The Food I Buy – With Pictures

About two weeks ago I wrote about how expensive food is when you’re trying to eat “clean”, and some of you commented in agreement.  My friend Kathy asked if I’d be willing to share what I buy, so I took pictures throughout the week to show you where the grocery money goes! 

My budget for each week is $120 – that includes all food, all personal care, all household, and all baby items.  I have started using cash (so that when it’s gone, it’s gone), but the week before last we desperately needed diapers so I used $20 extra to buy them in bulk when Target had a sale.

{I eat a lot of high-protein, high-veggie meals on Somersizing, otherwise our grocery bills wouldn’t so high. It’s a lot cheaper to eat beans and tortillas!  lol }

Here’s how I spent $100:

At Weis, my total was $21.32 after coupons and sales:

I only bought the Smart Taste pasta because it was free after coupons (it has preservatives in it and I will use it to make pasta salads this summer for picnics and stuff).  Some of the expensive items were the cheese, organic milk, and 100% natural deli turkey meat. I was able to get the cream cheese, the mayo (also not clean), and all of the pastas for free after coupons.

Produce is so expensive at Weis, so I buy whatever is on sale.  That means we eat different fruits and veggies every week – this week I only bought Romaine lettuce and some Granny Smith apples there.

We eat a lot of eggs (I eat them a lot in the morning, and the three of us eat hard-boiled eggs as snacks).  Eggs are totally a wonder-food that are often overlooked!

At Aldi’s, I spent $41.24:

There are plenty of things that aren’t clean in this photo – remember we’re on the 5-year plan! :)  My husband can easily eat around 3,00-3,500 calories a day in the summer since his job is so labor-intensive, so he goes through a lot of snacks – more than I can physically make for him.  (And those of you who know Chris are laughing since he’s only about 150 pounds soaking wet!)  So the chips and pretzels and store-bought bread are for him, as are the marshmallows for homemade Rice Krispie treats.  You will also notice pepperoni and turkey bacon (not clean because of preservatives). 

However, I was also able to get wild-caught salmon, spinach, mozzarella, and a bunch of fresh produce, in addition to some other pantry staples. 

We do not eat a lot of organic foods at this point other than organic milk for me, organic yogurt for Luke, and organic produce when it’s on sale (like this week; I bought organic spinach for $2.99).  It’s definitely something I’d like to improve on but the the cost is astronomical! 

At Rite Aid and CVS I only spent $1.90 after coupons, sales, and Extra Bucks (*there are two packs of wipes missing from this photo*):

Extra items:

- Whole milk gallon (for DH) and two newspapers: $6.49
- 2 jars of extra-virgin, unrefined, cold-pressed organic coconut oil from Amazon, thanks to a tip from Money Saving Mom: $11.83 (I had free shipping)
- Strawberries from the field: $14 for about 12 pounds
- Lids/pectin for the freezer jam: $4.97
    (Not shown is a container of pureed frozen berries, plus 3 baby food jars of jam and a huge Tupperware of fresh berries that was devoured before the picture. :) Btw, if you want a great lower-sugar jam, use the Ball method – it’s fantastic and SO easy – no boiling! I am so glad Kimba outlined it on her site – I had always used Sure-Jell in the past.)

 

My total for the week: $101.75.  Close enough! :)

If you’re wondering what we eat…

Breakfasts: Cereal for DH and eggs or cereal for me

Lunches: Sandwiches for DH and leftovers or salads for me

Dinners last week:
Monday: Taco Salad
Tuesday: Asian Grilled Salmon (amazing recipe I will post next Tuesday); spinach/romaine salad with onions, peppers, mozzarella, and tomatoes; rice for Chris
Wednesday: Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches w/Bacon and Onion; cukes on the side (no bread or BBQ for me)
Thursday: Leftovers (I was out picking strawberries)
Friday: In NYC, dinner at a friend’s house
Saturday: More leftovers, lots of jam over vanilla ice cream because that’s when I made it :), desserts at a friend’s house

(It was an odd week for us but it gives you a glimpse.)

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Hope this post is helpful to some of you!  We have a long way to go but we’re making progress!  It is frustrating sometimes to know how much cheaper our grocery budget would be if we bought a lot more processed foods with coupons, but I know this is so much better for us.  I do plan on posting more about In Defense of Food later this week so stay tuned! :)

 

P.S. I appreciate the fact that nobody stopped following me this time when I posted something close to my heart!  haha I have had a few e-mails and calls already regarding the post below and I am so thankful that God was able to use my “tough times” to encourage others!  Feel free to e-mail at any time! :)