Grocery Confessional

Gracie has inspired me to share and evaluate my grocery receipts! It makes one so vulnerable, doesn't it? I feel like I spend too much at the grocery, but at the same time, I am really trying to prioritize on better foods, so I guess there's a "tension" as Clint Wilcke used to say!

I've realized, too, that when I do have plenty of things to cook there's less temptation to eat out. Living at camp, the temptation to eat out is huge--it gives you a change of scenery (work and home are one and it's good to get away), a thirty-minute drive into town means that any errands or appointments will probably mean travel during mealtime or arriving home just before naps. For us, there's a value to eating out that transcends the mere value of staying home to eat a sandwich, However, we do need to improve, still.

So, here's last Monday's Grocery expenditures! This should cover two weeks, except for some milk and produce pick-ups.

Bread Outlet
3.00 for two loaves of high-fiber, hfcs free multigrain bread

Sam's
3.12 Corn Tortillas (big bag)
3.98 White Mushrooms
6.98 Due North Nut Clusters
3.88 Five Avocados
12.07 Top Sirloin (4 steaks)

Total: 37.46

Kroger
Pantry/Stock Ups
2.59 Whole Wheat Flour
2.29 White Sugar (for tea--guilty!)
1.16 Large Can Diced Tomatoes
2.50 Two Cans Jumbo Black Olives
.65 French Dressing Mix
1.59 Yellow Mustard
3.45 Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1.75 Rice
2.39 Yeast
3.39 Cocoa
1.25 Black Beans

Dairy
2.00 Two pkg Cream Cheese
14.97 Six Pounds of Cheese (Mozz/Cheddar/Colby Jack
5.58 Organic Milk
2.00 Sour Cream (32 oz)
5.07 Grain Fed Eggs
1.59 Organic Half-n-Half

Frozen Foods
3.19 Frozen Ravioli
1.00 Frozen Snap Peas

Meat
2.99 Italian Sausage
5.90 Bag of Leg Quarters

Produce
1.69 Spinach
1.80 4.5 Pounds Overripe Bananas
2.50 5 Pounds Grapefruit
.34 1 Lime
1.03 Garlic
1.19 Cilantro
1.49 Carrots
.79 Red Onions
1.79 White Onions
1.54 Cabbage
1.00 Cucumbers

Kroger Total 88.87 (14.78 Savings on "Plus Card")


Total on groceries for roughly two weeks: 129.33

I had a menu planned out when I left and ditched it once I started shopping--go figure! Pantry stock ups are a pain because they do add to the bill but are so necessary--and why is yeast so expensive? Anyone know?

Here is what we ate last week:
Monday Night: Bacon, Eggs, Cheese Grits

Tuesday Breakfast: PBJS, my leftovers from Monday lunch

Tuesday Lunch: Soaked Crust Pizza with: Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, Bell Pepper, Onions, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Mozzarella. Grapefruit on the side

Tuesday Supper:Kids ate cereal and Banana bread. Tuan and I had a post-bedtime "date": steak, blue cheese, onion rings and mushrooms cooked in butter. (Butter + Mushrooms = bliss)

Wednesday Breakfast: Banana Bread in the car (on the way to Bible Study)

Wednesday Lunch: We nearly always drive-through somewhere after Bible Study.

Wednesday Night: We went to Sam's to buy a Mattress and had supper with Warner and Becky afterwards

Thursday Breakfast: Banana Bread, scrambled eggs

Thursday Lunch: Soaked Pizza again, with tomato sauce, mushrooms, onions, olives, italian sausage and cheese

Thursday Supper: Chili from the freezer, made into a casserole: Cream cheese, green chiles, chili, cheese and olives. Served with homemade tortilla chips, raw veggies (cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots) and homemade ranch dip.

Friday Breakfast: PBJS, banana, scrambled eggs, toast

Friday Lunch: Leftover Chili casserole

Friday Supper: Camp

Saturday Breakfast: PBJS and bananas

Saturday Lunch: camp

Saturday Supper: company! We did a Tex-Mex-make-your-own buffet type thing: Cilantro Lime Rice, Stewed Black Beans, Marinated Steak, homemade Pico De Gallo, guacamole, cheese, lettuce, chips, sour cream, lettuce, salsa, tortillas and a "Rust Chocolate Tart" for dessert.

Sunday Lunch: Leftover Mexican

Sunday Supper: This was Aubrey's Birthday party and we had Soaked Crust Pepperoni and Cheese Pizzas

Monday Breakfast: Leftover Pizza (we all slept in, so it was second breakfast)

Monday Lunch: Taco salad (used up the leftovers, plus some ground beef in the freezer)

And the rest of the story? I need to figure out supper right now! Hopefully Tuan will go for a breakfast supper tonight.
For the rest of the week, I am planning to make a chicken/sausage tomato soup with ravioli and spinach. I have no recipe, so we'll see how it goes! I think some egg salad, more banana bread and Salmon with coleslaw and hushpuppies may be in the works.

That's my grocery bill!
129.33