Market Basket $53.47 {2 gallons of Milk not pictured}
Canning spices and ice cream were the name of the game at Market Basket this month. Seriously, I think the HH and I have both gained at least 5 pounds this summer just from all the ice cream we’ve been consuming. It just can’t be helped. 😉 I had been waiting and waiting for our little country store to get in the Gelato Fiasco Torched Marshmallow S’more and Maine Wild Blueberry Crisp flavors in but after 2 gelato deliveries and not seeing the flavors I had wanted I made a point to check to see if Market Basket had them in stock. Lucky for me they did.
Side note: My husband LOVES Market Basket and every time we go shopping at one I have to listen to him go on and on for about 10 minutes after we leave about the prices, {and he’s not a food shopper!} the produce selection, and how nice it is to see the busy checkout stands with a line of young {and old} bag boys at the end of each lane sporting a tie and a clean uniform. Their prices are great, stores are clean and yet their is sort of this low key and nostalgic feel to them as well. {For those of you reading this on the West coast, their prices are a wee bit better than Fred Meyer}
I highly recommend the 7 ounce cans of Albacore tuna Market Basket sells {I paid $1 per can}. Both cans were filled with nice chunks of tuna and no floaty bits.
One of my favorite lunches is a can of tuna with apples, relish and dried cranberries mixed in.
ALDI $154.12
I took the HH to ALDI for the first time last week and all he said when we left was… “You like this place?” 🙂 🙂 🙂 I’m not sure exactly what he was expecting since I go on and on about ALDI being my new favorite store, but I’m pretty sure he was expecting a little more than 6 aisles of food, some random housewares, 1 cashier, and 7 customers in the entire store.
WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THAT!?
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale for $1.69 a pound.
And we both thought they tasted great. In fact, all the meat we’ve tried from ALDI has been good. I don’t think I’d buy the fresh salmon again though but that’s probably just because I’m not into seafood.
For the second week in a row… the HH made dinner. Cheese quesadillas and beef taquitos. I wonder if I can get him to make something for a third week in a row {that would be a record!}. Now that he’s not working 80+ hours a week, maybe he will want to dabble in a little cooking? Wouldn’t that be nice! Yes, yes it would. He’s actually a really good cook {we met when he was a cook at a pizza place} but I never really asked for his help in the kitchen before because of his schedule.
Have the butter prices dropped at your local grocery store? When I bought butter last month at ALDI it was $2.99 a pound. Maybe I should stock up? What are you paying these days for a pound?
Vanilla extract though, it was pretty pricey. But you know…. with the whole vanilla shortage and everything, I guess that was to be expected.
I do love ALDI, and even though I’ve been buying more snacks, cheese, funky spreads and ice cream lately, it has been a welcome change. At the beginning of the year I projected the amount we would spend on groceries would go down over last year, but as our schedules have changed dramatically, so have our eating habits.
We are slowing down {at bit} and enjoying each other and life a little more. I couldn’t tell you the last time I clipped a coupon {or paid money to print one out}. I’m choosing to get all my grocery shopping done in one big swoop once a month, not to shop at big box stores for the most part, or to spend my time signing up for a gazillion apps or uploading receipts or running all over town {and wasting gas} seeking out how to save a few cents off my food bill. I’m happy to pay the farmer or shop keeper their asking price. And it’s nice.
We all go through stages…. and so far, I’m a loving this one.
~Mavis
Total Spent in August $207.59
Total Spent in July $276.56 < – $38 Spent on Amish meat and cheese
Total Spent in June $206.47 <- Attempting once a month grocery shopping
Total Spent in May on Groceries $216.50 <- Included a stock up trip to King Arthur Flour
Total Spent in April on Groceries $169.98
Total Spent in March on Groceries $306.75 <– Apartment life, moving across the country and settling into a new house
Total Spent in February on Groceries $259.81 <- Living in an apartment and buying a lot of ready-made meals
Total Spent in January on Groceries $240.15 <– Packing mode and not cooking from scratch as much
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Deborah says
Congrats on your hubby doing some cooking. Mine does a lot of the cooking. About half, if not more. He is an awesome cook, too. He learned to cook from his Mom when he was about 10. I learned to cook in high school, in home ec. Loved it, but I have never made poached eggs, which was the first thing I learned to cook.
Susan huso says
Your such a wonderful writer Mavis, thank you for sharing your family! Wondering if money boy will be visiting anytime soon?
Katie says
ALDI has been great for our family’s budget! I can’t get everything there, and there’s some things I still prefer from my real grocery store love (HEB). So I do 2 trips every Saturday. But the amount we save it what keeps me going back. I’m still not over Zaycon though, I’m not sure how we’ll make up for the hundreds they saved us each year.
Carol says
There is definitely a “secret” to successful shopping at Aldi’s and it may not be for everyone. Having shopped there for several years, I can honestly say there is not too much I cannot find there. It is sometimes “spartan” shopping at its best…they don’t have everything and specialty items definitely not. But things like eggs, milk and avocados are ridiculously cheap and their holiday and ethnic foods are always winners.
Many shoppers think their produce is not the best because so much of it is prepackaged, but you learn what works for you and what does not. I remove all produce from their packaging when I get home and repackage it or put it into frig-friendly containers, which makes it last far longer. You definitely can save a great deal of money there and if you’re feeding a family, it’s the only place to shop.
Stephanie says
I love Aldi (and our butter prices here in the Midwest seem to fluctuate between what you posted). I get everything I can from them and fill in the gaps with two other supermarkets near us. With sales, there are quite often times where those two supermarkets are cheaper than Aldi, especially in regards to produce, so I keep a very close eye on the weekly loss leaders. We’re incredibly lucky to live in a place with such a great variety of places to grocery shop.
Beth says
Hello Mavis and everyone! Albertsons just opened their new “flagship” fancy store here in Boise and one of the grand opening deals was $1.99 per pound of butter so I got some but usually I buy butter at Costco. Albertsons also had a great deal on boneless ribeye steaks ($3.98 per pound) so we stocked up on some of those. I wish you could see this fancy store- the whole place is worth raving about- I would never do all my shopping there but it’s fun to take a stroll through and pick up the deals. Also, there are exotic (to me) things like frozen frog legs (!) and frozen alligator meat (!!)- fortunately my husband is a foodie so strolling through and gawking is date material for us. We don’t have Aldis in Boise but between Fred Meyer, Costco, Winco, Trader Joe’s and the occasional trip to fancy Albertsons we do ok. Oh and I’m trying to buy my produce from a nearby produce stand since they are affected by a long term road closure. Anyway, if you ever make it to Boise to see Amberlina again- go to the new fancy Albertsons!
R.M. says
What I love about reading your blog: no matter what stage or phase of life you’re in you seem to love it! Or at least find humor! Have you ever shopped at a Wegman’s? A cool experience!
Mavis Butterfield says
I have never been to Wegman’s! I’ll have to look it up.
Ann says
My friend’s daughter had her first experience at Wegman’s after moving from TX to MD with her new husband. She calls it “the Disneyland of grocery stores.” 😉
Kara says
Wegmans rocks. We moved from western NY to Greenville, SC in March. There are about 15 different grocery stores here and none of them come close to Wegmans!
E in Upstate NY says
Don’t know if they currently do it, but a few years ago when I lived in a community with a Wegmans, they changed their prices on certain items over the weekend! Shop on a weekday [Friday til sometime afternoon] then shop same items on a Sat or Sunday, and your cost will increase!
Wegman’s broke the NYS law to have everything individually priced. They made more money than they paid in fines so NYS gave up the fight. Items in NYS are no longer sticker priced.
They also treat their employees very well and have great college scholarships available to their employees and I think employee family. They regularly make the top 10 list of great NYS employers.
MEM says
I’m in the Boston Metro-West area and the nearest Aldi is about 45 minutes away (due to traffic). We stopped there last week after my haircut and I was under-whelmed and disappointed. I had such high hopes! To me, it was like buying food at a Dollar Tree. The store also seemed grubby and the plastic domes on most of the bakery items were cracked, split or falling off. Plus, several of the fridges and freezers were out of service. Most of the food this location had is highly processed and the prices on fresh food were no better than Market Basket. We have a Market Basket in our town and its my husband’s favorite place to shop. He does most of the shopping as the stay-at-home Dad. I wish he could cook something besides pasta and jarred sauce! Anyway, I don’t think Aldi is worth the trip for us. I much prefer its “better half” – Trader Joe’s.
Carrie says
Your Aldi store sounds like a dud! There are two in my city and one is not so great aesthetics wise and the other was just remodeled and rivals the Whole Foods store. Both have the same food but one looks nicer.
Yankeegal says
I totally agree with HH about Market Basket, although I am totally biased as my son is the front end manager at one of their larger stores. He started at age 15, and worked his way up to his current position at age 27. It has been a wonderful company to work for-great salary, (my son was able to purchase his 1st house at age 21) ample benefits, profit sharing, and opportunities for promotion. They are extremely loyal to their employees, and their employees are extremely loyal to them (Arthur Demoulas especially) as evidenced by the recent turmoil when the Demoulas family split and stores were closed down.
Debbi Atkinson says
You asked about butter prices, in McKinney, Texas, the butter price was $2.36 at Aldi’s on August 4th; that’s the lowest I’ve seen since we started shopping here. Thank you so much for featuring Aldi’s; you are the reason we started shopping here and we’ve saved a lot of money and love the quality. My hubby loves it because it’s so small you’re done shopping in record time.
Ranee says
We used to shop at Aldi when we were still living in the metro area. Two years ago, we moved to my home town. Small town living and expensive groceries as there is not much competition. Our grocery expenses have gone up almost 200.00 more each month. However, a new Aldi is being built and is expected to be open by the end of the year. I am so looking forward to having an Aldi to go to again. Yes, the other grocery store offers things that Aldi doesn’t, but the prices of similar items is what causes my heart to palpitate. 🙂 Most of our business will go to Aldi and we will still shop at the local grocery store, however, Wally World will continue to be a store for rare items not found anywhere else, as we have no Tarjay stores and the local Shopko just closed. If it;s not an emergency and we can find an affordable option, Amazon still gets our business. We have seriously added to the USPS and UPS work load. Trying to cut back on that option. Hurry Aldi – we miss you.
Mrs. Mills says
Hi Mavis, really nice old spoon. I collect those plus I love old knives and rolling pins. I like to imagine who used them before me and what they cooked. My husband and I are now both retired we feel like newlyweds at sixty, we do everything together. If you ever eat pork ribs I have the best recipe ever!!! Let me know if you want it.
Take care.
Judy (from B.C.)
Susan says
After reading your raves about Aldi I’m going to make a special trip to check them out. Market Basket? Are you trying to make me jealous? We haven’t had them here in So Cal for decades! I loved them. Next you’ll tell me you have a Safeway too just to piss me off! lol. I miss them both, great stores.
Gina says
We eat such similar meals! Cashews from Aldi’s would take that stir fry over the top! Looks amazing.
Laura T. says
I love Aldi! I can get most everything there. It’s fun to try some of their new & temporary things. I just bought the White Stilton with Mango & Ginger (soft enough for spreading on crackers) and the Imported English cheddar. It looks like you may have them in your photo but I wasn’t quite sure. I like that it’s smaller & I can shop faster there. The vanilla was around $3.50 at mine & I thought that was bad! Maybe I should buy it before the prices go up.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, those are the cheese I bought too! I thought Mrs. HB might like the mango cheese.
Helen in Meridian says
I have read 2 articles about Aldi’s night time face cream for $4 something. They say it is really good, better than their daytime moisture cream. That person uses it for both. Splurge and try it next time you are there. My dh found a sack full of real vanilla bottles that I bought years ago for .10 each and .25 for the 4 oz size. I am sooo thrilled because I had less than 1 Tbsp of my Costco madagascar vanilla. Dh was installing a dnew timer power thingie for our sprinkler system when he found that sack. It must be 10 years old but they are all sealed and alcohol ages well, I think.
Rebecca in MD says
Mavis, I envy your once a month grocery shopping – – – wish I could do that! I love Aldi’s as well, and I always stock up on the chicken when it is $1.69 pound. I usually buy my butter at Costco and it is usually $2.50/pound.
Here in MD it is hot and humid. The rain in July was incredible. I lost count of how many days in a row it rained. We are FINALLY starting to harvest tomatoes. On the menu tonight are soft crab sandwiches with heirloom tomatoes from the garden.
Your chicken stir fry (or was that a sheet pan dinner) looks amazing – – – can you please share the recipe?
E in Upstate says
Mavis, like your HH, my hubby wasn’t impressed with Aldi’s when we first went into one years ago. Absolutely would not step into one again. Over the years, think they have improved their “style.” They are our first stop now, with WalMart and Hannaford our next visits. [So love Hannaford, with their products from New England and Canada.]
Aldi’s pay their employees well, but you must be willing to do anything/everything, not just being a cashier. Some people get hired and can’t handle all the physical work so they leave.
Ellie K. says
Mavis, have your Aldi locations been updated yet?
All of ours have been remodeled within the past year. They’re beautiful! Much more upscale looking, neater, cleaner and bigger selection. I took a friend shopping for the first time and she loved it!
Carrie Council says
I think you are doing great with the amount you spend on groceries. I budget $325/month for two adults (one on a high calorie diet so it’s like feeding 2.75 people). I cut it back from $400/month last year and I am happy with it. I’ve decided being active and socializing with my friends is more important than staying in budget. That means some nights we eat out (usually if a friend invites us on a whim) or cook lackluster meals (brats and canned baked beans anyone?).
Jennifer says
Butter at our WM here in NC has been $2.04 for months. I haven’t been in our Aldi’s in months, so I have no idea, but it was $2.69 back at Christmas.