Groceries

I was talking with a friend the other day about coupons. Ive never gotten much into coupons--they just don't fit how I shop. I tend to get basics at Aldi, which doesn't accept coupons, and produce at Randazzo's. Yes, I get meat and other "special" things at Meijer (brand name things and ethnic stuff, mostly), and coupons would work there. But catching a sale on something you have a coupon for seems to me like making an extra trip. Also, when I see coupons, they mostly seem to be for packaged stuff which I don't usually get anyway.

But I was curious. I have in the back of my head that I generally spend between $50 and $100 per week on groceries. I checked the bank records and found that in January, I spent $212 on groceries. That sounds impressive until you realize two things:

1. I already had a lot of meat in the freezer.
2. Our "dining out" totals for January were about the same amount

Oy. Now, a lot of that can be laid at the door of drive through food for breakfast & lunch for Jeff, and I've asked him what I can do to help him reduce that number. He's got oatmeal at work that he can make for breakfast, and he's always good about taking leftovers for lunch. The issue is when there are no leftovers.  So I need to stay more on top of making sure he has a lunch.

I don't like to send packaged food with him, mostly because of the sodium. Also, those things tend to be pricey for the amount of food you get. It's still cheaper and healthier than a Wendy's double cheeseburger & fries, though, so maybe I should rethink that as a backup.

I went shopping today, stopping at Kroger so I could get pot roast. I also picked up a slab or salmon for $8--we'll see how that goes. The kids haven't cared for salmon in the past, but I want to give it another try. If they don't like it, I'll just have leftovers for lunch all week, which won't bother me a bit. Total spent:  $18

Then I stopped at Aldi to stock up. We were out of milk and eggs, almost out of cereal, etc. I also got a few "splurge" items, like French Bread Pizza and Pringles. Add to that bratwurst for Superbowl Sunday and Italian sausage for spaghetti and then minestrone soup, and cheese & crackers and peanuts for snacking. Total spent: $58

Last stop at Randazzo's to get kale (which they didn't have!) and apples. They also had a great deal on red & yellow peppers, so I got a couple of those. A can of chickpeas (minestrone soup) and some green beans finished it up. Total spent: $5

So that's $80 in groceries so far this month. I'm going to keep a close eye on things and see if I can keep the "dining" part of the bill lower. Dinners planned for this week include spaghetti, homemade pizza, minestrone soup, pot roast, and Curry Cauliflower & Butternut Squash (review coming soon).

A Story Problem

If gas is $4.20/gallon, is it cheaper to go to Aldi for flour, sugar, eggs & other staples, Randazzo's for fruits & vegetables, and Meijer for meat, Old Bay seasoning, and other miscellaneous things that I can't get at the other two, or should I make one trip to Meijer and grumble about how things are cheaper elsewhere?

My preference would be to hit Aldi & Randazzo's--less than a mile apart--and leave Meijer out of it altogether, but that might not be an option. There's also a smaller grocery store that frequently has good deals on meat, but it's about as far away as Meijer, so the gas issue remains.

This story problem obviously doesn't give us enough information. I need to plan our week's meals and make a grocery list first.

2nd Grocery Bill

I didn't intend to go grocery shopping again so soon, but Randazzo's had colored peppers on sale for 69 cents a pound. That is crazy cheap, and a friend asked me to pick a couple up for her as well, so I ran in. I ended up getting 6 peppers, 2 lemons, a head of broccoli, some fresh ginger, a jar of honey, some Nona bread, and a dozen eggs. $10.55. I'm happy with that, and it brings my total for the month $30.62.

Tonight's dinner is peach pork chops with broccoli and rice, and I'll cook up some egg rolls from the freezer. Sarah requested biscuits & gravy, so I'll do that tomorrow. We still have some $10 Applebee's cards--maybe that will be lunch after church on Sunday, and we'll have a light dinner. Next week, I'm planning on pot roast one day; thinking of French Dip sandwiches as a leftover from that. Also, ham & bean soup. Gonna have to get to that bread at some point.

Lauren's mild fever kept hanging on all week, getting as high as 103 yesterday. Saw the pediatrician this morning, and she's had her first dose of Amoxycillin already. though of course she still doesn't feel great.

1st Bill

We ran to Aldi to pick up a few things yesterday, and even though I did pick up some splurge items, we made it out for $20.07. For that, we got:

• an individual pack of sunflower seeds (eaten by me and Sarah during lunch at CC today),
  
• a gallon of milk,
  
• a box of frozen french toast sticks,
  
• a box of individual bags of chocolate covered pretzel rings--100 calories per box (this is something I am certain I can make on my own, though portion control will be a big factor),
  
• a box of couscous,
  
• a package of three romaine hearts,
• a couple pounds of red grapes,
  
• brown sugar,
  
• two frozen pizzas (having them in the freezer means Jeff is less likely to go out to satisfy late night munchies),
  
• a bag of flour,
  
• a bag of Golden Delicious apples.

I haven't started any bread yet--yesterday got away from me, and we were at CC today. Well, Sarah & I were. Lauren had a 100.6 fever (NOT 106, as two people misheard me; guess I need to enunciate better!), so Jeff stayed home from work with her. She's doing better now, though she says her throat is still sore.

Tonight's goal is to eat leftovers and start some bread, which I can finish tomorrow. Don't have a plan for tomorrow's dinner yet.