Category Archives: Groceries

Grocery Update: Week 37, 2018

18 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by in Groceries

≈ Comments Off on Grocery Update: Week 37, 2018

Yes, it’s Tuesday, but I feel like the grocery posts are the ones I should be keeping up with since they just keep coming week after week!

First off today, I missed a trip to Shaw’s two weeks ago.  I didn’t get much and apparently I left the receipt in the bag because when I finally got all the boxes of oatmeal out there it was.  So, I’m adding the $32.23 in this week even though I actually went there last week – same month.

IMG_9036

So, back to last week.  On Monday I spent $10.53 at Stop & Shop to grab a few sale items, plus bananas.

IMG_9053

I made my monthly stop at BJ’s this week.  It wasn’t as big as the last one at only $170.54 and was timed largely because a big batch of coupons were expiring.

Finally, I did my main shopping on Friday at Wegman’s.  I spent $113.76.  Apparently I forgot to take pictures.  It was a protein heavy trip with pork, ground beef, chicken, and eggs.  So you won’t seethe pork butt, rolls, and potato salad for our weekend BBQ of pulled pork sandwiches.

That brought me to $327.06 which isn’t too bad given that included the BJ’s trip.

Fall 2018 Freezer/Pantry Challenge

13 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in Groceries, Home

≈ Comments Off on Fall 2018 Freezer/Pantry Challenge

Tags

,

So last year I did both freezer and pantry challenges and updated you throughout the year on how both were going.  Thankfully, I have many fewer items this year that need using up (although some readers will notice a few things on the list again) so I’m putting the lists together.  Also, since I have next to no proteins on the list, I’m hoping/planning to move through these things faster.

Most everything this year is in the freezer so the pantry list is really short:

  • Coconut oil: I bought this originally to make granola which I haven’t made in the last year so we’ll see where this goes.
  • Veggie straws: I have one bag left over from summer when we take these to the pool.  I opened it today to send some into school for snacks.  Only two kids eat them.  Sticking to Thursdays (which are they best day to send these as snacks so they don’t get crushed), it will take me a few weeks to finish off the bag.
  • Bag of mixed nuts:  I think I’m just going to have to open this and break out the nutcrackers come holiday season.  They have not expired.

That’s it there!

The freezer list is a little longer, though not nearly as bad as last year.  Clearly not everything in the above pictures is on the list (see my free pint of ice cream in there).  These two freezer compartments are the most loaded with listed items though.  The other two are rather neat.  So, here’s what we have:

  • Beef bones: for stock
  • Hamburger and hot dog buns – one package each: Probably going to thaw these and use them for sandwiches as BBQ season is largely over.
  • Pre-made hamburgers: We weren’t fans of these and we have about 10 lbs left from what we purchased for our big summer BBQ.  I’m going to try cooking them up and draining them (80% vs our usual 90%) to use as regular ground beef.
  • Twelve (8 + 4) egg whites: There are a couple of options here, add-ins for sous vide eggs or macaroons being the most likely.
  • Nine cubes of cilantro in chicken broth: This goes with a specific recipe which obviously I haven’t made enough of recently.
  • Eleven servings of butternut squash ravioli: Clearly I could eat these faster, but they feel more right in the fall than the summer.  I will get to them all eventually.
  • One serving of mushroom ravioli: I need to sell this to someone as its not my thing.
  • One gingerbread loaf: Clearly I need to thaw this when we have a shortage of desert options.
  • Four bagels: We’re working through these.  They’re all sliced for easy toasting.
  • Three blocks of cream cheese: I can’t think of anything to do with these besides cream cheese frosting, ie carrot cake.  My kids aren’t super interested in this though so I have to time it right.
  • Chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, and chopped pecans:  These are odds and ends that could be used up.  The walnuts and pecans I do use from time to time.  The almonds are left over from granola making so either I’m back to that or I need to come up with some baked goods to use them up.
  • Some frozen celery sticks: These should go with the beef bones, and other things, for stock.  I just need to remember that!

Grocery Update: Week 36, 2018

11 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by in Groceries

≈ Comments Off on Grocery Update: Week 36, 2018

Tags

This will be a short post because I only made two stops last week!

First, I spent $119.29 at Wegman’s on Friday, mostly on meat and milk.  Yes, everything else fit in one bag.  The ice cream was my free item of the month; the bread was 50% off.

I haven’t been talking too much about our menus lately as I’ve been trying just to get back on track with posts.  But, to give you an idea, we BBQed the chicken and ribs for dinner Saturday night (with two thirds of the corn from below).  Then we used some of the ground beef for chili Sunday night.  We’re back in soccer season so Monday was a split dinner with hot dogs for the younger ones and pizza for the late set (up to four now that our soccer playing twin has aged into the late practice slot).

To balance things out I spent $120.54 on produce on Sunday.

IMG_9051

All of this is local.  We ate the yellow corn with the BBQ.  The heirloom tomato went on the pizza.  The pepper and white corn are for chowder tonight, assuming I can make that happen.  I’ll eat the peaches for lunch over the week.   I don’t have a plan for the green beans, but the kids love them so I grab a batch every time I go in season; this is only one meal’s worth.

The plan for tonight is flank steak (under the chicken above), corn chowder, bread (pictured above), and either green beans or spinach salad depending on how things play out.

 

August 2018 Grocery Review

04 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by in Groceries

≈ Comments Off on August 2018 Grocery Review

Tags

With the Monday holiday, I decided to push this post to Tuesday.  I expect to post Wednesday (normal Tuesday post), Thursday, and Friday this week to get back on a more regular school year posting schedule.

Last week was another big one for groceries, largely because I went to BJs for the first time in about two months.  I also stopped at Target and purchased a number of things that we use during the school year, but not during the summer.

On Thursday, I went to both Target and BJ’s as they’re fairly near one another.

First, at Target, I spent $59.28.  I didn’t get a picture before things started getting eaten (actually drunk), but it included a large number of single serve boxes of raisins & craisins, lots of grape juice, some granola bars, and some Gatorade.

Then I ran over and spent $241.07 at BJ’s.  Again, I failed to get pictures of everything – notably most of the non-perishable items this time.  There was a flat of Coke, a rotisserie chicken, honey, croissants, barbecue sauce, peanut butter, canned soup, bread, two types of cereal, chips, shallots, sweet potatoes, rolls, and chocolate chips.

IMG_9002

That finished off August so the totals below will won’t include the rest of the week.

On Saturday, I spent $127.39 at Stop & Shop.  There were many things on sale this week we will eat.

IMG_9019

Then on Sunday I spent $24.71 at the farm stand and another $81.24 at Wegman’s.  I’m sense a trend here because I clearly forgot to take pictures of the farm stand visit.  I got broccoli, corn on the cob, green beans, and a heirloom tomato.

Finally on Monday we happened past a different Target.  I hoped to get more grape juice as it was on sale, but they were out.  I did get a few items that BJ’s had been out of totaling $19.85.

IMG_9033

August TOTAL: $925.60

  • Stop & Shop: $181.00
  • Wegman’s: $371.42
  • BJs: $241.07
  • Other: $132.11
    • Local: $72.83
    • Star Market/Shaw’s: $0
    • Trader Joe’s: $0
    • Target: $59.28
    • Other: $0

Wow!  That came out much lower than I was expecting.  It turns out I had a few VERY BIG trips, but not that many trips overall.  Exactly the opposite of July.

Grocery Update: Week 34, 2018

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Groceries

≈ Comments Off on Grocery Update: Week 34, 2018

First week of school this week.  No two days are the same.  Lots of back to school events.  The first day where they all have full days of school is next week.

So, I’m behind.

But, I wanted to get this one up so a grocery post on a non-Monday it is.

Last week didn’t have many stops, but they were rather large.  Coming back after vacation and school startup (which changes our meal needs) will do that.

On Monday I spent $25.58 at the farm stand (melon picture) and $56.09 at Stop & Shop (milk and bananas pictures).

Tuesday’s stop at Wegman’s was a big one any given week – $217.04.  There were a few things that didn’t make the pictures, but we ate them before the picture was taken.

On Saturday I spent another $94.59 at Wegman’s.  We’re going through a lot of milk and cheese with everyone home.

Finally, on Friday I spent another $47.25 at the farm stand.  This is the time of year when we eat the most produce as the local options are full of things we want to eat.

IMG_8993

That brought our total for the week to $440.55 or almost two weeks of grocery budget!  And, the month will get worse today since I’m headed to BJ’s for the first time since the beginning of summer.

Grocery Update: Week 33, 2018

20 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in Family, Groceries, Travel

≈ 1 Comment

IMG_8821

It will be a short post today because we got back from vacation last night.  We were gone for an entire week, during which I spent $10.97 on one gallon of milk and two containers of juice.  Otherwise food went on the vacation budget.

That does mean that this week will have quite a few stops so next week’s post might be rather long.  It also means school is just around the corner so hopefully I’ll be able to get more than one or two posts up per week.  I certainly have a new set of material!

Grocery Update & What We Ate: Week 32, 2018

13 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in Groceries, Menus

≈ Comments Off on Grocery Update & What We Ate: Week 32, 2018

Well, for the first time since March we have a whole week with no sports during the dinner hour!  So, I had time to think, plan, remember, and write about it.  And, its not such a repetitive list.

But, first the shopping.

On Tuesday I made a big trip to Stop & Shop – $100.97.  This was partially because we were having seafood twice (with sales & coupons) and partially because I had excellent bonus gas point coupons if I exceeded $100.  Gas points came out to 456!

See the small bag of rice?  It turns out that they no longer carry the larger bag I usually buy.  On Wednesday I had to go to the hardware store one town over.  It is right next to a larger Stop & Shop.  Turns out they still carry the larger bag and it was on sale so I spent $4.99 on rice.

This was birthday week.  On Thursday I stopped into my regular Stop & Shop for cupcakes.  Yes, I could have made a cake.  But, we have those who like vanilla and those who like chocolate.  By the time you make both of those and ice them, its simpler and not that much more expensive to just buy the cupcakes.

To resupply milk (and buy another cake for yet another birthday), I spent $59.79 at Wegman’s on Saturday.  The Cokes are because the twins need clear 2L bottles per their school supply list.

So, lots of small trips.  But, only $173.73 total.

And, check out all the real food!

Monday:
Ground beef with spinach – picadillo con espinacas
Cornbread
Spinach salad (for those less keen on the cooked spinach)

Tuesday:
Cod with swiss chard and potatoes
Leftover homemade bread

Wednesday:
Lobster salad sandwiches
Tater tots
Carrot sticks

Thursday:
Spaghetti & meatballs
Spinach salad

Friday:
Early: Chicken nuggets
Late: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Pork pan-fried dumplings
Rice
Green beans

Sunday:
Take-out pizza

July 2018 Grocery Review

06 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in Groceries

≈ Comments Off on July 2018 Grocery Review

Tags

I felt like I was at the store every day last week.  On the other hand, baseball has finally come to an end so I have a full set of weekday dinners to plan this coming week vs quick doses of chicken nuggets.

On Monday, I made my monthly trip to Shaw’s.  I spent $62.84 mostly on pizza dough and cheese.  Chicken nuggets were on sale so I picked up one meal’s worth, as well as a bunch of bananas.  I don’t usually get dinosaur shaped chicken, but they were out of the standard ones.

IMG_8763

On Tuesday, I spent $7.24 on produce from the farm stand.

My biggest trip of the week was to Wegman’s on Wednesday – $136.94.

I took a few days off.  But, I was back at the farm stand on Saturday for a full load of produce – $38.94.

IMG_8780

Finally, I spent $21.54 at Wegman’s on Sunday.  There are two gallons of milk missing from the picture.  This will get us through until Tuesday when I plan to go to Stop & Shop.  Hopefully that will be my only stop this coming week.

IMG_8781

That brought my total for the week to $267.50.

So how did we do in July as a whole?  Still high.

July TOTAL: $1,350.03

  • Stop & Shop: $178.76
  • Wegman’s: $679.16
  • BJs: $100.45
  • Other: $391.66
    • Local: $264.98
    • Star Market/Shaw’s: $126.68
    • Trader Joe’s: $0
    • Target: $0
    • Other: $0

 

Grocery Update: Week 30, 2018

30 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in Groceries

≈ Comments Off on Grocery Update: Week 30, 2018

I bought a lot of produce this week.  Seasonal stuff we actually want to eat has finally arrived.  Plus, my kids really liked cherries this year, which admittedly aren’t local.

I spent $19.66 at the farm stand on Tuesday.  (Our farm stand grows a lot of their own stuff, but also buys from elsewhere – hence the cherries.)

IMG_8753

On Thursday, I made an even smaller stop at Stop & Shop.  I spent $14.64 almost exclusively on items on sale.  Bananas and mushrooms were the exceptions.

IMG_8754

I was back at the farmstand for $25.40 of mostly produce on Friday.

IMG_8755

Finally, on Saturday I made a relatively modest trip to Wegman’s.  For $98.50 I bought a lot of drinks, bought some weekend dinner specific items, and restocked a few things.

That brought my total for the week to a very reasonable $158.20.

Baseball is still dominating our dinner hours, but we did manage to have a few family dinners this week.  I haven’t been doing as good a job of keeping track, but our family dinners were meatball subs mid-week, grilled hot dogs on Saturday, and tacos on Sunday.

 

Grocery Update: Week 29, 2018

24 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Groceries

≈ Comments Off on Grocery Update: Week 29, 2018

I had planned to post this yesterday.  But, happily Mother Nature did not obey the weather forecast so we ended up at the pool for a good chunk of the day vs home while it rained.

We made five grocery stops this week.  I spent $111.05 on Monday – the first trip to Wegman’s.  The veal was the heavy hitter.

IMG_8726

I made a small trip – $27.78 – to Stop & Shop on Wednesday.

On Friday I spent even less at the farm stand – $17.92.  Summer produce is excellent.

IMG_8737

On Saturday, we spent $88.45 on nice steaks.  These were grilled with mashed potatoes and carrots.  On Sunday, I spent another $118.99 at Wegman’s.  It rained so we needed a change of dinner plan.  Dinner ended up as meatball subs.  Hopefully that carries us through much of this week also.

That brought us to a very big $364.19 for the week.  I’m sure we’ll need milk this week, but otherwise we may get by with what’s on hand.