What I Spent, What We Ate | a four-trip week
What I Spent
I was super disorganized on the grocery shopping front this week.
I have a photo of one stop at Aldi, though, where I spent $73.71.
I also made three other grocery stops, for a total of $66.22.
Oh, and it was a produce box week ($32).
So, that adds up to $171.93.
June Weekly Spending
Week 1: $92.35
Week 2: $171.93
What We Ate
Monday
We had chicken/bacon/ranch wraps, plus applesauce from the freezer.
And Lisey cooked with me. 🙂
Tuesday
We did something unusual and visited a Greek food truck.
Wednesday
We had smoked turkey and pepper jack panini (with chipotle mayo. Yessss.)
Thursday
I made chicken enchiladas, and I totally meant to get out applesauce to go with them, but I forgot.
We did have chips and salsa, though.
Friday
The last two Fridays, I ended up making breakfast for dinner so that Lisey could eat with us. But she's now able to comfortably eat tomato sauce again, so I think we'll be back to pizza tonight.
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I have spent around $100 Aus the last two days. But what have we eaten. As usual it is a blurr.
1. Friday night...just mum and me. We had chicken and vegetables at lunch time and so tonight's dinner was clementines and cherries ( very naughty this one as they have definitely flown a long way to Australia.)
2. Thursday night Miis P cooked and it was chicken a la king with rice. Her first attempt at this meal. Because we had no leftovers she had to poach chicken and then make her first ever sauce.
3. Beef stew
4. Roast chicken and vegetables.
5. Blt's
We have eaten a fair amount of fruit this week too. Lots of citrus and raspberries.
The hubs and I had a long talk about my health and the lousy condition of my hands (started OT this week). He has stepped up, and the scalloped corn with ham was delicious, as were the turkey burgers and the rice bowl with chicken and greens.
I'm so sorry that your hands are still in bad shape! I hope OT helps you.
We are trying to reduce our grocery spending. I'm trying to pack a regular lunch every week, and use less meat for dinners. I would always take my lunch, but relied on leftovers which meant I had to scramble and sometimes ended up with nothing/had to eat out. We stocked up on some staples this week and only spent $130ish with tons left at the end of the week that won't spoil (e.g., rice, crushed tomatoes, beans...).
This week we ate:
Monday - sushi from the grocery store, because we just got back from a long weekend vacation late Sunday evening
Tuesday - red beans and rice, with side salad
Wednesday - pepperoni pizza pasta
Thursday - leftover red beans and rice
Friday - we're going to have our usual spaghetti carbonara
I get paid once a month, on the 28th. Most people think it's awful -- but I love it! My monthly paycheck on the 28th is enough to pay for all of our bills and living expenses for the next month. So, everything gets paid on the 1st and we don't have to worry about anything but daycare, groceries, and fuel -- it's really great! WIth that being said - I make one large shopping trip in the beginning of the month and get the staples, beauty items, and things I can freeze. So the big shopping trip this month was $300. Usually I average $200 for this trip, but I had to buy diapers (hopefully out last purchase - we are mid potty training!) and food/other items for a bridal shower that I am throwing tomorrow. My weekly trips to Aldi the rest of the month for produce, milk, bread (still haven't started making my own), and other perishables average $25-$40. We average $80-$100 per week for our family of 3 (including dog food for 2 dogs).
Monday - We had freezer beef stroganoff and french bread.
Tuesday - Spaghetti
Wednesday - I was on my own as my husband and daughter both had activities - so I had a PB&J and some chips and salsa.
Thursday - Sloppy Joes and some homemade queso cheese dip (super easy and good: Hormel Chili + cream cheese + cheddar, microwave)
Friday - tonight will probably be grilled cheese and some fruit as we have to go to the venue to set up for the bridal shower.
This was much longer than I anticipated! 🙂 Have a good weekend everyone!!
Isn't it wonderful when you can see the end of diaper expenses? So great.
We had a trip to Aldi, Costco and our awesome store that rescues meat before it expires, freezes it and resells at a lower price. All food is guaranteed for quality/safety. It's open to the public and all proceeds go to our local food shelf. It's Fare for All for all you Minnesota readers. At Fare for All, I got 6 pounds of ground turkey and 1.8 pounds of popcorn chicken for $12. Including that, my total this week is $128 and that will last us well into next week.
Monday - Aldi was out of chicken sausage so we had cheddar brats instead with cheddar mashed potatoes. Used up mashed potatoes and cheese bechemal sauce and it was great!
Tuesday - picnic feast with my inlaws, husband and kiddos to celebrate a gorgeous day at the park. I brought lemonade, chips and dip, watermelon, and homemade chicken salad. My mothrr-in-law brought mini sandwiches, veggies and dip, cupcakes and cantaloupe.
Wednesday - breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, egg bake with sausage, cheese, and veggies about to go south. We didn't have any potatoes in the house except about 30 frozen French fries so I made those and they were eaten.
Thursday - turkey tacos, sour cream, avocado, cheese, beans made fresh that day, lettuce, and enjoying the first pint of strawberries from our CSA box. I tried a taco with bib lettuce as a "tortilla" and it was great. My 3 year old son put mango in his taco along with beans, sour cream, cheese and avocado. Lol. He ate it all.
Friday- It's suppose to hit 95 today, after we've been enjoying really mild weather. I think it's time to bust out the FG pizza on the grill recipe. We'll have that with watermelon, and a green salad to use up our more perishable veggies we got yesterday - radish greens, turnip greens, and then we have an abundance of other greens, radishes and baby turnips so should have a good variety.
Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, frugal week!
What a cool store idea!
It's been a fun week, I guess.
Monday we had chicken with rice and salads.
Tuesday my wife was late coming home due to work and so she got something on the way home and I stopped at Five Guys and got some fries and peanuts (not exactly the best dinner but I survived.)
Wednesday due to a lot of issues we broke down and bought one of the $5 take and bake pizzas from Aldi.
Thursday we finished the leftover pizza and I ate eggs for dinner.
Tonight we're going out for Bible study and it's pot luck so we'll see what we have.
For shopping this week I didn't spend much due to stocking up in previous weeks. We spent $12.27 at the local grocery, $17 exactly at Aldi and $1.88 at Prite Rite.
Oh, but then I spent $44 on baby formula which should last us a couple weeks. Yeah, I'm so ready to be done with this, though she is partly on solid food at this point. Doing homemade baby food helps but when it comes to time we've been buying some of the Beech Nut. On the upside, I have a whole bunch of new spice jars. 😛
I'm sure next week will be much more in
$5 for dinner for 2+ isn't excessive. You could spend more on a homemade pizza if you got a little crazy with the toppings.
How is Lisey doing with her recovery?
Aww, thanks for asking! She's pretty much back to 100% now...eating nearly everything, not on painkillers, swallowing with no pain. She has her followup ENT appt this coming week, so we'll see what they say about how things look, but I think all is well.
This week we had:
One pot pasta. A good vegetarian meal and loaded with flavor!
Thai curried cauliflower. Thanks for the recipe for this one! 🙂
Skillet artichoke chicken. Got this recipe from my Food Network Magazine. It would have been a good party food, but as dinner it wasn't all that great.
Costco dinner. We go to Costco every now and then and treat ourselves to a cheap dinner (and no dishes to clean up!)
BBQ chicken sandwiches with corn.
I'm very proud to announce that our food costs for this week were $1.80 a meal! That's a big improvement from a year ago, when our cost per meal was a whopping $10!
So, do you calculate that cost per person? Or just per meal?
I'm really glad the cauliflower recipe is workin' out for you!
This week was pretty full of meat - next might not be so much...our grocery budget is climbing back up. Also, I met with a graduate dietician yesterday for some helpful advice on how I should change some of my standard menus up - very enlightening!
This week we have enjoyed Italian Chicken from the crock pot served over linguini, Ranch style Pork Chops with mashed potatoes and fresh grape tomatoes with cucumber, Chili Mac Casserole, and Lime Shredded Pork for tacos with fresh pico de gallo. Tonight will be tilapia, baked with leftover pico on top. (I've been working my crock pot to death!) Tomorrow will be take out fried chicken, Sunday will be baby back ribs.
I also made large batches of marinara and enchilada sauces to freeze in mason jars, along with carmelized onions to store int he fridge and serve on burgers, etc.
Next week I am cleaning out the freezer once again, then re-working our menus to be super simple with lean meat and a veggie. I am cleaning the oven out, then closing it for the summer!
I notice you guys don't eat a lot of rice or mashed potatoes - a habit I am determined to break at my house!
haha "closing the oven for the summer".... Amen to that! 🙂
Our total spend was low, at $74.00. That included purchases for some entertaining, and meat, which I rarely buy anymore. So, always a little sticker shock when I do compared to our usual diet of produce, grains, beans, nuts and small amounts of poultry and fish.
M- Pesto pasta salad, green salad, garlic bread
T- Bean and cheese enchiladas, rice, green salad
W- Tuesday night leftovers
Th- BBQ chicken, brown rice, green beans
F- Book Club dinner: Hungarian goulash, cucumber salad and bread (our book for the month was based in Hungary 🙂 )
We've been budgeting $100 a week for two people for over five years now. It's interesting/encouraging for me to note that many of the items we eat on a regular bases are now less expensive than they were five years ago, namely nuts, chicken, eggs, and most of our produce. Additionally, I can usually find loss leader sales for many other items that are long term store-able as well, like beans, canned tuna, and rice. Once the momentum gets going, it's pretty easy to stay on budget if I keep to my system.
I keep seeing you mention your produce boxes, have been meaning to write and ask where you get yours from. (We are in your local area.) I'd love to start getting something like this but the hubby isn't convinced. The price sounds so high. You could send me a private message if you'd rather not share on here for privacy reasons.
Emailed you!
Monday - Turkey hot dogs, fruit salad, chips
Tuesday - I stole Kristen's idea!!!!!!! Green salad, tomatoes, sliced chicken and tortellini (FABULOUS!!)
Wednesday - Refrigerator leftover night
Thursday - Grilled burgers, tomato salad, watermelon
Friday - Spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, green salad
Happy Weekend! ! !
So glad the salad idea worked out well for you. Yay!
I used your Aldi pic and added up the cost of each item in my local grocery store: $126. Sigh. Wish we had an Aldi here.
Average week for us, $180 spent at the local grocery store, including cat chow. We also had our local foods pick up at $64 and I did a Vitacost order for shelf staples totaling about $100 which will last at least a month, some things longer. Our goal for the summer is to avoid shopping at the local grocery store for meat and produce and to buy those locally (or harvest them ourselves). Challenge is really the cost of local meat - a whole chicken at about 4-5# costs around $17. If I cook it and shred the meat we can get two meals then a batch of stock for soup so it's not too wildly expensive that way, but I will have to figure out how much meat we can afford then make a menu from there! Pork and beef is available as well for around $6/# so also expensive... Less meat in our diet sounds like the plan!
Ooh that's painful, to pay that for a chicken! I just bought a whole chicken at Aldi for .95 per pound. Definitely an economical protein source. I plan to roast it whole in my Ninja multi cooker so as not to heat up the kitchen. I'll have leftovers for chicken tacos, too.
This is totally embarrassing. Food shopping is my nightmare. There are 2 of us and 6 cats, all rescue, and we pay an average of $200 a week for food. I hate it. I think know it is ridiculous but I can't seem to get it under control. Cat supplies are about $25 per week but other than that it is just food. Help please, getting this under some kind of control is on my bucket list. We live in a rural area so I have one market choice, Martin's, it is a good market with a great store brand of organic food. I have to go today and I am so tired of spending this kind of money for 2 people.
The group of us can most definitely get your costs down! Can you give us a typical week's worth of meals?
Summer is great time for doing stuff like eating at food trucks. Or basically outside in general!