That’s what I spent on this weeks worth of groceries. I had to buy some staple items that can be a bit costly like canola oil (I buy non gmo), milk (soy this time was on sale, organic), all purpose flour (10 lbs), canned tomatoes, tamari… I also bought not one chicken, that I’m using this week, but a second for next week as well. I’ve been wanting to try some different ways to roast them but normally we don’t eat meat this often.
This week I’m planning on making:
- African Bean Soup
- Orange Rosemary Roast Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes and Asparagus (recipe almost finished being typed up)
- Tortilla Soup
- Bhangra Burrito with Chickpea Potato Curry and Spinach
- Squash and Bean Saute
- Pad Thai
After last week, I decided I was going to try and post my weekly meal plan on a regular basis. If you do the same, please let me know! I’m always looking for new ideas and recipes to share!
Look at Leif reaching out of the cart!
OOh all of those meals sound delic! It’s always fun to see what are on the plates of other’s…to gain some diversity. So thanks for sharing…lots of fun in your kitchen!! Since becoming a 1 income family and a teacher’s salary to boot, our grocery budget has been downsized. We eat some things organic, some things not. We do eat a lot of stuff that was canned from our garden last summer which is nice to have during a long winter. Our avg weekly grocery bill is appx. $45 – $55, sometimes less, sometimes more!
On the menu for this week: Black bean, corn, zucchini enchiladas w/ mango salsa, three cheese penne pasta, patty melts, vegetable soup and homemade sourdough bread bowls, and cabbage and sausage skillet.
Happy eating!!
Oh wow! That sounds wonderful JT! Having a garden is something I am very much missing. I miss having canned veggies from it in the winter. It’s remarkable you spend so little a week! I can’t even imagine that here!
Oh yummy! I’m going to try the African bean soup this week. What an incredible cook you must be!
Hi Annie, I meant to email you as I linked to your blog on my recent menu post! I tried doing a month long menu for March, so far it’s working out pretty well…thanks for all your inspiring posts!
http://wahoowinklers.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-were-eating.html
It looks like you’re going to have a tasty week! I especially like that there are photos in this post:) They remind me of our last grocery shopping trip together except that the kids are so much bigger now!
We didn’t do our shopping quite right this week – we had to go back for 1/3 of the groceries yesterday but our total for once at least is below yours! Only (ha ha) $167 for the two of us but that included a craj (aka slacker almost junk food) meal last night and a new East Indian cook book.
Wow 183 seems like a lot for your menu for one week – I noticed that you do shop at Thrifty’s Foods which may be close etc. for you to walk. I find they are very very expensive – I cherry pick there every two weeks if I’m lucky and I work outside of the home three times a week – I cannot afford to shop there! And I still manage to purchase 75% organic produce. Nice food items on your menu though.
Good Luck :)
I actually have a grocery store that’s closer by but the produce isn’t as good and less organic options. I don’t find the prices to be all that different though. Which Thrifty’s do you shop at, when you do? I’ve shopped at quite a few now over the last few years and the prices do seem to vary. For example, I find Tsawwassen and Parksville Thrifty’s to be expensive compared to the one I live near here. This Thrifty’s is in a more depressed part of town relatively speaking and I’ve often wondered if that makes a difference?
Anyway, I agree that $183 is a lot for one week but like I say, it includes buying a number of general staples I need on an ongoing basis!
Years ago I read a book about living on one income and I’ve found truth it what it said, that it can be more expensive to live on one and half or two incomes instead of carefully on one alone. Not having a job outside of the home saves us a great deal of money. Of course this isn’t the only way we save money… we don’t have tv, we don’t buy processed foods, don’t rent movies, don’t shop for “stuff”, we live in walking distance to dh’s work, drive as little as possible… Anyway, where we live and what our values and priorities are can have a direct affect on our expenses in the end.
Good reply. I just wanted to hear what you’d say. Yes I do find Thrifty’s pricey and the theory goes that it’s even most costly in more depressed areas – the reverse of what’d you’d expect. Prices are cheaper in the north end, it’s a sad and unfortunate fact.
I admire that you take your bike out with your kiddies and run your errands etc. Good on you.
On the other hand, my husband and I have vehicles that are low on emissions etc and I only drive when need be. Even though we both work we are very extremely careful with our pesos – he could be out of work at the bat of an eyelash due to the ups and downs of our times. I would love to be a stay at home mom but invested too much of my life doing what I now do – I would lose my licence and potentionally I could be the sole income earner for our family in the near future.
On a positive note, we both worked hard in our early twenties and it enabled us to buy our 1/4 acre property in town (when prices were cheap) so we can grow and can a lot of our own food.
Just goes to show we may all share a common vision or way of life, we just have different ways of getting there. That’s not such a bad thing
Nameste
Ack- I wrote a reply and then my Safari closed and I lost it. I’m so frustrated!
I wanted to say that I was glad I replied because it wasn’t clear to me that you were looking for any feedback from your last comment.
I also wanted to clarify that I do not find the Thrifty’s here in the South End to be expensive compared to other grocery stores. I’m not sure what you’re comparing it to though. Where do you find it more affordable to shop? I really appreciate Thrifty’s good fresh produce despite the fact that they offer less local products since being bought out by Sobeys. I’m looking forward to Farmer’s Markets for most of my produce and I’m also hoping to have a good garden space in the house we are looking at buying in the next few months. Anything to have good food for less money. Not less money at the expense of good food.
Again, I think that our values and priorities will really affect our financial bottom line and it seems as though our values and priorities are not all together the same. It’s so true that this isn’t such a bad thing! What’s wonderful about my blog though is that I get to share and explore my own values and interests without having to validate all the other choices that aren’t inline with my own.
It seems you really value your career a great deal and this must in part play a role in why you are a two car family and take on all the other expenses that come along with this choice. Values I hold dear are natural options, simplicity in life and taking care of my family. I want to raise my own children and make wholesome meals so it’s easy for me to let go of my “career” options when I did. We’re lucky enough not to have to rely on my earning power to make a living. While I don’t think we’ll ever be fully car free I’d like to live as much as I can without one, even with all the low emission options out there! No car is zero emissions which I’m sure we would agree is the best of all!
It takes all kinds to make the world go round! :) Now that I know you are in Nanaimo, I’m curious if we know each other irl?
Yes I’ve met you on a few occasions. No I do not value my career over my family but it’s the only option at the moment. However I do value the time I spend with my children and provide them with fantastic and hands on learning opportunities. I was not judging your lifestyle just simply pointing out that Thrifty’s is really pricey. I like Fairway Market, Save on and Superstore. Unfortunately I have a good memory for the prices of things and I just can’t help myself sometimes! :)
It seems you think judgements were made on both sides here. Perhaps there have been miscommunications.
I wasn’t trying to imply that you value your career *over* your family. I think we all value many things and it seems as though career is up there for you. We differ greatly in this regard. Other things are more important to me than having a career for all the benefits and expenses this choice generates.
I didn’t think you were judging me on my lifestyle at all. It seemed as though you wanted to share your own take on things in which our journey is different but the destination is the same? In turn, I hoped to clarify my own thoughts simply because this is my blog where I write about my take on things! Clarity is something else I value and I don’t want my thoughts or opinions to be misunderstood. Since it’s not clear to me who you are, I don’t know what we have in common or not beyond what you share in your comments. Maybe next time we meet you’ll be willing to introduce yourself as Leanna Banana so I can put a face to your name.
I’ve never shopped at Fairway Market and wouldn’t choose to go there if I was riding my bike, but I might pop in the next time I’m driving by to see if it’s a worthwhile alternative. Save On Foods/Overwaitea is the store I shopped at for years before I moved here. I have to say that they don’t carry many of the products I do buy in the store (like the last time I was there- chocolate chips that don’t have colouring etc in them) and I’ve actually been disappointed with the quality and price of produce. It’s so interesting to me that you find the South End Thrifty’s more expensive! I really disagree but my disagreement is lighthearted here. Maybe we’re buying different things? I wouldn’t shop at Superstore but don’t doubt it could be a cheaper place to shop.
I wish we had all those choices (minus stupid superstore and walmart) in Alberta. With the way we eat Save-on is the best we have. True there’s a Planet Organic nearby and we do have to go there for some of our staples but I prefer to limit our trips there since they’re all about price gouging and exponential growth these days. I mean $8 for 6 smaller spelt tortillas? Their competition in Calgary is $2 less for the exact same thing. Talk about a rip off.
Just my two bits, but I’m surprised and confused at a mention of differing prices at the two Thrifty’s. I didn’t think they varied at all, as I have shopped at both and thought it was kind of like any franchise, the prices are uniform across the board. Even their sales are the same, aren’t they? I could be mistaken…. Anyway, I enjoyed the conversation here, very stimulating.
I totally agree Krista. It doesn’t really make a lot of sense. I have to say for the most part no matter which Save On I’m in my money goes the same distance. That’s not the same when it comes to Thrifty’s. When I’m Tsawwassen it’s a real struggle to make my dollar stretch and we don’t buy some of what we’d usually buy. I’m not sure what it is but perhaps the sales play a part. I always forget which day it is but the day before they get a new shipment of food is a good day for sales. This is usually when I stock up on staples that are marked down.