Chart What Food You Buy for One Week

Last week we looked at what families around the world chose to eat for a week and how much money they spent. I decided that I would track what I buy for the week and how much it cost me and see where I fit it within the confines of this Web site. The answer turns out to be not quite so simple. What I bought for the two of us wouldn't even cover my kitchen counter.

Perhaps I should break it down into what I bought and what I used. Because I cook at home every day, I have a pretty well-stocked pantry. When a big snow storm hit last Friday, I just hunkered down and cooked a pasta for dinner from what I had in inventory, after eating a lunch of leftovers.

I should also disclose that we ate out one night. I helped my son and his two roommates move last Thursday. Three university English majors equals a lot of books and after 4 1/2 hours of hauling boxes I wasn't going to cook. However, I doubt if it would have made any difference in the amount spent. I probably would have made a quick omelette or something.

Looking at all of the photos on the Web site, I'm hard pressed to see exactly where we fit, although we are as far removed as possible from the family pictured above. This is probably a fair representation of what I buy on an average week, although I usually have more cheese, thanks to the cheese monger son. For two people in Toronto who normally eat three meals a day at home I spent $60 to the penny. What I find most interesting is that the four chicken breasts I purchased represent a full 25 percent of the amount spent. No question, it's cheaper to be a vegetarian.