I pack the tri-tip on ice and head a couple hours south to Medford, where my wife works. I will be at our townhouse there with her for the rest of the week.
My wife shops at Costco on her way back from work to grab a couple of things for dinner and some produce, but it’s a light Costco run: raspberries ($6.99), Vizzy orange hard seltzers ($12.99 plus $1.99 bottle tax), pineapple ($13.99), veggie snack pack ($9.99), tomatoes ($5.99), three pounds of limes ($4.99), a three-pack of butter lettuce ($6.49). ($62.63 total)
6:15 p.m. After my wife gets home, we make a quick run to Fred Meyer to get the last ingredient for dinner (cilantro) and a couple of other things: Umpqua heavy whipping cream for my morning coffee ($4.49), milk ($2.29), Franz nine-grain sandwich bread ($5.99), and two bundles of that cilantro ($1.98).
7 p.m. At our townhouse, I grill the meat on the community gas barbecue and make coconut rice to go with the tri-tip. I cook the rice by substituting canned coconut cream (purchased previously from Trader Joe’s) for water, and I add organic unsweetened coconut chips (also previously purchased from Trader Joe’s). Cooking the meal takes only about a half an hour since I did the prep work earlier, and my wife and I eat it with the recommended Bibb lettuce.
Total: $95.24
Saturday
7:17 a.m. I have a Nespresso coffee with cream and take our dogs, a black lab and a rat terrier, for a walk before my wife gets up around 8. She makes scrambled eggs with ingredients from the fridge and has her Murchie’s Black Currant tea that she orders online from Canada.
1:04 p.m. For lunch, we get In-N-Out. I have the #2 cheeseburger combo meal, no lettuce or tomato, grilled onions, fries, and a Coke ($7.85), while my wife has a cheeseburger with no onions, a Diet Coke, and fries ($7.85). We also order two plain, no salt cheeseburgers ($7.20) for the dogs—yes, they’re very spoiled, and they love cheeseburgers.
1:37 p.m. We stop at Harry & David to get some produce. It has very good quality produce and often great prices due to extra inventory from its fruit-of-the-month club. We purchase an 18-pound case of nectarines ($10.19), frozen sashimi-grade cubed ahi tuna ($11.75), 2.42 pounds of Cosmic Crisp apples ($3.78), bananas ($0.62), 7.67-pounds of Hermiston cantaloupe (we look forward to them every year) ($4.15), and five pounds of local Oregold peaches ($5.84). ($42.36 with coupons). We will share the nectarines with other family members and eat the rest of the produce this coming week!
6:15 p.m. I stop at Starbucks to get my wife a grande passion tea lemonade ($4) and take it to her at work.
7:29 p.m. For dinner, I go to Porters and have dinner in the bar. I’m by myself tonight as my wife is working late. This is a great local steakhouse. I get a cup of clam chowder, even though it’s 95 degrees outside, and the chef’s special, a 10-ounce grilled and sliced beef fillet with Italian salsa verde, served with cannellini beans and grilled escarole ($57 total, plus $20 cash tip).
Total: $146.26
Sunday
7:25 a.m. I get up and make my Nespresso coffee with cream and take the dogs for a walk. My wife sleeps in until 11 a.m. (she worked until 5 a.m.) and has Murchie’s tea, fresh raspberries, and Special K vanilla and almond cereal for breakf