liters half & half
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6 pack flavored water
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24 beers (12 Long Trail Ale, 12 St. Pauli Girl Dark)
Bread
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6-pack plain bagels
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6-pack lite English muffins
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1 Texas toast white loaf
Canned/ jarred/ packaged food
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3 cans tuna (white solid chunk)
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1 cans red kidney beans
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4 cans cut green beans
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2 box macaroni & cheese
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5 cans of soup (various brands)
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1 jar sweet roasted red peppers
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1 jar baby dill pickles
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1 can corned beef hash
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1 jar apple sauce
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1 box Kashi crackers
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1 box poppy & sesame seed crackers
Produce
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1 bunch bananas
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1 bunch of broccoli
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1 bunch scallions
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1 red pepper
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2 oranges
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2 golden delicious apples
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2 fuji apples
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2 lemons
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3 cucumbers
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bunch of plum tomatoes
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lettuce spring mix
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cut mushrooms
Meat/ Cheeses
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2 dozen eggs
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2 sticks of butter
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Chicken breasts (3)
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1 ¼ lbs. Cubed beef for stew
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1 bag frozen shrimp
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extra-sharp cheddar
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Fontina cheese
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crumbled Feta cheese
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Muenster cheese
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soft swiss
Other/ Junk/ Misc.
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1 bag Colombian coffee
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1 jar Marinara sauce
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1 can lightly salted cashew halves
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1 package Oreo cookies
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1 paper towel roll
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1 four pack toilet paper
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1 six pack whoopie pies (not pictured)
This is what one hundred twenty five dollars buys me where I live in Massachusetts. I’m a little suspicious of how little we seem to spend for groceries, even though I am aware that this is not everything that we eat during one week – I’ve mentioned my kids’ school lunches, grandma’s afternoon snacks for my kids, my wife’s stops at drive throughs, and my occasional school bagel – but our grocery bill still seems a little low – which must mean we’re getting our calories elsewhere.
I think a full month’s worth of grocery photos will give a clearer idea of what we buy to eat in our home, because I notice that there are still so many essential items missing that must last longer than other products. So far we haven’t run out of ketchup, mayonnaise, pasta, garlic, and a few other “common” items, even though we don’t buy super-sized containers of any of these. That seems pretty good. (Unless you’re planning for disaster, I suppose)
Looking at the pictures of two weeks of groceries though, makes me think that we definitely don’t eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables. And we love our white breads too much as well. On the plus side, I don’t think we overindulge on sweets or snackish foods. I know we also eat a lot of cheese, but no one is going to tell me that you shouldn’t have all kinds of cheeses ready for any situation. I draw the line there.
Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2009. All rights reserved.
One week gone and it’s hard to reconstruct all the meals I prepared these past seven days to feed my family. I should have taken notes and pictures, but that seems like too much work and impresses me as being a little obsessive about this whole food thing.
Yet food is so central to everything that we do, that it also seems very foolish to ignore it completely. I’m certainly no food expert, nor one who subscribes to a particular diet. I’m not vegan, nor vegetarian, nor do I necessarily purchase organic food. I occasionally check out a label to inspect the count for calories, fat and sodium, but I also stay away from anything labeled diet or Lite. Diet cola is the only exception, but that’s really for my wife, as I don’t drink soda and haven’t really given my two boys a chance to develop a taste for it.
I’m not sure what the boys eat during lunch, and my mother-in-law sends my oldest son food every afternoon that I don’t account for here. I also know for sure that my wife stops at a drive through at least three times a week for a large soda and an occasional burger and fries… It makes me think that we eat a lot more than we probably need, and that most of it isn’t really all that good for us.
Here’s what this week’s groceries look like. Total this week was around $125, but I know I’ll be running out of something this week.
If you’re reading this, send me a picture of your family’s weekly grocery portrait, along with anything you’d like to share about yourself and what you think about your eating habits.
Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2009. All rights reserved.
As I explain on my “About” page, this blog was inspired by a photo essay called “What People Eat” that showed 16 families pictured with a week’s worth of groceries. One family was from Ecuador, where my father is originally from, and where he has returned now that he is retired. The yucca, plantains, leeks and other foods pictured reminded me of my own early life when I often ate at my grandmother’s home, while my parents worked in factories.
The photo essay was just one more item in a long and seemingly endless list of things related to food and people that I was seeing everywhere. As a high school librarian, I am aware of the amount of information that is available, specifically concerning people and our ever growing demands for food. Every week there are articles about best foods for dieting and foods that help prevent aging or cancer. There are books published about fast food and commercial agriculture. There are websites and videos about modified foods, farm raised fish, depleting ocean stocks and the growing number of farmers’ markets.
There is a whole network devoted to food, where chefs challenge each other in culinary battle, and cooks travel the country and the world looking for the largest or strangest items to eat. We have contests to see who can eat the most hot dogs or buffalo wings in twelve minutes and there are dozens of infomercials hawking juicers, grills, vacuum bags, and all-in-one kitchen appliances which attest to not just our close relationship, but obsession with food.
Thus, this blog was born. Out of this deep desire to examine (and photograph) my own relationship with food. I also thought that I might eventually be able to use this site as a place for others to share their own stories and pictures of their families and what they eat. Perhaps involve a class or two from my school in a project, where the students can become photo journalists in their own homes.
I don’t know yet what will become of this blog, and that is what is most exciting about starting a project like this. There are no rules. There is only my curiosity and any feedback that I get to guide me along. And since it’s already Wednesday, I’m checking out the refrigerator and cupboards to see what I will be needing this week. I can’t wait to see the picture.
Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2009. All rights reserved
Drinks
- 1 gallon Orange Juice
- 2 liters Apple Juice
- 1 gallon Hawaiian Punch (Red Raspberry Limeade)
- ½ gallon of milk
- 1.5 liters half & half
- 12 pack flavored water
- 12 pack diet pepsi
- 24 beers (12 Stella Artois, 12 Magic Hat Seasonal)
Bread
- 1 wheat loaf
- 1 Texas toast white loaf
Canned/ jarred/ packaged food
- 2 cans tuna (white solid chunk)
- 2 cans red kidney beans
- 2 cans cut green beans
- 1 box macaroni & cheese
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 jar baby dill pickles
- 1 jar of Sofrito
- 1 container hummus
- 1 pack sushi rolls
- 1 box Kashi crackers
- 1 box frosted mini-wheats
Produce
- 1 cantaloupe
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 2 yams
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 1 bunch of plum tomatoes
- lettuce/ spinach mix
- cut mushrooms
Meat/ Cheeses
- 2 sticks of butter
- Chicken breasts
- 1 ¼ lbs. Flounder fillets
- ½ lbs. Smoked turkey
- ½ lbs. Polish ham
- ½ lbs. American cheese
- extra-sharp cheddar
- semi-soft brie
- smoked gouda
- Dubliner pub cheese
- soft swiss
Other/ Junk/ Misc.
- 1 bouquet of flowers
- 1 can Choc’ Full O’ nuts coffee
- 1 bag Colombian coffee
- 1 bag Grandma Bab’s Old fashioned caramel corn
- 2 boxes animal crackers
- 1 paper towel roll
- 1 four pack toilet paper
- 1 six pack whoopie pies (not pictured)
This is what one hundred forty nine dollars ($149) buys me where I live in Massachusetts. I know there’s lots of other items that will be bought and eaten over the next week, and I will try to keep a track of those as well. I have asked my wife and kids to help me with this project, and they seem eager, for now. I hope that they will tell me everything about their eating habits so that I can get a more complete picture of our family as “eaters”.
P.S. They all “cheated” tonight as mom brought home Burger King. 2 four piece chicken nuggets, 2 whopper juniors, 2 fries and 2 drinks. I didn’t partake of the take-out feast (add $ 9 to the total).
Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2009. All rights reserved.
9.26.09
I know this is not everything we’ll eat during the week. My two kids will have lunches at school, my wife will drive through fast food places a few times for large diet sodas in oversized cups that look ridiculous in the sink. I may buy a bagel at school one morning this week. Also missing are all those things I’ll buy next week, like eggs, garlic, peanut butter, pasta … but basically, this is a pretty accurate picture (I think) of what a typical shop at the grocery looks like for one week in our household. Over time, I hope to use this blog to examine my diet, reflect on my consumption, and hopefully have some fun thinking about food in a different way.
Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2009. All rights reserved.
