-These items PLUS pantry staples I always have will be how I create the meals.
-This trip does NOT include snack foods for J. At this time, she didn't need anymore. Things I keep on hand for her snacks are yogurts, Cheez its, granola bars, string cheese, & fruit. I buy those about once a month (occasionally twice). It also does NOT include gluten free (GF) bread/pastas, or my Ezekiel breads. I buy those at Reasor's.
-We do have to spend additional money on the breads/pasta because of my smokin' hot husbands allergies. They sell GF products at Walmart but I prefer the quinoa pasta at Reasors so I just buy all my GF products there.
-My pantry staples may be different from yours. I do the majority of my cooking from scratch because of GF so I have spices, sauces, marmalades, etc on hand. Things I use often, I buy in bulk.
-We have a leftover/free for all night once a week usually. We always seem to have more than enough.
With that being said, here are my $52 dollar groceries!
How did I do this? Meal planning. Price matching. Pantry browsing. & dedication. I'm a big temptation shopper. I buy things spontaneously and it gets me into trouble. But this week, due to all the things we've bought for the house, we don't have any extra. I accepted that. I went in with a strong mind and a full tummy (probably the most important part!).
Meal plan. You know what your family likes and how much they usually eat. Use this as your guide. I feed 3 people. From these, I also have leftovers for Joe to take to work and usually enough for our free for all night. So these meals actually have 4 or more servings.
Price match. Meet your new best friend. Live it, love it, use it.
Pantry browsing. Some nights, especially lately, we end up eating out or with my in laws because of craziness that goes on. This means occasionally I have left over things that didn't get used. Also, when things are on sale, I very frequently stock up. Such as canned tomato sauce, pasta, rotel (always have this!), peanut butter, and frozen leftovers from meals I made a little too many servings.
So what are the meals?
Breakfast choices:
>Oatmeal
>Scrambled eggs
>Peanut butter toast
>Shakers --- these are perfect for us on the go. I price match these for $1! Joe drinks one every day on the way to work.
>Cereals ---we have a huge stockpile of cereals, it's a little ridiculous.
Lunch Choices:
>Leftovers --see what I did there? ;)
>Sandwiches, hummus & cucumbers/crackers
>Surprise Salads --I use things I find in my pantry/fridge to create a salad. Fruits, nuts, proteins, etc.
Dinners:
>Turkey tacos, spicy black beans
>Buffalo chicken panini, oven fries
>Grilled Lemon Pepper chicken, rice, roasted carrots
> Vegetable omelets, toasts (GF for Joe, Ezekial Bread for me, Wheat for J)
>Leftover night
>Chop steak & gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans
>Mexican pizzas (turkey), Mexican brown rice
These meals are in order how I plan to make them here's why:
1. First meal & last meal are turkey and Mexican flavors. I put them apart for this reason.
2. I put the meals that I used rice or potatoes away from each other as well.
Here's what I'm using from my pantry/fridge stock this week:
Rotel
Corn tortillas
Cheese
GF & Ezekial breads
Assorted spices for the dishes
Beef Bouillon
Brown rice
Cereals
Peanut butter
Sandwich meats
Hummus
Cucumbers
Salad Mix
If I could keep this up, we could save a quite bit of money, I'm just not sure if I can do it! I guess we shall see. For the next 5 weeks, I will post my grocery bill for viewing. I will post the meal choices & pantry uses. I'll also post the excess (J snacks, GF products) so we can see how much my bill is for that. I'm not up for my bill to be $50 before GF products yet so I'm keeping that separate. Our actual goal is $75/week. I'm simply attempting to lower it if possible! Good luck on your soon shopping adventure!
XOXOX,
Harmon Housewife
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