Chef Store, Manager Markdowns and Local Farm Share {Feeding My Family}
Last week was a hectic week for our family. It was the first week of school for my kids and my husband (a high school teacher). It was the first official week of volleyball, cross-country and football. I had a busy work week scheduled and was looking forward to the return of a schedule and some time to work. It didn’t quite go as planned (more on that below) – but I’m sharing it all here in the latest Feeding My Family post.
First thing first, it was my birthday this week. To celebrate, we went out to breakfast on Sunday morning. Eating out is something we do sparingly because of the cost. When we eat at sit-down restaurants we usually spend $80-100, after tip, for the four of us. Figure most meals are $15-$18 each x 4 = $60 – $72. Add an appetizer and a tip and it’s easy to hit $100 here in the Pacific Northwest eating at a restaurant. $100 is almost an entire weeks worth of groceries for us! But for birthdays we often eat a meal out as part of our celebration. With my birthday landing on Sunday, I opted for a locally owned restaurant walking distance from our home that does bottomless mimosas and delicious breakfasts! Our total for our meal was $106. Eeek! Breakfast is one of my favorite meals to cook at home because it’s so easy and affordable – so this was a splurge for sure. Our total would have been about $80 but we gladly splurged on bottomless mimosas for me and my husband, at $14 a person. Total cost = $126 after tip.
Let’s talk about our grocery shopping trips . . .
Over on the Queen Bee Today Facebook page, I had recommendations from a few of you to try the Chef Store, as a great place to get bulk foods at a discount. It’s a store for restaurants and I hadn’t been in years. I stopped in to see what kind of deals I could find. I’ll have to do a longer post about the Chef Store – I took a ton of photos to price stuff out, and I did find some deals worth picking up. . .
I spent $43.22 at the Chef Store and got the items pictured above.
Brussels Sprout, 5 lbs – $12.99
I was so excited for this deal – I love Brussel Sprouts and this price comes out to $2.60/lb – amazing deal.
Red Bell Peppers, 6 ct – $5.19
Just $0.87 cents each
Bean noodles – $1.49
We use these for spring roll salads – basically spring rolls but in salad form.
Onions, 10 lb bag – $4.39
Remember last week I bought two onions for $2!!?! I was happy to pick these up at $0.44/lb. They did have a
Red onion bags, 10 lb bag – $7.99
I love red onions on salads – $0.79/lb is a great price!
Bananas – $1.99
Ginger root, 1.75 lb – $4.99
Juanitas, tortilla chips – $4.19
Community Supported Agriculture – On Thursdays I pick up our farm share. I mentioned our farm share in my post last week – let me tell you a little more about it! Have you heard of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)? It’s when you buy a share of a farm. Back in March we paid $588 for a season-long share of the Urban Futures Farm which included 18 weeks of boxes. . . this comes out to $32.26 a week. This is for a LARGE box – if you have a smaller family or younger kids, you can get smaller boxes for less money.
This week we got rainbow chard, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, beets, asian pears, carrots and beans. For me, our share in this farm is not about saving the most money. It’s about using my funds to support a local farmer. Every time you spend your dollars, you’re investing in something. For most of us – it’s big box grocery stores and online retailers. . . but owning a share in my local neighborhood farm (less than a mile from my house), makes me proud and the produce is TOP NOTCH, fresh and always a treat to pick up.
My weekly Kroger grocery store trip. . . I spent $99.63 on everything pictured above. LOTS of items in mesh red bags, which are manager markdown bags and are $1.49 each. Here’s what I purchased:
PRODUCE
Organic blueberries – $6.99
Organic strawberries – $2.99, e-coupon
Baby watermelons – $1.49 each x 3, manager markdowns
Satsuma oranges – $1.49 each x 2, manager markdowns
Apples, cosmic crisp, honey crisp – $1.49 x 4 bags, manager markdowns
Tomatoes – $1.49 x 2 bags, manager markdowns
Green, yellow zucchini – $1.49 x 2 bags, manager markdowns
Limes – $1.49/bag, manager markdowns
Mushrooms, 8 oz – $1.58 each, manager markdowns
Bananas – $0.49/lb, manager markdown
Kroger Baby Carrots – $1.64 (2 lb) and $2.74 (3 lb), manager markdowns
Cauliflower – $1.49, manager markdown
Organic Girl Arugula – $2.35, manager markdown
Simple Truth Organic Salad Mix – $3.47, manager markdown
Cucumbers, 5 in a bag – $1.47, manager markdown
DAIRY
Gallon of Kroger milk – $3.29
Silk Almond Milk – $1.99 x 2, with e-coupon
I know technically it’s not dairy, but for simplicity sake I’m listing it here.
Kroger cottage cheese – $1 each x 3, manager markdown
I had a $1 coupon applied to one of these – making it FREEe-!
Nancy’s probiotic yogurt – $3.43, manager markdown
With a kid on strong antibiotics, picked this up to help with gut health.
Cedar’s Feta Dip – $1.20, manager markdown
Holy macaroni – this stuff is SO GOOD. Paired with the Pretzel Crisps, my family ate it all this last week. They loved it. Wish I would have purchased more! It retails for closer to $5-6 a container.
OTHER
Kellogg Nutrigrain Bars – $1.20 a box, manager markdown!
I snagged these up. At $1.20 a box – it comes out to $0.15/bar. They aren’t the healthiest option, but these are great for my busy kids/husband who need easy on-the-go snacks.
Pop-Tarts – $1.37 a box, manager markdown
My kids LOVE Pop-Tarts but we rarely buy them. They aren’t the healthiest and they are often expensive. But at this price – at around 11 cents a Pop-Tart, I picked up a few boxes.
Pretzel Crisps – $1.99 x 2, with e-coupon
Takis – $2.49
A special request from my son!
Progresso Soups – $1.49 x 3
Good for lunches for my husband when we don’t have leftovers.
Private Selection pasta – $1.29 each x 5, e-coupon
Brazil nuts – $5.99
I had read these are so good for you. . .eating a couple a day gets you lots of vitamins, so although not a sale, picked up to try. I hear they have these at Costco, so I may price them out there.
So what type of meals did I make this week with the items I purchased?
Broccoli, Mushroom, Sausage Stir Fry – I used the broccoli, mushrooms and sausages from last week’s grocery trip to make a family favorite for my birthday dinner – it’s a broccoli, mushroom, sausage stir fry. Cut up 1-2 onions, saute them in pan with some fresh garlic. Add sliced mushrooms, cook until tender. Add some Italian seasoning. Slice up sausage – add to pan and cook until things start to brown up. Once everything is nearly done, add your broccoli – I always add a lot – 2-3 pounds, then cover to steam the broccoli. After about five minutes, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve over vegetable pasta. Monday night we had leftovers.
Honey Sriracha Roasted Brussel Sprouts – Thanks to those delicious brussels sprouts I picked up at the Chef Store, on Thursday night I made this Honey Sriracha Roasted Brussel Sprouts. These were delicious! I added minced garlic and I think next time I would add less lime juice next time so they can get a little crisper. I used these the next day in a salad.
We had two weeks of fresh corn from the CSA so we boiled that up to eat with the brussels sprouts. We do meatless meals often – it really cuts the cost. In fact, my husband and I are seriously considering going vegetarian . . .for health reasons and I’ve been leaning toward it more and more lately.
Creamy Beet, Kale and Chickpea Soup – I had two weeks worth of beets, from the CSA. . . so I made this Creamy Beet, Kale and Chickpea Soup that was delicious. Instead of kale, I put rainbow chard in the soup (also from CSA). I added goat cheese to the top. . . although I think sour cream or greek yogurt might be what I add in the future. This is a VERY affordable soup. . . I used two onions, five beets, a can of garbanzo beans, rainbow chard. . . I think it would be good with carrots in it, too!
Zucchini and Mushroom Orzo – Using the manager markdown zucchini and mushrooms I made this orzo pasta recipe. Boil a package of orzo pasta until al dente – set aside. Cut up a couple onions, saute in pan and add fresh garlic. Add sliced mushrooms and cook until softened. Add chopped zucchini, cook until softened (just a few minutes, you don’t want it mushy). Add cooked orzo pasta and fresh parmesan cheese. I decided to also add a few cubes of frozen pesto from my fridge. I added some sliced tomatoes from CSA for a little extra color and nutrients. We LOVED this meal – it tastes delicious hot or cold.
For breakfast this week we had Raisin Bran (from last week’s trip) and steel-cut oats with chia seeds, Silk Almond milk (on sale at Kroger this week for $1.99), blueberries and strawberries. I ordered my steel-cut oats from Amazon – McCann’s Irish Oatmeal, Traditional Steel Cut Oats, 28 Ounce (Pack of 6) awhile back when it dropped to under $5 a container. Just cooking one cup can last multiple meals.
I try to eat at least one salad a day – usually for lunch. This week I had roasted brussels sprouts, left over corn, carrots, peppers, arugula, red onion, beans, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, feta cheese . . . I use balsamic vinegar for dressing. Canned beans are an easy way to add extra protein/fiber. What are your favorite salad ingredients?
My husband and son took leftovers for lunches and made sandwiches with the salami we got on markdown last week. My daughter loves PB&J and cucumber slices/fruit.
The trick with manager markdown fruit is to cut it up and make it available. My teens will eat pretty much anything – especially fruits and vegetables if it’s been washed, cut and made ready. My son had a cross-country meet Saturday and came home to cold watermelon in the fridge and this was gone by Sunday morning between everyone in the house snacking on it! Because each watermelon was marked down, this big bowl cost just $4.47.
A couple other notes about this week. I ended up spending two unexpected weeknights at urgent care with one of my kids. It was a stressful week. With the start of school, 10+ hours at urgent care, additional doctor appointments and taking care of a sick kid, it would have been an easy week to justify eating out again. But we didn’t. One night, before heading to urgent care, we had a simple pasta with pesto (from the freezer) and the other night we had sandwiches/leftovers/fend-for-yourself night.
Sadly, I wasted food. Because of the two evenings in urgent care, the two whole chickens I was planning on cooking Tuesday or Thursday became outdated. By the time I could pay any attention to them on Thursday they were past dated and I threw them away, UGH. I hate this. Food waste is one of my least favorite things – but between jam-packed my daily work schedule during the day and the unexpected two evenings at urgent care, I just didn’t have the time to cook the chicken. Not the type of example I’d like to set with this series – but this is real life and it’s just how it worked out this week. Although I count this as a fail. . . NOT eating out this week (other than my planned birthday breakfast) was a win.
So that’s a sneak peek at what we ate this week. . . and how much it cost us.
GROCERY COSTS SEPTEMBER
Week of September 2 Grocery trip – $160.57
Franz Outlet Bread – $24
CSA – Farm share box (weekly) – $32.66
Chef Store trip – $43.22
Week of September 9 Grocery trip – $99.63
CSA – Farm share box (weekly) – $32.66
GROCERY TOTAL FOR MONTH = $392.74
DINING OUT SEPTEMBER
Eating out for my birthday – $106 + $26 tip = $126
Family of four – two teens – included bottomless mimosas
So it’s September 11 and we are at $392.74 so far this month. . . how are you doing on your grocery budget this month? Any good deals you want to share?
PLEASE READ . . . Feeding My Family Series “Fine Print” – This series is meant as a guide to help you turn deals into meals. Every family has its own budget, dietary needs, diet choices and preferences. Manager markdowns vary by store, day and time – there is no guarantee that you’ll find similar markdowns at your local store, but it gives you an idea of what to look for. I will not tolerate any shaming or derogatory comments about my purchases or those of other people sharing their savings. Take the tips that will work for you and if something doesn’t align with your family needs – keep scrolling, without comment. If you have recipes or money saving tips, please share!
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