Some of you might remember Ari and Jennifer Armstrong’s Food Stamp Challenge in 2007. They ate within a tight budget of less than three dollars per day per person for a month — and they did so largely by eating real, whole nutrient-dense foods rather than expensive, nutrient-poor processed foods. They ate things that I wouldn’t eat, but overall their diet was extremely healthy — particularly in comparison to the Standard American Diet.

Not long ago, I discovered someone who did the same for his family — limiting them to the new food stamp allotment of just under six dollars per day per person — but she eats the same kind of paleo-ish diet of real foods that I do. So see what she bought with a week’s grocery budget of $121. It’s impressive.

It’s remarkably expensive to eat processed foods and restaurant foods, including fast food. I’m not on a strict food budget — so I enjoy some luxuries like raw milk, raw cheese, and farm eggs — but it’s certainly possible to eat very, very well with strict budget constraints.