2016 Groceries Week 8 - $84.23

This week was a jumbled mess.  My dad had a stroke on Monday and I hightailed it out of town.  My awesome held down the fort and not a lot of shopping was done, but a bit.

This trip to Fred Meyer Monday was fortuitous.  There was a bunch of gluten-free items in the clearance bin I was able to snap up at bargain prices.  This allowed DH to make sandwiches and for DD#2 to have treats with her sisters.  It just made things easy for DH.  I spent $25.10 on 3 loaves of Udi's bread, a package of Udi's buns, 2 packages of Udi's muffins, 2 packages of turkey lunchmeat, some vegetable oil, and a clearance package of cheesy bagels.

When I was out of town at the hospital with my dad, DH took the girls shopping to buy hamburger buns, hot dog buns, 2# brick of monterey jack cheese, a 8 oz. brick of cheddar cheese and regular milk.  He couldn't find his receipt but I'm figuring about $20 because he'd buy the cheapest of all available items and he said the jack cheese was on sale.

I was home one day last week to take the kids to co-op and for DH to teach his college class.  I went to QFC to pick up barbeque sauce for DH and found all sorts of clearance deals including donuts for $3.99, coconut milk yogurt cups for $0.50 each, organic whole milk yogurt tubs for $1.00 each, 6-packs of Skinny Cow chocolate bars for $1.24 each, turkey sausage links for $1.49/pack, naan for $1.29, and organic greek yogurt cups for $0.50,  Cereal was 3/$5 and organic baby food jars were $.29 each.  In total I spent $38.63.

DH and I were able to have a short date this weekend and one of our stops was a little grocery store where we just browsed.  We ended up buying a little bottle of dried basil for $0.50.  I can't find basil at Costco anymore, so I went ahead and bought it.

In all we spent $84.23 this week.
2016 Year-to-date total: $1,014.89
Weekly Average: $126.86

This is more than twice my weekly average last year at this point.  Ouch.

Katie

2016 Groceries Week 7 - $346.65

Oh boy, I am racking up the grocery spending and my pantry and freezer are bulging.  I'm due for some serious low spending weeks.

My first shopping trip this week was at QFC.  I usually find good dairy deals at this QFC and I was hoping for some soy yogurt for DD#2 who is off dairy for a trial.  I didn't find DF yogurt, but I did find some great dairy deals including squeezy tubes for $0.99/box, a big tub of yami for $1.79, Greek yogurt cups for $0.69 each and organic cottage cheese for just $0.49 each.  I would have bought more, but the best buy date was 8 days out and I figured we couldn't eat more than 8 tubs while it was still good.  I also found some Mars mini-candies for $0.99/package so I decided it was cheap enough to let my kids give their friends some for Valentine's day.  I also found Freedent gum for $0.09/pack, some organic dressing for $2.99, slivered almonds for $1.29, gluten-free cereal bars for $3.39, gluten-free bread crumbs for $2.69, and a bag of Doritos for $2.50.  I spent $31.72.

A girlfriend shared this produce with me because she was leaving town and wouldn't be able to use it.

On Tuesday we had a big shopping trip to Costco.  I cannot even believe how much I spent.  $191.24!!  I got lots of stuff in large packages: organic olive oil, Indian simmer sauces, cheddar cheese, organic quinoa, organic brown rice, organic string cheese, organic garlic, fruit leather, rice crackers, cumin, chili powder, eggs, organic peanut butter, butter, almonds, organic tortilla chips, granola, and organic chicken thighs.

We also went to The Dollar Store Tuesday.  I spent $6 on 4 packages of pepperoni, a pound of red beans, and 3/$1 baby food.

I went to Fred Meyer Saturday to get creamer that was on sale and some vegetable oil for our favorite zucchini bread.  I also bought cereal, oranges, ice cream, and organic potatoes that were on sale.  I try to keep 'easy food' on hand for DH to feed the kids so I picked up corn dogs and chicken nuggets.  I also found an organic chicken on clearance for $1.89/lb, two loaves of organic bread on clearance for $1.99 each, and a pound of organic ground beef for $4.99.  I bought an organic zucchini for our favorite stew and some sorbet for DD#2 while the rest of us have ice cream.  I spent $59.84.

I stopped into QFC tonight to buy the vegetable oil I forgot at Fred Meyer yesterday.  I found 4 packages of formula for $7.49 each in the clearance bin!  Yay!  I'm fast using up all the formula I found on clearance last summer and have been dreading buying it again.  This will tide us over another 3-4 weeks.  I also found Greek yogurt cups in DH's favorite flavor for $0.25/ea, guacamole for $1.49/ea, a tub of hummus for $1.99, 2 soy yogurt tubs for $3.29/ea, and a bunch of turkey sausage links for $2.59/package.  I've been wanting to give the girls a little protein at breakfast so I went ahead and bought all the sausage they had on clearance.  I also got a little tiny package of pasta/chicken/gorgonzola salad for $0.99.  I spent $57.85.

My grand total this week was a whopping $346.65.
Year-to-Date total: $930.66
Weekly Average: $132.95

OK, this has to stop.  Yes, I want to feed my family healthier foods, but I am spending way too much on groceries.  My poor household allowance can't afford this and all the other stuff I have to buy like vitamins, toilet paper, weekly dates with 2 separate daughters, and please, God, soon, some things I need for myself now that I've lost my pregnancy weight.

Katie

2016 Groceries Week 6 - $121.55

This week I thought I wouldn't spend much because we have so much food in the house from last week's shopping.  But then I had a couple of events come up that I had to shop for.  Rats!

First I had to buy lunch meat and pickles for our American Heritage Girls Troop this weekend.  I didn't get to sign up for what to bring so I couldn't choose something I already had on hand.  Instead I had to go out and buy lunchmeat and pickles.  While at Fred Meyer I picked up more corndogs (on sale) and rice cakes (I was out). I spent $24.42.

Later in the week I popped into Fred Meyer for potatoes.  I was happy to find organic potatoes for $1.99/3# instead of the regular price $3.49/3#.  I bought all 3 bags on the shelf.  Then I found a plethora of clearance canned goods.  There was a shopping cart full next to 2 six foot tables full of clearance items.  That's 8 cans of crushed pineapple for $0.69 each, 9 cans of corn for $0.39 each, 2 cans of olives for $0.49 each, 8 cans of beans for $0.39 and $0.49 each.  Also enchilada sauce, peas, and chicken broth for a total of $22.96.  What a deal!

These two shopping trips wouldn't have been so bad, but on Friday DD#2's doctor told us to take her off milk again.  I also had to cook for the Super Bowl party we were planning to attend.  So I paid a whopping $3.79 for dairy-free cream cheese, bought coconut milk and GF/DF crackers for DD#2.  I also bought chips & cucumbers for the party and milk, other crackers, sour cream, cottage cheese, onions, apples, and bananas for our regular consumption.  I found a couple clearance deals on infant formula, tomato paste, dried cranberries, hamburger buns, tea, and caramel sauce.  I spent a big $74.17 and blew what I thought would be a low spending week.

This week: $121.55
Year-to-Date Total: $584.01
Weekly Average: $97.34

Katie

Gluten Free Menu Plan - 2 weeks

I spent so much on groceries last week I determined to make a 2 week men plan.  Here's hoping for much smaller grocery bills the next couple weeks!

Dinners:
Monday - Fajitas
Tuesday - Turkey Pot Pie (made over weekend, but didn't bake as so many leftovers)
Wednesday - Taco Soup
Thursday - Crockpot Sausage Stew
Friday - Dinner at Campout
Saturday - Pork Chops & Golden Quinoa
Sunday - Popcorn & Smoothies
Monday - Mexican Casserole with GF cornbread crust
Tuesday - Chicken Vindaloo
Wednesday - Pizza
Thursday - Pancakes & bacon
Friday - Chili & GF cornbread
Saturday - Beefy Enchilada Casserole
Sunday - Popcorn & Smoothies

Lunches:
Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - Mac'n'Cheese
Wednesday - Pizza
Thursday - Meat/Cheese/Crackers, Veggies (Packed Lunch)
Friday - Waffles
Saturday - Lunch at Campout
Sunday - Leftovers
Monday - GF Mac'n'Cheese
Tuesday - Quesadillas
Wednesday - Macaronada
Thursday - Cold chicken & veggies (Packed Lunch)
Friday - Taco Salad
Saturday - Skillet (sausage, potatoes, eggs)
Sunday - Valentine's Day Plate - Red apple slices, ham, strawberries,

Katie