Grocery Shopping: April 27-May 3 (Kroger)

Here you can see the fruits of our grocery shopping labor yesterday. I intentionally planned out (at least) a week and a half of menus for us this time. Here is my menu for this week:

Breakfasts

• cereal, fruit
• scrambled eggs w/ jelly
• cinnamon toast
• blueberry muffins
• biscuits w/ sausage patties

Lunches

• leftovers
• macaroni & cheese, fruit
• ham sandwiches, pretzels
• chicken noodle soup, roll
• peanut butter & jelly sandwich, carrot sticks

Suppers

• spaghetti, salad
• grilled chicken, baked potato, salad
• chicken & broccoli casserole w/ rice
• manwich, home fries
• grilled chicken salad
• breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls, fruit salad
• stir-fry w/ rice

Desserts

• marshmallow-cereal treats
• yellow cake w/ chocolate frosting
• brownies

And my grocery list:

Produce

• strawberries
• grapes
• lemons
• cherry tomatoes
• salad (bags on sale for .99)
• fresh stir-fry veggies (bag on sale for 1.29)
• granny smith apples
• potatoes
• cucumber
• bag of baby carrots
• bananas
• blueberries

Dairy

• milk
• butter
• shredded cheddar cheese
• cheese for snacking

Canned/Frozen/Prepared Goods

• macaroni & cheese
• manwich
• cream of chicken soup
• shortening
• bread
• hamburger buns
• apple juice concentrate
• Mtn. Dew (1)
• mini-marshmallows

Meat

• deli meat
• breakfast sausage
• bag of frozen chicken breasts
• 2 lb. ground beef

The Lord truly blessed us yesterday as we came home with almost 2 weeks worth of groceries for $83.46! Praise Him! I probably will have to pick up some milk and produce next week (maybe), but even still I should get 2 weeks of food in for around $100. That's a blessing, because my boys can EAT! LOL

There were many items on sale and several markdowns yesterday, which helped keep my total low- and my Kroger card helped as well. I'm tickled pink! :o)

Comments

[Chrissy]

Mrs. Wilt-

My Kroger pharmacy has a policy where you get a $25 grocery credit with every new or transferred prescription. The balance is applied to your Kroger plus card so there's no keeping up with receipts; you can have a cashier check the balance for you at any time. This is always a big help. Don't misunderstand, I'd prefer everyone be well, but the money certainly helps with the grocery budget. I don't know if this is only in my area, but thought I'd mention it since you shop at Kroger. Have a good day!

Chrissy

[Trixie]

Hello Mrs. Wilt,

It's fantastic you are able to get 2 week's worth of groceries for around $100, especially for a family of 4 -- even if two of the Wilt men are still such little men!

We keep our budget at $50 a week for the two of us. We could go lower but we won't compromise on fresh, healthy fruits and veggies.

Take Care,

Trixie

[Mrs. Decker]

You've made my day! :) Yes, I am strange and like to "glance" into other peoples grocery carts....I might see something good lol

Mrs. Wilt here: I want to keep my grocery $ low, but my men love to eat too much! I am quaking with fear over how to save money when we house two teenage boys under our roof! :o)

[Our Red House]

It looks like you got some great deals, though of course I can't really make a comparison since I live in another country!

One thing I have been wondering is, what is manwich? Does he/it taste good?

Kate

Mrs. Wilt here: Manwich is commonly known as sloppy joes here in the States. It is a tomato-based sauce mixed with ground beef and served on rolls. It's very inexpensive, but tasty! I like to serve it with home fries and a fruit salad of some sort. :o)

[Teresa]

You did a wonderful job! My boys aren't teenagers yet, but my two teen daughters sure do eat enough to make me worry about when the boys get older. :-)

Oh, and I sure do wish we had a Kroger around here. I even contacted the company and told them how great it would be if they would consider this area for a new store. ;-)

[Kathi]

Mrs. Wilt, That is wonderful that you saved so much money. I have four children and three of these are teenagers. I must buy more groceries than you or Chrystal. I wanted your readers to know that if they live in these states: Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, or Oregon, that there is an excellent store called WINCO. They do not accept computer generated coupons, though, but they really are not needed. They will take magazine coupons. I bought my bread this morning for .82 cents a loaf. I bought a frozen turkey for .98 cents a pound, lettuce .98 cents a bag, vine ripe tomatoes were $1.98 a pound, chocolate chips for $1.22 a pound, and my milk was $2.48 a gallon. I got more than one week's worth of groceries for $128.00 without coupons.

Mrs. Wilt here: That's wonderful! I know right now $50 is a good budget for us, but I'll bet it doubles (at least) by the time my boys are the same age as your kiddos. Thank you for the heads up about the store- I'm sure any readers in that area will appreciate knowing that! :o)

At WINCO you must bag the groceries yourself. I do not mind at all. WINCO also has a huge selection of bin items with things like Jelly Belly jelly beans, cereals, tea bags, dog bones, flour, chocolate chips, all types of pasta, dried soups, spices, all kinds of chips, candy bars, dried milk, dried baking mixes, trail mix, and honey. Now that I know they will accept manufacturer's coupons I will use them. I am going to post pictures of WINCO and some of the prices next week sometime.

Another thing that helps me is my garden. We chopped and bagged 91 onions and put them in the freezer. I use a chopped onion for nearly every meal, and can just toss a baggy from the freezer into the stew. I did a post on that a long time ago.

The only thing I still buy at Safeway is the 1-ply toilet paper (sandpaper) because it lasts so long...LOL I did a post on that awhile back. I am enjoying your posts about saving money and I appreciate your interview. Thank you, Kathi

[Kathi]

Hi Mrs. Wilt. I will be showing pictures of WINCO next week for those people who live in the Pacific NW. My URL didn't show up the first time, so maybe this time it will. Thanks again for your helpfulness in saving money. Kathi