The Food I Buy – With Pictures

About two weeks ago I wrote about how expensive food is when you’re trying to eat “clean”, and some of you commented in agreement.  My friend Kathy asked if I’d be willing to share what I buy, so I took pictures throughout the week to show you where the grocery money goes! 

My budget for each week is $120 – that includes all food, all personal care, all household, and all baby items.  I have started using cash (so that when it’s gone, it’s gone), but the week before last we desperately needed diapers so I used $20 extra to buy them in bulk when Target had a sale.

{I eat a lot of high-protein, high-veggie meals on Somersizing, otherwise our grocery bills wouldn’t so high. It’s a lot cheaper to eat beans and tortillas!  lol }

Here’s how I spent $100:

At Weis, my total was $21.32 after coupons and sales:

I only bought the Smart Taste pasta because it was free after coupons (it has preservatives in it and I will use it to make pasta salads this summer for picnics and stuff).  Some of the expensive items were the cheese, organic milk, and 100% natural deli turkey meat. I was able to get the cream cheese, the mayo (also not clean), and all of the pastas for free after coupons.

Produce is so expensive at Weis, so I buy whatever is on sale.  That means we eat different fruits and veggies every week – this week I only bought Romaine lettuce and some Granny Smith apples there.

We eat a lot of eggs (I eat them a lot in the morning, and the three of us eat hard-boiled eggs as snacks).  Eggs are totally a wonder-food that are often overlooked!

At Aldi’s, I spent $41.24:

There are plenty of things that aren’t clean in this photo – remember we’re on the 5-year plan! :)  My husband can easily eat around 3,00-3,500 calories a day in the summer since his job is so labor-intensive, so he goes through a lot of snacks – more than I can physically make for him.  (And those of you who know Chris are laughing since he’s only about 150 pounds soaking wet!)  So the chips and pretzels and store-bought bread are for him, as are the marshmallows for homemade Rice Krispie treats.  You will also notice pepperoni and turkey bacon (not clean because of preservatives). 

However, I was also able to get wild-caught salmon, spinach, mozzarella, and a bunch of fresh produce, in addition to some other pantry staples. 

We do not eat a lot of organic foods at this point other than organic milk for me, organic yogurt for Luke, and organic produce when it’s on sale (like this week; I bought organic spinach for $2.99).  It’s definitely something I’d like to improve on but the the cost is astronomical! 

At Rite Aid and CVS I only spent $1.90 after coupons, sales, and Extra Bucks (*there are two packs of wipes missing from this photo*):

Extra items:

- Whole milk gallon (for DH) and two newspapers: $6.49
- 2 jars of extra-virgin, unrefined, cold-pressed organic coconut oil from Amazon, thanks to a tip from Money Saving Mom: $11.83 (I had free shipping)
- Strawberries from the field: $14 for about 12 pounds
- Lids/pectin for the freezer jam: $4.97
    (Not shown is a container of pureed frozen berries, plus 3 baby food jars of jam and a huge Tupperware of fresh berries that was devoured before the picture. :) Btw, if you want a great lower-sugar jam, use the Ball method – it’s fantastic and SO easy – no boiling! I am so glad Kimba outlined it on her site – I had always used Sure-Jell in the past.)

 

My total for the week: $101.75.  Close enough! :)

If you’re wondering what we eat…

Breakfasts: Cereal for DH and eggs or cereal for me

Lunches: Sandwiches for DH and leftovers or salads for me

Dinners last week:
Monday: Taco Salad
Tuesday: Asian Grilled Salmon (amazing recipe I will post next Tuesday); spinach/romaine salad with onions, peppers, mozzarella, and tomatoes; rice for Chris
Wednesday: Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches w/Bacon and Onion; cukes on the side (no bread or BBQ for me)
Thursday: Leftovers (I was out picking strawberries)
Friday: In NYC, dinner at a friend’s house
Saturday: More leftovers, lots of jam over vanilla ice cream because that’s when I made it :), desserts at a friend’s house

(It was an odd week for us but it gives you a glimpse.)

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Hope this post is helpful to some of you!  We have a long way to go but we’re making progress!  It is frustrating sometimes to know how much cheaper our grocery budget would be if we bought a lot more processed foods with coupons, but I know this is so much better for us.  I do plan on posting more about In Defense of Food later this week so stay tuned! :)

 

P.S. I appreciate the fact that nobody stopped following me this time when I posted something close to my heart!  haha I have had a few e-mails and calls already regarding the post below and I am so thankful that God was able to use my “tough times” to encourage others!  Feel free to e-mail at any time! :)

Fun Finds, Sponsor News, and A Look Ahead

How's that for a post title? I wanted to show some fun bargain finds I've found while out and about recently - stay tuned to the end for some big announcements!

Last night I got to go out - by myself - shopping for a few hours. (Side note: I am so used to lugging around Luke, his diaper bag, and accessories that last night I sat in my car in the driveway before I left, convinced that I must have left something behind because it was just me and my purse. Ha!)

{It's raining here today and there's no light so these pictures are very dark!}

I stopped into Michael's because I wanted to purchase an item with my 40% off coupon (that will appear in a post later), but I found this frame for $1.50 in the clearance bin:

It was 75% off b/c there's no leaning-thing (what is that called, anyway?) to hold it up, but I don't care - I'll lean it against a wall or a shelf anyway.

The dollar bins were 50% off, so I found this cute little frame (that will be spray-painted black or white):

and a retro-feel menu planner (hopefully having something so cute will kick my butt into gear to menu plan again!)

At T.J. Maxx, I was shopping for my niece's 3rd birthday party on Saturday. Our budget is about $15 for each niece/nephew (that might sound like we're cheapskates, but there's 7 of them and they're all well endowed with toys, anyway!). It always takes a little more time to shop for a gift that fits the budget, but oh-mylanta did I have fun looking through all of the girly clothes there. I could have spent a small fortune last night buying my girly niece all sorts of frilly dresses and tutus, but I restrained myself!

I wish with all my heart that I will get a girly-girl like her someday, but I have this sinking feeling that God will give me a tomboy and I will not have a clue about what to do with her! haha I found her this cute little pajama set (my SIL said she likes to have a new pair of pjs every night) and a bathing suit for this summer (I have witnessed this girl change bathing suits 4 times in one afternoon!).

Two bags of candy brings her gift to $15.50 - good enough for me! :)

The other reason I was at T.J. Maxx was to use a Christmas gift card from my MIL. She had bought me a sweater that didn't fit, and when I returned it I couldn't find a similar one anywhere. I was walking through the shoe section, when there before my very eyes was something I never knew that I always wanted:

.......lepoard-print wellies!

Ahhhhhh! I am in love with them! Chris just rolled his eyes at me and tried not to laugh when I brought them home, but I know that deep down he loves them too (yeah, right!). If only I was 5 years old and could wear them with any outfit and no one would judge me....... ha!

I also have to share my Rite-Aid stop last night: two items of Cover Girl makeup, totally free! No tax, nada, zip! Thanks to For the Mommas, I discovered that Rite Aid will give you two items free if you have a BOGO coupon coupled with a BOGO sale. {Coupon is in the 2/7 P&G insert - "Buy one Cover Girl face product, get one free." (I printed out the Rite Aid coupon policy, just in case there was a problem, but I didn't have to show anyone, thank goodness!).

I was totally sweating bullets when I went in there, but it went off without a hitch! Whoo hoo!

Cover Girl is my new favorite face makeup - their sensitive skin line is awesome! Perfect coverage, not too thick or thin, and their "Medium Light" shade is exactly my skin color - when does that ever happen?!

Well, those are some of my fun finds, now on to two announcements:

1. Amy's Facebook status recently said:

"There are lots of great Tupperware products that are being discontinued and not in the new catalog. This is the last week to order some of your favorites! Get the Heat N Serve to make a quick soda cake, or the spill-proof 16 oz tumblers! Get them now before it's too late!"

Here's a link to her actual Tupperware page in case you want to buy anything!

2. Soon (like hopefully within a week), I'm going to be showcasing another sponsor - my friend Darlene is a scrapbook distributor and she has lots of great stuff! She will be hosting a giveaway where you have a chance to win one of three great prizes - you'll get to pick! Even if you've admitted that you're not a real scrapbooker, like me, you will love the paper kits she's picked out for you (gorgeous designs and colors!). I'm so excited for you guys!

And last but not least.....

I'm in the progress of starting a blog party of my very own - think a place to showcase all sorts of bargain finds...I hope to get the party started in a few weeks so please stay tuned - I hope you'll join me, because it's going to be a blast!

Whew! You made it to the bottom, congratulations! :)

Happy weekend!

This post linked to Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom.

Buying Groceries At the Drugstores

**** Be sure to check out my post above for a Tupperware giveaway you can enter to win! ****

In the past two weeks, I've really gotten back into the drugstore game (see the list on the right side of my blog for the frugal links I use daily). I used to get nearly all of our toiletries at CVS for basically free 2-3 years ago, but then the economy turned and CVS got a lot stingier with their deals. Anyway, the past two weeks they've been too good for me to pass up and I'm pretty thrilled with the stuff I've been able to snag!

I never used to shop at Walgreens, but I started this month and I really like it! I've made a couple "newbie" mistakes, but I think after 3 times of shopping there I've finally figured out my kinks! Here's what I got this week (clearance candy was a filler item).

(Scroll to the bottom to see how much I paid!)

One thing I want to point out is that you shouldn't overlook grocery purchases at the drugstores! I've already written about how Target has become a favorite place to shop for groceries on the cheap, and CVS and Walgreens are no exception.

For instance, this week there was a sale at CVS for Bumble Bee Tuna for $.49 a can. There were $1/5 internet coupons floating around, but I found two cans at my CVS with peelie coupons on them for the same price. Limit was 10, so I got ten cans of tuna for $2.90 - $.29 each! That's cheaper than Aldi's! (If you think you could never get used to Chunk Light tuna, like I used to think, I encourage you to look at the ingredient list

on Chunk White tuna - it might change your mind!)

At Walgreens, there was a deal for Hunt's tomato sauce for $.39 a can. This is not cheaper than Aldi's ($.25), but still a great price - especially since I needed filler items - this worked out perfectly! (I would have bought more but the limit was 3.)

I always scan the food aisles in CVS while I'm there - you can combine a food item on clearance with a manufacturer's coupon for a great deal!

Also, pay attention to other great deals, even if they're NOT Extra Bucks or Register Reward items! I have never shopped at Rite Aid in my life, but I saw that this week Kleenex was on sale for 88 cents a box. Combined with my $1/4 coupon, that made them only 63 cents each! That falls below my price goal for 70 cents per box of tissues. I don't live near Kroger, Harris Teeter, Shop Rite, or any other amazing grocery store - so in my part of the country this is a great price. (I shopped at Kroger in college and the first year we were married - in my opinion it's the best grocery chain! They always had markdowns on fruits, meats, and organic items. I miss it!)

Like I said, I made two rookie mistakes this week at Walgreens, but overall I'm still satisfied. I'm still learning!

So, do you want to know how much I spent on the above picture? $2.65, plus I was given $6 RR back!

And want to know why the Olay is circled? Because thanks to the $15 rebate I'm sure you've seen all over the internet (I did an Olay deal a few weeks ago, too), I'm getting a $15 check in the mail, which makes it all more than freeeeee! :)

Music to my ears, baby!

Linked to Frugal Friday and Super Savings Saturday

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P.S. Check out Amy's blog - she posted about a Tupperware item that I think is pretty neat! She said she wants to do a giveaway soon so stay tuned!

*Update: the giveaway is above - go enter!*