$100 grocery challenge - Week 2

I did not have to make any extra trips to the grocery store this past week. I shopped on Sunday last week and 3 gallons of milk fit in the fridge and lasted until Friday. Since I'm shopping on Friday, there may be a milk run later next week.

This morning, I checked for meat sales at Winn Dixie and Publix but to be honest, I really didn't have time for multiple stores and nothing was impressively marked-down anyhow. So I asked my husband what he was in the mood to eat this next week. He wanted BBQ and pizza. Wednesday is our regular pizza night. I decided to look for something to BBQ in the slow cooker.

I went to Walmart because my husband had to be work in 2 hours so I needed to get done and get home. I found some beef back ribs to make beef stew and a pork shoulder for BBQ.

I price-matched red delicious apples for $.79 per pound. That was a 50% savings.

Since I got apples this week, I decided to continue the citrus habit and get orange juice with calcium. That may help make the milk last til Friday.

I need a new batch of yogurt so I got Horizon's organic whole milk with extra DHA.

I was so proud of my shopping cart. If I had time, I would have taken a picture. I had shopped the perimeter of the store except for BBQ sauce, cereal and Tinkyada pasta. I am so grateful for the idea of babysteps. Shopping the perimeter seemed so hard just a few months ago. Now it seems only natural way to do things. I even contemplated finding a BBQ sauce recipe so I could skip that next time.

My menu this week

Saturday - Turkey Dressing and Sweet Potato Casserole
Sunday - BBQ, Baked Beans and Apple Cake
Monday - Beef Stew
Tuesday - Full breakfast for supper - Eggs, Sausage, Biscuits, Fried apples, Grits and Fall plum jelly
Wednesday - Pizza
Thursday - Red Beans and Rice w/cornbread
Friday - Crabby Patties (Salmon croquettes), Mac and cheese and biscuits.

This menu cost just $133. Still well under $25 per person. I am loving this challenge.

$100 grocery challenge - Week 1

I accepted Meet Penny's challenge to spend $25 per person per week for everything from groceries to diapers to soap and toothpaste. So for my family, it ends up being $175 a week. But guess what, I came in under $100!

The grand total for week 1 is $93.50. The two things that helped keep this total so low was Santa Claus bringing new undies in stockings so we are using less diapers. I didn't need diapers or wipes or meat (other than pepperoni). I had two packs of smoked sausage left over from last week. And no I didn't go way over last week to skew the numbers. Last week's grocery total was $170. I also had a 19 lb turkey that needed to be used.

So I used the sausage in White Bean and Kale soup on Sunday and Breakfast Burritos on Monday. Today, I'm cooking the turkey in my huge slow cooker. Tonight I will pull all the meat off the turkey after supper. The bones will go back into the slow cooker for bone broth. The meat will be divided into three parts. One part will be for lunches. One part will be for soup. The last part will be for cornbread dressing. I will make pizza on Wednesday and blender pancakes on Friday to break up the turkey meals. With such a big turkey, I should be able to end up with two gallons of soup and two pans of cornbread dressing. This will give me freezer meals that I am stocking up on for sick days and busy days out when the weather warms up.

My grocery budget went to frozen and fresh veggies for the soup and sides for the turkey, cheese for mac and cheese and pizza, pepperoni, fruit for breakfast and snacks, 3 gallons of milk, and a few things like bay leaves and children's ibuprofen that we had run out of.

I'm sure next week I will not be able to come under so low but it was really excited to start off strong.