Feeding My Family
This last week we had a pretty predictable week for groceries and meals. I spent a total of $108 between the grocery store, Spud’s market and our farm share.
My main grocery shopping trip this week was on the light side, we didn’t need a lot and the ad sales weren’t that great this week. I spent $66.22 and got the following things.
PRODUCE
Apples, manager markdown – $1.49 x 2 = $2.98
Bell peppers, manager markdown – $1.49 x 2 = $2.98
Cantaloupes, manager markdown – $1.49 x 2 = $2.98
Red potatoes, manager markdown – $1.49
Organic basil, manager markdown – $1.92 x 4 = $7.68
Made pesto with this and froze it.
Cauliflower, manager markdown – $1.49
Garlic, $0.99 x 2 = $1.98
Bananas – $0.79/lb – $1.33
DAIRY
Sour Cream – $2.49
1/2 gallon milk – $1.29 x 2 = $2.58 , weekly e-coupon
Cedars Feta Dip – $1.20 x 2 = $2.40, manager markdown
MEAT
Kroger breakfast sausage, $1.99 x 3 = $5.97, weekly e-coupon
OTHER
Progresso soups – $1.49 x 4 = $5.96, buy 6, save promotion
Housefoods Tofu – $2.99
Breyer Ice Cream – $2.99 x 2 = $5.98, weekly e-coupon
Takis – $2.99
Butterhorn danish – $3.15, manager markdown
Cranberry orange – $2.24, manager markdown
Black beans, 4 count – $2.99, comes out to $0.75 cents each
On my home from the gym, I stopped into Spud’s Market – a local grocery store that has pretty competitive produce prices. I spent $9.46. If you are in the local Olympia area – have you tried Spud’s before? They really have some decent produce prices – definitely worth stopping in to see what’s fresh and in season.
Strawberries 2 lbs – $4.99
Leek – $1.99
Cilantro – $0.99
Celery – $1.49
We only have a couple more weeks of our farm share left. I picked up our box – we pay $32.66 a week to have locally grown (less than a mile from our house), organic, in-season produce. This week we got: summer squash, parsley, chives, collard greens, carrots, peppers, tomatoes and cabbage!
Meals I made this week:
I had a ton of summer squash to use. . . so I made up this summer squash soup – I loved it! This is the first time I’ve made squash soup. Usually we grill or roast squash – but it can get mushy! So this was a great alternative. I added leftover beans and leeks to it. It has spices like turmeric, coriander, cumin and paprika – making it full of flavor. My kids didn’t care for this. . .they ended up making chicken strips in the air fryer and eating that with rice and fruit. When I had leftovers I added everything bagel seasoning and sour cream – both great additions.
We had sourdough starter pancakes this week! Using the discard from my sourdough starter we ate Sourdough starter discard pancakes a couple days this week for breakfast.
I roasted up brussels sprouts and made up a batch of this Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower.
Using some leftover rice – I cooked up a can of black beans, two onions, three peppers and fajita seasoning – it made for some delicious burrito bowls!
Using all that discounted basil I made up a big batch of pesto – which I put into a silicone ice cube tray – and we had pesto pasta a couple nights this week.
We had a ton of marked down peppers (and cucumbers from last week), that I cut up and we ate with hummus dip. I’ve found that cutting up vegetables and putting them on the counter – they get eaten! My kids will graze if it’s sitting out. It is also easy to add to lunches when all cut up like this.
Manager markdown cantaloupe made for a refreshing treat this weekend – eaten in a day by my teens.
We had green beans from our farm share box from last week and we love to stir fry these with fresh garlic.
I’ve been having steel cut oats most mornings with fruits, chia seeds, almond milk and sometimes raisins. It’s an affordable healthy breakfast.
For this next week, I have a TON of potatoes to use up. . . I’m thinking maybe this week we’ll have:
- Breakfast for dinner with stove-top diced potatoes, eggs from our chickens and breakfast sausage
- Potato soup – using potatoes, leek, celery – plus the bacon I got marked down a while back
- Asian Peanut Salad with the cabbage, chives, rice noodles from Chef Store
- Quinoa Chili in crockpot – maybe add some bell peppers, black beans
- Quinoa Southwest Salad – with peppers, black beans, manager markdown limes from last week, frozen corn
- TOFU something. . . what should I make with the tofu?
- Steel cut oats or Raisin Bran for breakfast
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
Amazon Subscribe & Save delivery – $49.31
Spud’s mini grocery trip – $9.46
Week of September 16 Grocery trip – $66.22
CSA – Farm share box (weekly) – $32.66
GROCERY TOTAL FOR THE MONTH =$550.39
This brings our total grocery costs to $550.39 so far this month. This comes out to $34.39/day for our family of four (two adults, two teenagers). We have 14 days left in the month – more than half-way through. We will have to see where we end up!
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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