One Hundred Dollars a Month

I didn’t buy anything exciting this week, mostly because there just wasn’t anything I really needed on sale, and because I’m trying SUPER hard to stay around $100 a month for our groceries this year. In fact, unless something super fantastic pops up on sale, I may just skip the grocery store this week.

I try and keep a running shopping list of what’s on sale and what we actually need on my desk. That way, when deals pop up I can jot them down and then when it’s time to go shopping, I reanalyze the list.

I also try to only go grocery shopping once a week while I’m out running other errands. Not only does keeping a list save time, it helps me avoid impulse purchases. Well, that, and there’s the fact that I don’t like to dawdle. 😉 In and out in 5-10 minutes or less. That’s how I shop. I’m weird that way.

Albertsons $12.19

This week Albertsons had 4 pound sacks of sugar on sale for $1.49 each with their buy 5 save $5 promo. $0.38 a pound for sugar is a pretty good deal if you ask me {Costco is usually around $0.49 a pound for the 25 pound sack.} Campbell’s tomato soup was on sale for $0.79 and this is my all time favorite canned soup and I love having it on hand for sick days.

Albertsons $5.99

Pasta $0.75 a box, Tater Tots for the boys $1.75, American Cheese $1.99.

So maybe I’m a total nerd, but when I buy something, I want to get this biggest bang for my buck. So when pasta goes on sale, I tend to buy the box with more product in it. Even though I was making Crock Pot Lasagna for dinner and typically use shell type pasta for it, the box of rigatoni had 4 more ounces of pasta in. Am I the only one who does this? {Please tell me I’m not}.

Harbor Greens Market $2.90

Cauliflower $1.00 a head {what should I make with it?}, Avocados 2 for $1, red pears $0.99 a pound, and crappy store bought tomatoes $0.99 a pound.

Our Kitchen Garden

You can read more about our late January harvest on Dig For Your Dinner.

Meals I ate last week {Snacks not included}

Monday

Breakfast – Oatmeal with strawberries, smoothie
Lunch – Egg salad sandwhich, toasted, on wheat bread
Dinner – Curry Chicken and brown rice

Tuesday

Breakfast – Oatmeal with maple syrup and raisins, smoothie
Lunch – Leftover split pea soup
Dinner – Chicken soup with brown rice, spinach, carrots, and sundried tomatoes

Wednesday

Breakfast – Smoothie, peanut butter and strawberry jam toast
Lunch – Leftover chicken soup with no knead crusty bread
Dinner – Handmade tortillas with beef, black beans, guacamole and cheese

Thursday

Breakfast – Steel cut oats with frozen blueberries
Lunch – Leftover chicken soup and a smoothie
Dinner – Crock Pot Lasagna 

Friday

Breakfast – Leftover pasta and a smoothie {Do you like cold pasta? I do!}
Lunch – Panera Chicken Cobb Salad and Bread
Dinner – Leftover Crock Pot Lasagna

Saturday – Day 6 of being sick and the worst day yet. 🙁

Breakfast – Scrambled eggs with black beans and homemade salsa 
Lunch – Haagen Dazs Raspberry sorbet, tomato soup
Dinner – Crock pot chicken, roasted butternut squash

Sunday

Breakfast – Eggs, ham and toast
Lunch – Chicken Taquitos and guacamole
Dinner – Leftover chicken and squash

Where are all the fruits and vegetables? In our freezer! 😉 I get this asked every single week and rest assured, we do get plenty of fruits and veggies during the winter months. They just typically come in the form of smoothies, popped in our oatmeal, in a casserole or as a side dish.

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $21.08

Total Spent in Janaury $105.36

Freebies we’ve been gifted or were earned in 2016:  $200

• $100 gift card to Whole Foods {Christmas gift from my parents}
• $100 gift card to Trader Joe’s {Christmas gift from my parents}
• 22 packets of vegetable seeds

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.