On Saturdays, I share my menu plan for the upcoming week along with a photo of my groceries and a tally of my spending. My goal is to spend $100/week for our food, toiletries, and cleaning products. I’m currently in the midst of trying to buy more local, sustainably-produced food while sticking to my budget. Can it be done? I don’t know, but I’m going to try, and I’ll share what I learn as I go along.
This week has been a rough one…after two weeks of a more normal sleep schedule (my husband was taking a 2-week training class), we went back to our usual uber-early schedule because of my husband’s return to work. Two weeks was exactly enough time to adjust to a different schedule, and so we’ve had a heck of a time managing to go to sleep early enough at night to get 8 hours before 4:40 am.
The fact that people in our neighborhood have been setting off fireworks pretty much every single night this week hasn’t been helpful either.
Yawn.
I’ve only been to Weis and Aldi so far this week, and here’s what I bought:
I’m hoping to make it to the produce stand on Monday, but I’ll just include that food and spending on next week’s grocery post. 
This week I spent $49.37 at Aldi and $32.09 at Weis for a total of $81.46. Yay! This gives me some cash to spend at the produce stand.
What are we eating this week?
For breakfast, we’ll be eating homemade granola, homemade yogurt, fruit, scrambled eggs, and cereal.
Lunches will be leftovers, yogurt, fruit, and sandwiches.
And here’s my dinner plan:
Saturday
- Pizza Bagels
- green salad
Sunday (for those of you that are new: we eat a late lunch on Sundays and so we always have a light dinner that day)
- a bunch of snacky stuff….cheese, crackers, fruit, and several dips
Monday
- Grilled Hamburgers
- homemade buns
- corn from the produce stand
- chips
- raw veggies
Tuesday
- Swiss Mushroom Chicken
- Cheese Bread
- green salad
Wednesday
- Cajun Tilapia
- English Muffins
- Tomato/Basil salad
Thursday
- Shrimp Pizzas (these have gotten bumped for something like 4 weeks now!)
- green beans
Friday
- Chicken Tacos
- fruit salad
Today’s 365 post: Who Says Thrifting Is No Fun?
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Just a quick question. I notice that the grocery pic that you post do not have any packages of meat ( ie: chicken, ground beef, etc) but it is on your menu for the week. Do you get you meat somewhere else? A local farm or something? I ask because meat is the most expansive part of my weekly shopping and am always open to advise on how to save.
Ah, that’s because I bought the chicken and ground beef in weeks prior, when it was on sale. I watch sales particularly for chicken, and when it goes on sale, I buy a lot more than I need for the week and I freeze it. That way I’m not stuck paying full price in between sales.
I really like your site and you seem sweet. However (and don’t take this wrong)…I can’t believe you would buy factory chicken, etc. I know you get farmer’s eggs and milk, etc., but there’s still the chicken, shrimp, fish issue.
Well, I’m working on that.
It takes some time to turn the Titanic around, though.
Arrgh! I love Amy Grant, but I hate that song! The Titanic didn’t turn around, it SANK! And while you’re being polite and letting me rant, here’s the other one that drives me straight up the wall: No, I won’t “drink the Kool-Aid”. Those poor people in Jonestown who did lost their lives. That expression feels like their deaths are being trivialized…
Hey, thanks for listening, I feel better now.
Also, I’ve been a vegetarian for 20+ years, and I don’t think it’s anybody’s business where you buy your chicken, or that you eat chicken, or if you like chicken, or if your kids have a rubber chicken!
lol! So true.
I think I must have missed the backstory to the Kool-Aid phrase…must google that. =P
And I appreciate your gracious attitude about other people’s food choices.
I like the kool aid expression! $100 per week for a family of 6 is pretty amazing. I worked on a program here called the “healthy food access basket” where we researched how much it would cost to meet the nutritional requirements of a family of 6 for 2 weeks. The cheapest we could get it was $404/fortnight Aus so about US $353.94 so either food is ridiculously cheap in the US or your like the NEO (matrix reference) of food.
Diane has a pont. Over 900 people in a cult in Jonestown, Guyana died, knowingly and voluntarily drinking poisoned fruit beverage. The phrase is used to mean someone so dedicated to an idea that he’ll drink the (poisoned) Kool-Aid rather than give it up. The meaning has also mutated to mean the point at which he has become so dedicated – an initiation, if you will.
On a separate note, non factory chicken is very expensive. With some one work can find happy beef or happy pork at a reasonable price, but happy chicken is going to be 3-4x the price of CAFO chicken. It’s a real dilemma for me as well.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, huh? I know. I have worked on this and it’s easy for me because I am a single person and not feeding a family. Just an important cause for me, is all.
Yes, this would definitely be easier if it was only me! Paying 2-3 times as much per pound for chicken isn’t a huge deal when you’re buying a pound, but when you’re buying 10 pounds, it’s a larger difference!
We do consume far less meat than the average family does, and we rarely eat beef.
We are really lucky to have a grocery store nearby that sells a lot of “naked” meat. The meat is all hormone and antibiotic free and the store works closely with the farmers and ranches who sell all of their meat. It’s amazing how much better it tastes and it goes on sale regularly. I wish most stores would make this much effort to bring food to our table.
P.S. Thanks for the chicken recipe. I’ve got some naked chicken in the fridge that I need to use up.
I like that phrase! Naked meat. Teehee. (Not that I eat it, but I think it’s funny.)
Diane, I didn’t mean to cause an argument. I just mentioned it. Amy Grant? I think you mean Celine Dion. Of course, it’s everyone’s right to eat what they want. I just get carried away sometimes and I’m sorry.
Amy Grant definitely does sing a song about turning the Titanic around! lol It’s on her Behind The Eyes album.
Connie, no worries…I didn’t see an argument.
Well, my bad on the song. Just when I think I know everything…
Hey Kristen, all side remarks about your meat consumption and musical titanic tunes aside
, have you ever made your own sausage? Or have any of those really expensive attachments for your kitchenaid to make that?
I’ve been dying to try my own sausage, but I’m not sure it would be neither frugal nor easy. Guess it would be to make my own flavors and sizes, etc. Figured if anyone, you would have made it!
grammar correction: Not sure it would be frugal or easy. Forget the double negatives in there
I have not tried that, but I think my friend has. I’ll have to talk to her about it.
Any chance that you’ll be sharing your cajun tilapia recipe soon? I’ve been trying to supplement our ample chicken eating (yeah for protein…bad for my food bordem!) with eating more ocean friendly fish/seafood. I just haven’t quite figured out how to season fish yet for the amazing taste.
Hey Connie, If we all knew everything. we wouldn’t need to read Kristin’s wonderful blog. Every. Single. Day. (Hooray for 365 Sundays!)
How awful would that be? I, for one, have no wish to find out