This morning, I did the near-unthinkable. I got up and out of the house before 7:30. While I do that (or try to) at least every day for work, today is Saturday. Friday night, I decided to make our meal plan and grocery list all by myself, and then, because I wanted to hit up two grocery stories to take advantage of the sale items, I figured it'd be better to get up super early and go when they first opened. C thought I was nuts, but since he did the meal planning and grocery list last week, he was happy to have a week off. Especially since I was going earlier than we did last week.
I got to the first store by 7:30. They open at 7, but the store was pretty dead. I was done and back in the car by 8:15. Was at the second store by 8:30; they open at 8 and the store was also not to busy. I only needed a few things there, so I was home just before 9. The best part? C was already up, and was in the garage before I finished pulling in the car. Hooray for help!
How'd I do this week?
Store 1
This group of items were purchased with store rewards (different from the cards on your keychain), so they were really good deals.
- 2.85# bananas for $1.54
- 1# deli ham $3.99
- 1# deli turkey $6.99
- 1/2 # slicing cheddar $3.00
- 1/2 # Swiss cheese slices $3.23
- ciabatta loaf for Sunday's dinner--FREE w/ store special
- half gallon of milk $1.98
- lite sour cream (2 @ $1.87) $3.74
- dozen eggs $2.89
- Aloutte (sp?) light $3.98
- breakfast sandwiches (2 boxes of 4 @ $6.59) $13.18*
- frozen muffin tops (2 boxes of 4 @ $4.69) $9.38
- small can sliced olives $1.49
- beef broth (6 @.86) $5.16
- refried beans $0.80
- potato chips $3.99
- bread (2 @ buy 1 get 1 free) $3.99
- salad dressing $3.49
- flour tortillas $2.99
- cranberry juice (2 @ $2.50) $5.00**
- V8 6 pack $4.99
- small can sliced jalapenos $0.89
- pasta (3 boxes @ $0.77) $2.31
- conditioner (2 bottles @ $0.99) $1.98***
- 2.72# pears $2.67
- 3# apples $3.99
- celery hearts (2 packages @ $2.28) $4.56
- strawberries (2 packages, buy 1 get 1 free) $4.99
- escarole $1.46
Obviously not everything I bought was on my list. I wasn't sure how much deli stuff I was going to buy, and the escarole was definitely an impulse purchase. I wanted to experiment! The pasta was a "grab a few boxes since they're on sale" type of buy. The V8 is for work--good for chugging while having a busy day.
*I'm not sure how healthy these things are but I don't eat them. They are for C's breakfast, since his habit of going to the neighborhood coffee shop or the bagel store near work is costing a lot of money. The frozen muffin tops are for me and are low calorie, low fat, etc.
**Anyone want cranberry juice? Guess who forgot what we bought last week...we have PLENTY now.
***It's a hard and fast rule in our house that we never buy health, beauty, pet or paper items at the grocery store. BUT...the conditioner was cheaper than it is at CVS.
Store 2 (also, all bold items are store brands and italics are things that were on sale):
- giardeniera $2.39
- marinated eggplant $1.99
- local soda still made with real sugar, we buy a few bottles when we shop here as a treat (3 @ $1.05) $3.15
- 1# American cheese $5.87
- flatbreads (more like authentic Greek pitas; 2 packages @ $2.49) $4.98
- 2.82# broccoli $2.79 (was $0.99/lb--haven't seen it so cheap in a long time!
- 2# baby carrots $3.00
- cucumbers (4 @ $0.69) $2.76
- 2.64# green grapes $5.25
- romaine (2 heads @ $1.29) $2.58
- grape tomatoes (2 pints @ $1.49) $2.98
When I went to this store, I had planned on only getting the produce and the cheese. But I do love my giardeniera and I wanted to surprise C with the soda. Plus, we're always on the lookout for these pitas and now we have dinner for Friday!
GRAND TOTAL $146.71
Honestly I'm very pleased with what I was able to buy for this amount. Granted, there is no meat/poultry/fish, but that's OK. Lunches and breakfasts are taken care of for at least a week, if not more. There's plenty of good, healthy food with all of the produce. Bread is in the freezer for later on, the accidental over purchase of juice is on the dining room floor. Bought everything necessary for this week's dinners, so no mid-week trips to the store in a rush after work. Now, can we finish it all before it goes bad? This is something I still struggle with, even after not really shopping with my mom for food in over 10 years: how to buy for TWO PEOPLE, not four. I'm sure I'll figure it out, oh, right about the time when my future kids will be eating adult portions of food ;-)
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