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.
The Shopping
It’s been a while since I did a big grocery shop, so I knew I’d spend quite a bit this time around.
I spent $85.18 at Weis and $88.46 at Aldi for a total of $173.64.
Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs the morning we went shopping.
Fortunately, Mr. FG came with us, and he was nice enough to be the one to run out in the rain and pull the car around for us.
I think he should always come with us when it rains. 😉
Anyway, when we got home from shopping in the rain, I really didn’t feel like arranging my groceries for a photo. So, you get this instead.
I will show you these groceries, though…Sonia’s birthday junk food purchases:
The Food Plan
Since Mr. FG works second shift, we eat our dinner meal at noon during the week, and at night on the weekends. And our lunch meal happens at night during the week and at noon on the weekends.
We do eat breakfast in the morning, though, all week long!
Breakfast options are homemade yogurt, granola, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, fruit, and cereal.
Lunches will be comprised of sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, homemade yogurt, yogurt smoothies, cottage cheese, fruit, raw veggies, nuts, cheese, and leftovers as necessary.
Here’s the dinner meal plan:
Saturday (we’re celebrating Sonia’s birthday, so she chose all the things we’re eating!)
- Shrimp and Ravioli in Pink Sauce
- Turtle rolls
- Jello
- Cheese Puffs
- Chocolate Cake in the shape of a turtle
- Orange Sherbet
Sunday
- We’re having an extended family celebration for 6 birthdays. We seem to have a thing for February/March babies.
Monday
- Shrimp Taco Salad
- grapefruit halves
Tuesday
- Chicken/Bacon/Spinach Wraps (bumped from last week)
- Veggie Straws (like veggie chips but in the shape of french fries. And no, I didn’t make them!)
- fruit salad
Wednesday
- Parmesan-Crusted Chicken (I’ll try to remember to take pictures so I can share the recipe)
- Spinach Salad
- French Bread
Thursday
- Panini Sandwiches (I’ll make an extra loaf of French Bread on Wednesday to use for sandwiches)
Friday
- Pizza. I need to take a poll before deciding what kind!
Kristin M
Monday 5th of March 2012
i love panini's my mom got me a panini press-griddle combo 2 christmas's ago i absolutely adore it! whenever i have a few odds and ends cold cuts/cheeses/b-fast items or grilled veggies i break out the panini press.. however i usually use store bought breads since i havent gotten around and tried your french bread recipe yet. :) on my to-do list ;)
Leah
Monday 5th of March 2012
That pannini sounds sooo yummy :) Would love to hear about other pannini recipes you guys use often. We get a pannini grill for Christmas and it. is. awesome!
Also, my husband took me out of for a birthday lunch on Saturday. I ordered the "shrimp flatbread" which was really like a mini pizza, but a little different. It had shrimp, mozzarella cheese, and fresh chopped tomatoes and onions instead of sauce. It had some kind of herbs as well and let me tell you... it was SO GOOD. It made me think of you, since you often make pizza and buy shrimp! Might be worth a try sometime :)
April
Monday 5th of March 2012
One of the stores in the city has a number system. Each cart has a number on it and the clerk puts your cart number on the receipt. Then leave your groceries in, and go get your car (unless you want to take them out with you). You pull up under the covered area and show your receipt with your cart number and they load it for you. I used it once when it was pouring and it was nice.
Julie
Monday 5th of March 2012
H- wow....I am stunned. Absolutely appalling attitude. Kristen, I hope you don't take any of this to heart. It's not worth the time and energy from such a negative person. Julie ps - I take my whole family shopping all the time. I like it. :-)
Robin
Sunday 4th of March 2012
Wow, I don't usually read the comments on posts like this (i.e., the regular features like menu planning or food waste), but I saw your tweet about trolls, so I had to come check it out. I've been a frequent reader for a while and I just want to say that I think The Frugal Girl is an awesome blog, I love your ideas, and I think you do a great job of facilitating a constructive and supportive exchange about frugality and sensible living. Keep up the good work! I especially look forward to reading about more "crazy" exploits like staying dry in a downpour. ;-)