grocery shopping report

Okay, back to the attempts to lower our food bill by remaining accountable.  One of my goals for 2011 is really attacking the grocery budget and getting it as low as I can.  I don't have any illusions of getting to $40 per week like some of the Internet legends; I have too many food sensitivities, and I have a kid in diapers!  I am going to start with a goal of $80 per week and see if I can eventually get it down to $60 per week.  We'll see how it goes.  Food coupons don't tend to be very useful to me, but I'm going to try to use more toiletry coupons and try to score freebies like Money Saving Mom does.  :)

So here is what we bought this week.  I now have a fully stocked freezer and pantry and will attempt to post a menu plan on Monday for how we intend to use all this bounty.

I placed an order with Angel Food Ministries and paid $35.48 for it.  We received in our "Bread of Life" box yesterday:

2 lbs. hamburger steaks
2 lbs. chicken breast filets (boneless, skinless)
1 macaroni and beef frozen entree
1 lb. ground beef
1 boneless pork chops
1 lb. smoked sausage
1 lb. frozen corn
1 lb. frozen green beans
1 lb. frozen sugar snap peas and carrots
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 lb. kidney beans
1 packet chili seasoning mix
8 oz. box Jiffy biscuit mix
10 envelopes instant oatmeal
32 oz. 2% milk
1 dozen eggs
8 oz. box Jiffy chocolate chip cookie mix

I also did a quick Food City run earlier in the week.  I spent $34.94 and purchased:

2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 gallon of Silk Pure Almond milk
2 packages of tortillas
1 lb. black beans
2 Valu Time boxes macaroni and cheese
1 box of Valu Time Honey Nut Oat cereal
4 packets Valu Time drink mix (cherry, orange, grape, and strawberry)
1 lb. Land o Frost honey ham sandwich meat
1 4 oz. tube Crest toothpaste (used coupon)
2.55 lbs. bananas
5 lbs. red potatoes

I spent a total of $70.42 between Angel Food and the grocery store.  With what I got and what I already had on hand, I think I can feed us very well for at least a couple of weeks.  I'm going to see how far I can stretch our supplies, although we may need personal products next week.  :)

Oh, and just to reassure my foodie friends: I do normally make homemade macaroni and cheese.  But I find it helpful to have a couple of convenience foods on hand for nights when I have a killer migraine and feel more like pulling my eyeballs out than cooking.  And there are not many convenience foods I can eat.  But I CAN eat the $0.25 boxes of store brand mac and cheese.  So they make a good emergency back-up meal.  As for the faux Cheerios, Natalie likes to snack on them.  Sarah requested the Kool-Aid knock-offs as a special treat.  Since they were on sale for $0.12 apiece, I obliged her.  :)

This post is linked to Money Saving Mom.