Groceries • Purposely Frugal • Page 3

Groceries & Menu

Oct 242011

I love the bulk section at HEB!

At HEB this week I spent $70.27 and saved $11.52 by:

Saved $2.98 by purchasing generic brand
Saved $8.54 by purchasing sale items. All the fresh produce except the lemons, the yogurt and sandwich meat were on sale. We also found some granola bars on the clearance shelf. Only $2 for a pack of 24 bars!! We bought all six boxes, so have plenty of granola bars for a while!

We also went to Sam’s and bought about $65 worth of food. Sorry I don’t have a picture of all my groceries this week. I took one, but somehow ended up deleting it.

Here’s this week’s menu. I’m keeping it pretty easy as 3 days this week I’ll be babysitting all day.

Breakfasts: Toast, eggs, smoothies, oatmeal, granola bars, yogurt and crepes. We had breakfast last Saturday at Ihop and I had this delicious crepe topped with fresh fruit, granola and yogurt, so this Saturday I’m going to try to make some for our breakfast. I hope they turn out as good as Ihop’s. I’ve never made crepes before.

The clearance granola bars!

Lunches: Leftovers, sandwiches,

Suppers:

Chicken and rice soup (bumped from last week) with multi-grain saltines
Egg salad sandwiches (also bumped from last week), sweet potatoes
Chicken quesadillas, chips and salsa
Pizza bagels, salad
Salad topped with chicken and hard boiled eggs and this salad dressing
Bean burritos, fruit and/or veggie sticks, and chips and salsa
Leftovers

I’m trying to do more freezer cooking. Last week I made a big batch of chili and now have 3 bags of it in the freezer for future use. What do you like to cook and freeze? I need some ideas!

Groceries & Menu – I Used Lots of Coupons!

Groceries, Menu 1 Response »

Sep 302011

Out of the $72.47 that I spent at HEB I saved $12.06! Woo hoo!

HEB and Albertsons Groceries

Saved $4.34 buying generic brand
Saved $1.72 buying sale items
And saved $6.00 using coupons! If you read my grocery posts, you know I don’t use coupons all that much. But yesterday was my coupon record! I used a few in-store coupons, 1 HEB coupon I got from their free magazine, and a Suave body wash coupon I got with my free suave samples.

At Albertsons I bought ground beef, grapes, cucumbers, and asparagus all on sale except the cucumbers. It cost $29.49, it would have been $10.92 more if I had bought the items not on sale.

And I went to Sam’s Club, but can’t seem to find my receipt. I think I spent between $30-$40. I bought sharp cheddar cheese, mozzarella, bread and milk.

Here’s my 2 week menu plan:

Breakfasts: Oatmeal, toast, eggs, smoothies, power pucks

Lunches: Sandwiches or leftovers with fruit, veggies, chips and salsa, etc…

Suppers:

Bagel Pizzas (I’m working on calculating up the cost to see if it’s a lot cheaper than ordering pizza, if the results are good I’ll share them) UPDATE: Here’s the price comparison!
Stir fry
Bean burritos and chips and salsa
Pepperoni pasta bake and steamed asparagus
Egg salad sandwiches and baked sweet potatoes
Chicken fajita burritos with chips and salsa
Spaghetti and meatballs (thinking about trying crock-pot meatballs) and cucumber tomato salad
Reuben sandwiches (I totally forgot to buy the thousand island dressing and swiss cheese, so I’ll either have to go to the store or improvise, anybody out there have a good thousand island dressing recipe?) and steamed asparagus
White chili (and I’ll top it with tortilla chip crumbs)*
Crock-pot potato casserole
Leftovers

*Another great way to use up those tortilla chip crumbs is to use them in meatloaf.

Groceries/Menu Plus a Funny Flip-Flop Story

Groceries, Menu 2 Responses »

Aug 292011

I went and did my first September grocery shopping Saturday (even though it’s still August, I’m counting the cost in our September budget). While at HEB my right flip-flop broke, so I scooted my foot around the store trying to keep my sandal on. I thought I’d just buy a new pair while I was there, but the only ones I could find were Texas Tech and Texas Long Horn ones (and I’m not really a sports fan). I didn’t really want to spend $8 on a pair of flip-flops I didn’t even like, then I turned around and there was tape for 98 cents! I could just buy some tape and tape up my flip-flop, that’d be cheaper than $8 and I could use the tape later for other stuff. After buying my groceries and shuffling out to the car I taped up my sandal and headed to Albertsons…well in Albertsons my amazing shoe repair failed me. I re-taped it once I got back out to the car.

“If I can just tape it enough for it to hold at Sam’s club I’ll be good to go”, I thought. Well I didn’t even make it into Sam’s, it broke in the car before I even got my door open. So I decided to give up and just go home, after all I only needed a couple of things at Sam’s and they could wait.

But what was really funny was when I was checking out at HEB a coupon printed out with my receipt…a coupon for Pay Less Shoes!! It was like the machine knew I needed a new pair! So later that day I went and bought a new pair of sandals with the coupon…and they’re much cuter than the football ones.

Okay…enough of my humiliating flip-flop saga and on with the groceries!

At HEB I spent $69.38 ($53.23 on food and $16.15 on non-food). And here’s how I saved:

Saved $1.85 by buying generic brands
Saved $2.06 by buying on sale items
Saved $3.00 with coupons (in-store toilet paper coupon and 2 V8 coupons I printed out)

At Albertson’s I spent $17.15.

Saved $9.75 by buying sale items

So my total food groceries is $70.38.

Here’s my 2 week menu plan:

Breakfasts: Oatmeal, toast, yogurt, fruit, smoothies or eggs

Lunches: Sandwiches or leftovers with veggies and dip, fruit, trail mix, cheese, juice, etc…

Suppers:

BBQ chicken, salad and corn on the cob
Chicken Tortilla Soup (recipe coming!) salsa and chips
Stir fry
Bean burritos, chips and salsa and cantaloupe
Salmon patty sandwiches, steamed carrots and corn on the cob
Taco potatoes and sautéed zucchini
Fried egg sandwiches and fruit and maybe homemade oven fries if I feel like it
Ranch style beans topped with cheese and crackers, and sweet potatoes
Giso (rice, chicken and potato dish) and salad
Leftovers a few times

And if you noticed the fabric softener in the picture, I used that to make my own Febreeze!! It was the first time in my life that I’ve ever bought fabric softener. I’m gonna share the directions for the homemade Febreeze tomorrow, but if you can’t wait, check it out at Fake-it-Frugal where I got the idea! Someone on my facebook page suggested using scented oil instead of the fabric softener to make it more natural, I may try that sometime too.

Groceries & Menu

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Aug 152011

If my grocery picture doesn’t look like too much, it’s because I ended up going to the store last week and bought quite a bit. And we’re over my $250 a month goal for groceries. But I’m okay with that. For one thing that was just an amount I set as a goal I want to stay close too. And Cameron and I have been talking about health a lot lately, and if we’re over our grocery budget a little bit because I bought healthy things I don’t mind that much.

So here’s how I saved at HEB this week:

Saved $4.88 by buying generic brand
Saved $1.28 by buying on sale items (I stocked up on Tabasco since it was on sale)

My total at HEB was $45.60.

And I went to Albertsons too and was really disappointed because I mainly went to get a couple of whole chickens on sale for 69 cents a pound, but they were all out. But I already have my menu planned with chicken, so I guess I’ll have to go and get some this week. Maybe I’ll be able to find some “Reduced for Quick Sale” at Sam’s Club. But on the positive side I did get 2 loaves of day old bread for 99 cents (originally priced at $2.99)! And I bought some cucumbers bring my Albertson’s total up to $4.95.

Here’s my 2 week menu plan:

Breakfast: Yogurt with strawberries, smoothies, toast, oatmeal and eggs

Lunches: Sandwiches and leftovers

Suppers:

Chicken tortilla soup. We got some rain and cooler weather (meaning it’s not int he 100′s) so I’m in the mood for soup!
Black beans and rice, veggie sticks and dip
Burritos with leftover black beans and rice, fresh salsa and chips
Baked potatoes topped with taco meat, cheese and sour cream and fruit on the side
Stir fry
Chicken quesadillas with black bean salsa and chips
Grilled cheese sandwiches, steamed broccoli and fruit
Shepherd’s pie, veggie sticks and dip
Nachos with bean dip and fresh salsa
Leftovers

Groceries/Menu – A Couch Full

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Aug 012011

An overflowing couch of groceries!

As I put all of my groceries on the couch for this picture, and I almost ran out of room on the couch, I was reminded how blessed I am to not only have plenty to eat and feed my little family, but also to be able to have such a big variety! It’s so easy to forget how much I have.

Anyways…on with the groceries. I went to HEB and saved $9.81 (by “saved” what I really mean is spent less than the original price, because I did have to SPEND in order to “save” that amount).

Saved $5.54 by buying generic brand
Saved $.27 by buying on sale items
Saved $4.00 by using in store coupons

At Albetsons I only bought a few things, all sale items (except the bananas, which right afterwards I saw they were cheaper at HEB, guess I need to finish my price book and carry it with me so I’ll know better next time). I saved $4.99 by buying sale items at Albertson’s.

I also went to Sam’s Club and bought some things. I was hoping I’d find some “Reduce for Quick Sale” hamburger meat, but didn’t. So I just bought it at full price.

My total for everything was $129.29.

$11.50 for toilet paper and some cleaning supplies.

$117.79 for food groceries, which I’m VERY pleased with! I tend to go crazy with my groceries the first trip of the month then leave only a little for the rest of the month, but I didn’t even spend half of my $250 a month goal! And I feel like I got lots of healthy food!

Here’s my 2 week menu plan:

Breakfasts: oatmeal, peanut butter granola (if I get around to making it), toast, eggs, smoothies, peanut butter power pucks

Gracia drinking a chai tea smoothie

Snacks: fruit, popcorn, trail mix, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt popsicles (just yogurt poured into popsicle molds and frozen)

My helper making trail mix with me

Lunches: Sandwiches (chicken, pbj, cheese or egg salad), bean burritos, chicken pasta salad, leftovers

Suppers:

Giso and Sopa Paraguaya – Giso is a very common meal eaten in Paraguay, it can be made with rice or noodles, but my favorite way is with rice, hamburger meat and potatoes. Sopa Paraguaya is like a cornbread, but a lot better in my opinion. (I grew up in Paraguay as a missionary kid, hence this meal)
Roast (bumped from last week, this will probably last us for at least 3 meals)
Enchilada casserole, chips and salsa, sautéed zucchini
Pizza (I want to make enough to freeze some), veggies and dip
Stretched taco meat burritos, chips and fresh salsa, fruit
Taco salad with leftover taco meat
Grilled cheese sandwiches, steamed green beans
Chicken burgers, homemade oven fries and salad
Leftovers

Groceries and Menu

Groceries, Menu, Money saving meals, Money Saving Tips, Recipes 2 Responses »

Jul 192011

I didn’t take a picture of my groceries this week. But on the bright side I didn’t have to buy any meat (other than sandwich meat) because I have a roast, whole chicken and some chicken breasts in my freezer! Yay!

I saved $6.75 at HEB:

Saved $4.43 buying generic brand
Saved $1.82 buying on sale items (ketchup, sweet potatoes, zucchini) I don’t think this counts the 2 items I bought on clearance because the packaging was damaged. I got a pack of 8 juice boxes for $1 and 8 lbs of cat food for $6, oh how I love clearance items!
Saved $.50 with Tabasco coupon I printed off.

My total in food groceries at HEB was: $52.70

I also went to Sam’s. I got cheese, salad mix and olive oil. And I spent $40 renewing my membership, which I think should count towards my grocery bill. My total at Sam’s (counting renewing my membership) was: $69.60

So my grand total for food groceries was: $137.20 bringing my total for this month up to $280.70, a little higher than my $250 goal, but I did spend $40 renewing my Sam’s Club membership. Hopefully my groceries will last for the next two weeks with only a small trip to the grocery store if I need produce or milk.

Here’s my 2 week menu plan:

Breakfasts: Chocolate zucchini bread (Recipe coming tomorrow, it’s my favorite sweet bread!), oatmeal, toast, smoothies, eggs, bananas

Lunches: Sandwiches, leftovers, bean burritos

Suppers:

Ramen noodle stir fry
Chicken spaghetti with sweet potatoes on the side
Pizza with salad
Chicken burgers with homemade oven fries
Chicken pasta salad
Bean Burgers (I’ve made bean burgers before, but it’s been a long time and I’ve never tried this particular recipe)
Roast (remember how I got buy one get one free?)
Stew made from leftover roast and if feel like it I might make whole wheat bread or biscuits to go with this
Bean burritos with fresh salsa, chips and avocados
Chicken strips served over a salad
Leftovers

I have some brown rice leftover from last week. Any ideas on how I can use it? I’ve already wasted enough food this week, don’t want to waste more!

Groceries/Menu for Next 2 Weeks

Groceries, Menu, Money saving meals, Money Saving Tips, Uncategorized 4 Responses »

Jul 052011

HEB groceries $97.67

Here’s my groceries for the first 2 weeks of July. I went to HEB, Sam’s Club and Albertsons.

How I saved at HEB:

Saved $11.41 by buying generic brand

Saved $1.36 by buying on sale items

Saved $3.75 by using coupons (in store Tabasco coupon, in store, buy one get one half off make-up brushes, in store, buy Tostitos chips get HEB chips free, and a printed out Newman’s Own coupon)

My total at HEB was $97.67.

My Albertson’s trip I spent $38.20 and saved $31.38!!!! It was all done by buying on sale items. The 2 roasts were buy one get one free (perfect since Cameron requested a roast as his b-day meal). The chicken breasts, whole chicken, grapes, apples and corn were all on sale too.

It seems like HEB’s everyday prices are generally cheaper, but Albertsons has some great sales, especially in meat. So I’m trying to mostly shop at HEB and stop in at Albertsons for any great sales.

Sam's Club and Albertsons Groceries. Saved $31.38 at Albertsons!

And I spent $43.44 at Sam’s club.

My total in food groceries is: $143.50, leaving me with $106.50 for the rest of the month, which I think is do able, especially since I have 1 roast and 1 whole chicken in the freezer that I’m not even planning on using yet, so I can use them later in the month.

My total in non-food items is: $35.81, leaving me $4.19. I bought toilet paper, toothpaste, aluminum foil, laundry detergent and make-up brushes, I don’t think I’ll have to buy much more in this category this month.

Here’s what’s on the menu plan for the next 2 weeks:

Breakfasts: Granola, oatmeal, peanut butter power pucks, toast, smoothies, eggs

Lunches: Leftovers, sandwiches, burritos

Suppers:

Roast with carrots, potatoes, gravy and rolls (my mother-in-law brought the rolls). And whole wheat honey carrot cake for dessert. This was Cameron’s birthday meal.
Stew or pot pie made from leftover roast and rolls
Black bean quesadillas, fresh salsa and chips, grapes
Salad with hard boiled or deviled eggs, some sort of fruit
Chicken and brown rice made with homemade chicken broth and steamed broccoli
Stuffed peppers made with leftover brown rice and black beans, apples and cream cheese dip from Tammy’s Recipes
Chicken strips, corn on the cob, millet
Ramen noodle stir fry (if there’s any leftover millet, I’ll throw that in too)
Grilled cheese sandwiches (with slices of tomato in them if there’s any left), veggies and dip, mangoes
Chicken burger sandwiches, homemade oven fries, salad
Chicken quesadillas (with any leftover chicken), fresh salsa and chips, apples and dip
Leftovers

I’m realizing that planning my meals for 2 weeks, I don’t have to come up with 14 different main meals, between leftovers and eating out I don’t usually end up making every meal I plan.

June Grocery Challenge Results!

Groceries, Money Saving Tips 5 Responses »

Jul 042011

Happy 4th of July everyone!!

For the month of June I’ve been trying to keep my food groceries under $250. Here’s my results along with my non-food grocery results and eating out results for the month of June.

Food groceries:

goal $250

actually spent $253.10

Non-food groceries (shampoo, diapers for Gracia to sleep in, toilet paper, etc…)

goal $40
actually spent $36.79

Eating out (this counts any food bought at restaurants, convenient stores or gas stations)

goal $100
actually spent $119.87

I think I’m going to keep trying to keep our grocery bill around $250, which is exciting to me as I look back at my 2009 and 2010 records and see when we were spending $300-$360 on groceries! I think part of the change has been moving to a bigger town with more options for grocery stores. The town we were in before had pretty high grocery prices. And part of the change has also been the various strategies I’ve been trying to use to tackle our grocery budget.

I was actually under in the non-food groceries!

The eating out is the area I’m the least pleased with, because we went the most over in it and it’s an unnecessary thing. But when I look back at how much we’ve spent in months past in eating out it’s a lot less, so at least it’s an improvement!

Anybody else out there working on decreasing their grocery budget? How are you doing at it?

You CAN Afford to Eat Healthy!

Groceries 3 Responses »

Jun 232011

Exercise is a part of being healthy, but so is eating right. I’ve heard so many people say that they can’t afford healthy food. I won’t deny that some healthy foods are expensive, but there’s actually a lot of very affordable healthy foods out there. You may even find that you eat cheaper when you eat healthy.

Here’s a list of a few cheap and healthy foods (this is by no means all of them):

Oatmeal – Has iron and fiber. Costs $2.24 for a big thing of it that makes 30 servings! Or if you don’t like eating hot oatmeal you can make granola out of it.
Potatoes – Keep the skins on, that’s where most of the nutrients are and nothings wasted.
Beans – High in fiber and protein. And they’re not only way cheaper than meat, but also a lot lower in fat!
Lentils – These are not only cheap, but easy to cook. Unlike beans they don’t need to be soaked overnight.
Raisins – I love dried fruits, but most are expensive and some have added sugar. But raisins don’t have extra sugar and they are the cheapest dried fruit I can find.
Fruit and veggies – Buy in season, locally grown and on sale to get the most for your money. I find that things like carrots, bananas and apples seem to pretty much always be cheap.
Whole wheat bread – It usually doesn’t cost much, if any more, than white bread, or you can make your own.
Brown rice – it only costs a little more than white rice, but it goes a long way.
Whole Wheat Pasta – I’ve only cooked with this a few times, but you can get it pretty affordably.

Here’s some other tips:

A lot of regular grocery stores are carrying health food items, and it’s probably cheaper there than at a health food store, but compare prices to make sure.
You may be able to get some healthy foods cheaper at warehouse stores. The cheapest unit price I’ve found on honey is at Sam’s Club.
Eat the right sizes, if you eat too much it not only isn’t healthy, it also makes your grocery bill higher.
Skip the unnecessary and completely empty calories like soda and candy. There’s nothing healthy in it and the cost really adds up. Save that money to buy healthy food instead.
Cook from scratch. You have more control over what goes in, and don’t have to worry about all the preservatives that are in prepared foods. Plus it’s usually cheaper.

Groceries/Menu – June Challenge Update #2

Groceries, Menu, Uncategorized No Responses »

Jun 142011

HEB groceries

Here’s my second update on my June Challenge!

HEB

Here’s how I saved:

$2.96 by buying store brand
$13.20 by buying sale items (squash, grapes, mangoes, potatoes, canned tomatoes, shampoo and conditioner, and the energy teas were on the clearance shelf.)
$2.37 by using coupons (a Tabasco coupon I printed offline and an in-store coupon where I got a free loaf of HEB bread if I bought a loaf of Nature’s Own)

Total food groceries: $58.38

Total savings: $18.53

Albertsons

Albertsons was having a a good sale on boneless skinless chicken breasts ($1.69/lb.).

Total: $8.85

Total savings: $1.64

Sam’s

I got spinach, Parmesan cheese and reduced for quick sale hamburger meat.

And I bought cheese, spinach, eggs, carrots and tortilla chips as Sam’s earlier this month, but never got around to recording it on here.

Total from both trips: $50.34

Total saved: $2.39

So my total for groceries so far this month is: $189.86, which leaves me with $60.14, which doesn’t sound like a lot but the food I bought should last me for 2 weeks, so I think I’ll stay under this month! =)

And by using my grocery shopping strategies I saved $22.56 this week!

I haven’t tallied up my non-food groceries yet or eating out yet. Maybe I’ll post them at the end of the month.

Here’s our 2 week menu plan:

Breakfasts: Oatmeal, cream of wheat, toast, smoothies, eggs

Lunches: Leftovers, sandwiches (sandwich meat, chicken or pbj), bean burritos, leftovers

Suppers:

Salmon patties (these were on my last menu, but we never ended up having them)
Veggie soup and sandwiches (I have some broccoli stems in the freezer and some wilting celery I’ll use in this, among other vggies too)
Baked potatoes with chili (chili already made in freezer)
Black bean quesadillas
Chicken and brown rice
Taco meat burritos
Taco salad (with the leftover taco meat)
Meatloaf and potatoes (I’m going to try using corn tortilla chip crumbs in place of the regualr crumbs in the meatloaf…we always have so many chip crumbs in the bottom of the bag!)
Taco Meat
Chicken spiedies (this is a regional food from the area I was born. I’m going to make them as our Father’s Day meal).
Egg salad sandwiches
Bean burritos
Ramen noodle stirfry
Leftovers

Side Dishes: salad, veggies and dip, potatoes (fries, mashed potatoes), carrot raisin salad, chips and salsa, grapes, big soft ginger cookies , and one night we’re going to someone else’s house and I’m bringing dessert, I think I’ll make chocolate wacky cake with peanut butter icing.

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Groceries & Menu

Groceries & Menu – I Used Lots of Coupons!

Groceries/Menu Plus a Funny Flip-Flop Story

Groceries & Menu

Groceries/Menu – A Couch Full

Groceries and Menu

Groceries/Menu for Next 2 Weeks

June Grocery Challenge Results!

You CAN Afford to Eat Healthy!

Groceries/Menu – June Challenge Update #2

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