I had one of those prepackaged Jenni-O Turkey breasts in a bag sitting on the bottom of the {nearly empty} freezer and decided what the heck… February is the PERFECT month for a full on turkey dinner, right? And so I popped it in the crockpot and the house smelled like Thanksgiving. It was wonderful.
We ate leftovers for three days. It was pretty rad.
My favorite copy cat Panera tomato soup. Again.
Newman’s Own frozen pizza and a little salad.
A big salad with apples, bacon and cranberries.
Ken’s Steak House brand has THE BEST salad dressings and this Lite Sweet Vidalia Dressing was crazy good. You should try it.
I miss crumpets. I remember when we would shop at Market Basket we could find them on an end cap in the bread aisle sometimes and I would always let out a little Oh La La…. But I haven’t seen a package of them since we moved. Brioche bread is another one. I need to find a good bakery.
Hard boiled egg, pickle, cheese, crackers, apple and prunes. Some days making a real dinner is too much of an effort.
Chicken stir fry and rice. YUM YUM.
Pizza Pizza! $10 from our mom and pop general store.
Big Box Grocery Store $33.34
And last but not least…. The groceries the HH picked up for me. 🙂 I’m all about sticky notes these days and sending the HH on all the errands I don’t want to do {and he doesn’t mind believe it or not}. This time around he did pretty good. The only thing I didn’t have on the list was Pay Day bars. Well done husband!
If I can get ahead of my to-do list this week though, I think I might trek on over to Market Basket for a real stock up trip. I’ll bring the coolers and make an adventure out of it.
How about you? Do you feel like when you go to the grocery stores these days you are making big stock up trips and shopping less frequently, or just picking up what you need here and there? Curious minds want to know.
Have a great Monday everyone, stay awesome.
~Mavis
Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries and Bakery Treats We Brought Home $43.34
- Total Spent in February on Groceries and Bakery Treats $191.75
- Total Spent in January on Groceries and Bakery Treats $128.60
- Total Spent on Groceries and Bakery Treats We Brought Home in 2021 $320.35
Robin Martin says
We love the Kens Vidalia onion salad dressing!! That stuff is delicious. I even use it to dip veggies in sometimes.
Tina says
It also makes a great marinade for grilled chicken or pork!
Leanna says
Since I am getting my mom’s groceries too we do pickup every week at Walmart and Smith’s. Usually once a month I’ll get Costco delivered.
christina says
We do a big shop at Costco every 6 weeks. Coffee, TP, cheese, etc. Then I do Walmart pickup in between for odds and ends. And then our local store for Salad stuff about once a week.
Katie says
I shop once a week. I spend less and it’s easier considering I have 4 really young kids right now. I usually go to ALDI first then HEB to fill in. Sometimes if my weekend is hectic or I’m very tired I’ll order from Walmart for pick-up since it’s a couple minutes from my house. I’d rather pick out things myself – I kind of really love grocery shopping, but Walmart pick-up has been a saving grace in my current season of life. I shop at Sam’s once a month to get a month’s worth of the few things we buy there. Before my husband started working as a firefighter with his rotating schedule, I would go grocery shopping by myself and it would be my weekly alone time. I miss those days lol
Mel says
We have veggies and eggs delivered each week via our CSA, and they have also added a winter fruit share, which has been wonderful. We have additional eggs from our chickens, but they aren’t laying heavily yet. Every couple of weeks we have to run into a grocery store for milk and whatever other essentials we’re out of. Then every 4-5 weeks we do a larger stock up at BJ’s (our version of Costco). Things that we can’t get in any of those places (like steelcut oats and dog food), I periodically order online. Every couple of months, we place a meat order at a local farm. We don’t run out of meat completely between orders, but a lot of it is only available seasonally, so we shop when it’s available.
Other than the CSA, this approach is completely different than our pre-pandemic shopping where we just had the CSA and went to the grocery store once a week. I don’t love grocery shopping, so I don’t miss that exactly, but I think our current habits require more planning. Maybe I’m just not used to it yet.
Susan says
I am 100% Market Basket every two weeks. This is totally random, but Market Basket has their own brand of extra long bandaids that have been so useful. They’re called “Wrap around fabric bandages” in a package of 20 and are a dollar or something. They work so much better than the typical length for staying in place or just adhering better to funny spots. I’d highly recommend (I also really like their MUCH cheaper off-brand of Dr. Bronner’s — it’s all I use diluted for foamy hand soap and spray cleaner). It’s the little things, right?!? 🙂
Elle says
I try to get groceries every 2-3 weeks only. When I still worked, I would stop once/week on my way home from work.
While the garden is dormant it is 2 weeks between as fresh produce generally doesn’t last any longer than that. This last week, I’ve been using veg from the freezer rather than hitting the store. Leafy greens from our CSA start the first week of May-I can’t wait! We are now classified as zone 7a. Hmmmm, we used to be zone 5. Did the mapping change or is this the ongoing climate change profile?
I plan a visit to Costco this week. Time for some big bags of organic fresh food!!!! 🙂
Linda Sand says
DH goes to the grocery store twice a week. Those are the outings that keep him sane. I never go out unless it’s for a medical appointment and I’ve even cancelled some of those.
Lori says
I found this little life hack and it’s amazing. We have picky little ones who do not like the crunch of onions. So in the summer time when making potato salad we add a few tablespoons of Kens vadilia onion dressing to the salad and the flavor is better than real onions without chomping on a piece of raw onion. So many people have asked for the recipe because my salad has more flavor. I just laugh and say yes I will have to get that to you. I have used it in other creamy salads. Works great!
Mavis Butterfield says
That’s funny. Thanks Lori, I’ll have to try it. 🙂
Marcia says
We are still trying to shop less frequently because: COVID. Not like last spring (which was every 1.5 to 2 weeks).
When hubby goes to costco, it’s a big stock up. We have boys, one a teenager.
Otherwise, we generally shop once/ week. Because of COVID, our stores now do curbside pickup. It literally wasn’t a thing this time last year. I’ve learned to like it (though I didn’t even start until January of this year). Now that our numbers are decreasing from the peak, I may go back into the stores (Sunday at 7:30 am they are pretty dead).
Generally, we shop when we are out of milk and/or eggs. So this week, it’s a lot of burritos for lunch because we are out of lunch meat and any kind of sliced or block cheese. I choose the store each week based on what I need. If I’m out of frou frou things, like miso paste or bulk items, I’ll pick up from Sprouts. This week, we are out of spicy ramen and cheese (I mentioned a teenager, right?) so it will probably be a regular grocery store, and hopefully one with a sale on cheese.
We already get produce delivery 2x a week from local farms/ CSAs.
Tracy says
I am stunned when I read that some people are going out multiple times a week to do various errands. We’re in the middle of a pandemic and it seems like folks are “just tired of it all”. I’ve lost several people close to me and I know their families would make such different choices if given a do-over. I go out almost never, to be honest, every three weeks or so to a supermarket. I go the minute they open and am in and out in about 45 minutes. Come spring, when I grow almost all of my own veg, I’ll try to make it once per month. I do everything else online.
S says
I’m with you, Tracy — once every 2 weeks, just me, double-masked, just one store. Running a bunch of errands at different places seems like something to look forward to next year.
Linda says
We had a big freeze down here in the south! I’m super glad I’m able to keep a well stocked pantry & freezer. Ice/sleet/snow slows the south down or to a screeching halt. No truck deliveries to the grocery stores- they were wiped out! Only 2 hams at Kroger yesterday, no bread, no cheese, low on so many items. My hubby looked at me & said, “let’s only get what we need today & come back later. Others may not have a stocked pantry or freezer & need these items!”
My usual grocery trips though- a good stock up once a month about 45 miles away at a large grocery store & fill in at a locally owned store in town.
Vy says
I haven’t been to the store in months. Mostly I stock up bigly at Costco.com (they deliver!) once a month and then we’re using Amazon Fresh to fill in the blanks. Actually saved a ton of money because no impulse trips, plus we’re cooking almost every meal (maybe two takeout dinners a month), and using leftovers religiously.
Barbar says
Ken’s dressing always reminds me of when I worked in Natick Massachusetts. Ken’s restaurant was just down the road in Framingham. Ken has passed but his restaurant is still there. His son Timothy managing it now. Great food.
HollyG says
I went shopping and spent way too much replacing everything that had to be thrown out with the power outage. Milk, cream, yogurt, are usually weekly, but we had to replace mustard, catsup, mayonnaise, sour cream……. I hate spending that much on “not fun” groceries. Good news, everything is clean and fresh.
Heidi P says
I feel your pain Holly. I’ve replaced our most needed items and will continue to pick up the rest when a recipe calls for it. We lost power for four days. Didn’t open the frig or freezer(s) at all. Lost everything in our main frig/freezer but our big chest freezer survived. Everything was rock solid frozen after 4 days. I’m guessing it’s because it was full and in an unheated barn. Our daughter was out 7 days and there are still people near us that haven’t gotten their power restored after 11 days. It looks like a tornado went thru the neighborhood. All the power poles snapped. Yikes!
Lilypad says
My 19 year old son has a difficult chronic illness and takes an immune suppressing drug. Since March last year, he has only left the house for medical appointments. 🙁 Since he’s in a high risk group, we all limit our trips out into the world. I do a pickup order from QFC (Kroger) about once a month, every six weeks or so I go to Trader Joe’s when they first open and dash in and out as quickly as possible (why doesn’t Trader Joe’s offer pickup or delivery???!), and this month I finally broke down and had Costco delivered by Instacart after not having been there in four months. Thankfully, my uncle gave us his big freezer when he moved into assisted living last fall and we’re able to keep that filled up. We also (miraculously!) got a new refrigerator in November when ours was dying—appliances are so hard to get these days and I was able to track this one down online and ordered it from a local appliance store sight unseen. Luckily, I really like it and it’s bigger than our old one. We’ve only had take-out a handful of times in a year (only for sushi, when my husband can’t live without it a moment longer!) so I need to have a lot of food on hand to cover all those home-cooked meals. I used to be a once-a-week shopper, so this is quite a change for me. I love to cook and bake, and wondering around a grocery store was fun for me. But I’m happy to stay home to protect my son’s health and know I’m lucky to be able to do so.
Pat says
Ken’s Own Vidalia Onion dressing has been our favorite for years. That stuff is awesome!
Debi says
We do a monthly “big shop”.. pick up order at Sam’s Club and in person shopping at Aldi. (We go early in the morning when there are hardly any people and the shelves are well stocked). We get fresh fruits and veggies delivered from Misfits Market. If we absolutely need something in between it is usually a quick trip to Aldi and on occasion a pick up at Walmart.
Laura L. says
What do you think of the produce you get from Misfits Market? I’ve been toying with giving them a try so I’d apppreciate your feedback.
Loretta says
No cases in the part of Australia where I live, thankfully! My husband loves grocery shopping, and is often out on a job, so is happy to pop in and get whatever we need (and he is excellent at sticking to a list).
Get HH to make you crumpets, they are super easy, just requiring a little time for the yeast to activate. So much better than store-bought !!
Katelyn says
I shop once a week, at Aldi, and make the hubby go get anything else we may need from Walmart or Price Chopper. I went into walmart for easter stuff this past weekend and WOAH too many people! I will not be going back for as long as I can help it!
Carolina Cooper says
I do a once a month big stock up at Market Basket, then fill in during the month with Target drive-up. When I order from Target online, the order is always ready within 2 hours—easy-peasy and I have been happy with the Target produce. When Spring comes, I buy a share in a local farmer’s market (not a CSA). I get back 20% more in produce that what I invest up front. The farmer’s markets for Two Toad farm, one in Maine & one in New Hampshire, are the same distance from my house in different directions, so I can choose which one to go to. They appreciate getting their $ upfront and it works for me!
Stacey says
We get weekly boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables from Misfits market. They are imperfect, but still delicious. I love that we are helping reduce food waste! We travel to visit our grandchildren several times per year, and since we live in Vermont we have to quarantine for 14 days when we return. I have gotten into the habit of continually preparing for the Apocalypse.
Heidi P says
My daughter said to me the other day, “Is it time to put together an apocalypse emergency kit?”. I think she might be right. Strange times. I consider myself a “mini-prepper”. I always try to have 30 days worth of meals in my pantry/freezer. When covid hit I overheard one of my children telling their friends, “This is what my mom has been preparing for our whole lives.” Ha Ha Ha