How many people does your fridge need to feed?
Michael: Three.
What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Benjamin: Cereal and white milk. My favorite cereal is the rainbow one.
Fernanda: On the weekends: eggs, beans, toast… Weekdays, cooking is tough—we usually do smoothies with bananas, strawberries, and milk.
Michael: Just coffee and a banana and I’m fine.
Is there anything you eat every day?
Benjamin: Pasta.
Fernanda: He’d love that. Michael eats bananas every day. He’s a banana man. He rides bicycles so he needs the potassium.
Michael: They’re good for the muscles. I probably eat granola bars and grapefruit every day.
Every week?
Fernanda: Rice and beans; veggies; yogurt; eggs; chicken; meat—we’re trying to do more cage-free chicken and eggs.
Michael: Coconut water.
What item are you forbidden from purchasing right now?
Michael: Cheese.
Fernanda: He’s lactose intolerant. It’s a big issue when we go to the supermarket—Benjamin and I love cheese.
Michael: They still buy it. I get my surprises when I open the fridge door; I can smell it in there. I almost have a phobia about it because it makes me sick. I can drink milk but I have to put bananas in it, it helps me digest it.
Benjamin: Why aren’t I allowed to eat more sweets? I only get one sweet every day.
What’s the most delicious thing in here?
Benjamin: Blueberries. And yogurt—strawberry is my favorite.
Michael: Grapefruit.
Fernanda: The blue cheese.
The most disgusting?
Michael: The blue cheese.
Benjamin: Pickles.
Fernanda: These jalapenos: they’re so spicy, I can’t eat them.
The oldest?
Michael: These frozen pineapple chunks. Fernanda doesn’t like pineapple, I bought them as a mistake.
Fernanda: I like pineapple, I just like fresh pineapple.
Anything you regret buying or acquiring?
Michael: Plastic bags.
Fernanda: Once we tried pre-cooked pasta. That was a mistake.
What's your guilty pleasure?
Fernanda: Butter. I usually don’t buy it but Heather knows that I like it so she bought me this organic butter. It’s so good. She gets it for me every time she goes to the supermarket, and I’m like, “noooo!” But it’s so good.
Michael: Anchovies, because of the salt. I just put one or two in my salad.
Where do you do most of your food shopping?
Michael: Food Bazaar, Stop-n-Shop, Key Food, Costco… It all depends what we’re looking for. For toilet paper, garbage bags, and stuff you can store: Costco. But we try not to buy meat there. We think it’s much fresher at the grocery store. And now Fernanda is always looking for specific meat brands or “features.”
Fernanda: Food Bazaar is right across the street—it’s the most convenient. I go there but he likes to go to the fancy Key Food. Sometimes we go to the Harvest Market, it’s an organic place.
How much do you spend on groceries each week?
Michael: $100.
How often do you go grocery shopping?
Fernanda: Twice a week.
Michael: At least twice, sometimes three times.
What percentage of your meals do you prepare at home?
Fernanda: About 80%. Although Benjamin eats school lunch during the week. We always cook dinner. On the weekends sometimes I just don’t want to cook.
Is there anything in here that we would have found in your childhood fridge?
Michael: Tortillas.
Fernanda: We always had yogurt and milk—there were five of us kids back in Argentina. But my mom used to make the yogurt. She used to buy one yogurt and use it to make a whole pot. She went to school to learn how to cook for all of us.
What do you wish you had in here?
Benjamin: Yummy cereal, and white and yellow cheese. And candy. I have these Dots, and I’m pretending they’re my medicine.
Michael: For me, coconut water. Fernanda, you probably want those coconut cookies.
Fernanda: I already have some! Michael: I’m always finding secret candy drawers.
Benjamin: You buy those cookies every time we’re at Key Food.
Fernanda: Not every time! Don’t say every time! They’re so good with ice cream.
Fernanda, 38, is a babysitter. She’s holding her store of garlic. Michael, 42, is a financial advisor. He’s holding a grapefruit. Benjamin, 6, will be a first grader in the fall, and he’s eating a blueberry. They live in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.