Donovans4 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 per month, could you post a sample menu for a week or so? Also, please note if you buy any organic products. I have a hard time imagining my family eating for such a small amount, I need some inspiration to get me started in lowering my grocery bill. thanks, LauraD in MN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascamps Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Monday night (tonight) Bean soup with homemade bread and side salad Tuesday: Chili with cornbread and side salad Wednesday: Chicken Curry with rice and side salad Thursday: leftovers or French onion soup and salad Friday: homemade pizza and side salad Saturday: meatloaf or burgers homemade fries and you guessed it, side salad Sunday: Pancakes, eggs, sausage, fruit We eat oatmeal or CHeerios for breakfast. Sometimes an egg burrito. We always have OJ available. Husband gets an Atkins drink for breakfast. Lunches are usually sandwiches, corn dogs, salad, potato, etc. I can get our budget as low as $100 per week for family of 6, if need be. It helps that my husband gets an elk every year that we use primarily for burger. We usually have a spaghetti night, sometimes a salad night, and occasionally if we are busy a grilled cheese and canned soup night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) I'm certainly no expert (others were lower than I was!), but we've been able to keep our grocery budget at $100/week or $75 pp/month. I don't do this every week, but after spending a lot last month, I'm cutting back on groceries for a month or two. Here's our menu for the week: Sun: Hot dogs (a rare treat!), homemade french fries, broccoli Mon - Green Spaghetti (spinach, parmesan cheese, butter, milk blended and served over spaghetti) Tues - BLTs, salad (already had bacon and tomato) Wed - Nachos (already had ground beef and tomato but I only use 1/2 pound of meat and cut it with rice) Thurs - chicken/potatoes/broccoli Fri - homemade pizza Sat - spaghetti/broccoli My shopping list included (this is at three different stores - Trader Joes, Kroger, and Aldi): hot dogs (2 all beef packs for $3) white buns ($1/package - junk food, I know - but it was a cookout for the Superbowl!) potatoes ($2.98 for 15 pounds) broccoli (frozen - on sale this week $1/pound - bought a lot!) whole wheat pasta (49 cents/pound at Trader Joes) frozen spinach ($1.29/pound) milk (on sale - 1.98/gallon - I bought 7) eggs (on sale 10 dozen for $10 - bought 10) lettuce ($2.29 for 2 pounds) chips (1.69 - Trader Joes - organic) salsa - 1.29 at Aldi Sour cream - 99 cents (on sale!) whole chicken (on sale - $2!!) canned tomatoes (for pizza and spaghetti sauces - $3) 1 bottle wine ($3 - Trader Joes) green onions (1.19/pound) Frozen blueberries (2.99/lb) yogurt ($1.50 - Aldi) Organic Jelly (2.69 - ouch! - used to flavor yogurt) Brown sugar (1.50) Cream cheese (99 cents - bought 2) carrots fresh green beans Stocked up on/on sale: Cheese (3/$5 - bought 6) avacado (10 for $10 - bought 3) Blueberries (10 for $10 - bought 4) Grapes (1.59/lb) So, even though I had a few of the items, I also was able to stock up on a few things. We eat the veggies/fruits that are on sale. I had lots of apples and grapefruit left from last week sales, so didn't need to buy too much fresh fruit. Next week, meat is on sale, so I'll stock up then. Breakfast around here is eggs, oatmeal, and toast (with jelly or cream cheese). Lunch is usually leftovers with a twist. The day after nachos, we'll eat the leftover meat/rice over pasta with cheese sprinkled on top and decorated with salsa and cream cheese. I also keep extra pasta on hand in case there aren't leftovers. I bake our own bread. Snacks are usually fruit/yogurt, sunflower seeds, peanut butter on bread, yogurt/jelly, cream cheese on celery or on bread, popcorn, carrots/peanut butter, green beans, etc. Very simple. HTH!! ETA - we don't eat out. Well, I take that back - we eat out for Easter brunch and when we're on vacation. I live it up during those times!! I try very hard to plan ahead so that we don't need to stop for food. If we're going to a child's baseball game (one is on a tournament team), I pack the cooler with the food we would've eaten that day anyway. Edited February 2, 2009 by Jennifer in MI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Basic meals here are: spaghetti and other pastas burritos/tacos/enchiladas homemade soups casseroles meat, frozen veggies, starch, salad We eat simple meals, nothing too gourmet but good quality and properly prepared. Dh has friends who regularly eat in nice restaurants in the city. They often say they would rather eat at our house :0). It doesn't have to be expensive to be good. breakfast: we don't usually have meat at breakfast oatmeal or other hot cereal cereal with a protein of 5 or more per cup, so your not hungry again in an hour :0) that is less that $2.50 per box (raisin bran and wheat chex both are usually cheap and have this) breakfast burritos frozen fruit smoothies (pick fruit in the summer and freeze it or buy it in bulk at stores like Costco.) snacks: crackers and cheese fruit/veggies smoothies cereal snack crackers/animal cookies We eat very good on $100 a person and still do fine on $75. I buy a lot of organics, but not always depending on the price and what I am doing with them. I grow some organic veggies in the summer. I keep a pantry, rotating items and I buy cases if it is something I use all the time and cheap. We buy our beef and hog, home raised and it costs us about $3 per pound. I will watch for marked down meat to make soups out of and usually get that for .50-1.50 pp. The biggest difference for me is shopping in a cheap grocery store instead of the nice stores. I save easily $100 month by shopping at Winco over brand name stores. Last night I bought Pacifica Tomato soup for $2.50 regular price at Winco...at Safeway, it is $4.50 :glare: Just on this one luxury item, I saved $8 (I buy 4 a month). I can repeat this same scenario for an hour. I can bag my own groceries for that price difference! I don't really coupon shop, I don't want to. I will use one if it falls in my lap, but otherwise don't. I also shop at Costco and Trader Joes. Between the 3 places, I buy almost all of our needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 We're not quite $75 yet, but getting there. There isn't really anything special about our menu. A typical week might look like this: Sun.- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, random vegetables Mon.- baked (boneless, skinless) chicken breasts, rice, vegetables Tues.- Breakfast For Dinner (pancakes or french toast, bacon or sausage, eggs) Wed.- boneless pork chops, sweet potatoes,applesauce, vegetables Thurs.- taco night or spagetti night Fri.- salad with leftover chicken or steak or pork on top Sat.- crock pot roast Nothing overly fancy. Nothing overly complicated. Nothing overly bad for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Basic meals here are: spaghetti and other pastas burritos/tacos/enchiladas homemade soups casseroles meat, frozen veggies, starch, salad We eat simple meals, nothing too gourmet but good quality and properly prepared. Dh has friends who regularly eat in nice restaurants in the city. They often say they would rather eat at our house :0). It doesn't have to be expensive to be good. breakfast: we don't usually have meat at breakfast oatmeal or other hot cereal cereal with a protein of 5 or more per cup, so your not hungry again in an hour :0) that is less that $2.50 per box (raisin bran and wheat chex both are usually cheap and have this) breakfast burritos frozen fruit smoothies (pick fruit in the summer and freeze it or buy it in bulk at stores like Costco.) This sounds about like us. We do simple stuff, but I know how to season things so they taste good. I freeze or can what I can from our garden, freeze green beans, can salsa & tomatoes. This summer we were given a ton of apples and I made sauce, pie filling, frozen apple slices/chunks for other stuff. With couponing, I'm able to get a ton of free frozen veggies and always have them stocked in our freezer. We do not go organic on this stuff, know that I'm doing better than if I had bought canned, we just do the best that we can, dh doesn't think organic is all it's cracked up to be. We are all healthy, try and limit things that have HFCS in them. I do a lot of baking, fresh breads, rolls, cinnamon rolls on Sunday mornings, donuts as a treat. I love to do this, so it's not a "chore" for me and I'm good at it. Also, all of our H&B products, I pay little or nothing for. I am a CVS shopper and roll Extra Care Bucks all the time. The other morning, I got 4 Reeses Whipps 3 Deans Milk 1 Vaseline lotion 1 Gain 4 Revitalift (2 cleansers & 2 wash pads) Excedrin 2 Viva Used CVS $10/50 that I got over a week ago $1.00 CVS Viva & $1.00 CVS Excedrin 2-.35 viva coupons $1.00/2 Whipps (2 Coupons) $2 off Revitalift (four coupons) $1 off Gain $1.50 off Vaseline lotion $15 ECB from Gillette Last week. Total before coupons was $56.xx Out of Pocket, $10.16, got back $22.49 in Extra Care Bucks to use another time. I buy bulk cheese and freeze and also cheese slices. We only drink Dole Pineapple OJ in the morning(I've found this to be cheaper than just plain OJ & the kids like it better anyway), Milk at lunch & Dinner. Water during the rest of the time. We hardly drink pop unless it's a treat. Really we are pretty simple. Lots of homemade soups for lunch. The couponing though is what has really helped me save. I have friends & family save me their coupons and also buy several papers a week. In January, my OOP $304.23 Savings $537.39 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 A typical week for us would be something like this: Day one: roast chicken, glazed carrots, rice, salad Day two: homemade pizza, salad Day three: shredded leftover chicken and gravy over rice, broccoli, salad Day four: chicken chili (cook down the last of the chicken for that), cornbread, salad Day five: lentil soup, baked potatoes, salad Day six: crustless quiche (w/ any leftover veggies from earlier in the week), homemade bread, salad Day seven: salmon loaf, mashed sweet potatoes, homemade applesauce, salad Breakfast here is anything and everything, usually eggs, homemade yogurt, oatmeal, toast(w/ homemade bread), muffins, pancakes, french toast. DH packs lunch, usually tuna or pbj, but we stock up when we see a good deal on decent quality coldcuts. I usually have leftovers or bean soup for lunch. The kids like pbj, quesadillas, or tuna. We each eat at least 3 pieces of whole fruit each day -- but only what is in season, or an amazing deal. You can see that we have salad every night -- I can almost always get great red leaf lettuce for 99 cents a pound, and I add whatever is a good deal, dressed with olive oil and vinegar. I bake cookies and quickbreads for snacks, and we airpop popcorn. We drink some milk, and DH and the kids usually have a glass of oj with breakfast. I mostly drink tea and coffee, and we all drink plenty of water. We don't get much organic stuff, but a lot of our produce and cheese is local, as are our eggs. I think that we eat a lot more produce than any of our friends who spend much more on groceries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I posted $100 pp/month conservative estimate. Last week the average was $70 pp/month. I contribute our savings to shopping at Costco, and we hardly eat any fresh fruit, and most of our veggies are bought bulk & frozen & cooked. Whenever I have fresh fruit in the house, it costs a bundle and a week's worth is gone in 2-3 days. So, I buy frozen and make fruit/keifer shakes, and homemade blueberry or strawberry sauce for our pancakes, so we get some fruit there. Last week our dinner menu was: Mon - Soup (my choice - pinto bean soup - Lebanese style) Tue - Steak (hubby's choice - serloin steaks w/ mashed red potatoes & salad) Wed - Italian sausage & pene pasta Thu - Meatball soup, mexican style, "Albondigas" on allrecipes.com Fri - Philly cheese steak sandwiches Sat - Hamburgers Sun - Costco pizza The week before our dinner menu was: Sun - Leftovers from the previous week Mon - Simple Hamburger Stroganoff allrecipes.com Tue - Chicken Enchiladas I allrecipes.com Wed - Chicken Florentine Casserole allrecipes.com Thu - Barbeque Beef Casserole allrecipes.com Fri - Tuna Noodle Casserole II allrecipes.com Sat - Garbanzo bean soup (my own recipe Lebanese style) Anyway, here are some ideas. If you go to allrecipes.com you can enter in an ingredient, like a meat you have on hand, and get a huge list of recipes with that ingredient. If I didn't make a plan, that's what I use to figure out what to make. The last few weeks I've made a dinner plan, and it has saved me some time and money in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 How do ya'll make your own Homemade Pizza? I suppose topping a Boboli wouldn't count :lol: How do you make your crust. ;) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomesteadMommy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 How do ya'll make your own Homemade Pizza? I suppose topping a Boboli wouldn't count :lol: How do you make your crust. ;) Thanks Every Sat. is pizza night here. Dh used to have his own restaurant, so he makes ours. :D He just made a video on YouTube showing how he does it. Will be making another one soon showing the ingredient prep. Here is the link if you would like to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I posted $100 pp/month conservative estimate. Last week the average was $70 pp/month. I contribute our savings to shopping at Costco, and we hardly eat any fresh fruit, and most of our veggies are bought bulk & frozen & cooked. Whenever I have fresh fruit in the house, it costs a bundle and a week's worth is gone in 2-3 days. :iagree: Bulk buying, and my family only eats apples or banana's. Frozen veggies when they will eat them most of the time. Otherwise, my meals look like everyone elses. I honestly have no CHOICE but to have mine this low. If not, my food budget would be over 25% of our income. I was hoping to get a good garden in - but well, this pending divorce is putting a damper on that. I"m not starting a garden then leaving it you know? (although the plan is for him to leave the house). OUr veggie and fruit consumption will go up when we can produce it ourselves. But we are more of a "meat and potato" kind of house i guess. I do bake our bread 99% of the time, and my kids are happy eating PB&J daily. I'm budgeting for next month for some ham to have for lunches. Oh and i am working to not buy cleaning products, and trying to get out of the paper towel habit. I think that is working.... i have 2 rolls left of the 6 i bought Dec 13. :D But overall, i have no choice - the money isn't there to spend more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janna Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 How do you make your crust. ;) Thanks Here's my recipe: dissolve 1 pkt of yeast in 1 1/3 C. warm water (no hotter than 115 degrees) when dissolved, add 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of oil (I use olive) Mix While mixing ( I am mixing with the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid stand mixer), add 1 C. of whole wheat flour (you could also make it 1 1/2 C) and 3 C. of all-purpose flour Put it in a large, greased bowl, (I grease with olive oil - just a smidgen) and let rise in a warm place (I turn my oven on for a few minutes then shut it off when it's warm-NOT hot and put the dough in there). When it's done rising (about 2 hrs min.), divide in half. Roll out each half and top. Makes 2 13 in. pizzas. Could be bigger pizzas but the crust will be thinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaofTwo Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I always check out cutouthunger.org to see what is really on sale and what coupons I can use to keep my expenses down. I appreciate all the menu ideas. It helps me to think beyond my typical menu and mix it up a bit. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomesteadMommy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Our basic menu is Sunday ~ A roast (pork, beef or a turkey), mashed potatoes, veggies, biscuits and gravy. Monday ~ Noodles and hot dogs (sliced with the noodles), salad Tuesday ~ Potatoes (if I'm in a rush I make homemade fries, if not then mashed, scalloped ect.), left over meat from Sundays roast, veggies, salad. Wednesday ~ Pancakes with eggs or homemade sausage Thursday ~ Meat (normally from Sundays roast), potatoes, veggies, biscuits, salad Friday ~ Pasta night, normally a tomato pasta with garlic bread and salad Saturday ~ Homemade pizza night, normally with garlic bread and salad. Breakfast is oatmeal with milk and fruit. Some times pancakes or eggs with fried meat. Lunch is homemade soup. When dh was working he would take supper left overs for lunch. He liked it better then sandwiches and it was cheaper to. So I would just make a larger supper every night, that way there would be enough. Snacks are homemade cookies, muffins, etc. I make every thing from scratch...well except for the dry pasta :tongue_smilie:. We make our own bisquick mix, laundry soap ect. I don't buy organics often any more. But we do have a large garden and can and freeze a LOT. Last year was not a good year for our garden the weather was really bad. However our potatoes did really well and we harvested about 1200 pounds. So we have lots to base our meals around, share and use for seed this coming year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 The biggest thing for our family is that I pay retail prices for very few items. We are blessed to have a number of small discount grocery stores in our area, where prices are at least 50% off the usual. I try to spend $80 per week for our family of five. I buy everything I can at the discount grocery stores, get as much of the rest as I can at Aldi's, get meats at Sams Club, and only go to the chain grocery stores in a pinch. I buy our produce (non-organic) at the local farmer's market at really cheap prices. I make meals out of whatever I find at low prices... I don't plan meals and then go get the ingredients. So a basic day for us would be: Breakfast- cereal and fruit Lunch- lunchmeat sandwich, pretzels, fruit or veggies and dip Supper- tonight was garlic chicken, stuffing, and corn; last night was enchilada casserole with black beans; other meals might be spaghetti and salad, or hot turkey sandwiches, or a variety of soups, etc. Really I don't think I actually *cook* all that frugally. I don't make bread from scratch, and I do use some convenience foods. For me, the savings is all in the places where I shop. If I didn't live in a place with good discount food options, I would probably have to seriously revise the way that I cook and the kinds of foods that we eat, to stay within our budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Oh and i am working to not buy cleaning products, and trying to get out of the paper towel habit. I think that is working.... i have 2 rolls left of the 6 i bought Dec 13. :D You know, my friend won't buy paper towels because they have 9 kids and would go through them like crazy. I can put a roll on and it will last us over two weeks, if not longer. I have some that I stocked up on, either got cheap or a sale & that's been months ago and we've rarely put a dent in them. Unless it's something REALLY messy or yucky for sanitation purposes, I just use a rag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 My pizza dough recipe is similar to Janna's, except that I omit the sugar and add in dried oregano. I use my breadmaker to make mine, on the dough setting (I make all of my bread with it using that setting, then shape and bake the loaves in the oven). Whenever I see mozzarella or provolone for under $3 a pound, I stock up, and freeze it if necessary. I use any sort of tomato sauce (homemade or HFCS-free sale stuff) as the sauce, and we top it with what we have on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Big expense cutter: no breakfast cereal and really cut back or cut out liqued milk. Pancakes, granola, eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. Soups, chilis for dinner- a couple of times a week. We had a huge garden and froze, sauced, dried, canned etc. We are still eating applesauce, dried apples, peaches, gr.peppers, jelly from last summer. We are going to triple our tomatoes, onions, peppers and herbs this summer. We get deer meat and pheasant from a friend. It's not our #1 choice but it's free and healthy. We've also been getting eggs for free from a friend. We'll probably have chickens again this summer. I shop all household goods at Sams/or get for $1. We do most of our grocery shopping at Sams. We don't have a lot of variety, but we generally have balanced meals and we made it through a real financial crunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 How do ya'll make your own Homemade Pizza? I use the recipe on this video from America's Test Kitchen. It comes out perfect, not greasy at all. You could add your own toppings if you want. The only thing I change is that I put half butter/half olive oil in the pan instead of all olive oil. Otherwise the olive oil flavor is overpower to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 This isn't exactly a menu, but here's a list of the stuff we eat for dinner in a 6-week period (the last sections are side dishes and sauces). This usually costs about $50/person, unless we're living in a particularly expensive city, like now, when we're spending closer to $75/person. Lunch is leftovers or peanut butter sandwiches or pasta, and breakfast is muffins or rice cereal or toast and fruit. I make almost everything from scratch and buy in bulk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 How do you make your crust. ;) Bread machine! We got it as a wedding gift, and I've only begun to use it in the past year or two. I love making pizza dough and cinnamon roll dough with it. :D Well, and bread, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I use the recipe on this video from America's Test Kitchen. It comes out perfect, not greasy at all. You could add your own toppings if you want. The only thing I change is that I put half butter/half olive oil in the pan instead of all olive oil. Otherwise the olive oil flavor is overpower to me. Ohhhhh, thanks for this link. It looks great - heck, i'm ready to go buy some mozzarella so i can have it for dinner. I wonder if i could use one big pan instead of 2 smaller ones? (because i have a bigger pan pizza pan) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesloonybin Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I save easily $100 month by shopping at Winco over brand name stores. Last night I bought Pacifica Tomato soup for $2.50 regular price at Winco...at Safeway, it is $4.50 :glare: Just on this one luxury item, I saved $8 (I buy 4 a month). I can repeat this same scenario for an hour. I can bag my own groceries for that price difference! Oh how I miss WINCO! :001_smile: That has been the hardest thing about moving cross country. We use to live 3-4 blocks from Winco in South Salem and I LOVED it. We always got a good deal there. Our food budget has gone up a bit since we moved. (though NC is not as bad as Maine was) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Ohhhhh, thanks for this link. It looks great - heck, i'm ready to go buy some mozzarella so i can have it for dinner. I wonder if i could use one big pan instead of 2 smaller ones? (because i have a bigger pan pizza pan) I don't know why not, as long as it is deep enough it should work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCoppock Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Sunday- Eggs and toast for breakfast, PB/J Sandwhich for lunch with either apple or grapes, and Lentil Chili for dinner Monday- Oatmeal and Peach yogurt muffins for breakfast with milk, Lunch Left-over Chili that I added a can of corn to, Dinner Spaghetti with vegetable tomato sauce, cheese garlic bread and side salad Tuesday- Cherrios for breakfast, Mac and Cheese with carrots for lunch, Tacos (refried beans, chicken, cheese, salad, and salsa) with spanish style rice for dinner We also had apple crisp for dessert Wednesday- Oatmeal and peach yogurt muffins with milk for breakfast, Don't stone me, but Wendy's for lunch, Pork roast with tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions for dinner Again we ate apple crisp for dessert Thursday- Cherrios for breakfast, Left-overs for lunch, Chicken and Vegetable Stew (potatoes, carrots, grean beans, celery, onions, etc) with cheese biscuits for dinner I made a jello and cool whip pie (not healthy but I was craving it) Friday- Son wanted toast with cheese for breakfast, Left-overs for lunch, and DS will be eating at my mothers for dinner, I will probably just have a sandwhich and DH will eat Leftovers Saturday I have no planned menu. I work both Friday and Saturday night so DH is on his own, and DS is with Nana. We snack on whatever fruits and vegetables are in the fridge. Right now we have apples, grapes, and strawberries. For veggies we have carrots and celery. I am learning to make many things from scratch which has decreased my food bill significantly, and we are not throwing away left-overs. I also shop sales and search for food coupons online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tribemama Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Oh how I miss WINCO! Winco is an hour away from where I live - I Love IT!!!! We have cut back our grocery bill like crazy! I always plan on what meat is on sale and develop a menu from that... I also like to try - I don't always succeed - in making meals for two weeks. It saves me to know that there is a meal in the freezer - then to swing by a fast food place. We do eat lots of fruit and vegies - but I would rather cut out on the meat and have more fresh fruits and vegies. I make my own laundry soap, I bought shaklee cleaning - this will last me forever! - I don't use paper towels, I use cloth diapers. I don't buy from a CLUB - because I don't think there is a cost savings vs. Winco. I just bought a 10lb. bag of potatoes for .78cents! Potato soup, potato bar (put your own fixin's on top of a potato with leftover chili and broccoli, homestyle fries and eggs, potato burritos with salsa and cheese and mixed vegies! I am trying to average $80/week for our house - but we always come back with $125 - (I know its my obsession with CHOCOLATE!) This is everything!! I can make a grocery bill of $50 if need be. HillbillyHousewife.com has some great ideas. I also have the five ingredient vegetarian cook book. Look into CSA's - some you can work at the farm to get a lower rate. Also, I love our farmers market - a local lady sells hydro-grown lettuce for $1. I find fruit whatever is in season and try to buy local - I was getting organic apples for .88cents a pound - I canned like crazy! BTW - my 11 and 10 year old love helping with the grocery bill and menu's. Tribemama Mother to the Tribe Alex(15)Sean(11)Gaby(10)Max(7)Eleanor(3)Tobias(2)Owen(2months) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Does anyone make pizza dough by hand? no dough hook, no bread machine? :glare: :) :seeya: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Does anyone make pizza dough by hand? no dough hook, no bread machine? :glare: :) :seeya: I do. I use the recipe on here that I think was posted by Trivium Academy but it's suppose to be a Papa John clone and it is very good and easy to make by hand. Sorry I don't have the link handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Breakfast: Eggs, toast, fruit; cereal and milk; oatmeal and fruit Lunch: Sandwiches, sometimes meat and cheese, most of the time pb&j; more fruit; carrots/broccoli/cauliflower/celery; dippy sauce (aka Ranch dressing); Soup and grilled cheese Dinner: Spaghetti; Chilli; Chicken, rice, peas and carrots; Roast, potatoes, carrots and green beans; Pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn, applesauce, peas; Salisbury steak, tomatoes and rice; Taco pie This isn't every week, but it's a pretty good example. We don't eat all those things for lunch and breakfast every day, but this way we can get a little variety. I don't usually spend more than 150 or so a week, but then most of these things do not have to be bought every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Keep in mind that prices on food varies from area to area. What is $75 dollars worth in one area is no way $75 in another. I wonder how comparable some of these lists are. I know a few people mentioned they can buy dried beans for $1. Even at the cheapest store here I pay $1.29. That might not seem huge, but spread that out on all items and it adds up. I know I checked at our local Trader Joe's after someone mentioned getting whole wheat pasta for 49 cents a lb there. The cheapest ours had it was $1.19/$1.29 for a lb (don't remember exactly, just that it was a *lot* more than 49 cents :)) unless I really missed something. I can find a pound of dried beans on sale sometimes for $1 a pound (lucked onto a 10lb bag of dried black beans once for $3, but that was extremely rare), but regularly it is more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Keep in mind that prices on food varies from area to area. What is $75 dollars worth in one area is no way $75 in another. . This is a good point. I priced that $45 shopping menu and over twice that. :confused: :seeya: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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