I was SO close this week! Menu planning was much easier because I did it while Andy was around… it was very helpful to have someone else shoot out ideas, and then I could decide yes or no. The menu plan came together easily enough, and the shopping trip was decided to be done. With no plans for a Saturday afternoon, it seemed like a good idea at the time, even though I know Saturday’s are quite busy… what I forgot to account for this week was this little thing called Football Playoffs, of which the Packers are participating in, and everybody and their brother is planning a party. Sheesh, it took me twice as long just from waiting to check out.
But, it was nice to know that the weekly shopping is done, and I don’t have to rush out and do it on Monday.
My total at the checkout this week came to $85.31, just $3.31 over my limit of $82, and I can tell you exactly what put it over-the extra gallon of milk I grabbed, which was $3.85. I’ll be paying attention to when we crack open that second gallon of milk, and may penalize myself next week by subtracting the $3.85 from my $82 budget.
However, I already am anticipating a small penalty this week anyway. I am planning a new-to-us pork stir-fry for Wednesday, and I didn’t want to pick up snow peas and scallions today, as I want them to be as fresh as possible. So I will pick them up on Wednesday- I don’t anticipate spending any more than $3, but that still will make a difference in the weekly shopping budget.
I only added one item to my cart that was not on my list (aside from the extra gallon of milk) and that was another bag of Cuties. I am of the mind that we need to enjoy those while we can. It’s the perfect snack that everyone enjoys, and for three pounds I pay $4.39, which is one of the better prices I’ve seen for them. I also made an error in my menu planning today- I asked the kids what they would like on pizza this week, instead of just deciding for myself. Lesson learned, because my little girl loves a meat-loving pizza, and those extra little bits of pizza toppings add up.
My flours increased in price too. I hope that’s temporary. My normal price is $3.99 for 10 pounds of either bread or all-purpose flour. The current price is $4.79, so when I need both, that’s nearly $10 of the week’s grocery dollar, as was the case this week. Had I remembered the jump in price, I maybe would have held off on the all-purpose flour.
Here is this week’s photo:
And here is this week’s list.
- 10 pounds all-purpose flour
- 10 pounds bread flour
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 1 jar tropical fruit (coupon)
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
- 1 package oyster crackers
- 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple tidbits
- 2 jars mild chili powder
- 1 package Vigo brand yellow rice
- 1 pound dried red kidney beans
- 2 pounds long-grain white rice
- 1 package 10-count flour tortillas
- 1 pound smoked beef sausage
- 1 package pepperoni
- 12 ounces mild Ialian sausage
- 1 package cooked bacon pieces
- 1 (7 ounce) ham steak (much cheaper than Canadian bacon for pizza)
- 3 largish sweet potatoes
- 1 whole green cabbage
- 2 pounds Pink Lady apples
- 2 lemons
- 3 pounds clementines
- 1 piece ginger root
- 4 pounds D’Anjou pears
- 2 gallons whole milk
- 1 package Yo-Crunch M$M yogurt
- 2 packages Danimals Crush Cups
- 32 ounces plain yogurt
- 24 ounce package cottage cheese (coupon)
- 2 pounds shredded mozzarella (on sale this week, cheaper than bulk)
- 2 blocks medium cheddar cheese
- 1 package Eggo homestyle waffles
- 4 small bottles of juice for the kids
Really, that wasn’t bad this week at all, considering. And again, I could have skipped the Eggos and maybe one of the packages of sweetened yogurt for the kids. The thing is though, when we’re pinching pennies, we don’t really have snacks around, so I like to make sure that what I serve at meal time is something that they will really enjoy and eat. Zander had wished this week that we’d had toaster waffles that he could smear some peanut butter on. That’s a fabulous breakfast, in my opinion, so I thought I’d pick some up for him. They get yogurt almost everyday with lunch, and quite honestly, if I skip that, there are, uh, digestive ramifications for my son. So we’ll stick with the yogurt.