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.
Since my last shopping trip got postponed so long, I was actually due to shop again this week (normally I shop every two weeks).
I spent $62.48 at Aldi, $48.41 at Weis, and $18 at the organic store (for packaging-free chicken and organic snow peas). So, my total is $128.29.
I would just like to say that chicken breasts were on sale for $1.79/lb at Weis this week and I resisted the temptation to buy them and instead bought the happy, local chicken at the organic store. For $5.99/pound.
I would also like to say that the employees at the organic store have a difficult time figuring out how to deduct the price of my glass container, and I almost always have to help them figure out the math. Oh dear.
I assume this means that not very many people are bringing their own containers, which is weird. Usually people who eat organic food are also interested in being green. And hello! Opportunities to buy packaging-free chicken are few and far between, so I would think people would take advantage of it instead of putting their chicken in plastic bags.
As I mentioned, I bought chicken and snow peas this last trip, and the cashier was about to put my snow peas into a plastic shopping bag. I figure she probably was doing it out of habit instead of thinking about it.
Because if she’d thought about it, I’m sure she’d have figured out that people who bring glass containers for their chicken probably don’t want a plastic shopping bag for their small bag of peas! 😉
Oh, I have a picture this week. With stuffed animals, even.
In fact, there may be more stuffed animals than groceries in this particular photo. My kids love adding their animals…”They will all be famous!”.
My budget does include breakfast and lunches, but I don’t usually plan those. For breakfast, we have Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, muffins, yogurt, toast, oranges, and cereal. Lunches are usually sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, and leftovers as necessary.
Here’s what we’re eating for dinner this week!
Saturday
- Deep Dish Pizza
- maybe a green salad if I am feeling virtuous
Sunday
- Snacky stuff since Mr. FG and Joshua will be watching the Super Bowl (the girls will join them for the sole purpose of eating snacky food)
Monday
- Parmesan Chicken Cutlets (made with happy, local chicken)
- Garlic Breadsticks
- green salad
Tuesday
- Mr. FG and Joshua will be at an actual hockey game (we gave tickets to Joshua for Christmas), so the girls and I will eat something super-duper simple. I’m just not sure what yet!
Wednesday
- Chicken Tacos (the chicken, it is local and happy)
- fruit salad
- tortilla chips and salsa
Thursday
- BBQ Beef Brisket (made with local beef)
- potato cubes
- green salad
Friday
- Takeout date night for Mr. FG and me, something easy for the kiddos
Today’s 365 post: I spy…
Joshua’s 365 post: Why I am happy right now
K.
Thursday 10th of February 2011
Hi Kristen, I love, love your blog. It's been a great blessing to me with the baking tips, parenting comments, grocery information and everything else! I have a question for you: What do your kids eat for snacks during the day? And does your family eat ice cream or just what you make in terms of goodies? Thank you ahead of time :)!! Have a terrific day!
Elizabeth L.
Monday 7th of February 2011
I would not have the strength to resist $1.79 a pound chicken. That, to me, would be happy chicken because it was cheap chicken! lol
But good for you for sticking to your principals and buying that ridiculously expensive happy chicken. :)
Amber @ SiMoneySavers
Monday 7th of February 2011
Your menu looks delicious! :)
Jennifer @ Milk & Honey Mommy
Sunday 6th of February 2011
Kristen,
Your bounty looks absolutely yummy. Wow! Glass container. I'm doing well remembering my reusable bags, which I still often forget. To punish myself, I usually just have them put everything back into the cart and I bag them in the car or carry everything into my house making several trips when I get home.
michele
Sunday 6th of February 2011
kristen,
i just love the pictures of your groceries...they and your baked good pictures are the two highlights of your blog in my opinion. i love the groceries because they are so colorful and the baked goods because they look so yummy! i particularly liked the photos of the cherry rolls you had a couple of weeks ago.
i don't do much of the shopping here and even if i did i never lay them all out once i am home. i am disabled and my movement is limited and my biggest challenge is one getting the stuff from the store home and them putting it away as fast as possible! believe it or not, i have found grocery shopping so challenging in the past that i actually counted the number of times i lifted a product before it was home in my pantry...my disability is depression which also explains why the colorful grocery items are pleasing to my eye.
also the pictures of your kids are fantastic! what can i say, you are a good photographer!