Today, I want
to share how I grocery shop. No one really talks about their grocery escapades
but sometimes we need to discuss how we shop.
I grocery shop every week. One
week at the grocery store and one week at Costco. My budget is $150 dollars. I
don’t spend that every week but generally that is the budget. For $600 a month,
I feed between 3 to 7 people for every meal.
I use to shop
every week at the grocery store and then once a month at Costco but I spent way
more than $600 a month on groceries. And I never knew what was in the pantry.
We shop the Costco sales and I always buy only what I use. Occasionally, I buy
things to try but only if they are on sale.
This system has
done several things:
1. My freezer and pantry are full
2. Much less waste, I use everything I purchase. During the Costco week, I shop for only the produce required for that week at the farmer’s market or grocery store.
3. Grocery bill is much less.
4. With a better inventory, I am able to whip a meal up out of the pantry and freezer much easier.
5. We have given up eating out except two times a month.
On another
note, school starts this week. I still have projects around here but the big
projects are finished. School starting means fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving will
be coming at a rapid pace. So my next goal is to plan all these holidays and
what items I need.
Monday
Quiche Lorraine
Garden Salad
Tuesday
Mexican Pizza
Chips and Queso
Wednesday
Corn Fritters
Fried Green Tomatoes
Caprese Salad
Thursday
Lasagna
Garden Salad
Garlic Bread
Friday
Steak Fajitas
Tacos with Corn Shells
Refried Beans
Saturday
Broccoli Crunch Salad
with Teriyaki Pork
Sunday
Brunch –
Croissant
Doughnuts
Scrambled
Eggs with Ham and Chives
Hash
Browns
Assorted
Fruits
Hi Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your shopping strategy with us, every little bit helps. Clearly menu planning is the key - plan what you'r going to cook and cook what you plan. I get big ideas while I'm shopping but often fail follow-through. Your menus have been a great inspiration and I've been able to get a lot more variety in my meals by leveraging some of your great ideas.
Mary
Miss Jane, I don't always cook what I plan on the days I plan but the ingredients are there for the day you want to cook it. If I were inspired in the grocery store, which I am not… sadly, I would use a little notebook or my phone and remember that idea for another week’s menu. I find inspiration in cookbooks and Pinterest. I also keep my menus from one year to the next, so sometimes, I will browse through my old calender. Sometimes, I forget about dishes the family loves.
DeleteI'm another Jane and I agree with Miss Jane. Plan the meals and you will never run out of ingredients or have to make that unplanned visit to the store. I go every two weeks for a full shopping and then once every week in between to pick up fresh fruit and veggies and anything else we may have run out of unexpectedly. My hubby goes to Costco once in awhile for the bakery!
ReplyDeleteJane
Jane,
DeleteMenu planning is my ticket. You are smart to go every two weeks, I sort of do that with the grocery/ Costco rotation. You should check out the sale items at Costco. They are pretty amazing.
Cynthia