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Saturday, September 12, 2015

{ Grocery Haul }

Hello friends, how is you Saturday going?

I was thinking about my post for today and had a few ideas going, but decided to do a Grocery Haul instead.

Why???

Well I had a few of you message me either on Facebook or email me and ask what my grocery shopping looks like considering I tend to buy for 2 weeks and stay at or under $250, for our family of four.

I don't always buy the exact same thing, especially meat wise because it depends on my menu plan, so it kind of depends on what I'm making, whether it's a family favorite recipe, something simple, or a new recipe I am trying.  New recipes are usually the times my grocery shopping cost is higher, but I still manage to stay right at $250 and that includes toiletries, dog food and cleaning supplies etc.

I know a lot vloggers share their grocery hauls, but I'm not a vlogger and really don't like talking on camera, nor do I plan on following the masses and video recording anything, so pictures it is, but I will tell you what is in each picture and what I bought it for.

The next two weeks it's all about Portuguese food and going back to my roots.  I've been extremely nostalgic and just missing my childhood days and home and family and the foods we used to eat, I think we all go through those times in our lives. 

With that being said, a lot of the meals I'll be making I have not shared before, nor taken pictures, so will be doing all that too, which has me super excited.

Right, so let's get on with it, I will show you what I bought and then I'll show you how much it cost at the end.

Bear in mind that I do my shopping at the base commissary.

Frozen:::::
Two packs of burritos, Beef and Green Chili and Bean and Cheese (my kids and husband enjoy these for a quick lunch)
2 bags of Steamables Mixed Veggies (one will be as a side dish, one will be used in some rice I'm making)
2 Red Baron Pizzas (I keep these in the freezer for weekend lunches)
Pizza Rolls (Kids enjoy these for lunch)
Sausage Biscuits, 20 snack pack (my husband eats these in the morning, he will grab two and go off to work)
2 packs of Maple Bacon (one for a recipe, one for a weekend breakfast)
Ground Beef
Steaks
Chicken Tenders
Chicken Legs
Thick pork chops

Grocery Haul

Meats::::
Ground Beef, 4 lbs
(Shepherd's Pie, Grandma's Meatballs, Oven Burgers with Peppers and Mozzarella)

Grocery Haul

Meats::::
Steaks (Portugalia Steaks for dinner)
Chicken Tenders (Chicken Strogonoff)
Thick Pork Chops (Pork with baby potatoes)
Chicken Drumsticks (Roast Chicken and Potato wedges)

Grocery Haul

Grocery Haul

Veggies and Fruits::::
Bag of lemons
Bananas, tons of bananas, they were on sale for 59c a pound and my kids are on a banana kick
Peaches
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Tomatoes
Avocados, they were on sale
2 Green peppers

Grocery Haul

Dairy::::
I bought two gallons of milk yesterday at Walmart, they were on sale for $1.97 so didn't have to buy today
Honey Ham, on sale for $2.50
Cream cheese for bagels
Heavy Cream for a recipe
Pepper Jack, Mozzarella and Provolone Cheeses (Mozzarella is for the hamburger recipe)
Shredded Mexican Style Cheese

Grocery Haul

Eggs were only $2.69 so I grabbed two, need some for recipes and also for breakfast and desserts

Grocery Haul

Grabbed a live Basil plant, my other one was all gone and ended up dying not sure why.  This one looks so good and smells amazing.  It was only $2.00

Grocery Haul

Grocery Haul

Bakery::::
One loaf of Texas Giant white bread
Philly Steak Subs for Sub sandwiches for a lunch
Hotdog buns for a recipe
Cinnamon Raisin and Original Bagels

Grocery Haul

Pantry::::
Small bag of flour, didn't need too much
Bag of sugar
Mixed Nuts (snack for me)
Goldfish, two bags (snack for kids)
2 macaroni and cheese boxes, only 90c (lunch for kids, they love this stuff, I don't)
Jalapeno Slices for sub sandwiches
Strawberry Jam

Grocery Haul

Pantry::::
Penne Rigatoni and Trio Italiano, they were on sale for 69c and I always have pasta in the house for a quick meal, or a salad as a side dish
Ramen noodles (my husband and kids love it as a quick lunch or even a snack)

Grocery Haul

Grocery Haul

Pantry and baking::::
Aluminum foil (I go through this stuff like crazy, I use it on my baking sheets to make clean up easier but I also use it in my oven to keep it clean from spills)
Parchment paper
Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice for me
Sweet Peas for a recipe
Tomato puree and sauce
Mushrooms
Black Eyed Peas (tuna salad for the kids and I for lunch)
Nacho cheese (my hubby likes having it on hand for a quick nacho snack)
Kidney Beans for a recipe
Pasta Sauce on sale for 69c (good to have on hand)
Popcorn
Tabasco
Bay Leaves

Grocery Haul

Rice
Dog Treats
Sandwich bags

Grocery Haul

The total was $160.57, not bad at all.  Yesterday like I said, I went to Walmart and got toilet paper, 2 gallons of milk, one gallon of chocolate milk, cereal, kleenex, dog treats, female products.  I spent $40.  So I'm still under the $250 budget for these two weeks.

Grocery Haul

I'm always asked how I manage to do that, and honestly, aside from those lunch items and snacks, I make all our meals from scratch and I menu plan.  I can't even begin to stress enough just how important menu planning is to staying under budget.

Our meals for the next two weeks are as follows......

Breakfast
Oatmeal
Cereal
Scrambled Eggs

Lunch
Sandwiches (PB&J, Ham and Cheese, Subs)
Quesadillas
Soup
Leftovers
Tuna Salad

Dinner
Saturday - Bifes a Portugalia (Portuguese steak, fries and eggs)
Sunday - Salsicha c/ molho de tomate, arroz (Sausage in tomato sauce, rice)
Monday - Strogonoff de Frango, pure de batata (Chicken stroganoff, mashed potatoes)
Tuesday - Arroz a Valenciana (Rice with chicken and sausage)
Wednesday - Almondegas da Bio, Salad (Greatgrandma's meatballs, salad)
Thursday - Filetes panados c/ arroz de ervilhas (Breaded Fish Fillets, Rice with peas)
Friday - Cachorros quentes c/ molho de pimento e tomate (Hotdogs with peppers and tomato sauce)
Saturday - Frango Assado c/ batatas (Roast Chicken and potato wedges)
Sunday - Carne de Porco com batatinhas (Pork with baby potatoes)
Monday - Peru salteado com cogumelos e mozzarella (Turkey with mushrooms and mozzarella)
Tuesday - Hamburgueres no forno c/ queijo e pimento (Oven hamburgers with cheese and peppers)
Wednesday - Roupa Velha (Old clothes, weird name I know but it's basically leftover meat fried with onions and potatoes)
Thursday - Feijoada (Bean stew, rice)

So there you go, I hope you enjoyed my first grocery haul here on the blog, let me know if you would like me to continue doing these. 

I enjoy watching other people's grocery hauls usually to get ideas, or see what they're eating, buying for the money they're spending etc.

I have another post coming up later today, it will be my weekly meals in review, so keep an eye out for that :)

14 comments:

  1. I love reading your blog... and weirdly, I like seeing what other people are making to eat!
    Reading your blog inspired me to buy a crochet needle, some yarn and watch some youtube videos. I'm not that good at crocheting yet, but I'm trying!

    Thank you so much for continuing your blog, when I know you were struggling. I really do enjoy it. It's one of my favorites.. I always save it for last :)

    Gail

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  2. Wow - it is so fun and interesting to get a peek into your shopping and menu planning. I love all the great ideas! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. First off, I absolutely LOVE your new blog design! Everything about it is absolutely perfect!
    What an interesting menu you have planned - I look forward to checking out some the recipes you eluded to!
    I could not agree more about menu planning and cooking from scratch helping to save money.
    Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

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  4. Call me noisy, but I love to see what other buy at the grocery. I also like to see meal plans as it gives me ideas. I hope you continue to share!

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  5. I hope that you enjoy your cooking and eating and returning to your roots! xx

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  6. I try to stock up for winter every trip to town - canned tuna/salmon, etc. This next trip I need to stock up ingredients to freeze meatballs. I make mine with oatmeal. Thank goodness I stocked up on oats already. And pumpkin, considering what a bad garden year I had this year (no pie pumpkins at all). Happy cooking and baking!

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  7. Thanks for sharing!! Very impressive.

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  8. I've always enjoyed looking into shopper's grocery carts to see what they're buying. Not sure why...I'll be watching for more posts. I also menu plan and find it takes the stress out of deciding what's for dinner each day. I'm also not a fan of running to the store a lot.

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  9. I love your menu plan & I appreciate you showing us your grocery hall. I glean from it all as well & it gives me ideas. It seems like groceries are cheaper there...even Walmart milk! I bought their cheapest 2% today & it was $2.92 a gallon.

    Sandra, where are my boxes of Milk Chocolate Tea Cakes? You better not have ate them!

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  10. uito bom esse menu,há tanto tempo que não o faço...vejo o que há e sai isso na hora!!!

    beijinhos e parabens pelo desenho do blog!

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  11. Wow! I love this post. Yes, continue doing these!

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  12. Wow! I love this post. Yes, continue doing these!

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  13. Yes! I love the grocery haul and the meals in review post. Please continue :) I get lots of meal inspiration. Oh and I just love the new blog header!!

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  14. Please continue with the grocery hauls, this was fun. I have a family of 4 and I budget 300-320.00 every 2 weeks (Oregon prices, no tax) but I really think I can lower the cost. I fins it motivating, so keep them coming! God bless you and your family!

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Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. Please be respectful of each other and my blog. Rude comments will be deleted.

Thank you for stopping by, hope you are having a blessed day!

♥Sandra♥