Grocery shopping, also known as Crying Day!

You guys, I am just so beyond tired of the grocery prices.  It's disheartening to go into the store and realize that even if you pick up the bare minimum to eat, you are still going to walk out with almost $500 in groceries.   

I understand that it differs for every family, of course, and I'm speaking for myself and mine.  I remember being able to do a bi-weekly grocery shop for us all, for $200.  Now?  I spend $450, don't get nearly as much as I used to, have cut back dramatically on meats and other products, and feel completely defeated.  Not to mention, I am having to do top up shops at least once sometimes twice a week, for things we run out of.  I guess if I really look at it, it's not just $450 but way more, once you add in those little trips to the store for top ups.

*sigh*

I just can't wrap my head around this.  I look at the bags and that's about half of what I used to get.  Maybe it's just me, but that amount of bags should not be the price it is.  What is happening?

I've cut back, I've redone the grocery budget, I menu plan and try to make cheap healthy meals.  I have redone the budget itself many, many times over and I am stuck in a rut of juggling food and bills.  I know I'm not the only one, but since this is my blog, feel I can vent a little, or a lot.  Right?

Would love to hear from you all, how you are getting around the constant rise of grocery prices, meals and so on.

I've actually started pulling out some cookbooks to try and come up with a plan of attack, in case things keep going up the rest of the year.  Also been watching many videos on YouTube about depression era cooking and cheap meals.  It's a fight after a battle, constantly, but I believe we can do it.  The important thing is to acknowledge that there is an issue and then work on a solution, so I'll remove my head from the sand and stop pretending nothing is happening, and just come up with a way around all of this, or a way through it rather.

Can I just say that I really don't like Ramen Noodles?  I know, weird, strange fact to throw into this conversation, but just noticed them in the picture and it reminded me how much I dislike them.  But, my husband and son love them as a quick lunch, so I try to keep some on hand.  Those will last all month long and they're also pretty inexpensive.  

I think it's easier for people who like or enjoy things like that, whereas for me who is trying to maintain a healthy way of eating and also doesn't like those kind of meals, it makes it even harder.  The healthy food tends to be the most expensive, so for me I'm sticking with yogurts and fruit, a multigrain sandwich or some scrambled eggs for my lunches.  

I thank God every day for making my dream come true, of having chickens.  We get a daily supply of eggs which is wonderful and certainly helps with the food budget too.  Just need to plan more a garden year round to try and cut back on grocery store purchasing of fruits and vegetables.  Well, vegetables at least, we have some fruit trees but they're not producing yet, and I don't have a banana tree which I would love to.

Our local nursery is amazing though, and I've been following them and looking into purchasing a banana tree to try and get it growing in my yard, it can be done in our area and that would certainly be a learning project for me.

One thing I do at the store, is to purchase some of their sale items, especially fruit which is going ripe, and use that for my breakfasts or for banana bread, or sometimes I bring them home and freeze them.

That bag of apples you see me adding to the fruit basket above, was on sale for a little over $1.  It contained 6 apples that still looked good, just had some bruising here and there.  They will get eaten pretty quick here at home so there's no risk of them going bad.

Sometimes the commissary has bags of peppers that also need have a little spot here or there, or a wrinkle, so they put them out for very cheap, and I bring those home, chop them up and freeze them.  They're great to add to meals or salads.

Honestly I find feeding my family easier during the winter months, because I can do more stews with minimal meat and more vegetables, or soups and some sandwiches.  Summer time for some reason, has always been harder, it definitely reflects on my budget.

So, I'm very much looking forward to the cooler months, not just because I'm sick and tired of these horrid temperatures, but also for the warm filling soups and stews.  Pair them with a slice of fresh homemade bread and that's a meal that will leave everyone satisfied and full, and be lighter on your pocket too.

I'm already planning for the cooler months, getting ideas and preparing meal plans and grocery shopping lists.  

For now though we will continue shopping and crying, at least for a few more weeks right? Hahahah

I would love to hear from you all, how are you getting around these prices, are you planning, have you had to change your meals accordingly, or cut back on certain items?

Let's chat in the comments, maybe we can help each other with great ideas.