(Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Possibly several of them. I will earn a small commission if you use my links to purchase a product but your purchase price does not change. Check out the disclosure policy to find out more. Thank you for supporting My Joy in Chaos.)
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.
It felt so weird to be back to grocery shopping this week! We only took a week off and I still couldn’t get my act together to make a list and menu on time. Thankfully I was able to figure it out before leaving the house on Friday morning but I know I could do better.
There was a great sale on pork roasts this week (0.99/lb) so we grabbed a couple of those even though we aren’t using them yet. We just can’t pass up that price when we can get 3-5 meals out of one roast sometimes! These are on the smaller side so it will be more like 2-3 but still, that’s great for a few dollars!
We also bought a big box of goldfish to send to school with Jamison for snacks. Thankfully Sam’s Club has another instant savings event going on with lots of great deals. I plan on snagging several of them before they are gone at Thanksgiving.
Walmart
Carrots $3.22
Tomatoes $2.58
Cucumber $0.78
Mushrooms $1.87
Italian Bread 2 @ 0.65 = $1.30
Ham $3.00
Creamer $4.98
Tomato Sauce $0.33
*submitted receipt to ibotta for any item rebate (-$0.25)
Total: $17.81 after rebates
Sam’s Club
Coffee $9.56
– $2.25 instant savings = $7.31
Oatmeal $7.98
Romaine $3.98
Shredded Mozzarella $10.92
Goldfish $10.12
– $2.25 instant savings = $7.87
Sour Cream $4.11
Sausage Roll $5.48
Bananas $1.38
Crescent Rolls $6.68
– $2.50 instant savings = $4.18
Eggs $4.07
Total: $57.28
Family Fare
Sparkling Water $0.68
– free item in store coupon = $0
Pork Roast $3.95
Pork Roast $3.88
Total: $7.83
Not pictured: 6lbs apples $5.40
Grocery Total: $88.32
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: Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches – It’s been a while since I’ve put these on the menu because they aren’t a hit with the whole family (ahem, certain children). But they are simple and after a busy weekend of Halloween parties we want a lazy Sunday meal to come home to after church.
Monday: Salad Bar – We need to balance out all the birthday and Halloween treats with lots of veggies! I’m really excited for a full salad bar 😀
Tuesday: Mummy Dogs – I’m sure you’ve seen this idea floating around pinterest. I grabbed the crescent rolls at Sam’s this week and we’ve got plenty of hot dogs left from buying the big box for Cade’s birthday. It’s a quick dinner to make before heading out trick-or-treating.
Wednesday: One Pot Cheeseburger Pasta – This was a BIG hit the last time we made it so I knew it needed to get added again. It’s so cheesy plus there is only one pot to clean up making this a winner in my book every time.
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Homemade Pizza and Movie Night – pizza crust recipe here and pizza sauce recipe here.
Saturday: Seven Layer Dip Burritos – While certain members of my family might make these three or four layer burritos I’ll be having all seven layers. I love that these are vegetarian to help cut costs.
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 my unboxing video of our first kit here.
