Last week a lot of you were wondering why we didn’t eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Honestly? Some weeks we eat more than others. Some weeks {like when it’s freezing cold outside} I have ZERO desire to go to the grocery store and buy fresh fruit. Sometimes I serve a side dish of vegetables, sometimes I stuff them in a casserole or pot pie. We also drink our fruits and veggies via smoothies or munch of frozen berries for a snack.
In the summer months when the garden is bursting with fresh veggies, I feel like we turn into vegetarians because we are trying to eat everything we grow so it doesn’t go to waste.
Let me tell you Bob, we eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. It just may not appear that way because I am not documenting every.single.thing. I put in my mouth. Having to keep a daily log of what I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner is a bit of a chore for me because I am not someone who tracks what I eat normally {although I am doing it this year}.
Which leads me to snacks. Yes. I snack. Like all the time. Seriously, how else do you think I gained almost all that survival weight back. 😉
Up until about a year or two ago when we sat down for dinner there would be 3-5 different bowls of goodness on the table {think meat, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, small salad}. These days I’m more likely to make “one dish dinners.” I have no idea why. People change. Eating habits change and that’s okay.
Everyone in my family is pretty active and on the lean side. We always have been and I’m guessing that’s just how we were made. Everyone is different.
I feel like my family is pretty healthy {aside from Monkey Boy’s fast food habit}, and while we may not buy as much food as your family does, that’s okay. That’s kind of what this year’s grocery show and tell pictures/log is about. Showing you what and how I am able to feed my family for so little.
Monday
Breakfast – Strawberry, apple,blueberry smoothie
Lunch – Egg salad sandwhich
Dinner – Chicken soft tacos with homemade tortillas
Tuesday
Breakfast – Sauteed spinach, black beans and eggs
Lunch – Big salad with leftover chicken
Dinner – Pot roast, roasted corn, Sundried tomato and feta scones
Wednesday
Breakfast – Steel cut oats with berries and brown sugar
Lunch – Egg salad sandwhich
Dinner – Salmon with dill and lemon with a side of broccoli {recipe coming soon!}
Thursday
Breakfast – Steel cut oats with berries and brown sugar
Lunch – Fig Bar, mini snickers, pretzels, banana
Dinner – Homemade beef pot pie with a feta crust {recipe coming soon!}
Friday
Breakfast – Everything bagel with garlic cheese spread
Lunch – Costco Samples – There were 10 samples this time around!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Dinner – Chipotle burrito
Saturday
Breakfast – Smoothie, bagel with honey
Lunch – I have no idea
Dinner – Chicken soft tacos
Sunday
Breakfast – Steel cut oat with frozen berries
Lunch – Turkey and cheese sandwhich
Dinner – Pasta
Fred Meyer $6.84
About a month or two ago egg prices were sky high, but this week I was able to pick up eggs for just $1.19 a dozen. What’s up with that? I also picked up sour cream and cottage cheese for $.99 a tub.
Winco $32.27
We stopped by Winco to load up on bulk foods and spices and ended finding a couple of other great deals to toss in the cart. 32 ounce containers of Greek Gods yogurt was on sale for $2.64 {Crazy good price!} bulk steel cut oats $0.62 per pound, spinach $1.68 for 12 ounces, and 3 pounds of onions $0.99. I only shop Winco and handful of times a year {when I’m in the area} but if I lived closer, I’d probably shop there more often.
Costco $31.16
Have you tried Costco’s Chicken tortilla soup? Holy cats it’s good. Fig bars? Yes please! And the chicken wraps were for the boys {football snacks}.
Barter with Mrs. Hillbilly
I gave Mrs. HB something I recieved for Christmas that I couldn’t use {but her brother could} and she gave me a 3-pack of Boursin cheese. I had never had it before but WOWZA! It takes great on a toasted bagel.
That’s it for this week. How did you do with your grocery shopping this week? Find any good buys? Do tell!
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $70.27
Total Spent in Janaury $72.12
Freebies we’ve been gifted or were earned in 2016: $200
- $100 gift card to Whole Foods {Christmas gift from my parents}
- $100 gift card to Trader Joe’s {Christmas gift from my parents}
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
DP says
Hi Mavis,
Great info! My family switch to a “nutritarian” lifestyle (Well, me 100% – wife and kids about 70%)…last year after reading Dr. Fuhrman’s ‘Eat to Live’ and seeing his program on PBS. We only have a 1/3 acre suburban lot, but we’re growing A LOT on it…making use of every inch in the back yard.
Maybe one day I can get our grocery bill to your levels! Getting there!
I’ve linked to your article and site…I know our readers will enjoy!
All the best,
DP
Mavis says
Thanks for the link love. And as you know, I’m all about making use of every square inch of space you have to garden! Good luck getting that grocery bill down. I’m sure you’ll get there!
Jennifer says
I like the itemizing of what you eat. Yes, it really is useful. Thank you for the effort; I know it’s significant. A side note: Boursin has a cracked pepper-covered version that’s also crazy good.
Elizabeth in Upstate NY says
Mavis, put on your experimenting hat! Boursin, as wonderful as it is, can be easily home made. Used to have the recipe, but through all the moves we’ve made [used to move states every 4 years], it’s gone.
RobininSoCal says
Hi not sure you will get this comment but since one of your goals is to spend $0 on gifts thought I’d share. I invested a few minutes of my weekly websurfing to finding freebies of sample products, and other crazy free stuff. I did this for 6 months prior to Christmas and used all these to stuff stockings. I had so much fun getting tiny packages in the mail every week, tucking them away and filling stockings knowing I spent zero on all the goodies. You’d be surprised how much free stuff you can accumulate in six months. Think about it if interested just google “free samples” there are lots of links, who knows maybe your readers would be interested as well. Have a great day
Deborah from FL says
My favorite comment was for Saturday lunch, when you said, “I have no idea!” That’s so me! Thanks for the giggle. 🙂
Lauralli says
You can do some more experimenting (and saving money) by making your own yogurt. It’s very easy and you know exactly what goes in to it. It saves us a ton of money!
Melissa says
Those eggs would be repackaged eggs. I wish our Fred’s did that. Maybe they do & I just never get lucky. Yay for you!
Valerie Mings says
Mavis, thank you so much for the time and energy you use on doing this website, I look forward to every Monday so I can see what awesome deals you got that week! My family of three (myself, husband and 6 year old son) are doing our best to stick to a budget and only buy what we will eat that week or month as I hate to waste food. Eating as simply as we can makes me feel good about what we put in our bodies. Your recipes are awesome! Thanks again!
Marcia says
I’m all about the one-dish dinners!
I think it’s good to know that you don’t document every single thing (e.g., “why aren’t you eating vegetables!!” Oh wait, you are.). I decided to try it for a week and man, what a chore. Nope, not gonna do that anymore.
My super deals were a 6 pack of organic bell peppers for $2, kale at $1 for 2 bunches, and cheese for $5 for 2 lb.
Gwenn says
Egg process have been high because the avian flu was so bad last year. It took out millions of birds (commercial & backyard). I’ve seen prices coming down recently too which is about the correct timing for the replacement birds to have grown enough to start producing again
Sue R. says
Love shopping at WinCo! I’ll also echo Lauralli’s comment about making your own yogurt. So, so simple and cheap! One of our sons makes a gallon at a time for his family.
tia in boise says
my albertsons has dozen eggs on sale (through tomorrow only) for $.88. woot! guess who’s having breakfast for dinner this week and fried rice (heavy on eggs) this week?
tricia says
I could feed my family too on that if all my meat was free….
Cru says
Eggs were high because of eggnog.
Joanna says
Here’s a homemade Boursin recipe that Elizabeth mentioned:
8 oz whipped butter – soft
16 oz cream cheese – soft
2 cloves of garlic – smashed
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp each basil, dill weed, marjoram, black pepper, and thyme
Mix and refrigerate overnight. Serve at room temperature.
christine says
I love reading about how you feed your family for less. My family of four spends way too much on food and the ideas presented here are so motivating for me. I don’t expect to ever get our grocery bill down to $100, ( we spend close to $80/month on organic milk alone!) but there is a lot we can improve on. Buying staples in bulk, expanding our garden, freezer cooking, etc. Keep the encouragement and great ideas coming!