Is anyone else paying approximately a billion dollars for groceries each month?
I feel like groceries have gotten so expensive. Of course, I have two small boys who eat more than their body weight every day, so that might be part of it.
Seriously, though. I spend about $150 a week on groceries. I’m a bit embarassed to admit that, because that feels like an extravagant amount, and I’m worried you guys will think I’m crazy. I work hard to keep it within that budget. We eat a lot of organic and natural foods, and I try to balance the extra cost of that by couponing and shopping the sales.
I use sites like SouthernSavers.com and FaithfulProvisions.com to search for the best grocery deals each week, and then I plan my meals based on what’s on sale and what we already have at home.
I’ve thought about reducing the amount of organic and whole grain foods we eat, but eating that way is fairly important to me. I usually get organic milk and meat, trying to avoid the hormones and antibiotics that are common throughout the cattle industry. But you guys — organic milk costs $6 a gallon!
Organic foods are important to me for the health of my kids, but I also like buying them to “speak with my dollar.” I like telling the food companies that I don’t want junk in my food. (Except for you, Sonic. Keep putting that cellulose in your yummy shakes.)
So since I want to keep buying organic for now, I’m trying to find cheaper meals to fix. Some Twitter buddies advised me on using dry beans instead of canned beans in my chili recipes, and I think we’ll be having a lot more meals based around whole grain pasta soon.
I’d love to hear how y’all are handling your grocery budgets these days. Do you have any cheap recipes or amazing shopping strategies to share?
We’re in the same boat. I would to hear ideas as well.
I hear you. Not on all the organic but on the shear expense of feeding your family. It’s crazy! I’ve been monitoring the rise in prices of my basic peanut butter, fruit and leafy greens for a year now and I have to say its a shame. I have no idea how people are making it work, I barely know how we are.
I was raised in a household that did a lot of dry bean crock pot meals, because that’s all that we could afford…I think it tastes better than canned. One batch could be three meals: base for chili, veggie tacos and beans on toast topped with fried egg (not my idea but delish).
Have you checked out a Costco membership? They have a ton of organic stuff that is priced really well. If you buy enough, it might be worth it! For example, I get a 1.5lb tub of organic mixed salad greens for around $4 there. I got a 52oz container of organic coconut oil for $15 and I get wild caught frozen salmon, frozen berries and other produce (most organic) for decent prices there too. I think they have organic milk. Might be worth checking out.
Disclaimer: I am not doing any of this stuff lately – I am hardly cooking as of late, but this is what has worked for us in the past.
The hubs and I have discovered that when we reduce our animal products it reduces our bill. We are “lazy” vegetarians – meaning we are not strict. However – we switched Jo to coconut milk (which she loves) and have a lot of our meals based around veggie proteins (beans). We also buy whole grains in bulk. Quinoa – cheap, quick and tasty. We also pay attention to the dirty dozen and the clean 15 – the fruits and veggies that are worth buying organic and the ones that are not. And of course, meal planning – which I hate doing but it pays off. We have used e-mealz in the past which has worked pretty well and they give you a shopping list.
Something I haven’t tried, but want to is having a veggie garden. My friend does this and just goes out every night, picks what is ripe and builds dinner around it. Then again, she is magic.
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Thanks, friends!
I’ve heard good things about Costco’s organics, but I haven’t tried them yet. Might at least be worth a price comparison trip.
We had a vegetable garden this year, but I think it would have taken magic to maintain it! Blossom end rot, powdery mildew, squirrels, and my inattention combined for a poor harvest.