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Welcome to The Receipt, a series documenting how Bon Appétit readers eat and what they spend doing it. Each food diary follows one anonymous reader’s week of expenses related to groceries, restaurant meals, coffee runs, and every bite in between. In this time of rising food costs, The Receipt reveals how folks—from different cities, with different incomes, on different schedules—are figuring out their food budgets.
In today’s Receipt,we follow a 41-year-old food blogger and recipe developer making $105,000 a year in Des Moines, Iowa. Keep reading for her receipts.
Skip ahead
The finances
What are your pronouns? She/her
What is your occupation? As a food blogger and recipe developer, I create, test, and share gluten-free recipes online. I’ve been running my website since 2009 and I adore my job. Every single day is different, and it’s extremely rewarding to help people eat gluten-free without feeling like they’re sacrificing flavor or quality. I’m on a mission to prove that cooking gluten-free meals doesn’t need to be hard or require trips to specialty grocery stores. My spouse is currently a stay-at-home dad.
How old are you? 41
What city and state do you live in? Des Moines, Iowa
What is your annual salary, if you have one? $105,000
How much is one paycheck, after taxes? $4,375
How often are you paid? I get paid by my business twice a month.
How much money do you have in savings? $2 million (a mix of cash, 401(k)s, and Roth IRAs). Our lifestyle is pretty modest, and rollovers from retirement accounts at previous jobs have helped, so this amount has grown over time.
What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food? (i.e., rent, subscriptions, insurance, bills)
- Health insurance: $2,300
- Homeowner and vehicle insurance: $500
- Internet and streaming services: $300
- Water and utilities: $400
- Gym membership: $130
- Property taxes: $1,200
- College savings accounts for kids: $2,700
- Cars and mortgage: $0 (paid off)
- Monthly total: $7,530
The diet
Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? I was diagnosed with celiac disease shortly after I had my first child in 2013, so I need to eat a very strict gluten-free diet. Even a small crumb of gluten can cause an autoimmune reaction.
What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? I keep a list of weekly staples for both the regular grocery store and the big-box warehouse store. Between the two, for me personally, they include cucumber, Brazi Bites (I am addicted), rotisserie chicken, local hummus, deli turkey, spring mix or romaine lettuce, Honeycrisp apples, eggs, cottage cheese, wild-caught salmon, pumpkin seeds, kimchi, jasmine rice, and brown rice pasta. Like many elder millennials, I try to focus on getting enough protein at each meal.
How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? It depends on the time of year and how busy our three kids’ schedules are, but we aim to eat dinner at home four to five nights a week. Friday is usually pizza night, and my husband and I typically order sushi or something similar for ourselves on Saturday evenings. Then, on Sundays during the warmer months, we’ll grill for dinner. Some nights dinner is hot dogs for my kids at the ball field, then I’ll cobble together leftovers at home—that’s just reality! A couple of times a week, I’ll grab a Chipotle Burrito Bowl or a Chick-fil-A kale salad with grilled chicken nuggets for lunch after working at a local coffee shop.
How often in a week did you dine out while growing up? We dined inside our local Pizza Hut when my brothers and I earned rewards through school. (All my fellow Book It! kids know!) Beyond that, we only ate out at restaurants when it was a family member’s birthday or for a very special occasion. When it was my turn to choose, I always picked a local restaurant known for its epic Caesar salads.
How often in a week did your parents or guardians cook at home? My mom cooked dinner five to six nights per week growing up, save for our weekly Friday pizza delivery night (or those aforementioned dine-in pizza reward nights). We did a ton of easy, family-friendly meals like hot sandwiches (ham and cheese or Reubens), casseroles, spaghetti, enchiladas, and chili. No matter what she cooked, my mom always had an iceberg salad on the table to round out the meal. We went through half a dozen heads of iceberg lettuce each week!
The expenses
- Week’s Total: $331.12
- Restaurants total: $110.96
- Groceries total: $220.16
- Most expensive meal: Sushi from Wasabi, $48.78
- Least expensive purchase: Chick-fil-A Hash Browns, $1.69
- Restaurant trips: 6
- Grocery trips: 1
The diary
7 a.m. This is my kids’ first week of summer break, which means it will be a chaotic time of getting used to new schedules and routines. I start the day with a scrambled egg topped with shredded mozzarella cheese, along with black coffee and electrolyte water (I swear by Re-Lyte Hydration), before my kids and I hop in the car to pick up their buddies for track camp, which starts at 8 a.m. Why I thought signing them up for summer camps that start before their typical school day would be a good idea is beyond me!
11 a.m. I grocery shop while the kids are at camp. My cart fills up quickly with chicken thighs ($15), a pack of mozzarella cheese sticks ($5), gluten-free and vegan pretzel nuggets ($6), brown rice pasta ($11), shredded cheese ($4), a dozen eggs ($4), cottage cheese ($6), deli turkey ($12), my favorite frozen chicken soup dumplings ($10), a cornucopia of fresh produce ($50), plus a few other weekly staples like bread, chips, and almond milk. This all comes in at $220.16. After dropping off the kids and groceries at home, I head to a local coffee shop to put in a couple of hours of work. Too much caffeine makes me anxious, and I already had a cup of coffee at home, so I settle for a sparkling black mango iced tea ($6.55) in exchange for free Wi-Fi.
1 p.m. It’s recipe-testing week for work. I typically publish three or four new recipes a month on my website and work two months ahead of time. Today, I’m testing grilled chicken thighs and esquites (Mexican corn salad), both perfect for summer cookouts, so that’s what I have for lunch. As I’m prepping all the ingredients, which I acquired on my most recent grocery haul, I pour myself a small bowl of gluten-free and vegan “cheeze”-filled pretzel nuggets that I picked up at the store. My daughter was diagnosed with severe egg and dairy allergies at six months old when she started reacting to the foods I was eating after nursing. Finding products and recipes that are free of gluten, egg, and dairy isn’t always easy, but it’s possible! And it’s always fun to find new foods we can try out together. We love this brand’s other flavors of pretzel nuggets, but these are oddly flavorless. Yet, I still eat the whole bowl….
3 p.m. The afternoon nibbles have set in, so I snag a leftover Sweet Loren’s sugar cookie from a pan I made for my daughter and her friend a few days prior. It hits the spot. I love these cookies and always keep a pack in the fridge for impromptu baking. Their salted caramel chocolate flavor is my favorite, and I adore the fact that all of their products are gluten- and dairy-free.
5 p.m. I turn the leftover grilled chicken thighs and esquites into a chilled pasta salad made with brown rice rotini, a thwack of mayo, and lime juice for my dinner. It was just okay. We reheat and season the last of the grilled chicken with homemade taco seasoning and my husband and kids eat them as grilled chicken tacos for dinner. Those are better and everyone happily gobbles them up. We head off to the ball field for a late-night baseball game for one of my kids.
Monday total: $226.71
7:30 a.m. Camp was canceled due to rain (5 minutes after I woke them up, blarg!), so I brew a cup of coffee, then prepare my electrolyte water and begin working. I started drinking electrolyte water each morning last year, and it has made a huge difference in how vibrant I feel. I tell all my 40-year-old-plus friends about it, and they’ve shared success stories ranging from having more energy to reduced headaches. Three cheers for electrolytes!
10 a.m. My husband takes the kids to Chick-fil-A for a special rainy day breakfast and they bring me back some hash brown coins and ketchup ($1.69). I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, so they are a happy surprise.
12:45 p.m. I’ve had my head buried in work and realize I’m starving, so I make my go-to five-minute lunch. I start by laying deli turkey slices on a plate and spreading them with hummus. Then, I layer them with lettuce, fresh pickles, and a drizzle of Caesar dressing. Wrap and eat. This exact combo is chef’s kiss! Sometimes I’ll add avocado slices if I have them on hand.
1:30 p.m. I take my kids and their cousin to a movie to fill the rainy afternoon. Our local theater’s popcorn and “butter” are gluten- and dairy-free, and one of my very favorite treats, so I get a small plus a diet soda ($13) and eat the entire bowl. YOLO.
6 p.m. I’m still full from the popcorn—the small size is the large size from my childhood—but it’s dinnertime for the family. Two of my kids and my husband are having cheesy broccoli pasta for their meal. My daughter is only six, and she occasionally prefers to have her dinner ingredients served separately, without sauce. That night she had what she calls “white pasta,” which is just plain cooked pasta accompanied by a side of broccoli florets sprinkled with salt. I opt for a giant plate of broccoli plus a couple of clementines for mine. #girldinner
7 p.m. We’re heading out on our boat tomorrow, so I make myself a snack plate out of the foods I’m pre-packing for lunches: apple slices, black olives, pumpkin seeds, sliced cucumber, and more of those flavorless-yet-kind-of-addicting pretzel nuggets. I don’t typically like to eat past 6 p.m., but this was a weird day of meals and snacks, so here we are.
Tuesday total: $14.69
8:15 a.m. I’m back from dropping the kids off at camp, so I (say it with me) brew a cup of coffee and make my electrolyte water. Then, I scramble two eggs and top them with hot sauce. Last night, I blended a big batch of what I call “power smoothies” to have on hand for the next couple of mornings. I drink one of those too. A dietitian friend gave me the recipe and it’s a great way to front-load the day with a ton of nutrients. It’s a water-based drink with frozen berries, a small green apple, cucumber, pitted Medjool dates, chia seeds, hemp hearts, and a ton of baby spinach. Down the hatch!
12 p.m. We’re on the boat and dig into the lunches I packed last night. Mine contains sliced cucumber, black olives, a mozzarella cheese stick, pumpkin seeds, and those vegan cheeze pretzel nuggets. The bag is finally, gratefully, gone. See you never!
4 p.m. Everyone is starving, so we drop the boat off at home, then head to a local cidery and restaurant that my family has fallen in love with—particularly their pizzas—for an early dinner. This particular restaurant’s pizza dough is naturally vegan, and they offer a “Marinara Pizza” option, which consists of their crust topped with homemade pizza sauce, slivered garlic, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, which works great for my daughter. Vegan cheese has come a long way in the past 10 years but is still not great in general (in our opinion). Luckily, my girl goes crazy for this cheese-less pizza!
I don’t often feel wistful or hungry for the gluten-filled foods people eat around me, but I would give my left arm to try this particular restaurant’s pizza! The gluten-free offerings aren’t robust for dinner (brunch is better), so I order a mega-refreshing hard cider plus a house salad with homemade ranch and a side of their house potato salad, which contains giardiniera (my portion was $22 of the $137.60 bill). I love giardiniera and am a sucker for a from-scratch ranch. The cidery has a bakery and gift shop attached, so we let the kids pick out something small for dessert. My oldest selects strawberry saltwater taffy, which he insists that I try. Twist my arm! I enjoy two pieces ($6.99).
8 p.m. My oldest and I watched a movie before bed. I’m hungry, so I heat up some Feel Good Foods Chicken Soup Dumplings that I keep in the freezer for quick and easy solo meals. Again, I don’t like to eat late, but this week’s new summer schedule means everything’s a little off.
Wednesday total: $28.99
8:15 a.m. The kids are at camp, so it’s power smoothie, coffee, and electrolyte water time. I dig into work.
12 p.m. I continue my week of recipe testing by making gluten-free peach crisp and air fryer mushrooms. Since the air fryer is already on, I cook a piece of wild-caught salmon from the freezer, seasoned with garlic salt and pepper. It takes just 4 minutes. This is my favorite lunch hack. I pair the mushrooms and salmon with spicy kimchi and sliced cucumber, then scoop each bite into a snack-size piece of toasted seaweed. It’s basically a low-carb version of Emily Mariko’s viral salmon bowls, and it’s one of my favorite lunches.
1:30 p.m. The peach crisp is finally cool enough to eat so I have a small bowl…followed by 500 spoonfuls over the course of the afternoon.
6 p.m. We have burger patties in the fridge that are nearing “use or lose” status from rained-out grilling plans the weekend before, so my husband grills those for dinner. I eat mine bunless (crumbly gluten-free buns are almost always a no for me), topped with cheese, onions, ketchup, and mustard. I make a sliced cucumber and chopped tomato salad with a basic olive oil vinaigrette as our side dish.
Thursday total: $0
8 a.m. The morning is filled with appointments for both me and one of my kids, so I start the day with a mug of coffee on the road. No time for electrolytes today. I don’t always eat breakfast; if I’m not hungry, I don’t force it.
12:30 p.m. We are back home and I’m officially hungry. I reheat a leftover grilled burger topped the same way as dinner last night, followed by a handful of pumpkin seeds.
2:30 p.m. I’m still hungry, so I have a bowl of actually good gluten-free pretzels paired with a bowl of hummus. I love Oasis hummus, a recipe from an Iowa City restaurant. (I snag it by the tub at our local Costco.) You can actually taste the chickpeas, which isn’t always the case with other brands!
4:30 p.m. My daughter’s end-of-season dance recital starts when we’re usually sitting down to dinner, so I need to make something high in protein to get everyone through the evening. I’m not feeling anything meat-based, though, so I pair brown rice pasta, which has a decent amount of protein per serving, with a sauce I make in the food processor using cottage cheese, Gotham Greens Vegan Pesto, some of the pasta cooking water, salt, and pepper. (My daughter has her serving with just the pesto.) We pair it with side salads. The sauce would need a lot of testing and tweaking if I were to ever share it on my site, but for a 15-minute dinner using stuff I already had in the fridge and pantry, it is pretty tasty!
Friday total: $0
9:30 a.m. Finally, a slow morning! I enjoy two scrambled eggs with hot sauce plus sautéed baby spinach for breakfast, along with coffee and electrolyte water.
11:45 a.m. It’s another rainy, chilly day, so I take my kids to Chick-fil-A for lunch, and then we wander around a nearby bookstore. Chick-fil-A is a regular stop for us because my whole family can eat there, even with our various dietary restrictions. I order the eight-piece Grilled Nuggets, which I shake up with two hot sauce packets and a packet of honey (thank you, TikTok, for the idea), then pour them over a Kale Crunch Salad ($11.95). I eat several of my kids’ fries with ketchup as mom tax.
6 p.m. We return from a rainy bike ride around 5 p.m. It was cold, but it was worth it to build a core memory with my kids. I cannot open the DoorDash app on my phone fast enough. I’ve been looking forward to this meal all week long: sushi from Wasabi! I order two pieces of salmon nigiri, a vegetable roll, a salmon avocado and cucumber roll, and a jalapeño hamachi roll (my portion was $48.78 of the $83.58 bill). It all totally hit the spot. I recently found some leftover Easter candy I’d stashed in a random cupboard and enjoyed three Starbursts for dessert. Still good.
Saturday total: $60.73
9 a.m. Another slow morning means I make a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich on a toasted gluten-free English muffin for breakfast, along with coffee and electrolyte water. As someone who needs to avoid gluten, I’m always grateful for a hot meal, as many times on the road or at restaurants, my choices are cold or dry, like salads, chips, or popcorn. This is likely why I love soup so much!
2 p.m. We were at my in-laws’ home all morning and into the early afternoon, so back home, I make a late lunch of cottage cheese paired with a small bowl of potato chips. I realize I’ve had zero fruits or vegetables today, so I do “dinosaur time” with baby spinach. This is another viral TikTok idea; you literally stuff a giant handful of baby spinach into your mouth and eat it without having to fuss around with turning it into a salad or sautéing it. It’s not great, but it’s not bad. Either way, it gets the job done!
4:30 p.m. My kids have a vacation Bible school kickoff party, where they’ll be serving grilled hot dogs for dinner. They ate hot dogs at my in-laws’ house for lunch, though, so I make us an early dinner of brown rice cappellini with meat sauce, and they enjoy watermelon and snow cones at the event.
Sunday total: $0