Mysto.....
I do all the grocery shoppping and most of the food prep at our house. Like some of the other posters, we've been through both the convenience-food-dependent and cook-everything-from-scratch modes, and everything inbetween.
Food budgeting is tough because it overlaps necessity with discretionary pleasure spending. Like most, our budget is a mix of the two.
More than half of our meals are very basic and low cost involving preparing common menu items from scratch. The others frequently involve something a little pricier like a quality meat or seafood entree, out of season fruit or veggies, or whatever. Occasionally, we do enjoy something downright expensive, especially in the summer when I cook outdoors frequently.
Since RE nine months ago, dining out for convenience has dropped to almost zero. Dining out for pleasure has dropped somewhat, but we still do so 2 - 3 times a month. You can buy a lot of high priced ingredients and treats for home with the money saved by eliminating just one trip to a nice restaurant.
I no longer keep a weekly food budget because, since RE, food and restaurant expenditures are no longer tied to a weekly cycle. In fact, I think linking food shopping to weekly trips is a driver of waste.
So far, we've averaged $580/mo for two people. This includes all meals at home, wine and booze, 2 - 3 restaurant trips per month and a brown bag lunch for DW three days a week.
Going forward, I think this will incease slightly. I enjoy meal prep (usually!) and DW thinks having me wearing the chef apron is the best thing since sliced bread. For another $100/mo or so in ingredients, I could significantly increase the frequency of evening meals being "treats."
If we had to minimize the budget, I think we could get by on $300/mo and still eat healthy and with some variety. Except for wine and booze. At $300 those items would be
.
Oh yeah......your questions.....how much to budget? A couple could eat well, if wine, booze and restaurant expenses are minimal, for $400/mo. At $600/mo, you're starting to enjoy more treats.
Your milage may vary. I'm an experienced shopper in an urban area and am constantly familar with what's going on at a number of groceries and specialty shops. I take advantage of low cost but labor intense recipes now that I'm RE. We seldom buy pre-prepped foods for convenience or dine out for convenience.
We had absolutely no interest in RE if we had to be on a subsistence budget for food. I'm an efficent shopper. I know how to do meals DW and guests consider treats with low cost ingredients. We have no expensive food habits. Food is an area where excessive frugality, for us, would be a real negative.
You're going to have a lot of choice in how much you budget and it's simply up to you as to how you want to do it.