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While I did make a number of stops this week, I purchased very few things and took next to no pictures.
On Tuesday, I spent $9.97 at Stop & Shop on 2lb of strawberries plus 18oz of blueberries. I wanted to get sour cream also, but they were out so I got a rain check.
The strawberries were popular, so on Thursday I grabbed another pound for $2.99.
On Thursday I also spent $49.50 at Wegman’s.
Finally, on Saturday (new sale cycle) I grabbed another pound for $1.88!
That brought me to $64.42, more than balancing out last week.
The berries have mostly been eaten at lunch. As for dinner:
Monday:
Tacos
Tuesday:
Early: Hot dogs, strawberries
Late: Homemade pizza
Wednesday:
Korean braised short ribs, green beans, rice
Thursday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, carrots & jicama
Late: Indian take-out
Friday:
Early: Macaroni & cheese, carrot sticks/cucumber/jicama/green pepper
Late: Homemade pizza
Saturday:
Spaghetti & meatballs, spinach salad
Sunday:
Bistro chicken, oven baked fries, carrot sticks/cucumber/jicama
Busy in the Burbs 
Strange question … I have been trying to buy more fresh vegetables when going to the grocery store and our grocery budget has increased considerably. Do you have any recommendations on how to buy fresh veggies without spending sooo much? I mean you guys have to experience these budget busting issues too! 🙂
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Not a strange question. Though, fresh produce is not our budget buster. Milk is a huge item for us. Meat drives the weekly bottom line.
I have a few strategies. First, whenever possible I buy in bulk – 10 lbs of potatoes, club packs of tomatoes, etc. Then I focus our meals on using what we have. Meat can freeze easily; fresh veggies tend to define more of our meals. Second is to stick to what is in season / on sale. They will be much cheaper. Third, and this is a very personal choice, I don’t buy much organic produce. I do buy some, mostly things like carrots which are hard to find non-organic. I buy a fair amount of local, which in my area generally means IPM, so not organic, but not spray city either. That being said, I do buy California berries when they are on sale which a lot of people shun.
It also depends on where you live. For example, bananas here are $0.39/lb in multiple stores. That’s definitely not the case everywhere. We have many grocery chains and the competition does help with pricing.
To give you a fair idea, fresh veggies run around $20/week for us. This is my typical spend at the farmer’s market, the farm stand, or the grocery store. Our grocery store often has $2-3 off coupons when you spend $20 on produce. Peas and corn are pretty much the only things I buy frozen. And, I have no garden presently. When we did, it was more for fun for the kids than actual productivity.
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Thanks for sharing, Nora. I honestly felt bad for spending so much on fruits & veggies but I don’t see myself cutting my budget for those foods at this time.
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