Week 2 Grocery Shopping

We went shopping Saturday morning this week rather than Friday because of Justin's schedule, which frustrated me. It's actually funny because I'm not the most organized person on the planet *insert fake shocked here* but when I set a plan out I expect it to go as planned. But life loves to throw curve balls, doesn't it?

Like last week, there were a few changes, deletions, and additions made to my grocery list as we shopped.

Deletions & Changes:

1 pkg 24 count Activia yogurt - As we shopped I noticed that we were getting close to our budget mark and still had a few important things to pick up so I decided to forego the yogurt. I figured I would go back and get it if I had enough left over afterwards.

1 bunch of broccoli, 1 bag of potatoes, & a couple stalks of celery - To be honest, the quality of these products left much to be desired so I decided to pass on them.

1 container of strawberries & 1 container of blueberries - I looked at the fresh berries and considered them at length before deciding on frozen berries instead. Frozen berries will go further and I won't end up throwing them out at the end of the week because they've rotted in the fridge if I happen to forget about them being there.

1 envelope taco seasoning - I simply forgot it. :(

Additions:

1 box 8 count no name chocolate chip granola bars & 2 single servings of Yop yogurt drink - Both were picked up at the children's behest.

100g deli-sliced piri piri chicken - This I picked up for Justin.

We spent a total of $148.98.

Week 2 Meal Plan & Grocery List

This Week's Budget:

$150.00

This week's meal plan:

Friday - Pizza Takeout

Saturday - Justin and I are going to see Breaking Dawn and will be eating out. The kids will be eating with our neighbors downstairs.

Sunday - Deli Sandwiches

Monday - Vegetable Barley Soup

Tuesday - Pork Chops w/Apple Gravy

Wednesday - Rosemary Chicken w/Orange-Maple Glaze

Thursday - Lemon-Butter Baked Salmon

Planned baking (maybe if I pre-plan it, I'll actually do it...):

Blueberry Muffins

Strawberry Jelly Roll

Peanut Butter Cookies

Grocery List:

1 box medium freezer bags

1 box 24 count Activia yogurt

1 bunch broccoli

1 dozen eggs

4L milk

1 bag apples

1 bag oranges

1 pomegranate

1 container strawberries

1 container orange juice

1 box granola bars

1 box chicken stock

1 bottle pancake syrup

1 pkg boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 pkg boneless pork chops

1 large pkg lean ground beef (enough for 3 or 4 meals)

1 bag short pasta

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 bag shredded cheese

1 box cereal (Gavin's choice)

Salmon

1 pkg stew meat

1 container spring greens

1 bag baby blend veggies

1 bottle teriyaki sauce

200g deli-sliced turkey

200g deli-sliced honey maple ham

1 bag potatoes

1 box veggie stock

1 tomato

1 cucumber

1 bottle mustard

4 loaves bread

1 jar strawberry jam

1 container blueberries

1 bag barley

2lbs carrots

A couple stalks of celery

1 bottle salad dressing (if on sale)

1 pkg cheese slices

1 jar coffee

1 box sugar twin

1 box wax paper

Week 1: Lessons Learned

We made it through the first week of our grocery/meal planning experiment relatively unscathed. Some things I learned this week:

1. There's not much point in planning breakfast except on the weekends, because the kids just want to eat cereal and toast most school days anyway. I think I will reserve things like monster eyes, pancakes, scrambled eggs, etc. for Saturdays, Sundays, and other days when there is no school. Once in awhile I may surprise them with something a little special on a school morning,  but for the most part simpler is better when you're crunched for time.
2. Lunch is much too hectic to try and keep a pre-plan in place. Quick and easy and spur of the moment is the way to go. The goal: feed the kids with minimal fighting and fooling around and get them back to school on time.
3. Snack planning is also turning out to be a little redundant. As long as the children get something healthy as an after school snack to hold them over until dinner, I honestly don't care what it is.

Not too shabby for our first run out of the gate, don't you think?

I was pretty hard on myself on Friday, however. I had planned to have sliders for dinner but there were no sliders to be found at the grocery store due to a massive sale that we missed by a hair. Instead, we picked up some hot dog buns and some cheese-filled grilling sausages and had those for dinner. I guess if I'm going to continue this experiment, I have to be willing to change things depending on product availability, etc.

Life is what you turn it into...

I've heard it said that "life is what you make of it." But I don't agree. I don't think that finding happiness means that you have to accept what is and be happy with it. I believe that if you aren't getting out of your life what you truly want, that you have it within your means to go after it and turn the life your living into the life you wish you had. I honestly believe this is true of ANYONE. If you don't like your job, get a new one or go back to school and find the job you want. If you're not happy in the relationship you're in, leave and live YOUR life for awhile - the right person will eventually find you. Everything happens for a reason, whether good or bad, and helps to push you in the different directions. YOU have to choose whether or not those directions are the right or wrong ones for you. But once you know which direction you want to take, believe that you can get there and you will. Ok. I'm done rambling.

Thwarted by Product Disappearance

We went shopping this afternoon with our shopping list in hand and $70 budget in mind. We ended up changing things around a bit due to availability and/or sales:

Grocery List w/Changes

4L milk
1 dozen eggs
1 carton (12 boxes) Kraft Dinner
1 flat Mr. Noodles --> There must have been a sale of some sort on noodles because there were none to be found!
1 bag apples
1 bag oranges
2 4 loaves whole wheat bread --> We ended up buying 4 loaves because it was on sale for $1.24/loaf.
1 jar peanut butter
2 boxes granola bars
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
10 white button mushrooms --> Instead of counting out 10 mushrooms we bought a small container, likely containing more, which was on sale for $1.27.
2 bags frozen veggies
1 box sliders --> There was a sign on the fridge door stating sliders were on sale for $1.49 -- cue excited squee! -- but when we opened the door we found they had all been sold out. We, in fact, went to two different stores looking for them with no luck. :(
1 bag slider buns --> We didn't buy these because we didn't need them sans sliders.


Grocery List Additions


2 pkgs cheese and cracker-type snacks (the ones with 5 attached in a string)
5 plastic shopping bags
1 large pkg breakfast sausage


We spent a total of $68.02. Not too bad for our first trip!

Trying Something New

Up until now we have gone grocery shopping twice a month around the 5th and 20th of the month, depending on what day of the week Justin gets paid and also what his work schedule is. We average about $250 a trip, and usually run out of some things in between, like milk and bread. It never seems to be enough, and because we shop for such a long period of time we end up throwing out a lot of produce, which I hate. I think it's time to try something different. I want to try creating a meal plan and shopping weekly. I'm wondering if we'll spend less in the long run and also if we will waste less overall. This is week 1. We will be shopping twice this week, however. Once to pick up a few things that we need to get us through until payday and then again on payday for the following week. I will post my menu plan and grocery list here each week, and then I will post how much we spend on our grocery trips as well as how closely we stick to our menu plan. Here is the short term grocery list and menu plan to get us through until Friday morning.

Budget: $70.00


Menu Plan

Monday

Breakfast (kids) Toast w/butter and strawberry jam (Mom) 1 boiled egg, 2 pieces of toast w/butter and strawberry jam, 1 piece of fruit
Lunch White cheddar Kraft Dinner
Snack Apple
Dinner Sliders w/spring greens and pomegranate

Tuesday

Breakfast Pancakes
Lunch Sandwiches
Snack Granola Bar
Dinner Creamy mushroom pasta w/beef

Wednesday

Breakfast (kids) Oatmeal (Mom) 1 boiled egg, 2 pieces of toast w/butter and strawberry jam, 1 piece of fruit
Lunch Kraft Dinner
Snack Peanut butter and jam crescents
Dinner Bruschetta chicken w/rice and veggies

Thursday

Breakfast Monster Eyes
Lunch Mr. Noodles
Snack Orange
Dinner Pork tenderloin w/potatoes and veggies

Friday

Breakfast Pancakes

Grocery List

4L milk
1 dozen eggs
1 carton (12 boxes) Kraft Dinner
1 flat Mr. Noodles
1 bag apples
1 bag oranges
2 loaves whole wheat bread
1 jar peanut butter
2 boxes granola bars
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
10 white button mushrooms
2 bags frozen veggies
1 box sliders
1 bag slider buns

So there you have it. My first fully planned grocery list and menu plan.You may notice that it doesn't seem overly healthy, and that is something I am hoping to change in the coming weeks. My problem this trip, though, is that we only have so much money and we have to make it go as far as we possibly can. Justin asked me what I'm hoping to gain out of this new approach and I guess I can answer that with two things. 1. I am hoping to waste less food and to add some healthy variety to our eating habits. 2. I am hoping that by planning things out we will be able to save a little bit of money and maybe always have just a little bit in the bank.

And...we're off to go shopping. I'll come back later and let you know how it turns out!

Services Paid for but NOT Satisfactorily Received

I have been struggling with my internet service almost since moving here a year and a half ago. I will lose my service at least a half dozen times a day. That is until a few days ago. Three or four days ago my service started dropping almost every 10 minutes - I'm offline more than I'm on! Talk about frustrating! Tomorrow MTS is FINALLY sending someone out to take a look AGAIN rather than just offering failing advice over the phone. I REALLY hope they fix the problem once and for all!

**P.S. The pic does not belong to me - I found it via Google online.