Do you ever have those weeks that just zip on by and by the time Monday rolls around you’re like…. wait. Did last week happen? I mean, it feels like it happened… but it’s all just really a blur. Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe I need meds, maybe I need to slow down or maybe, just maybe this is what 44 {OMG!} feels like. One foot in the crazy/forgetful/where did I put those thingamajigs pool and one foot on the I’ve got my stuff together and I am a fully functioning adult look at me sidewalk.
I feel like I’m losing it people. Looo seeeng it.
Blah blah blah, yada yada yada Here’s what I bought last week:
Fred Meyer $21.65 {not pictured: saltines, soy sauce, bananas and 4 croissants}
So apparently I must have put some of the groceries away before I snapped this photo. Ya. Good times. Anywho, doesn’t that meat look gross? Seriously, looking at it now on the computer screen makes me want to be a vegetarian. But if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to make chicken phad thai tonight.
I’ve never made it before. Have you? Any tips on how to cook those noodles? I wasn’t planning on buying anything at Fred Meyer this week but I must have been hungry when I tagged along with Mrs. HB when she did her grocery shopping last week. The Chips Ahoy Thins were a friday freebie. For me personally, if I’m going to eat a cookie {which apparently I seem to be doing a lot of lately} I don’t want the thin version. I want the real thing. But that’s just me. What do I know? I’m pretty sure Nabisco wouldn’t want me on their tasting panel.
Winco $41.45
I love the prices at Winco. And apparently the best time to shop there is 7 am on a Sunday morning. If you go early, you’ll practically have the entire store to yourself. It’s totally rad. You should try it sometime. Their bulk prices are AWESOME. Anyone know of a store on the east coast that sells bulk items with these sorts of prices? I’d love to check it out when I’m there in a few weeks. Because that’s what I do when I’m on vacation. Check the prices of oatmeal. It’s called living the dream baby. What can I say?
A few of the deals I scored:
- 18 Large eggs $1.58
- Red bell peppers $0.68 each
- Gala apples $0.78 lb
- Red Pears $0.98 lb
- Zucchini $0.98 lb
- Dried apricots $2.91 lb
- Salted peanuts $1.65 lb
- Steel cut coats $0.65 lb {cheapest breakfast ever}
- Jasmine rice $0.76 lb {about the same as Costco’s big bag}
Last week started off really awesome on the let’s eat healthy food all week plan. Monday and tuesday I ate an entire loaf of double chocolate biscotti all by myself. I may of had a salad on wednesday, I don’t remember.
The Girl however is a super nerd when it comes to packing healthy lunches. Seriously. This is the lunch she packed for herself one day last week. Who does that? Did I mention she ran 22 miles on sunday? Again, who does that?
And then there was our trip to Coyle’s Bake Shop where we spent $10.13 on 1 lemon tart and a giant meringue. I LOVE my goal of visiting 52 bakeries in a year…. but my waistline? Not so much.
Oh well. It’s monday and the start of a new week.
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…. 😉
~Mavis
- Total Spent This Week $63.10 Groceries, Take Out/Bakeries $10.13
- Total Spent in Janaury on Groceries $202.99
- Total Spent in February on Groceries $143.94
- Total Spent in March on Groceries $63.10
- Total Spent in January on Take Out, Date Nights, and Bakery Treats $42.19
- Total Spent in February on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $118.45
- Total Spent in March on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $10.13
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Beth says
We had shrimp pad Thai last night- I brought water to a boil- added noodles and turned heat off. Let them sit for 8 minutes or so, drained and rinsed them and added to shrimp. My husband loved loved loved it and since I made Asian slaw the night before, we ate that as a side dish with the pad Thai.
So your birthday was last week- Happy Birthday! Mine is this week and as I told my adult kids over a free large one topping Birthday pizza at Grimaldi’s yesterday (!)- I am all about Birthday freebies. Dairy Queen, Qdoba, Tucanos, Baja Fresh, Red Robin, Starbucks to name just a few- free birthday stuff!
Thanks for your blog- I love it- my daughter and I met you at a couponing seminar a few years ago in Boise and I have been a fan ever since.
Leslie says
I use those noodles sometimes. I the directions says boil the water, turn off the heat, add the noodles. It works. So does just boiling them, or hot but non-boiling water. Just stay close- they cook fast then get sticky and mushy.
And I recommend Aldi’s if they have one where you go back east. It is NOT like a Winco. It’s a discount store though.
Jennifer says
I’m on the east coast and I’m SUPER jealous of this Winco you speak of, it sounds awesome!
Melissa says
Check out Wegmans . This was my favorite store to go to when I lived outside of Philadelphia.
Kara says
I second that (although I live in western NY). Wegmans rocks!
ChristyL says
Wegman was my thought too. A few more have opened in southeast PA. I’m not certain how the prices compare but they do have a lot of options.
Kim says
I just follow the package directions for those noodles but when I don’t have them on hand I frequently make Chicken Pad Thai (and other Asian noodles dishes) using plain old Linguine noodles. Not authentic but still yummy.
Tammy says
I really liked shopping at Winco when I lived in CA. They aren’t in this area (SC) nor were they in MI, so I haven’t had one to shop at for quite a while.
As mentioned above, Aldi is a good store to check out. They don’t have food in bulk bins, but they have good prices on food. They’re more limited in what they offer. They’ve really upped their game lately and offer a lot of healthier foods as well as organic options.
Mrs. C. says
You just have to soak the noodles in hot water. Don’t forget about them, or they will turn to mush.
As for pad thai, the best tip I can give you is make it in two batches. The sauce, etc., mixes better and everything tastes better if you do that. One batch for four can turn into a Gordian knot where the sauce and goodies don’t get to the middle.
Mrs. C. says
Don’t meant to diss The Girl, but if that is a typical meal, she is not getting enough protein. I was a vegetarian for over 20 years, and I went through a lot of trial and error. She needs a minimum of 0.8-1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body weight for an athletic young adult. MINIMUM. If she lifts weights, she needs more.
Mavis Butterfield says
No, that was not a typical meal. She eats more food than me, the HH and Monkey Boy combined most days. 🙂
Marcia says
ha ha ha ha ha!
I relate *SO MUCH* to this whole post!
1. I’m turning 47 this year, eek!
2. Where do the weeks go? Am I going crazy? Getting old. I mean, it’s Monday –
– yesterday, hubby’s car got crunched while pulling out of the driveway (EXACT THING HAPPENED 8 years ago THIS WEEK!)
– Hubby is ok, hope the car is too because it’s still a baby (8 years old, 60k miles, and a Honda)
– Monday big kid wakes up coughing. He’s at school saying he’s fine, but has to run a mile at school for fitness test AND has baseball practice.
– Had to go to the school to register little guy for kindergarten AND turn in other forms. As we are going to preschool he suddenly has to pee.
– Go home to pee and then rental car company calls. Did I mention the guy who hit my hubby (though hubby is at fault) called at 7:45 am?
– Got a call that prescription is ready today. Joy, I’ll work that in somehow. Lunch break?
– I am biking home today. Was going to anyway, but especially since we only have one car.
– Rest of week – get rental car, take current car to shop, etc etc. Two baseball games, one baseball practice, Science fair project due TOMORROW, and and big kid’s birthday.
Sigh, so am I getting old or is this JUST TOO MUCH STUFF???
3. Anyway, i also get SUPER excited about the cost of bulk oats.
4. That’s a crazy healthy lunch. I have friends in town who had kids at a normal age (aka, they don’t have a four year old like me). Their daughter is a sophomore in college and eats SUPER healthy and is really into weightlifting. These young kids. Don’t they know that this time of life is for all-nighters studying, mountain dew, and boxed mac and cheese/ ramen?
5. I love pad thai, don’t remember how to cook those noodles. Should say on the bag? I think you don’t cook them, as much as pour boiling water over them.
Athena says
Mavis I thought The Girl was going to school on the East Coast. Did I miss something?
Mavis Butterfield says
She’s back on the west coast to finish up.
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
I’m in the NY Capital Region {so the east side of NY} and we don’t have Wegmans this far east. But we do have co-ops. I’m sure you have them too out west. But definitely find one near your home {do we know where that is? I can’t remember if you mentioned the state…} because they have the best bulk food prices. Plus the widest selection of local foods. Just google co-op and your general area and I’m sure there’s one. Very popular here in the North East. {also if you are road tripping it- they are usually great places to get lunch/meals}
Jen F. says
I live in Western Mass and would love a Winco or its equivalent. We have Aldi and we have Price Rite, but you cannot compare with the bulk everything of Winco. The only other store that has anything close to that is Whole Foods, about an hour away and their prices don’t fit my lifestyle or budget. I’m jealous of the Winco near my dad in Southern CA. If anybody with supermarket clout is reading this: PLEASE BRING WINCO TO NEW ENGLAND!!!!
Libby says
Hannaford Brothers used to have a bulk section – Maine, NH, MA.
I buy my steelcut oats at Aldi and pay $2.79 for a container.
Food in New England is expensive. According to the Missouri Cost of Living Index, Washington State is 107 for food while MA is 111, NH is 117, and CT is 128. Here’s a link: https://www.missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/index.stm
Becky says
Our Hannaford store in Need York has bulb but not as much h as before , but does have a good array of Organic products, not too high priced either
Linda Tibbetts says
Mavis, I live in Ohio. When you come east, assuming you are driving on I-70 or I-80 rather than flying, you should stop in Amish country (Holmes county) places like Berlin, Walnut Creek, Kidron, etc. for many reasons. The Amish are great cheese makers, and frugal housewives, so there are many cheese “factories” and bulk food places. Plan on spending at least a day, preferably 2. Be sure to go to Lehman’s hardware. I know, I know, it’s a hardware store. Yes, it is, but it is an old fashioned, AMISH hardware store, where you can buy or browse a ton of things not hardware. Several years I got a fan for our wood stove that uses no electricity at all – it is still going strong. Amish bakeries are divine, too. I wouldn’t be averse to going if you want to stop by and pick me up. I’d feed you! You know how to reach me.
Linda