April 2021: Summary and Observations

Our evening meals are back down 20% on last year, yet we are eating very well! 

This month we did seven take out lunches and three take out dinners: Skewers’ Chapli Kebab plate, The Country Deli Skirt Steak Dinner, which we augmented, along with the Bento Box.

The averages for this month:

  • Lunch prepared at home $2.63 ($2.63 in March)
  • Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $8.04 ($8.04)
  • Dinner eaten at home: $5.59 ($5.59)
  • Dinner prepared in a restaurant $15.44 ($15.44)

The variation is small and we continue to see reduced average evening meal costs having dropped our meat box delivery. 

Our most expensive meal of the month was the augmented Bento Box on the first of the month, at $20.93 per serve.

This month, lunches at home cost 27% of the cost of eating lunches prepared outside the home. Our evening meals prepared in the home are 26% of the cost take-out meals.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $291.30 per person in April. We actually spent $55.39 for lunches at home plus $64.20 for lunches purchased or eaten out:  $119.58 in total.

If every evening meal cost us the same as our one this month, it would be $518.10. We actually spent $124.68 for dinners at home and $51.30 for three dinners out, or $175.98 in total.

We saved about $520 by mostly eating at home, and we have a lot more control over what we eat.

Apr 30: Brioche Bagel with Neufchatel & Sun-dried Tomatoes; Salad Niçoise with Seared Ahi Tuna

Lunch

With Foodie Greg still a little under the weather from his final Covid 19 vaccine dose we kept it simple with a Brioche Bagel topped with Neufchatel. Foodie Philip also added Sun-dried Tomato.

  • The Brioche Bagel is 58c per serve
  • Neufchatel adds 25c per serve
  • The sun dried tomatoes were $5.99 for the jar, or 45c for Foodie Philip’s serve, 23c when averaged.

A tasty sandwich for $1.06 per serve.

Dinner

While we have had Salad Niçoise regularly, it has mostly been with canned Smoked Tuna. Tonight we changed it up and seared some Ahi Tuna instead.

  • 12 oz Tuna was $5.19, or $2.60 per serve
  • The Asparagus was $4.29 and we shared ⅓, or 72c per serve
  • Pastured Medium Eggs are 24c each, or 48c per serve
  • Kumato adds 40c per serve
  • Fingerling Potatoes were 68c per serve
  • The olives come in a $4.49 jar, and we used 1/4, or 56c per serve
  • Add 40c for Spinach and Balsamic.

Surprisingly, the seared Ahi Tuna is around the same cost as canned! We preferred the Asparagus to Green Beans, so this was an all-round winner for $5.51 per serve.