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A peek at our weekly grocery shopping
It’s time to try out something new around here! I’ve gotten a few questions about grocery budgeting because of the posts on creating menu plans and grocery lists so I wanted to share what our list actually looks like each week! We do our grocery shopping on Friday mornings so I’ll have a chance to share what we bought for the upcoming week along with the menu plan!
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.
Anyway, 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.
Cash Wise
Grapes 1.47lb @ 1.77/lb = $2.60
Avocado 3 @ 0.99/each = $2.94
8lb bag potatoes $3.48
Cucumber 3@ 3/$2 = $2.00
2lb bag carrots 2 @ 1.00 = $2.00
Apples 4.82lb @ 1.00/lb = $4.82
Baked Beans 3 @ 1.67 = 5.01
Total: $22.85
Walmart
*Kid body wash, toothpaste, & dish soap not included in grocery budget.
Mushrooms $1.87
Pickles $3.32
Small Red Beans 2 @ 1.42 = $2.84
Creamer 2 @ 2.48 = $4.96
5 doz eggs $5.08
Hormel Sausage Links 4 @ $1.00 = $4.00
Halo Top Ice Cream $4.64
– submitted receipt to ibotta (-$4.00)
*submitted receipt to ibotta for any item rebate (-$0.25)
Total: $22.46
Sam’s Club
Milk $2.84
Bananas $1.38
submitted receipt to ibotta (-$0.25)
Romaine $3.98
Cheese Brick $5.98
Three Cheese Blend $13.78
submitted receipt to ibotta (-$0.25)
Crushed Tomatoes $3.28
– 1.25 instant savings = 2.03
Tomato Sauce $6.98
*submitted receipt to ibotta for any item rebate (-$0.25)
Total: $36.22
Grocery Total: $81.53 after rebates
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, 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: Chili – We are experiencing some cooler spring temps again along with many rainy days – perfect for a comfort meal! I’ll be making these chili beans with the small red beans on our grocery list.
Monday: Saucy Asian Meatballs & Lo Mein – The last time I made these I served them with a side of sticky rice and steamed broccoli. Only one of the kids enjoyed the meal. This time I’m going to go with a tried and true favorite – easy veggie lo mein – as a side dish. I’m also using these freezer friendly meatballs that I made last week on kitchen day for this meal.
Tuesday: Thai Chicken Pizza – I don’t think there will ever be a week this isn’t requested by one of the kids. I try to keep it to no more than once each month just to keep other items in the rotation.
Wednesday: Loaded Baked Potatoes – With 8lbs of potatoes to use we are going to need more meals than just this! But I’ve got plans for them next week too. I simply couldn’t pass up 8lbs of potatoes for less than $4! Steamed broccoli, homemade cheese sauce, chili, and/or sour cream will all be available as toppings. Plus extra fresh diced veggies on the side.
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Homemade Pizza and Movie Night – you can find my pizza crust recipe here.
Saturday: Kabobs – My mom and sister are in town for the weekend so I wanted to do something fun for dinner. Let’s skewer some meat and veggies, whip up some great dips, and party! We like to cook our meat and veggies separately to make sure everything is perfectly cooked. I’ve noticed that cooking together often means charred veggies to make sure the meat is cooked through. Doesn’t have to happen when each type of food is on it’s own skewer!
What’s on your menu this week?