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A peek at our weekly grocery shopping
Each week I plan on sharing a picture of our cart at each store along with a breakdown on what we bought and what we paid. Thankfully we have zero dietary restrictions or allergies which helps us keep our budget on the low side. We try to stick between $80-90 each week for our family of seven. A lot of times what is on the menu doesn’t directly correlate to what we buy because I like to plan our meals from what we have on hand currently and use our budget to stock up on good buys plus produce and dairy products.
Final push for grocery shopping before Christmas! We took the extra from last week’s shopping trip plus a little more we had set aside from previous trips to make sure we could get all our last minute items. I’m so ready for all the great food! We are spending today finishing up prep so we can just pop things in the oven, fryer, or our mouths for the next two days 😉
Heads up: I will only be posting menu plans and grocery budget breakdowns for a few more weeks. After week 100 all menu planning will be happening in my new private Facebook Group: Menu Planning with Katie. In the group we will share meal plans, tips for a variety of menu planning styles, as well as ideas for staying in your grocery budget – no matter the size! I encourage you to check it out 😀
Walmart (skittles are a stocking stuffer)
Creamer $4.98
Cocoa Powder $1.98
Cinnamon 2 @ 0.98 = $1.96
Bell Pepper $0.88
Eggs $5.32
*submitted receipt to ibotta for any item rebate (-$0.25)
Total: $14.87 after rebates
Cash Wise
Celery $0.88
Baby Carrots $0.88
Crackers 3 @ 1.66 = $4.98
Frozen Veggies 5 @ 0.48 = $2.40
3lb bag of Apples 2 @ 2.98 = $5.96
Coffee $4.98
Baking Chips 2 @ 2.00 = $4.00
Flour $2.88
– 2.88 (free item with purchase of two baking chips)
Total: $24.08
Costco (of course I forgot a picture!)
Shredded Mozzarella $10.49
Cheese Brick $5.29
Milk $2.89
*submitted receipt to ibotta for any gallon milk rebate (-$0.25)
Total: $18.42
Sam’s Club
Tortillas $4.98
Mushrooms $3.98
BBQ Sauce
Butter $10.99
Broccoli $3.98
Hot Cocoa $5.86
– 2.00 instant savings = $3.86
Yogurt $1.98
Total: $35.56
Grocery Total: $92.93
Does your grocery budget need some help? Are you needing to find better ways to eat the types of foods you want on the money you have? Grocery University is what you need! This is an audio course meaning you can listen while you do the dishes, fold laundry, or drive your kids around! Let Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom help you make the most of your grocery shopping and be intentional with your budget in this digital course.

Menu Plan
I love menu planning and seeing other’s dinner plans! I’m weird like that 😉 As I’ve shared before, being in the kitchen is my happy place so I love finding meals that are new but I also never forget our favorites! These will link to the author’s original recipe unless it’s my own recipe/creation that I don’t have a link for… yet.
If you need some inspiration for how to create menu plans you can read here where I go into detail about how I make a plan for our food week and here to read how I create our grocery list.
I don’t make specific plans for breakfast and lunch but these are the basics I rotate between while throwing in a few other things for special days or weeks when I have the right ingredients.
Breakfasts: Pancakes, Coffee Cake, Egg Sandwiches, Sausage Balls, Eggs (various ways), English Muffins, Banana Bread, Biscuits and Gravy, Oatmeal, and various types of muffins.
Lunches: Leftovers, PB&J, Meat and Cheese Wraps, Cheese Quesadillas, and Mac ‘n’ Cheese.
Dinners, however, are always planned for since they tend to take the most ingredients and prep time.
Here’s what’s on our menu this week:
Sunday: Christmas Eve Appetizer Buffet! See our full menu here.
Monday: Christmas Day! Check out our full menu here.
Tuesday: Cheesy Enchilada Soup
Wednesday: Lo Mein
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Homemade Pizza and Movie Night – pizza crust recipe here and pizza sauce recipe here.
Saturday: Fajitas
What’s on your menu this week?

Do you want to get your kids in the kitchen with you? Check out Kidstir! They offer a monthly subscription box with kid friendly recipes and tools so you and your child can work side by side in the kitchen creating healthy meals and fun memories. You can watch myunboxing video of our first kit here.