Last Week’s $59.29 Shopping Trip

I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 budget for our family of six (two adults, two teens, a pre-teen, and a baby). This includes almost all of our breakfasts, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, feminine products, etc.). Jesse and I usually eat lunch at home. The kids have lunch at school.

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories. See all posts on my $70 Grocery Budget here.

Three ways we save a lot of money on groceries is by sticking with simple meals, planning our menu based upon what’s on sale at the store and what we have on hand, and making creative substitutions. For instance, I can often get pasta and pasta sauce on great sales. When I find a deal on cheese and cottage cheese, we make Lasagna Casserole (or Baked Ziti, as some people call it.)

I made Chicken Stuffing Casserole for dinner one night last week because I had gotten chicken and frozen veggies on sale and had stuffing that I’d gotten marked down. I didn’t have any sour cream or plain or greek yogurt so I subbed half & half instead. It worked!

I was so excited about this deal on fresh asparagus! We’re going to have roasted asparagus as sides for some of our dinners this week!

Kroger Shopping Trip

Here’s what I got at Kroger this week:

• 2 Gerber Baby Food — marked down to $0.49 each
• Comforts Baby Food — marked down to $0.39
• 2 cans tomato sauce — marked down to $0.19 each
• 2 packets of yeast — marked down to $0.49 each
• 1 can tomatoes — marked down to $0.39
• 2 bags frozen green beans — $1 each
• Yoplait yogurt — $0.60
• Moosetracks yogurt — marked down to $0.39
• Half & Half — $1.99
• Brown Cow yogurt — marked down to $1.99
• 2 dozen eggs — marked down to $0.99 each
• 2 yogurts — marked down to $0.29 each
• 2 snack tracks of shrimp and crab — marked down to $0.99 each
• 2 boxes Mom’s Best Cereal — $1.49 each
• Izzio Multigrain Bread — marked down to $1.49 each
• Wesson Oil — $1.99
• 2 lbs. butter — on sale for $1.99 each
• Meatloaf — $2.49 (marked down to $3.49 + $1 off because it was part of the Buy 5 or More Participating Items, Get $1 off each)
• Stirfry Kit — marked down to $2.49
• 4 Butterball Turkey Sausages — $1.49 each
• Milk — $2.89
• Nectarines — $1.33
• Peaches — $1.25
• Bananas — $0.94
• Romaine Lettuce — $1.79
• 3 bunches asparagus — $2.29
• Grapes — $4.26
• Potatoes — $2.79
• Total with tax: $59.29

Menu Plan Ideas

Be sure to follow along on Instagram Stories to see what I’m cooking every day. I’ll likely change a few of these things up! We’ll see!)

Breakfast Ideas: Cereal/Milk, Baked Oatmeal, Eggs

Lunch Ideas: Salad, Leftovers, Sandwiches, Mac & Cheese (The kids eat lunch at school during the week.)

Dinner Ideas:

• Stirfry with Noodles
• Change Your Life Chicken
• Sausage/Potatoes/Onions
• Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Frozen Veggies
• Waffles, Eggs, Sausage
• Leftovers/Fend For Yourself
• Dinner out

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