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, a 36-year-old tattoo artist makes $50,000 in Minneapolis. Keep reading for their receipts.
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The finances
What are your pronouns? They/them
What is your occupation? Tattoo artist
How old are you? 36
What city and state do you live in? Minneapolis, MN
What is your annual salary, if you have one? As a self-employed artist I work on commission, which means the amount I make can vary widely from month to month. This past January, I made about $5,533 plus tips. Last year, I made roughly $50,000. I’ve also started selling stained glass art and I made around $2,000 last year from it. The supplies are expensive and it’s time-consuming to make, so at this point it’s basically a glorified hobby that pays for itself.
How much is one paycheck, after taxes? No paycheck, just whatever cash I leave with at the end of the day.
How much money do you have in savings? I have about $3,200 in cash hidden in my apartment somewhere and a savings account with a whopping $2.27.
What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food? (i.e. rent, subscriptions, bills)
- Rent: $1,000 (This is my share of the rent, which I split with my partner.)
- Internet: $60
- Health and dental insurance: $220
- Criterion Channel subscription: $10.99
- Gym: $67
- Total: $1,357.99
The diet
Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? I try to avoid coffee, spicy foods, and alcohol when I can because they give me acid reflux, but I generally eat whatever I want.
What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? Lemons, onion, garlic, ginger, green onion, arugula, feta, canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, lemon Spindrift, tortilla chips, and hummus. I also make sure to have canned tuna and spaghetti noodles on hand, in case I want to make 3-Ingredient Tuna Pasta.
How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? I usually dine out once or twice a week. I love to cook and enjoy my routine of cooking dinner every night. Feeding others is how I show love, and my partner is a great person to cook for because they think everything I make is outstanding. They do the dishes, so we have a good setup.
How often in a week did you dine out while growing up? Rarely. When we did go out to eat it was usually to a fast-food restaurant or for Chinese takeout.
How often in a week did your parents or guardians cook at home? My mom cooked for me all the time, usually dinners such as tuna casserole, meat loaf, and taco salad.
The expenses
- Week’s total: $257.85
- Restaurants and cafés total: $113.85
- Groceries total: $144.00
- Most-expensive meal or purchase: Breakfast for two at Black Walnut Bakery, $46.61
- Least-expensive meal or purchase: McCormick taco seasoning, $1.19
- Number of restaurant and café meals: 3
- Number of grocery trips: 2
The diary
9:50 a.m. My partner (who I will refer to as E) brings me my morning tea in bed: PG Tips with a splash of whole milk and sugar. I love this tea because it’s strong and steeps so quickly I don’t have to wait to add milk to it. I’m trying to wake up earlier than this, but I was traveling all last week and being in my own bed just feels so good. I scroll Instagram while drinking my tea, possibly the worst way to start your day.
10:40 a.m. I’m craving a Dutch baby, but quickly realize we don’t have an oven-safe skillet. We moved to Minneapolis from Oakland, California, about four months ago and this type of kitchen realization happens fairly often. I vow to buy a cast-iron skillet soon.
Instead, I throw a few diced Yukon gold potatoes in the air fryer after coating them with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and cornstarch. While those are frying I whisk three large eggs, some milk, salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano together to scramble. I cut up some feta and grab some baby kale and spinach mix to add as well (all previously purchased ingredients). I toast the last two slices of bread we have (Silver Hills sprouted whole grain with sesame and sunflower seeds) and butter them. The eggs are perfectly soft—nothing worse than an over-cooked egg. I douse my potatoes in dill pickle hot sauce from Modern Times Cafe, a diner in our neighborhood that I’m fond of. I love a vinegary hot sauce and this is one of the best.
1:15 p.m. Monday is grocery day so we head to Fresh Thyme Market. Every week I plan out four dinners and sometimes a dessert. The other nights we’ll either eat whatever’s in the pantry, a frozen pizza, or go out, depending on the mood. At the store we get more Silver Hills bread ($6.99), Baba’s Olive Hummus ($3.99), Bob’s Red Mill almond flour ($11.99), potato gnocchi ($4.99), an eight-pack of lemon Spindrift ($6.99), kale ($1.49), local basil ($6.29), fresh dill ($2.50), extra large eggs ($5.99), unsalted butter ($4.49), and a few other items for a total of $94.61, which I pay for.
2:45 p.m. We get back from the grocery store and I eat last night’s leftovers for lunch: crispy steelhead trout (cooked in the broiler à la Spicy Salmon Roll Bowl), roasted kabocha squash, miso butter with garlic and ginger, and sushi rice. The fish isn’t as good as it was last night but it’s still a very satisfying meal. I would eat fish every day if I could. I wash it down with a lemon Spindrift.
6:45 p.m. I pull myself away from my stained glass project to get started on dinner. We’ve both been craving Avgolemono soup, which I’ve never made before. I’ve settled on this Food & Wine recipe after scouring the internet and feeling skeptical about all of them. E has procured the rotisserie chicken and I’m using store bought chicken stock.
While waiting for the rice to cook, I make a salad. First I massage a bunch of kale, then add sliced green onion, sliced radish, almond slivers, and feta. For a dressing I blend olive oil, Trader Joe’s organic tahini, half a clove of garlic, and some lemon juice and salt. The soup is disappointing. I’m envisioning a velvety, elegant broth; instead I’m met with something akin to porridge. Not enough lemon, way too much dill. Luckily the salad hits the spot. Perfectly dressed, crunchy, and the right amount of garlic. I pair this meal with another lemon Spindrift (sponsor me please).
9:05 p.m. Finally done with some admin work (with Survivor playing in the background) and it’s time for ice cream. I’ve been into the brand Marco Sweets & Spices lately and tonight I’m having the dulce de leche and cookies flavor. I don’t usually like cinnamon-flavored sweets but this ice cream is so good. The cinnamon flavor is subtle and balances nicely with the dulce de leche. Sometimes dulce de leche-flavored foods can be cloyingly sweet, but this ice cream hits all the marks.
8:40 a.m. I peel myself out of bed to make my morning tea. While drinking it, I flip through a book of Agnes Martin paintings that E has left on the dining room table.
9:22 a.m. I toast a piece of Silver Hills sprouted whole grain bread and spread Fresh Thyme creamy almond butter on it. I don’t usually splurge for almond butter (this store brand jar was $7.99) but I had it at a friend’s house recently and couldn’t stop thinking about it. I also sprinkle a little Portuguese Flor de Sal sea salt from Trader Joe’s since the almond butter isn’t salted at all.
10:15 a.m. It’s just about time for me to head to work and I’m struggling to find some sort of lunch to bring. I grab a small container of leftover soup from last night and make a protein shake: a few chunks of frozen banana, some frozen raspberries, half a cup of milk, a splash of water, two scoops OWYN smooth vanilla protein powder, two tablespoons Fresh Thyme powdered peanut butter, and a generous dollop of almond butter. I’m not a huge fan of the smell or taste of vanilla protein powder, but the other ingredients mask it well enough.
11:06 a.m. I have an appointment at noon so I’m trying to drink this protein shake while getting some drawing done. My work day can be unpredictable so it’s best to eat when I have a free moment.
2:28 p.m. Soup time. The rice has absorbed most of the broth and if I weren’t hungry I would just skip it. Not every meal can be amazing; sometimes it’s just practical.
3:10 p.m. Someone calls about a walk-in tattoo at 4:30, which I agree to despite wanting to leave early. I grab a mini can of Diet Coke from the beverage fridge (free, courtesy of the shop). Hopefully this will carry me through until I get home later.
5:58 p.m. Home from work, I inhale a handful of Cheez-Its before walking the dog.
6:20 p.m. Dinner time. I’m once again trying something new. This time it’s a Coconut Fish Curry recipe. On Sunday I visited the local fish market Coastal Seafoods and bought some walleye. I’ve never eaten walleye before but it seems to be quite popular in this area. While the curry is simmering, I chop up a head of broccoli to steam. There’s leftover rice in the fridge that I microwave as well. The curry is quite good, but I don’t think it’s so good that I’ll make it again. It tastes a bit one note. Something is missing but I can’t pinpoint what it is. To be honest, I’ve never made a curry at home that really blew my mind and maybe that’s okay.
7:25 p.m. Done with dinner, I feel motivated to make a dessert, plus I know I won’t have the energy in the next couple days given my work schedule. I’m using David Lebovitz’s Brown Butter Financiers recipe. I’ve never made these before but they sound fairly easy. In fact the recipe only has three steps, unless you count browning the butter.
8:19 p.m. Waiting for the financiers to cool, I grab a lemon Spindrift and sit down to watch Almost Famous with E. They’ve never seen it and it felt formative in my teen years.
8:33 p.m. The financiers turn out shockingly well considering how easy they are to make. I’ll definitely be making these again. The chewy texture, the slight crisp on the surface, the satisfying almond flavor—all the elements I crave in a financier are present. I eat two and could easily keep going but I know I’ll feel sick if I do.
8:44 a.m. E brings me my tea in bed and wishes me a happy Valentine’s Day. We’re doing a flash day at work, so it should be busy. We’ve all created Valentine’s-themed tattoo designs that we will be tattooing first come, first serve. During flash days, prices are generally lower than usual. They tend to draw a crowd; some people almost exclusively get tattooed at events like this.
9:20 a.m. My hunger finally motivates me to get out of bed. I heat some ghee in a pan and add three egg whites, seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano. I save the yolks to make carbonara sometime soon. When the eggs are sufficiently fried I top them with lemon juice, crumbled feta, and a little dill. I also toast a slice of Silver Hills sprouted whole wheat bread and top it with butter and nutritional yeast. I love this meal but I rarely eat egg whites because I worry about wasting the yolks. Usually I’ll make this when I already have some sitting in the fridge.
10:32 a.m. On my way to work I stop at a corner store and buy a dragonfruit-flavored Red Bull ($3.25). I was hoping for a yerba mate but no such luck.
11:08 a.m. I’ve never had this Red Bull flavor before but it’s about what I expected. Slightly too sweet and syrupy but easily drinkable.
2:45 p.m. Busy day. I sneak to the back room between clients to eat a piece of a Rice Krispies treat from Marty’s Deli that a coworker brought. I don’t really care for Rice Krispies, but Marty’s can do no wrong.
4:40 p.m. I eat a potato wedge. Not sure where from. Back to work.
7:05 p.m. Seven tattoos later, it’s time to call it a night. E picks me up and we head to Matt’s Bar & Grill, a local bar known for its Jucy Lucy, a burger that has cheese sandwiched between two beef patties. We come here semi-regularly and order the same thing every time: two double cheeseburgers ($9.75 each), a basket of fries ($7.95), and a side of mayo ($0.75). I opt for a cherry coke ($2.25) and E orders a Miller High Life ($5.25). The burger includes pickles and grilled onion only, no condiments. It doesn’t need any additional flavors to distract from its simplicity. The restrained nature of a Matt’s burger makes it a classic, and in my book one of best burgers around. That being said, I do add mustard to mine, but I’m a mustard fiend and really it’s great even without it. The fries are shoestring style, always made fresh, and well-salted. It’s exactly what you want out of a burger and fries. Total after tip comes to $43.70, which I cover.
9:45 p.m. It looks like we might be getting the first big snow of the year after an otherwise abnormally mild winter. E has heard me speak fondly of a Quebec specialty I grew up with—which we would simply call tire, a French term for taffy—that consists of boiled maple syrup poured over fresh snow. Once hardened by the cold snow, the chewy syrup is wrapped around a wooden popsicle stick. E goes outside to fetch some snow while I boil about a ¼ cup of maple syrup. We don’t have wooden popsicle sticks so we eat it with spoons. I haven’t had this since I was a kid and it brings me immense joy. A great end to the day.
8:33 a.m. E brings me tea in bed. I’m sad I have to get up, but I have another busy day ahead of me to prepare for.
9:10 a.m. I make a piece of toast with almond butter and a protein shake. I’m out of frozen banana so I switch things up a bit. I add frozen raspberries, Alexandre Family Farm organic plain yogurt, RW Knudsen tart cherry juice, whole milk, peanut butter powder, vanilla protein powder, and almond butter. It tastes chalky and probably needs more liquid but I can’t be bothered to do anything about it so I just drink it anyway. At least the toast is good.
11:30 a.m. Prepping for my noon appointment, I eat a financier brought from home. This appointment will probably take all day and I’m not sure when I’ll have another opportunity to eat.
4:05 p.m. We take a quick break so I hide in the back and inhale some Cheez-Its I brought with me.
7:18 p.m. Finally home from work, exhausted and hungry. It’s time for ol’ reliable Sheet-Pan Gnocchi. I’ve made this recipe enough that I don’t actually need to follow directions anymore. It comes together in no time with very little effort, and I love how the gnocchi gets chewy, and even a bit crunchy, in the oven. I pair with a lemon Spindrift.
8:05 p.m. E and I split a glazed yeast donut that I took home from work. One of my coworkers brought them yesterday from Sun Street Breads. They’re much better fresh but I don’t have the energy to care. This is quickly followed by a financier.
9:15 p.m. E brings out tortilla chips (Fresh Thyme) and olive hummus (Baba’s Hummus) and some peppermint tea. Baba’s is a local Palestinian restaurant with fresh and skillfully seasoned food and lucky for us its hummus is sold in a lot of grocery stores here.
10:22 a.m. Tea time. I’m taking it slow this morning as my first appointment isn’t until 2:30. I have my usual PG Tips with milk and sugar along with a slice of almond butter toast.
11:45 a.m. I stop by Reverie Cafe + Bar, a neighborhood vegan cafe. I’ve never tried this place before, but there isn’t much in the fridge for lunch and I feel like treating myself after two very long work days in a row. I order a soup and salad combo ($12.00) to take home. The soup is coconut curry garbanzo; the salad has collards, arugula, beets, and a yogurt dill dressing. I also grab a ginger apple hibiscus kombucha, on tap ($6.00). Total comes to $23.54. The kombucha is the right level of vinegary, and has a nice apple flavor.
1:30 p.m. I pull myself away from my drawing and try this food. The soup is well seasoned and would probably be great if I bothered reheating it before eating. The salad definitely has side salad energy—not a star in any way but fine. It does have these balsamic pearls that I don’t care for. The portions are quite small, which explains why this meal was only $12, I guess. There are more leftover donuts from Valentine’s Day, these ones of unknown origin. I try a bite of a couple different ones but ultimately can’t commit to a stale, two-day-old donut.
6:45 p.m. Tonight we are having what I affectionately call “white people tacos.” They’re crunchy beef tacos I grew up eating; a more flavorful and slightly healthier version of the Taco Bell crunchy taco with added nostalgia. I combine Thomas Farms organic ground beef 93% lean/7% fat, McCormick taco seasoning, and one diced yellow onion in a frying pan, along with some water. The meat is stuffed into Garden of Eatin’ taco shells that were warmed in the oven. This is then topped with chopped romaine, Fresh Thyme shredded Mexican blend cheese, and a little sour cream. If I wanted to, I could take steps to elevate these basic tacos but why mess with perfection?
10:45 p.m. A little bit of Marco dulce de leche and cookies ice cream before getting ready for bed.
8:40 a.m. PG Tips as usual.
9:10 a.m. It’s another slice of almond butter toast today.
10:45 a.m. I eat the last financier before heading out the door to work.
11:39 a.m. I require more Cheez-Its to get through this drawing before my noon appointment. I finish off the bag I brought the other day and grab a mini Diet Coke from the work fridge as well.
2:30 p.m. I take a Creme Savers strawberry hard candy from the shop stash. Never had these before, much to the surprise of my coworkers.
6:40 p.m. Home from work and exhausted, but I’m committed to making that damn carbonara. I use Bon Appétit’s Simple Pasta Carbonara and pretty much follow it to a tee. Accompanying this dish is a salad of arugula, radicchio, cherry tomato, sliced radish, walnuts, chopped basil and feta. I make a dressing out of olive oil, yogurt, red wine vinegar, fresh dill, garlic, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. Either this meal is really good or I’m really hungry, but regardless I scarf it down quicker than usual. I’m working extra this week and it’s catching up to me.
9:23 p.m. Back to that dulce de leche and cookie ice cream. Ugh, it’s so good.
10:20 a.m. E has the day off so we head to Black Walnut Bakery before I have to work. Black Walnut is my favorite bakery in the Twin Cities and as usual it does not disappoint. We order two potato leek croissants ($10), a plain kouign amann ($4.50), a pistachio raspberry croissant ($4.75), and a slab of focaccia ($8.00). E gets a plain black coffee ($3.25), I opt for a cappuccino ($4.25). Total with tip is $46.41, which I cover. We eat our savory croissants and share the kouign amann. While eating, we brainstorm what to do with the focaccia.
11:00 a.m. We head to Kowalski’s Markets to grab sandwich fixings for this focaccia. I’ve never been to Kowalski’s because it looks expensive but I assume it will have good deli meats. We buy Maestri golfetta salami ($7.99), Maestri salame rustico ($7.99), BelGioioso Romano ($10.99), fennel bulb ($3.99), Belgian endive (6.95), organic navel oranges ($2.55), Kowalski’s sparkling grapefruit water ($1.29), and De La Calle Tepache fermented beverage, cactus prickly pear flavor ($3.39) for a total of $46.14.
2:45 p.m. I’m home from work early and reheat some spaghetti carbonara from last night. Carbonara doesn’t hold up well as leftovers but it’s still noodles with bacon so whatever.
7:05 p.m. Sandwich time. We’re basing this sandwich on the Toscana at Bartavelle Cafe in Berkeley, California. Bartavelle has incredible food and baked goods and we both adore the Toscana. E has already prepared some aioli (a task I hate, as I have about a 50% success rate). I thinly slice fennel and toss it with some arugula, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Once the focaccia is sliced and smeared with aioli, the fennel and arugula mix is added. This is topped with shaved Romano and lots of salami. We make a salad composed of Belgian endive, radicchio, arugula, navel orange, walnuts, and more shaved Romano. The dressing is last night’s yogurt and herb mix. The sandwich really tastes like its inspiration, aside from the bread. Bartavelle uses Acme Bread’s pizza bianca and the focaccia is thicker and more dense. Nonetheless, we are both quite pleased.