A friend of mine asked me how I am able to keep our grocery bills under $100 so I am hoping to update this blog more regularly so she can see how I'm doing it.
For this week, I checked my
refrigerator, freezer, and pantry to see what I have already. I found lots of ice cream, a bag of frozen chicken thighs, a bag of frozen tilapia, frozen edamame, frozen artichoke hearts, frozen corn, broccoii, cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes, red pepper, lettuce, spaghetti, prego sauce, champagne salad dressing, balsamic dressing, and rice.
When I make my menu, I also consider what
activities we have that week and what items are
in season (ie, on sale at the store). So with all that in mind, here is what I came up with for this week:
- Sunday (today) - Savory Chicken and Rice (recipe posted separately; check under labels on the right), Wedge Salad (Cut up Iceberg Lettuce into wedges, rinse, and dry. Then drizzle each wedge with Ranch dressing.), Edamame, Fruit and Icre cream for dessert
- Monday (baseball practice so need something quick!) - Baked Tilapia (fish with butter and tony cacheres; cooks in 15 minutes), white rice, steamed artichoke hearts, grapes, carrots
- Tuesday - Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup (this makes a big batch so we have some for tomorrow), French Bread, Romaine Salad (Cut up Romaine Lettuce enough for two nights, Shaved Parmesan Cheese, store-bought Champagne Dressing), apple slices
- Wednesday (baseball practice so leftovers are good) - Leftovers
- Thursday (soccer practice so need something quick again!) - Spaghetti, Italian Salad (Romaine Lettuce, Cucumbers, Carrots, Tomatoes, store-bought Italian Dressing or Balsamic Dressing), pineapple slices
- Friday (we get home late because of activities at school) - Make-Your-Own Pizza night (bagels, olive oil, prego sauce, shredded mozzarela, pizza toppings)
- Saturday - Friend's birthday dinner out (will bring wine and salad)
Given that I had all those staples already in the house, my grocery list is smaller. I usually keep a list on the refrigerator to write down items the minute we find we are out of them. This week I discovered I am out of garlic salt and tabasco sauce! Since these are staples in our house, it has to go on this week's list.
I also check the pantry/fridge for kid snacks (hummus, pretzels, granola bars, veggie chips, cheese sticks, etc.), and stuff to make for breakfast (OJ, breakfast tacos, bagels, cereal, waffles, bacon, etc.) or to pack lunches (bread, ham, pb and j, applesauce, raisins, carrots, etc.).
Finally, I make my list by store aisle. It's easier to remember items this way. Here is the whole grocery list for this week:
Produce: Strawberries (4), Grapes (4), Pineapple (4) (or whatever is on sale), Bananas (4), Carrots (2), Potatoes(2), bulk Mushrooms (1), Romaine Lettuce (3.96 for six hearts!) - $29
Breads: 100% Whole Wheat Bread (2), HEB Flour Tortillas (4), HEB Mini Bagels (3), French Bread (2) -$11
Deli: Danish Ham (1/2 lb.) (3), Turkey (1 lb.) (5), Mozzarela Sticks (5), Shredded Mozzarela (3), Bacon (4) - $16
Cereals/Dry Goods: Garlic Salt (3), Tabasco Sauce (2), Prego Sauce (2) (1 more bottle for pizza night), cereal bars (2), granola bars (2), veggie chips (2), (as a treat for my son, every now and then I surprise him with his favorite fruit juice - V8 Strawberry Banana Fusion (3)) - $16
Dairy: OJ (3), Milk - 2 Gals. (8), Eggs(2) , Creamer (3), Cream Cheese (1) -$16
Frozen: Pretzels (2) (also a treat for my son) - $2
Wine/Beer: Yellow Tail Cauvernet Sauvignon (6) - $6
Total Estimated Bill for this week: $96
Then I go back through the list and estimate how much each item is going to cost (number in parentheses after each item in list above) and sum it all up. This week, we are just on target. If it comes to over $100, then I have to shave something non-essential off the list and get it next week. That's what it means to live on a budget, right? :)
The most important thing is to not forget your list when you go to the store (and not to add impulse items) !!!
Hope you found this helpful!
Provecho.
