I was not an efficient grocery shopper this week.

On Monday, I spent $151.66 at Wegman’s.

I had planned to go to Stop & Shop on Thursday, but realized I had other errands to run so it made sense to go on Tuesday instead.  I spent $51.21.

I also spent $13.40 at the farmer’s market.

However, I realized I forgot jalapenos for the fish tacos.  Also, because I had gone on Tuesday rather than Thursday, I didn’t have enough milk.  So, I went to Stop and Shop again on Wednesday.  While there I also got fresh tilapia for the fish tacos.  So, while I spent an additional $37.75, I do have frozen tilapia for a later date.  I also took the opportunity to get a second ice cream because the deal had a limit of one.

Monday:
Early: Turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots
Late: Chinese take out

Tuesday:
Spaghetti & meatballs

Wednesday:
Fish tacos, guacamole, pico de gallo

Thursday:
Early: pancakes
Late: tuna noodle casserole

Friday:
Kids: Hot dogs, applesauce
Adults: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Take out pizza

Sunday:
Leg of lamb, pan roasted potatoes, spinach salad, blueberry cobbler

So, I took almost the entire summer off from a full post of this type.  But, we’re back and with more info since starting this month I’m planning to include budget info with each grocery trip vs just the monthly summaries.

I let Labor Day push the posts back last week.  Between that and the relatively long post covering all of August, I missed the first three days of September.  So, they’re covered here.

On Friday, Sept 1, we went blueberry picking.  I don’t have a picture of all the blueberries, but we got 8.3 lbs for a total of $31.13.

On Saturday, Sept. 2, I went to BJ’s for the first time in months.  I spent a total of $185.39 after 15 coupons totaling $37.75.

I spent $29.88 at the farm stand on the same day.

On Tuesday, I spent $11.50 at the farmer’s market.  I was happy to see that peaches were still available.

Then on Thursday, I spent $56.17 at Stop & Shop.  Most of these items were on sale, hence the quantities.  The milk, craisins, and yogurt were not on sale.

You’ll see a lot of this show up in what we ate.  I’ll go back to Sept. 1 to cover the holiday weekend when we did some nice barbecuing.

Friday:
Kids: chicken nuggets, carrots
Adults: homemade pizza

Saturday:
BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, pasta salad, blueberry cobbler

Sunday:
Chicken piccata, spaghetti, garlic bread, spinach salad

Monday:
BBQ beef roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, gravy, popovers

Tuesday:
Picadillo con Espinacas, cornbread, tomatoes

Wednesday:
Salmon, green & wax beans, cornbread

Thursday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, spinach salad
Late: Steak, hash browns, spinach salad

Friday:
Kids: Hot dogs, applesauce
Adults: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Take out pizza for those who did not go to the Red Sox game

Sunday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, applesauce
Late: Homemade pizza

May is the heart of baseball season, so its almost all quick meals around here.  We’re also starting to transition from winter to summer foods (although now, in early June, its only in the mid-50s).  I did make two trips to BJ’s, so that number is higher than usual.

May TOTAL: $1,129.20

• Stop & Shop: $91.30
• Wegman’s: $397.18
• BJs: $350.77
• Other: $289.95
  • Local: $131.49
  • Star Market: $120.06
  • Trader Joe’s: $0
  • Target: $38.40
  • Other: $0

I made a few small grocery trips last week.

Monday I stopped at the farm stand, primarily for green beans.

Wednesday, I went to Wegman’s.

Finally, on Thursday I made a very small trip to Stop & Shop for taco supplies.  Cheese was on sale plus I had a coupon.

As for eating, it was a typical baseball week.

Monday:
Hamburgers

Tuesday:
Kids: Chicken nuggets
Adults: Homemade pizza

Wednesday:
Kids: Pulled pork, pan fried potatoes, watermelon
Adults: Take-out pizza

Thursday:
Tacos, corn

Friday:
Chinese take out

Saturday:
Kids: Chicken nuggets
Adults: Homemade pizza

Sunday:
Spaghetti & meatballs

Still bigger.  I’m coming to the conclusion that shopping at Wegman’s is more expensive than Stop & Shop.  Now, this is definitely not true for certain items.  But, it seems to be true when one considers purchases in total.  We’ll see how May goes.

• April TOTAL: $1,205.63
  • Stop & Shop: $293.76
  • Wegman’s: $573.25
  • BJs: $231.87
  • Other: $106.75
    • Local: $0
    • Star Market: $106.75
    • Trader Joe’s: $0
    • Target: $0
    • Other: $0

I made two stops this week.  On Monday, I went to Stop & Shop.  The chips, bagels, cilantro, and shallot were not on sale.  Everything else was and I had a coupon for the fruit cups as well.

Then on Friday, I went to Wegman’s.  I also bought four gallons of milk that didn’t make the picture.

It rained a bunch last week.  We did eat dinner together more than usually happens in baseball/soccer season.  But, dinners were still quick affairs because they often didn’t cancel practices/games until late afternoon.

Monday:
Chicken and dumplings

Tuesday:
Tacos
Corn

Wednesday:
Braised pork
Mashed potatoes
Salad

Thursday:
Kids: Spaghetti & meatballs
Adults: Homemade pizza

Friday:
Kids: Pancakes
Adults: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Hamburgers
Tater tots

Sunday:
Chinese take-out

Definitely a bigger month this time.  I did go to BJs on almost the first and almost the last day of the month, which contributed.  But, generally it looks like either things are getting pricier, or shopping at Wegman’s is more expensive than Stop & Shop.  (The balance has definitely swung that way in the last few months.)  I’ll have to do some more thinking to better analyze that.

• March TOTAL: $1,186.99
  • Stop & Shop: $119.04
  • Wegman’s: $576.47
  • BJs: $375.94
  • Other: $115.54
    • Local: $23.69
    • Star Market: $62.80
    • Trader Joe’s: $0
    • Target: $29.05
    • Other: $0

A reasonable number of grocery trips this week.  First, I made a small trip to Stop & Shop on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, they were out of Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, so I got Sharp which is only ok.  The total was so small that I bought the Cadbury Cream egg for 88¢ to tip me over the $25 minimum to use all my other coupons.  I like Cream Eggs once a year so I ate it that afternoon.

Wednesday was the big one – BJs.  Peanut butter was the driving factor, but I also stocked up on chicken nuggets and a few other items that will facilitate quick meals during the upcoming sports season.

Finally, on Saturday I went to Wegman’s.

You’ll see a lot of what I bought, at Wegman’s especially, in the dinners this week.

Monday:
Lemon chicken
Pan fried potatoes
Salad

Tuesday:
Kids: Chicken nuggets
Adults: Homemade pizza

Wednesday:
Fish tacos
Guacamole
Pico de gallo

Thursday:
Kids: Hot dogs
Adults: Homemade pizza

Friday:
Kids: Pancakes
Adults: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Spaghetti & meatballs

Sunday:
Chipotle lime chicken
San Antonio rice

So, the Super Bowl was last night as we live in New England.  Yes, I did watch it.  Yes, I thought about turning it off at halftime.  No, I didn’t.  I saw the end.  But, that’s the reason this post is going up so late.

Now for the subject at hand.  After a huge month of December, January was far more reasonable.  This makes sense as there weren’t parties to provide food for and I didn’t stock up on meat the same as in December.  Hopefully, things will stay more like this going forward.

• January TOTAL: $791.38
  • Stop & Shop: $84.09
  • Wegman’s: $525.95
  • BJs: $120.04
  • Other: $61.30
    • Local: $16.65
    • Star Market: $44.65
    • Trader Joe’s: $0
    • Target: $0
    • Other: $0

After no grocery trips last week, I did make four stops this week.  There was a quick visit to Shaw’s for pizza dough, pizza cheese, and oatmeal (no picture).

On Monday I went to Wegman’s.  I must say the peaches have been a disappointment.  Very stringy and mushy.  I’m going back to the Dole pack from BJs after this one.  This was a bit of an expensive trip with all the cheese.  I was also disappointed to discover that milk prices are going up so the milk alone was about $7 more than last time.

Then, on Thursday I went to Stop & Shop and the farm stand.  The cider and deli turkey are from the farm stand.  Everything else is from Stop & Shop.  Everything was on sale except the jalapeno and the hot dogs so this was more of a stock up vs getting ready for the week shop.

We did eat last week, though.

Saturday: gone

Sunday:
Spaghetti & meatballs

Monday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Homemade pizza

Tuesday:
Chili
Corn muffins

Wednesday:
BBQ chicken
Biscuits
Salad

Thursday:
Spaghetti & meatballs

Friday:
Kids: Chicken nuggets
Adults: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Salmon with lemon-chive butter
Pan fried potatoes
Salad

Sunday (Super Bowl):
Homemade pizza

November was a great month budget-wise, especially since we had the Thanksgiving feast to account for.  I was at Stop & Shop more often than Wegman’s, but the totals ended up very similar.  The big local number was primarily the turkey purchase, although I also bought fresh fish while I was there for dinner before Thanksgiving.

• November TOTAL: $876.10
  • Stop & Shop: $241.58
  • Wegman’s: $265.65
  • BJs: $110.25
  • Other: $258.62
    • Local: $194.90
    • Star Market: $43.80
    • Trader Joe’s: $19.92
    • Target: $0
    • Other: $0

As for this week’s shopping, I only made two trips to Stop and Shop.

The first trip was Monday.  One of the boys wants ham every day for lunch so I do have to get that weekly.  The chocolates were free; the Finlandia butter was 99¢ as I used both manufacturer’s and store coupons.  The chives and ham were the only items not on sale.

My second trip was on Saturday.  Fewer of these items were on sale – Doritos, chicken, ground turkey, gravy, and juice.  The other items flesh out things I did purchase earlier on sale that we’ll be eating this week – hot dogs and ground pork.  Beyond the obligatory ham purchase, I got some salami.

Saturday:
Kids: hot dogs
Adults: OUT

Sunday:
Grilled leg of lamb
Baked potatoes
Peas
Focaccia

Monday:
Kids: chicken nuggets
Adults: tuna noodle casserole

Tuesday:
Tacos
Corn

Wednesday:
Lemon chicken
Pan fried potatoes
Brussels sprouts

Thursday:
Pot stickers
Soy dipping sauce
Broccoli

Friday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Homemade pizza