premise

'support your local farmers' 'go to the farmers' market; it's cheaper' 'farmers' markets are more humane (than grocery stores)' 'idk love your local farmers'

i feel as if i have heard many internet people claim we should go to the farmers' market. i have also been led to believe the farmers' market is an expensive, niche, impractical place---perhaps that comes from the one time i was brought to a farmers market and my parents bought nothing because it was too fucking expensive. anywho, i am here to test the claim that the farmers' market is more expensive than the chain grocery store.

may is my control group. i will engage in my regular eating and spending habits. i am tracking all money spent on food and alcohol. i am concerned that tracking my spending will lead to a reduction in money spent, thus deviating from my genuine normal spending habits. such is life.

for june, all purchases will be made at my local farmers' market. i will also be allowed to buy products made by local businesses. i believe there are a few distant farmers' markets which i could get to, but the cost of transportation would be an undesirable addition (i always walk to the grocery store. adding transportation costs would artificially inflate my grocery bill, especially since i would never travel that out of my way for groceries in the first place). i will not set foot inside a grocery store, liquor store, or chain restaurant / fast-food place. i will still be allowed to use whatever i have at home for cooking---i am not tracking down locally-produced rice, if it even exists, or sugar, or flour, or...etc.

outside of tracking purchases and spending, i am also tracking what i eat in a given day and any food waste from each week. i wonder if shopping local will decrease my food waste, in part because i am assuming i will spend more on food. would spending more on food cause me to value food more, thus decreasing my food waste? also, will my eating habits improve if i'm eating higher quality food and not, uhhhh, random-ass snacks?

disclaimer: this is me tracking my own shit. this is not advice. i do not have good eating habits, and it shows. also, i work at a restaurant, which gives me access to a surprising amount of free food (mostly fried chicken fat and rice). (pls don't judge me too much).

may: the control

summary

• groceries: 38.98 + 24.45
• fast food / restaurants: 2(6.27) + 6 + 17 +
• alcohol: 20

week 1

expenses

20260429 mb $38.98

• pineapple salsa
• mango-lime snap peas
• sun-dried apricots
• can of corn
• can of beans
• can of chickpeas
• quinoa
• chili powder
• orange extract
• olive oil
• dry thyme
• basil seed drink
• chocolate bar
• ground turkey
• yam
• baby spinach
• mixed berries

20260501 alc $20

20260501 ic $6

20260502 & 20260505 dd $6.27

meals

20260501

• can of coffee
• work leftovers
• quinoa burrito bowl
• ice cream (local)
• canned cocktail

20260502

• can of coffee
• dunkin $6 meal deal
• quinoa burrito bowl
• work leftovers
• yogurt bowl

20260503

• can of coffee
• quinoa burrito bowl x2
• craisins + stale pretzel goldfish
• can of strawberry milk tea ($1)
• baumkuchen from muji ($5)
• croissant + matcha ($11)

as an aside, i wonder if keeping track of the money i'm spending on food/drink will influence my spending. granted, today was a 'day out' where i was trying to visit a variety of places. but seeing this makes me eager to avoid the temptation to grab dunkin tomorrow morning. (homemade breakfast sandwiches do not scratch the same itch as a baconeggandcheese on a croissant does)

20260504

• can of coffee
• eggs
• quinoa burrito bowl
• work leftovers
• yogurt bowl

20260505

• can of coffee
• dunkin $6 meal deal
• work leftovers
• craisins

week two

expenses

20260506 mb $24.45

• can oranges x2
• can fruit mix
• chili oil
• lentils
• popcorn
• mochi melon
• apple pie
• baby carrots
• bananas x3
• kiwis x4
• yogurt

20260510 day out ~$30

20260511 ic $6

20260512 dd $6.27

i did not want to go grocery shopping and it shows. couldn't bring myself to buy enough food for the week because my eating habits have gone down the drain. i do not want to cook. i do not want to eat. i do not want to do anything. need to use up stuff from last week---there's spinach, for one, matcha chia pudding, and pumpkin puree (if it hasn't gone bad). i have leftover broth that i can use for lentils. maybe i'll clean out the freezer---tofu teriyaki doesn't sound half bad, and then i could use up the nearly-empty container of teriyaki sauce that's been sitting there for too long.

meals

20260506

• storebought apple pie
• melon mochi
• devil's food cake
• can of oranges
• work leftovers
• popcorn x2

20260507

• spinach and kiwi smoothie
• can of coffee
• pumpkin muffin
• work leftovers
• popcorn

20260508

• can of coffee
• can of oranges
• pumpkin muffin x3
• work leftovers
• spicy butter-garlic spinach
• carrots
• oatmeal

20260509

• can of fruit
• can of coffee (this was the last one from that pack...)
• NOTE: defrosting tofu, marinate w/ ct sauce on monday or so

20260510

• craisins
• cardamom scone
• spicy cold noodles + samosa
• ube cream puff
• can of coffee
• cookie
• another can of coffee
• cheese

20260511

• lentil dish x2
• instant coffee
• craisins
• ice cream from local place

20260512

• craisins
• instant coffee
• work leftovers
• dunkin $6 meal deal

food waste

all of my food waste was stuff from the previous week which i failed to use. well, the broth was a few weeks old, and i'd meant to use it the previous week. food for thought.

• i took two bites of the matcha chia pudding. nothing was wrong with it, but the gelatinous nature was repulsive. rip matcha chia pudding, i will never make you again.
• one container of broth had formed a skin on the top; something about that seemed wrong so i dumped it.
• was hoping to save the yam peel for broth, but there was mold...not technically food waste but still annoying.
• had to toss the last serving of the lentil dish, since it seemed to give me food poisoning? tasted fine, but i was annoyingly sick. probably had something to do with the yam mold.

other

• first attempt at regrowing scallions was very successful. took more roots home to regrow.
• attempting to regrow cilantro.

week two

expenses

20260513 tg $34.61

• broccoli
• steam in bag caribbean rice dish
• goodles mac 'n cheese
• microwave soup
• cinnamon toast crunch
• almond milk
• bread
• indomie
• can of beans
• can of olives
• seeds for lemon balm, kale, and baby tomatoes
• can of coffee

"can you even call this grocery shopping you didn't buy any fruit or anything." yeah, i feel like this week's groceries are going to make me ill-ish, but with easy food options, i have no reason not to eat, so maybe that'll offset the variable quality of food? even if some of these are food look-alikes. spent $6 on seeds; hopefully i successfully grow some of these and get some more food in a few months. i love the idea of maintaining a little indoor garden that can give me some things i like but don't always buy---baby tomatoes are variable quality and price, and kale is sold in too large amounts. a single kale plant won't give me that much kale, right? lemon balm is because of the wild witchcraft book. nearly bought calendula as well, and kept eying brussels sprouts. lets not get ahead of ourselves. if i can get one of these guys growing, i'll be happy.

meals

20260513

• broccoli
• instant coffee
• can of coffee
• goodles
• tofu teriyaki
• cereal

scallions and cilantro are in good shape. i need to remember to harvest them and actually use them lol.

20260514

• finished the box of cereal. this is why i don't buy cereal: it does not satiate me.
• microwave soup---this had a weird oil-y texture. i can see why it was 50% off.
• instant coffee
• rice + beans --- cooked rice in leftover soup broth
• tofu teriyaki
• work leftovers --- i think i just brought home three-days worth of chicken wings.

20260515

• instant coffee
• pb & j
• tofu teriyaki
• work leftovers x2

20260516

• instant coffee
• pb & j
• work leftovers x2

20260517

• ramen
• coffee
• ube cream puff
• microwave rice dish
• cereal
• pb & j
• quinoa dish

20260518

• dd meal deal
• shitty canned coffee
• quinoa dish
• yogurt
• stir-fry

week 3

expenses

20260518 mb $38.50

• purple chrysanthemums---i think i can dry these for tea
• flour
• sugar
• cocoa powder
• "white morsels"
• laab seasoning
• mangosteen drink
• butter
• shanghai tips
• nectarines---didn't realize two were nearly 1lb (aka $4...)
• yellow bell pepper
• frozen chimichangas
• pork sirloin
• frozen broccoli
• frozen cherries
• single-serving peach yogurt

20260520 life alive $6

20260520 mcdonald's $8

2026052X target $23?????

the only thing i remember buying is olives, yogurt, and granola bars. there was more.

note

i am no longer tracking my food because i don't think i'm getting any useful information out of it. other than embarassing myself because my eating habits look terrible.

questioning

how does eating out next month work? no chains, support local businesses? no eating out whatsoever? i want to lean into a "make everything from home" approach. also, ten days left in the month! i think that's only one more grocery trip. huh, the 31st is a sunday...i guess that'll be my first farmers' market trip. then i'll find out if this experiment is feasible.

todo

make mushroom stock. also, i've inherited my roommate's freezer stash. tossed some meat that had changed colors or was stored improperly (i am NOT eating green ground turkey). got some chicken breasts, mystery meats, potential burrito, stir-fry veggies, questionable shrimp, and a pizza; will focus on using all of these next week. also got stale cereal, instant coffee, trail mix, rice, weird thing of wine (the top looks oily), spices, pasta, moldy pasta sauce (it says refrigerate after opening), potting mix, and a can of celsius. also acquired expired noodles from my workplace, but they taste + cook just fine.

make batches of iced tea.

week 4

20260526 mb $44.95

• feta-stuffed olives
• eggs
• baby artichokes
• chickpeas
• olives
• beans
• butter beans
• granola bars
• plastic cups of pears
• poky
• mango mochi ice cream
• fruit punch
• rosemary
• bananas
• oranges
• bonus round: toilet paper and sponges

completely forgot this is technically my final grocery trip. whoops! i went for things i knew i'd eat, thus spending more than usual and buying less food than i need. those feta olives were nearly $6...next month will require planning. and thoughtfulness. and eating real food for my meals.

june

week 1

due to the farm share purchase, i am genuinely trying to avoid the grocery store this week. umm. i suppose the actual project is "how can i clean out all the random shelf-stable items i have on hand." i don't have much (canned, frozen, or fresh) produce, nor do i have meat, or...well, much of anything that isn't a carb. needless to say, i am in for an interesting week. i do want to push myself to use up stray bags and half-finished somethings.

some pantry items: powdered gelatin, lard, protein powder, peppermint candies, rice flour, coconut flour.

things i made

red lentil chili (source)

modified this. used up the lentils, and the cans of black beans and diced tomatoes. coincidentally used up garlic and onions. also tapped into the gelatin.

protein bars (reference)

used: about 2c of chocolate protein powder, 1/3c coconut flour, half a jar of "chocolate vanilla hazelnut spread," a small jar of peanut butter, unknown amount of honey, 1/2 a small bag of shredded coconut. i see why this works; best of all, i managed to use up five (!) odds-and-ends. not sure what the coconut flour is there for---absorbing more hydration? the result was fine. just fine. i would not go out of my way to make this recipe

rice flour cake source)

DO NOT USE THIS RECIPE. the resultant 'batter' resembled a crumbly cookie dough. i went ahead and added about 1/2c of water and 1.5tbsp of powdered milk, then added more rice flour until the batter was cohesive. also used 1tsp of orange extract instead of vanilla. in place of butter, used 1/2 butter and 1/2 lard (because i don't want to run out of butter). i was able to use up my rice flour, at least.

things i could make

• cassava flour cookies | could use up white chocolate chips, maybe add sunflower seeds?
• (hibiscus) gummies - if gummies go well, i could genuinely make a dent in the stray bag of gelatin.
• peppermint marshmallows.