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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.
So last week we were under budget (by quite a bit!) and I said I was going to use the remaining $20 to buy some extra produce later in the week. Turns out we didn’t need it because what we had lasted! So I rolled that money over into this week and we grabbed a few extras of sale items and other goods we use a lot of on a regular basis (like cooking oil).
I always get a bit of sticker shock when I add up a big week like this since I’m so accustomed to a smaller number (and this week isn’t even that big!) but I know that the day is coming when the total will always be larger because, hello, teenagers! For now I’ll gladly take a $100 grocery bill as a shock 😉
Cashwise
Apples 5.94lb @ 1.00/lb = $5.94
Grapes 1.98lb @ 1.88/lb = $3.72
Shredded Hashbrowns 2 @ 1.18 = $2.36
Total: $12.02
Family Fare
Dozen Eggs 6 @ 0.49 = $2.94
4pk Yogurts 2 @ 1.10 = $2.20
*These were marked down because the sell date is coming up. The kids were thrilled!
Sliced Cheese 2 @ 2.50 = $5.00
– .55 Digital Coupon = $4.45
Baked Beans 3/$5 = $5.00
Seedless Cucumber $0.99
*submitted receipt to ibotta for any item rebate (-$0.25)
Total: $15.33 after rebate
Walmart
Sausage Patties $5.97
Bread $0.98
Creamer 2 @ 2.48 = $5.96
Flour $2.77
Hot Dog Buns 2 @ 1.08 = $2.16
*submitted receipt to ibotta for any item rebate (-$0.25) (on Micah’s account)
Total: $17.59 after rebates
Sam’s Club
Cheese Bricks 2 @ 5.68 = $11.36
Bananas $1.38
Watermelon $5.98
Chicken Breasts $10.45
Mozzarella Cheese $11.27
Oil $7.98
Soy Sauce $5.58
Total: $54.00
Grocery Total: $98.94 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: Slow Cooker Chicken & Broccoli – The slow cooker is my best friend on Sundays. Sundays are rest days and I don’t want to spend the day at the stove. I want to dish up my food, eat, and chill out.
Monday: Meatball Subs – I’ve still got loads of meatballs in the freezer along with homemade pizza sauce waiting to be put to use. Micah and I are rocking the same wavelength because this was his only request and I already had it on the menu for the week. That’s marriage 😉
Tuesday: Mexican Pizzas – I don’t think I ever ate one of these during all my years (hello, college!) eating Taco Bell but the homemade version is bound to be amazing based on the ingredients!
Wednesday: Honey BBQ Chicken Strips – Sticky and sweet crispy chicken that starts with a soak in buttermilk to make incredibly tender strips. I’m drooling already!
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Homemade Pizza and Movie Night – pizza crust recipe here and pizza sauce recipe here.
Saturday: BLTs – It’s not summer without at least one BLT sandwich. No homegrown tomatoes here but at least we can buy juicy summer tomatoes and not suffer through firm winter tomatoes.
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.
