Feeding My Family
We just wrapped up the third full week of September (only one more week to go!) and this week I didn’t do as much shopping. I did stop into Fred Meyer to take advantage of the Kroger $0.99 sale and an additional stop later in the week for some more fresh produce. We also celebrated Homecoming this week with a take-in pizza night, our second time eating out this month (so good!) Here’s what I bought this week and used for meals this week. . .
Kroger $0.99 sale shopping trip (pictured above) – SPENT $53.41
Avocados – $0.69 cents x 4 = $2.75
Bag of limes – $0.99, manager markdown
Frozen broccoli/peas – $0.99 x 8 = $7.92
La Banderita tortillas – $0.99 x 3 = $2.97
Kroger pasta – $0.99 x 5 = $4.95
Kroger peanut butter – $0.99 x 2 = $1.98
Cream of Mushroom soup – $0.99 x 4 = $3.97
Kroger cream cheese – $0.99 x 6 = $5.94
Kroger shredded cheese – $1.49 x 3 = $4.47, weekly e-coupon
Vita lite dairy free cheese – $5.49 – FREE e-coupon (found in Fred Meyer app in my account) – FREE
Kroger diced canned tomatoes – $0.89 x 4 = $3.56
Cedar’s Feta Dip – $1.72 x 2 = $3.44, manager markdown, we love this stuff!
Annie Chun’s noodle dish – $3.49 x 6, buy one, get one FREE = $10.47
These are great for my husband’s lunch and he loves them. Great per-meal price at $1.75 a meal.
I was out running other errands and stopped into grocery store for fresh stuff. I love having a salad a day and we go through a lot of greens and we needed bananas and milk, too. I spent $17.78.
Power Greens, large clam shell – $3.23, manager markdown
Baby bella mushrooms, 16 oz – $3.50 x 2 = $7, manager markdown
Baby kale, small clam shell – $1.40, manager markdown
Gallon of organic milk – $3.76, manager markdown
Bunch of bananas – $2.39
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 beets, potatoes, asian pears, onions, kale, pumpkin and carrots.
Meals I made this week:
Remember that pork roast I bought the first week? I put that in the freezer after purchasing it, but took it out this week and made pulled pork in the crockpot. I added two sliced onions and a ton of garlic powder and citrus pork rub. Combine with rolls from the my Franz stock-up and cabbage from the CSA. We had enough for two dinners and lunches here.
In late August I had found some Lemon Garlic Pork Loin Filets on manager markdown for $3.06 each (reg. $9). I put them in the freezer when purchased them and pulled them out this week. Cooked in the crockpot and served with roasted potatoes for dinner.
I had a lot of potatoes thanks to find them for two weeks on manager markdown. I got three bags the first week and then found more potatoes last week on manager markdown – so just $1.49 for the bag. Roasted potatoes are an easy side. . . I just dice them up, toss with olive oil, rosemary, garlic powder and some salt. You can also do this in the air fryer.
I also made a big batch of potato soup this week. I used left over leeks, discounted potatoes, discounted carrots (and from CSA), a bag of frozen broccoli ($0.99 this week!). For a topping, I cooked up that bacon from I picked up on a weekly coupon deal from the first week of September.
I had a lot cabbage to use up this week and made this cabbage/vegetable soup. I decided to cut meat out of my diet the first week of this month – so I wanted to experiment with a new vegetarian soup option. It was not my favorite – but it was an easy, healthy option for using up the vegetables. My family prefers the potato soup – with bacon, LOL.
I had peppers from markdowns last week and onions from Chef store that I stir fried up and combined with one can of black beans ($0.75 from last week), $0.99 tortillas from this week and $0.64 avocado – added some taco seasoning and sour cream. YUM! I made this a couple times this month – I love the flavor and frugalness of this combination.
During the week I always try to eat a salad for at least one meal a day. . . usually it’s a combination of manager markdown produce, sale produce, CSA produce, canned beans, nuts, pickled beets (I pickled/canned them last fall), feta cheese and whatever else sounds good. I use a balsamic vinegar for the dressing. I got the slivered almonds from Amazon for $4.27 and they arrived as part of subscribe/save order this month.
I try to get as many colors and foods as I can in the salad – this one had tomatoes, sunflower seeds, peppers, arugula. feta, black beans. .
For breakfast I have been making sourdough discard pancakes for my family at least once a week – they love the flavor. Combined that with the $1.99 breakfast sausages from last week for a hearty breakfast on our long school/sport days.
Personally I’ve been on a steel cut oat kick . . . making a batch on Monday and eating about 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup each weekday. I add in milk, chia seeds, bananas. . .and this week frozen blueberries/raspberries. It only takes one cup of steel cut oats and it makes a big batch – enough to last a few days.
We also harvested some fresh grapes from our yard!
In total, I spent $103 at the grocery stores this week. . . we have a good mix of stock-up items (for later weeks) and produce/fresh stuff for this week.
We did eat out this week – yesterday was Homecoming for my son. . .and we stayed home with my daughter watching movies and hanging around the house. We ordered two pizzas for pick-up from our favorite pizza place, Old School Pizzeria. After tip it was $50. Combine this with our birthday meal the first week of September (which was $126) and we’ve spent $176 dining out this month.
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
Week of September 23 Grocery Trip, $0.99 stock-up sale – $53.41
Week of September 23 Produce Grocery Trip – $17.78
CSA – Farm share box (weekly) – $32.66
GROCERY TOTAL FOR THE MONTH =$654.24
This brings our total grocery costs for the month to $654.24
We have one more week left this month. . . for meals this week I took a whole chicken out of the freezer and I will roast that with potatoes. . . and I plan to make a batch of Quinoa Chicken Chili in the crockpot (without the chicken). I do have a bunch of beets – from the last two week CSA boxes and will probably make this Creamy, Beet and Kale soup tonight or tomorrow (it has amazing fall flavors in it). I want to stop by Trader Joe’s this week and stock up on other salad ingredients.
What types of meals are you making from the deals this week?
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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