Grocery Shopping

OK I promise I will blog about my kids again soon, but just hang in there for one more post about food and how things go here in our house.

At the beginning of the year I was on a mission to keep our grocery budget down below $250 a week (really I would like less than that to be honest). That is when I decided to try the non-processed foods again. Not only were the foods better for us but I spent WAY less money at the grocery store when I bought fresh fruits and veggies. So This week I thought I would show you, in case you don't believe me. I used to think eating healthier better foods was more expensive but I was wrong. Eating processed premade foods is MUCH more expensive.

I had this all figured out and ready to go for Monday and then realized the kids were out of school. I wasn't going to let that stop me so I did all this with 3 kids tagging along too.  Plus I read EVERY label that goes into our basket to check and make sure it's free of all nuts. If I can do this so can you! :)

Ok here goes:
 We shop the produce section first and load up on all kinds of veggies and fruit. If I have no clue how to cook it I google it or call my brother-in-law.
After the produce we hit the organic section and get our cereal, juice, pasta, sauces, coconut oil, coconut milk, chips and some fruit leathers for the kids. I wish we had a better store like Trader Joe's close by but we work with what we got.

After the organic section we do go up and down every aisle but that is only because our grocery store has things organized in the craziest way. The only thing we get from the middle of the store is baking stuff, dried beans and rice, and a few other things. the rest comes from the outer part of the store.

As we got to the check out I was sweating it thinking we had spent way over what I wanted to spend.

I was very happy to find out that my total came to $213 and we left pushing two baskets of groceries out to the van.

 

So what did we get for all that money? Here it is:

 ~3 gallons of 2% milk

~ 8pound bag of oranges

~ 10 pound bag of potatoes

~ 24 count small water for the kids lunches

~5 pound whole chicken

~ 5 fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts

~napkins, pull-ups, deodorant, ziploc bags, laundry detergent

~ brown sugar

~Whole wheat tortillas (these are still filled with tons of artificial junk but I chose convenience over spending time making my own)

~Triscuits 

 ~ 1 pineapple

~ 1 bunch of bananas

~ parsnips

~turnips

~ Jalapenos

~carrots

~celery

~broccoli

~ cilantro

~fresh ginger

~ lettuce

~ 8 bell peppers

~2 onions

~limes

~8 apples

 ~organic apple juice

~organic fruit leathers

~ couscous (wish our grocery carried whole grain couscous) 

~ organic whole wheat spaghetti noodles 

~dried pinto beans

~ whole wheat bread (since I can't seem to get mine right in the bread machine) 

~raisins

~ Organic diced tomatoes 

~ 2 dozen cage free large brown eggs

~ organic whole grain quick oats 

~ 2 cans organic coconut milk

~ 2 bags of Terra chips (these are so yummy) 

~ Sea Salt Kettle chips

 ~ tons of frozen veggies. (I stock up when they are 10 for $10 and it's nice having the big freezer to store them in.)

~ 4 blocks of sharp cheddar cheese (it's cheaper and better to buy blocks and grate it yourself) 

~ 2 blocks of Monterrey Jack cheese

~ 1 pound of real unsalted butter

~ string cheese

~sour cream

~ cream cheese

~ 3 bags of frozen tropical fruit 

~ 1 big bag of mixed frozen fruit

And that is it! Even though some things are much more expensive to buy organic I still end up spending lots less buying the food that as 5 ingredients or less and things I can pronounce. Again the only exceptions to this rule were the tortillas and whole wheat bread, both I can make myself but chose convenience this week.

After we got home I peeled and cored the apples and put them in the crock pot to make homemade applesauce. It smells so GOOD when it's cooking.

Did you know:
** You can buy fresh ginger (looks like a root) peel it, put it in a freezer bag and it will last for a LONG time. One root cost me .80 cents and will probably last me a good 6 months to a year. You can just pull it out of the freezer grate it frozen and then put it back in the freezer

** You can buy plain popcorn kernels, place 1/4 cup in a brown paper bag and pop them in the microwave. Then add 1 TBSP melted butter and salt to taste and you have some YUMMY popcorn without all the added artificial junk.

** Smoothies made with coconut milk (in the can not in a half gallon) takes a smoothie to a whole new level. It is so yummy and tastes tropical. Try this 1 banana, 1 cup of fresh pineapple and about 1 cup of coconut milk (make sure you shake it really good before using because it does separate). Blend it up really good and you have one YUMMY tropical smoothie!!