First, here’s how last year’s spending stacked up.
2018 Grocery Spending
January: $544
February: $588
March: $641
April: $728
May: $535
June: $749
July: $578
August: $498
September: $598
October: $628
November: $587
December: $661
$7332 total
All of that averages out to $141/week which is perfect, since I usually aim for my average to be about $150/week.
It’s 2019, so I’m starting out with a fresh $7800 budget to feed us this year.
What I Spent
I spent $90 at the grocery store, plus $25 for my Hungry Harvest box.
What We Ate
Saturday
We were at my sister-in-law’s house for a belated Christmas gathering with some relatives from Mr. FG’s side of the family.
I brought honey-glazed pan rolls, which will come as no shock to any of you.
And I also brought a pan of scalloped potatoes.
And guys, I realized something: the recipe I use is naturally gluten-free!
The sauce just thickens as it cooks with the potatoes, so it totally works for people who can’t have gluten.
(There were some gluten-free people there, and while they couldn’t eat the rolls I brought, at least the scalloped potatoes were fair game.)
Sunday
We had a rather fend-for-yourself evening of eating leftovers.
Monday
We went over to my brother’s house for New Year’s Eve, and we had a snacky kind of dinner (I brought a cheese, ham, and cracker plate, plus some fruit).
Tuesday
Sonia and I tried a new recipe (from Dinner Illustrated*) for polenta topped with sausages and a tomato sauce.
I thought it was tasty, and it’s kind of a quicker, less fancy version of the Parmesan polenta with red sauce recipe I posted recently.
*Amazon generally has used copies of Dinner Illustrated, so check for those if you want to buy this book!
Wednesday
I made chicken katsu with tonkatsu sauce, also from Dinner Illustrated!
Thursday
We had Thai chicken soup from, um, Dinner Illustrated. Heh. It was really tasty. And dairy-free, which is fabulous for Sonia.
Friday
<looks around sheepishly> I’m going to try a beef noodle bowl recipe from Dinner Illustrated.
It’s been a Dinner Illustrated week around here!
What did you have for dinner this week?
Savannah @ Dirt Road Daisy DIY
Monday 7th of January 2019
We were all over the board, and I honestly can't remember what all we had. There was a breakfast for dinner in there, plus a night of sloppy joes. We are doing our own sort of freezer challenge because my husband harvested two deer this year (yay!) and then we were gifted 1/4 beef from my dad for Christmas from his farm (yay again!) So we are about to have A LOT of meat that will fill up our extra freezer pretty quickly!
We have three whole chickens in there from a friend's farm - we are going to gift one to a friend that loved to smoke meat and then smoke our own. I'm inspired by your yearof tracking grocery expenses to track my own this year. I spent $112 at the store yesterday because I got a ton of fresh fruit to try smoothies in my new Vitamix...eeek!!!!
Happy New Year!
Kyndra
Saturday 5th of January 2019
I greatly enjoy the fresh, new grocery budget! Monday- taco in a bag Tuesday- a new recipe for arroz con pollo in the instant pot. It was tasty! Wednesday- kielbasa, potato, and peppers roasted on a sheet tray with Korean sweet pancakes for dessert Thursday- husband was on pizza pickup duty Friday- fend for yourself Saturday- it’s beautiful here, so hopefully grilled burgers!!
Jasmine
Saturday 5th of January 2019
Is the Thai soup recipe available online? It looks delicious!
Suzan
Friday 4th of January 2019
Lots of snacks meals using up the Christmas leftovers. Even though we are in heat waves mum insisted on pea and ham soup. WE have also had mushroom risotto, homemade pizza, sausages and vegetables. I hate how leftover stuff canoe made into one meal and then there are more leftovers.
Natalie Jenkins
Friday 4th of January 2019
Sunday: Mexican street corn soup from the crock pot
Monday: Snacky foods. We celebrated New Year's with my best friend and her husband. I'm pregnant and they have a newborn, so we rang in the new year at 10pm and called it good haha
Tuesday: Gingery pork ramen (one of our favorite recipes)
Wednesday: Leftover corn soup before a doctor's appointment. I'm officially in my third trimester!
Thursday: This recipe https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/sweet-korean-lentils/?fbclid=IwAR2zVvs8tmhxpNPB2gnZI4JcrqLnpQvteE9o_5jWB9gqBvXKDis1oE3g5Bo It was good, but next time we're going to double the sauce (because more sauce is always better haha)
Friday: We were going to go on a gift card date night, but I've caught a nasty cold, so we're going to rain check