Food of the Yen Family

The average cost of food in my household is about $150 per week for 5 people. We are able to keep costs fairly low because our family owns a restaurant so we can get food at wholesale prices. The breakdown of what we buy is about 13% dairy and eggs, 15% starchy foods, 26% fruits and vegetables, 27% proteins, and 19% snacks and side dishes. As an Asian family, we always have some rice in the rice cooker. We will go through about 4 pounds of rice a week.

My family lives a fairly fast-paced life. Breakfast is always quick, we rarely eat lunch together, but we will always eat dinner together. Breakfast usually consists of just a few pieces of toast or waffles and tea before we rush off to work and school. My parents usually bring left-overs from dinner for their lunch while I usually eat at the Dining Commons. My grandma cooks dinner which usually consists of tofu, some kind of leafy greens, protein, and a soup. We also love to snack between meals.

I am constantly eating. Breakfast, snack at nosh, lunch, snack after school, dinner, and snack before bed (probably not the best thing for me). Lunch is usually my largest meal. Snacks include peanut butter sandwiches, cookies, celery, dried seaweed, cereal, and fruit.

Most of the processed foods we have at home are either snacks or canned side dishes such as pickled bamboo shoots, bean curd paste, and pickled radish.

We seldom dine out, but when we do it is usually at a diner or at my family’s restaurant. It’s nice to have your own restaurant since you can ask the chefs to make whatever you want, and a dish which may cost $20 at another restaurant you can get for about $5 (since you are only paying for the cost of the food). At first it might seem like a great thing, but when you become the taste tester of every dish on the menu, you get tired of it.