Finally went shopping

Okay so I finally went grocery shopping yesterday. Asher and I ventured out into a Winter Wonderland of snow! Because it was snowing and because I got a late start we ended up spending a little more money than we should have. I only had time to go to 2 stores instead of my usual 3:( On Tuesday I received my Giant Eagle ad in the mail. So I spent a good portion of Tuesday afternoon with my cookbooks, ads and coupons. I always look to see what is on sale then base my week's worth of meals solely on what's on sale. I ended making out a list for 1&1/2 weeks instead of just 1 week.

First I went to Trader Joe's. They don't do sales or coupons but their prices are really excellent and they have lots of stuff there you can't find anywhere else. Actually their prices are probably comparable to Wal-Mart and their stuff is all oraganic and yummy!! When I was there I picked up a 5lb box of Clementines for $5.99. My kids have eaten 20lbs of "lemon-times" this season. I also picked up steel cut Irish oatmeal for $5.29. I debated this purchase because 5 bucks for oatmeal seems like a lot but there are 20 servings in the can and it is super healthy for you. Then I spotted the biggest juiciest blackberries I have ever seen. At $3.99 for a whole pound I thought this was a good deal. In regular grocery stores that is how much you pay for a small container of non organic berries. I also picked up pesto, freezer pizza's, pumkin butter, 3 cartons of soup and lemon curd. I spent a total of 40 dollars.

Next we headed to Giant Eagle. Now I had some problems here but it did end up okay in the end. I went thinking their sale started yesterday but I guess it didn't start until today:( I went expecting all my meat to be on sale...and it wasn't. But I did find substitutions. Their 2.5pd individually frozen bags of chicken were on sale for 5 bucks...normally they are 10 bucks. I picked up 2 bags. Pork chops were supposed to be BOGO. Sad I missed that one. Anyways I did find a value pack of chops for 8 bucks. I can get 2 meals out of it!! I may go back this week and pick up some of the BOGO meats that I thought were on sale yesterday but weren't actually on sale until today.

I would normally also head to Wal-Mart to buy the majority of my stuff but that didn't happen yesterday. Our Wal-Mart here isn't as big as yours at home so I can't do ALL my shopping there but I can definitely save money by getting a good portion there.

All in all I spent a grand total of $180.00 and got

Breakfast stuff:
Oatmeal
eggs
plain yogurt with fresh berries

Lunch:
soups (3 boxes of 4 servings each)
organic freezer pizza's
tuna
pb&j
whole wheat bread

Supper:
Stuffed chicken with salads
grilled chicken Greek salad
chicken fingers with lemon sauce and fresh veggies and rice
papa al pomodoro
ginger vegetable chicken noodle bowl
rosemary orange pork chops with fresh spinach
tomato basil pasta nests

I always pick up a ton of fresh fruits and veggies. So we always have stuff on hand to make salads and veggie trays or fresh fruit. I really try and get in 7 servings a day. I will also make some healthy whole grain banana bread and probably some homemade yeast bread as well. Plus we always have string cheese, whole grain crackers, block cheese, pudding, applesauce and yogurt on hand as well. Plus I have ingredients to make cookies tomorrow. I can make them I just can't eat them:)

I really need to get a better shopping system down here. I always amazed the checkers at Buehler's with how much I saved each week!! I miss my Buehler's:( Now there are some stores here that I haven't tried yet but I am NOT willing to drag my kids to 50 different stores for one week's worth of meals. Too much hassle, time, gas and fussybutt kids:)