Could you please help me cut my grocery bill?

[mefordis]

Could you please help me cut my grocery bill???

My problem is that I don't have set meals for the week, so I go to the grocery store last minute and impulse buy. Would you mind sharing your menus with me?

I serve organic when possible, and try to avoid preservatives or artificial ingredients. My kids like salmon, broccoli, chicken nuggets (i get Bell and Evans), Amy's pizza, hamburgers with Alexis brand fries.

If anyone out there has a set menu they use for their kids, I would be incredibly grateful if you could share it with me!

Thank you!

 

[ilovejack02]

I use allrecipes.com to help me find new recipes which makes meal planning easier.

very user friendly and love that there are reviews of each recipe.

 

[Justsyd2]

We don't plan meals, but we keep up with staples, and keep a stock of dried beans and rice, pastas, and potatoes. We go to the local Farmer's Market each week and buy tons of fruit and veggies. Then we buy our organic meat, choose a bean, rice, pasta or potato, grab a veggie, and dinner is done!

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

My sister and I are both single parents. We can eat almost all organic fruits and veggies by looking for them in the markdowns. You have to look, but you can find some good things marked way down. As for running into the grocery store for a few things and end up with alot of impulse buying. You can work on this, lol. I go to the grocery store just about every day and stick to my list, it took awhile for me to stop myself from buying everything I saw but I have gotten alot better. I think I am actually spending less that I would by buying once a week. I have a new grocery store right at the bottom of the street I live on, and I thought I would buy too much. What I do is buy just for the day we are in. I can always go back the next day and get item I didn't buy the day before. There are times where I have changed my mind by the next day. Plus I plan my meals around whatever is on sale.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I enjoy this blog:

http://eatathomecooks.com/

She provides a weekly menu with shopping list and daily posts with pictures.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I enjoy this blog:

http://eatathomecooks.com/

She provides a weekly menu with shopping list and daily posts with pictures.

This is a great site, I just went through it, and bookmarked it.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I do a two week menu calendar. It helps me stay on track and I do allow for flexibility. If I swap meals or we end up with take out, I make a note on that calendar day and add that meal to the bottom of the two weeks.

Right now it's just me again so I don't have a menu calendar as I'm content with cereal or whatever. But here is an example of a menu for me:

Sunday: grilled chicken, spicy macaroni salad, with black beans and corn
Monday: Baked fish, sweet potato fries and green beans
Tuesday: spiced up ground turkey added to the leftover macroni salad
with shredded cheese, jalepeno corn muffins, fruit salad
Wednesday: breakfast night
Thursday: meatball subs and leftover sides
Friday: homemade pizza and salad
Saturday: take out
Sunday: pot roast with roasted veggies and rolls
Monday: turkey sloppy joes, spiced brown rice, and carrot sticks
Tuesday: leftover pot roast turned into italian beef sandwhiches and fruit
Wednesday: breakfast night
Thursday: leftovers or sandwhiches
Friday: homemade pizza night

I keep this on a dry erase board so I can make changes when our schedules change. First thing in the morning or last thing at night, I pull down things from cabinents or pantry and put whatever needs thawed into the fridge.

If nothing else, whomever is home first knows what is for dinner and can get it started *ahem my husband*

 

[*QueenB*]

Do not shop hungry, ever. You do not really have to make a super decisive list, I cannot stand to do this but I rather set price limits on certain items like snacks, ect. As far as set meals go you could make a master list of meals that your family likes, separated by category (like Italian, ect.) and then all you have to do is look and pick however many you need to shop for.
However if you could say the age of your kids I might have meal suggestions.

 

[busyshrew]

Here's some tips that I follow:

I keep a pantry, stocked up with the basics (I think the "basics" can also be slightly different for each family). For us, that means I always have : flour, butter, milk, eggs, rice (brown, white and basmati), pastas, dried beans, canned chickpeas, baked beans, spices & seasonings, sauces. I also keep my freezer stocked with basics: frozen peas & carrots, frozen corn, frozen edamame, frozen fries, homemade beef & chicken stocks, three or four different cheeses.... you get the picture! I am ALWAYS trying to get coupons for these basics and I try to stock up on these items (they usually don't go bad quickly) when I can get them on good sales.

From there, I scour the Thursday papers (in our area, the grocery flyers are out on Thursdays) and see what's on sale. I'll compare sales items against any coupons I have. The sales & coupons will usually determine what I buy and what I make for the week. I will write up a quick list of 5 dinners and 4 lunches that I will prep for the week, and then it's out to shop.

From late May to November, we shop local for produce and meats, so I sometimes call ahead to our local greengrocer's and my butcher to see if anything is going to be on sale. Our greengrocer's has a fantastic website that shows what produce is in season at what time, so that provides quite a bit of inspiration. Right now, it's good-eatin' time. Peas are done, but green beans, zucchini, lettuces, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, new baby potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn, peaches, red & black currants, ever-bearing strawberries, raspberries & blueberries are all being harvested locally. If you get to the local farmer's market at the very end of market day, the food is usually on terrific sale - you can pick up a basket of peaches for $2 instead of $5, for example.

I always try to shop once a week, on the same day. I like a routine and I find I can keep better track of what food is coming into my house that way.

Once the food is home, I try to wash up any produce and prep as much of it as possible right away. Local produce is usually fresher, but also usually much much dirtier . So I put aside about 30 minutes to wash up veggies & fruits, put stuff away into my tupperware, portion things up (cuts of meat especially), and it's a good time to freeze up any fruit & veg that didn't get eaten in the first week, for smoothies or soups.

There are also a few good websites about making your grocery dollar go further - one blogger made a bet to eat on $1 a day. (And he managed to do it too!!).

I applaud your efforts - I noticed about two years ago that food prices seemed to go crazy, and while it does take more organizing (making a list and pre-planning a few meals), the end results are worth it.

 

[tinkrebell]

I go to WholeFoods.com and look at their everyday, quick & easy meal recipes, which usually have some small number of ingredients I have to buy in addition to what's normally stocked in my pantry. . . THEN I go to Trader Joe's and get everything dirt dirt cheap!

 

[LanaJae]

Write down all the dinners you like to eat on index cards and carry them with you.

If you have an Aldi near you, you can save about 40% on your grocery expense each month.

 

[java]

Alexia often sends out coupons- sign up at their website.

Keep your eyes open for coupons. I was surprised at many organics having coupons.

How I saved money- (I went from major impulse spending trips of around $300 for our family of 6 down to $100!! when I started paying attention.

Instead of buying things like fries and chicken nuggets you can make them from scratch. Freeze them in bulk. The Bell and Evan's chicken breasts go on sale every once in a while and you can stock up and freeze the nuggets(by the way recently I have been disappointed in bell and evans wonder if they've changed distributers or something.)

On Sunday I look at the flyer and decide what is on sale that I can make a meal out of.
Generally one week is pork- next beef- next chicken. If you stock your freezer you won't be eating all pork for the week.

Bring a calculator with you to the store. Start with the essentials- Set a limit. When you get there. STOP SHOPPING.

Good luck and really it makes me sick to think about how much money I was throwing away for years. Not anymore.

 

[ccgirl]

Not sure if you have it in your area but I do Peapod by Stop & Shop. There is a $7 delivery fee but it cuts my impulse buying way down and I save my time and gasoline. Plus, you can use coupons. You can even look at the labels on their site. I LOVE IT!!!!

 

[mefordis]

OMG! This is what I need! Thank you!!!

Thank you to EVERYONE who posted to my thread.

I enjoy this blog:

http://eatathomecooks.com/

She provides a weekly menu with shopping list and daily posts with pictures.

 

[mefordis]

Not sure if you have it in your area but I do Peapod by Stop & Shop. There is a $7 delivery fee but it cuts my impulse buying way down and I save my time and gasoline. Plus, you can use coupons. You can even look at the labels on their site. I LOVE IT!!!!

Thank you for reminding me of them! I haven't ever used them. May I ask what you spend on groceries every month, approximately? We are also a family of 4.

 

[mefordis]

I go to WholeFoods.com and look at their everyday, quick & easy meal recipes, which usually have some small number of ingredients I have to buy in addition to what's normally stocked in my pantry. . . THEN I go to Trader Joe's and get everything dirt dirt cheap!

Another GREAT idea!

 

[java]

One more tip- try to stretch meat meals with some non-meat ones. And also think of meat in different ways- vs. the main part of the meal more as a part of it- For example- steak can be expensive- if you buy one to try to feed 4 that won't work- but if you slice it thin- put it into a beef and broccoli stir fry it goes longer.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I shop 2 weeks at a time, so what I do is start with deciding what meals I plan to make during that time and take into account nights I know we'll end up eating out and special plans. Then I add only the items I need to make those meals to the grocery list. Then I check our breakfast items. We usually keeps 2-3 boxes of cereal, pop tarts, and yogurt, as well as eggs on hand. So I add what we need of those to the list. Then I do the same for lunch. I count chips, pickles, and cookies as part of the lunch makings menu and I don't buy anything not on the menu. We usually spend less than $100/wk for a family of 5 and that includes all the household items like toothpaste, dog food,and detergent that we buy at the same time.

 

[Jen117]

I plan my weekly meals based on what is on sale at the store or what I have stocked in the freezer/pantry. Match coupons to sale items to save even more. I spend approximately $50 each week on groceries and go to the farmers market during the summer for produce. We are a family of 5: 2 adults, 9yo, 7yo and infant.

 

[mefordis]

Do you mind if I ask what some of your meals that you make are, for breakfast, lunch and dinner? If you only spend $50 a week I KNOW I can cut my weekly bill down from $300 a week! Does the $50 include toiletries and diapers? I'm guessing it doesn't.

Thank you!

I plan my weekly meals based on what is on sale at the store or what I have stocked in the freezer/pantry. Match coupons to sale items to save even more. I spend approximately $50 each week on groceries and go to the farmers market during the summer for produce. We are a family of 5: 2 adults, 9yo, 7yo and infant.