A stick blender for hummus! That’s a great suggestion. My stick blender doesn’t have a chopper attachment, but now I’m thinking it needs one. Fresh hummus! I wonder if I can buy the chopper separately? Off to hunt one down…

Other than my big pottery bread bowl, this is my favourite kitchen utensil. It’s great for pureeing soups right in the pot and making smoothies (frozen bananas, raspberries, some yoghurt, soy milk, maybe hemp seeds, maybe spinach!)… And the chopper attachment makes humous take NO TIME.

If you get the larger one (like in the link above), you can dump in a whole 19oz can of chick peas and a couple cloves of garlic. Whirl it up… adding parsley if you want… then scrape into a bowl and mix in the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice…
I also make another bean spread:
white beans, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, lime juice, veggie broth powder.
(Yes, soaking my own beans would be cheaper… but sometimes… the cans work fine.)

Have a great time with this challenge! In the States, I think the numbers should be manageable… that’s $400+/mo for two adults! There will be challenges and adjustments… but the best part will be the awareness. I agree with you on the non-negotiables, though. It’s not worth sacrificing quality (and health!) for cost.
I’m in Canada… and while our food prices (esp for dairy!) are way higher than your, we are lucky in that organic dairy is less of a necessity. Canada banned rBGH many many years ago.

I would have been thrilled to have $40 back then, too. But I ate an awful lot of ramen in college. Does any adult really want to eat the way they did when they were 18 (besides, Adam, who was an established foodie when I met him as a freshman)? Does anyone want their growing children to eat that way? I don’t.

This is an experiment in eating WELL for $50 a week, however each of us defines eating well. For my family, eating well means fresh, local, organic, and vegetarian. My co-bloggers Adam and Emily each have different definitions of eating well (though there is much overlap among us).

Some people will read about what we’re doing and roll their eyes and say the bar is set too low. Many others have responded that their grocery bills, too, are way too high, and $50 a week seems like challenge enough.

What’s your grocery budget? Do you have any tips you can pass along?

I wonder if there are some great baked tofu recipes out there that you could try — or try making some up? I think the tofu should be extra-firm and pressed before baking, but beyond that I’m guessing some sort of healthy oil, and the flavorings of your choosing, and slow-baked?

We’re planning to pick strawberries this weekend, and I’m going to attempt jam for the first time. Anyone have a favorite jam recipe to recommend?