This is a continuation of the "How Much Do You Pay for Food in You Part of the Country?!?!?" Thread or the "You Really Eat THAT?!?!?!" Thread or the "Do You Have to Spend a Lot to Lose Weight????" thread or the "Do You Have to Eat Special Foods to Lose Weight???" or the "What Ever You Want to Call It" Thread.

I kept track again this week... and it only took about 5 minutes to do so:

Food and (food-like items) we bought this week Tuesday 5/6 - Sunday 5/11:
2 adults, 1 teen boy

Asian Food Store Total: $ 3.87
Fresh mint .59
Tamarind paste 1.39
Yellow curry paste 1.89

Safeway Grocery Store Grand Total: $86.93

Packaged/canned foods: 28.97
2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch (not store brand) 5.00
2 lb bag store brand mini shredded wheat 3.49
4 cans stewed tomatoes 4.00
1 can green chilis .85
2 jars pasta sauce 5.00
2 lb bag of rotelle dry pasta 1.77
2 cans lite coconut milk 4.50
4 cans organic black beans 4.36

1/2 gal skim milk 2.79

Bread: 5.66
3 everything bagels from bakery 2.07
1.5 lb loaf 100% ww bread 3.59

Meat: 21.10
1 lb ground buffalo 6.19
4.84 lbs chicken leg quarters 6.24
(5 legs and backs - not boneless/skinless)
2.9 lbs half a turkey breast 8.67
4 oz lox/salmon 4.99

Produce: 14.94
bunch of gr. Onions .99
4 baking potatoes 2.93
1 lb asparagus 3.99
2 jumbo artichokes 5.00
3 med (pretty close to being goners) tomatoes 2.03

Deli: 8.48
2 cup container of salsa 3.19
Laughing Cow lite cheese 5.29
(Yikes… that stuff is expensive!)

Farmers market total: 14.20
10 lbs oranges 6.00 (not “organic”, but “pesticide free”)
½ flat of strawberries (6 berry baskets) - $7.00 (this might be more than groc store…)
1.6 lbs Fava beans 1.20


2 lemons - "free" from tree in back yard - (however, the land that this small tree is sitting on is horrifically expensive ).


Total food to be cooked at home $105.00

* * * * *

Food Out

Nelson’s Lunches out:
4 days lunch out - $44 (I could make his lunch for about 1/4 or 1/3 this price… but he would just go buy lunch anyway, and he says that he needs the break at work... and since he makes the $$$...)
5th day - $11 (soda for a pot luck lunch at work)

Denise’s food out total: 9.36
Denise: Diet Coke from a machine: .50
Denise: Scone 2.15
Taco Bell for ds for one lunch out $4.33
Small McFlurry for ds for one dessert $2.38

Total food out: $64.36

What did you guys buy this week? Sort of virtal peek into the virtual grocery cart.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GoingSkiing,

35 Ways to Stretch Your Food Dollars

When I read this, I thought of this thread. The ideas, from an editor at Epicurious.com, sound pretty easy and painless to implement.

quote:

Originally posted by Lori4squaremom:
I can't believe that your gas is only $4.52 a gallon at the cheap places....

Yeah, my mom told me. I couldn't believe that you guys are paying so much more than we are! Usually, everything is less down there.

Can you even believe that you qualified $4.52 with "only"?

OTOH... I bought two bottles of water this weekend... and bottled water is still more expensive than gas...

quote:

Denise, I love this post....I'm going to have to dig out my grocery receipts

That's good.

I'm on the verge of bored with it... How many times can a person post, 2 gals of milk, 9 bananas, 2 loaves of bread?

I do want to go back and add up what I spend though... I think that it is a about $6 a day, per person... which I'm happy with.

And while Nelson has never actually read this thread... he started bringing his lunch to work and has lost some weight. He was talking to his dad and said, "Yeah... I'm only 10 lbs away from a healthy weight now!"

Lori, I am so glad to see you back too!!!!
Sounds like a busy summer.

Dawn

quote:

Originally posted by Brie:
Lori!!!! How are you??? Is the home school year over for you? Will you be posting more?

I've missed you!!!!

PS I guess we should consider ourselves fortunate. When I filled up last week gas was $3.95/gallon for regular unleaded.

Thank you dear friend! I've missed you too! I've missed you all!

Yes, our homeschool year is over....but the kids are in their second (and last) week of Music Camp (it is like Vacation Bible School, but at the end they perform a musical....it is amazing what these kids and their teachers/leaders can put together in just 2 weeks!!!!!! It is always so professional looking/sounding!). Next week is our first official week of summer....but the two oldest kids will be at camp for the week. Then we are all together for a week, and then Rebekah leaves for a week-long missions trip to inner city San Francisco (she'll be working with our high school group in the Tenderloin district). And then we'll have 5 weeks of uninterrupted summer vacation before we start back to school.

I'm doing ok....life is good! TOo good, unfortunately, we've been eating out too much, and I haven't been exercising on a regular basis, and the scale is showing it. I am done with being a poor example to my teenage daughter, and am tired of not taking full responsibility for my health, and am actively seeking out a workout partner and am making changes in my food intake. So YES, I will be posting more often, and am seriously hoping that I can continue to post even after life gets busy with school and everything in August.

Yes, you are very fortunate for your gas prices. We have SO MANY people that are having very very serious financial problems due to gas and food prices in our area. Thankfully it hasn't hit us too hard yet, but we did go and buy a little (older) Toyota Corolla for Don to drive back and forth to work because we couldn't afford to continue putting gas into the van. So, I have the van during the day (for anyone that doesn't know, we've been a one car family for most of our 18 1/2 years of being married), but we aren't changing our lifestyle because I don't want to defeat the purpose of spending less on gas in the Toyota by driving the van.

quote:

Originally posted by Brie:

PS I guess we should consider ourselves fortunate. When I filled up last week gas was $3.95/gallon for regular unleaded.

Last week, gas had actually dropped to $3.87 here. Of course, I didn't need gas. In one day, gas went up to $4.19. I bought it Saturday for $4.12.

Dawn

Lori!!!! How are you??? Is the home school year over for you? Will you be posting more?

I've missed you!!!!

PS I guess we should consider ourselves fortunate. When I filled up last week gas was $3.95/gallon for regular unleaded.

Denise, I love this post....I'm going to have to dig out my grocery receipts

I can't believe that your gas is only $4.52 a gallon at the cheap places....yesterday when we went to church and to the store, the cheap gas that we drove past was $4.61. most gas stations are in the $4.65-4.78/gallon range.

Love this thread though!

Paid $4.52 a gal for reg gas yesterday

June 8th - June 15th food

Denise Food Out
2 cups of coffee
2 Taco Bell Bean Burritos for me and another t’bone player
2 bottles of water
1 Dinner out at Olive Garden

Nelson is still bringing his lunch… but I’m not keeping track of what he pays… enough trouble to keep track of myself.


Total spent on groceries: $123.02

Farmer’s Market $12.60
2 smallish yams, 13 apricots, 5 nectarines, 3 large beets (and greens), 4 perfectly ripe tomatoes (last weekend... I'm in mourning for all of the perfectly ripe, wonderful tomatoes going rotten this week )

Safeway: 110.42

Grocery shelves: 12.29
2 cans pineapple 2.50
4 cans tomatoes 4.00
3 packages fettucine 3.00
Package of tortillas 2.79

Fridge: 22.66
Package of fresh chow fun noodles 1.99
Ff Sour cream 2.59
10 slices Light provolone 3.50
Frozen pizza 5.99
Quart ff yogurt 3.00
2 gallons ff milk 5.59

Bakery: 31.66
100% whole wheat bread 2.19
100% whole wheat bread 3.59
6 sandwich rolls 3.89
Ice cream cake for band class 21.99

Meat: 22.16
2 turkey lunch meat 3.18
4 lbs froz boneless/skinless chicken breasts 9.99
4 lbs froz boneless/skinless chicken thighs 8.99

Produce: 21.65
8 bananas 3.16
Head iceberg lettuce 1.69
Cucumber .69
Gr. Onions .99
Fresh pineapple 2.99
1 Red bell pepper 2.35
Sliced mushrooms 2.00
1 ripe California avocado 2.29
Guacamole 5.49

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GoingSkiing,

virtual gas tank peak... gas 4.35 for reg. at cheapest place close by.

June 1 - June 8th

Denise Food Out Total: $29
Sushi Lunch out on Wed: $13
Cold Stone Creamery for me and dh Saturday $10
Taco bell for ds one dinner $6

Nelson Food Out $14.
bought lunch out for him and Jamie one day
PS… Nelson is at his lowest weight in about 10 years by bringing his lunch!!! I am very, very happy about this!

Total spent on groceries: $107.99

Safeway total: 95.55

Groceries: 28.35
3 boxes Nature Valley granola bars 10.00
2 lb bag store brand shredded wheat 3.49
1 can cranberry sauce 1.99
2 lbs black beans 1.90
2 cans tuna in oil (which I bought to give cat his meds, but it didn‘t work so we are eating) 2.98
Ground coffee 7.99

fridge: 13.57
1 quart carton of egg whites 3.99
2 gals ff milk 5.59
Bleu cheese 3.99

6 sandwich rolls 3.00

package of imitation crab 3.49

Produce (a lot of it was on sale… and I kind of went a little crazy…) 47.14
1 saturn “donut” peach (wanted to try it) .75
ripe bananas (.89/lb) 2.40
2 lb bag of Grapes 3.44
3 nectarines 2.84
1 regular peach .82
2 lb bag of cherries 4.78
2 bunches broccoli 2.00
1 cucumber .99
1 head of cauliflower 2.50
2 Vidalia Onions 2.97
1 CALIFORNIA (ripe) avocado (they love me and Sheltie) 2.29
1 fresh pineapple 3.99
3 baking potatoes 2.50
2 lbs organic carrots 3.00
4 lbs strawberries 6.88
2 sweetheart watermelons 4.99

(total Safeway savings 26%)

Trader Joes 12.44
2 cans lite coconut milk 1.98
10 very green bananas 1.90
24 oz honey 3.99
pint half and half .99
Basil plant 3.58

Sunday May 25th - Sunday June 1

Denise Food Out Total: $4.35
Sunday night 2 Indian Samosas for dinner (700? calories) - $2.00
Friday AM 1 donut, 1 cup of coffee w/ half and half (700? Calories - it was a large donut…) $2.35

Nelson’s food out: 12.641 hamburger, 2 cheese burgers, 2 fries, 2 shakes (dh and ds).

Total spent on groceries: 80.36

Farmer’s Market: $12.00
2.5 lbs organic red potatoes & 1 bunch of green onions with little white bulbs - $3.00
Bag of Thai basil, bunch of lemon grass, 1.1 lb fava beans - $3.00
10 lb bag of oranges - 6.00
(and I could have paid 4.00, if I had bought them 12 minutes later)


Safeway total: 49.25

Dairy: 14.88
Safeway brand Reduced fat cheddar 2.50
Reduced fat provolone (10 slices) 3.50
Quart Mt. High ff yogurt 3..49
2 gals ff milk 5.39

Frozen: 7.19
Chopped spinach 2.19
2 organic store brand cauliflower/broc/carrots 5.00

Bread: 13.88
1 loaf 100% whole wheat 2.50
6 sour dough rolls 3.00
Orowheat 100% whole wheat English muffins 3.99
Orowheat 100% whole wheat hamburger buns 4.39

Meat: 6.79
Chorizo (15 one oz servings) 1.79
2 packages (10 servings) turkey lunch meat 5.00

Produce: 2.82
1.2 lb of sweet potato 2.03
Bunch of cilantro .79

Deli: 3.69
2 cup container fresh salsa 3.69

Trader Joes total: 19.11
Frozen pot stickers (the bag says 3 servings - “one serving” is 230 cals for 7 potstickers. I served them as part of rice/chicken/veg dinner… and I gave 5 (164 cals) to ds, and 2 ea (65 cals) to dh and I. I‘ll get 6 servings from the bag, not 3) 2.99
10 oz Semi sweet choc chips 1.69
2 Organic crunchy p-nut butter 5.98
6 whole wheat wraps/tortillas 2.99
6 white flour wraps 2.99
6 bananas (.19 ea) 1.14
7 bananas (.19) 2.99

Food and (food-like items) we bought this week: Sunday afternoon 5/18 - Sunday morning 5/25:
2 adults, 1 teen boy

Nelson spent out: $43.43
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - ZERO spent!!!!!
Thursday - small shake for ds after band practice - 3.14
Friday - lunch out with coworkers - 16.
Saturday - Nelson and Jamie out to eat after a movie (I was just too tired to go, and didn’t want to spend $9 to sleep thru a movie) - 24.29

Denise spent out: 0

Safeway Total (three trips): $118.16

Grocery aisles: 25.26
Safeway brand old fashioned oatmeal (for me) 3.49
2 boxes Kellogg’s cinnamon mini wheats (dh) 4.00
Bag Safeway brand captain crunch (ds) 3.49
Nasoya ff mayo (10 cals a serving) (which smelled way too tofo-y to me… I used to like that brand, but I don’t think that it is worth it [either taste wise or money wise] to save 10 cals a serving.) 4.22
Best Foods reduced fat mayo (20 cals a serving) 2.50
Best Foods full fat mayo (100 cals a serving - for ds) 2.50
Safeway brand mustard 2.59
Tabouli mix 2.47

Bagel and cream cheese: 1.19
2 oz single serving of lite cream cheese .50
1 everything bagel .69
For me, to eat with smoked salmon I have frozen from Mother’s day

Dairy: 9.38
2 gallons ff milk 5.39
Mozzarella cheese - 10 slices (ds’s lunch) 3.99

Bread 3.00
6 Sandwich rolls 3.00

Meat (all on sale, except the lunch meat): 40.71 (I now have so much meat in the freezer… I won’t have to buy any for about 2 weeks - I have about 10 nights worth of dinner meat for the three of us in the freezer.)
4 lbs (at 2.75/lb) frozen skinless/boneless chicken breasts 10.99
(It is 7 breasts - I got 17 servings from it)
2.36 lbs (7 servings) (at 3.99/lb) pork boneless country ribs - 7.06
1.85 lbs (5 servings) (at 1.99/lb) pork boneless country ribs - 3.70
2.54 lbs (9 servings) (at 5.99/lb) salmon - 15.27
Deli meat (ds’s lunch - only about 3 or 4 servings) 3.69

Produce: 38.62
2 lbs strawberries 5.00
8 Bananas 2.59
2.08 lbs (6 cups) cherries 6.22
Bag of grapes (4 normal servings - 2 servings for ds) 4.86
3 med tomatoes 2.74
4 ears of corn 1.60
2 lbs organic baby carrots 3.00
3 giant stalks broccoli 2.13
3 organic romaine hearts 2.50
2 artichokes (ACKKKK!!! I accidentally bought organic ones) 7.98

“Free” Food
from my neighbors fridge in exchange for watching her dog.
1/4th large watermelon
Nearly 1 gal of 1% milk

Lemon from tree in our back yard

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GoingSkiing,

quote:

Originally posted by GoingSkiing:
Woke up this morning and regular gas is $4.14 a gallon.

I bought regular gas for $3.97 a couple of hours ago.

Dawn

Woke up this morning and regular gas is $4.14 a gallon.

A "certified ripe" avocado cost me $1.79. I'm sure the hard ones cost less, but the pre-ripened ones are good for those of us who have problems planning ahead.

It's going to be the top layer in a "Mexican sub sandwich", a Rick Bayless recipe.

Paid $4.07 a gallon for gas this morning.

quote:

Originally posted by Sandy:
Gas is pushing $4 per gallon here. I filled my tank for $75!

Then I started thinking...
We fillup 7-8 times per month (2 vehicles) so that we are spending about $500-$600 per month in gas.

Yikes!

And...I listened to an analyst predict (speculation, I know) that prices will hover between $5-6 per gallon by summer's end.

My BF spends about $100/wk on gas traveling to and from work. I am so fortunate to work at home. Most of my driving is to and from dd's school which is only a few miles and I have a VW Jetta which gets great gas mileage. Sometimes I don't even realize how much gas has risen because I fill my tank so little. When I drove from PA to SC a few months ago I spent $75 on the way down and about the same on the way home. That first $75 included driving around in SC while on vacation so I'm pretty darn lucky.

sorry-I know this is a grocery post, not a post about gas prices

Jill

I feel a little less rushed this week.

Dinner plans:

Tues: Pomegranate chicken & jeweled rice (for 2)

Wed: Lasagna (for 2, plus leftovers for lunch)

Thurs: Tilapia, green beans, couscous (for 3)

Fri: Out

Sat: Mushroom/pea/parmesan strata, salad, wine, raspberry sorbet (for 4)

Sun: leaving for Orlando

Mon: in Orlando/traveling home

Shopping:
Morningstar Farms chikn tenders: 3.59
Healthy Choice meals (2): 5.00
Creamy peanut butter: 1.50
Frozen yogurt: 3.99
Microwave popcorn (boyfriend request): 2.47
Near East couscous (4): 4.38 (buy 1 get 1!)
Kashi cereal (2): 5.00
Panko breading: 2.99
Dried cherries: 3.69 (ouch!)
Diet Pepsi: 3.99
Pomegranate juice: 6.99
Milk: 3.89
Ricotta cheese: 3.58
Yogurt (10): 5.00
Odwalla juice (boyfriend request): 2.99
Bagged salad (2): 4.00
Vidalia onions (2): 1.30
Red onion: .83
Mushrooms (2 pkg): 3.29
Oranges (5): 4.95

Total: 73.42
Coupons: 2.30
"Your savings" total: 19.92
What it would have been, without store specials and coupons: 93.34

Challenge Goals:
*10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week
*Gym time twice a week
*Socialize at least once every two weeks.

Gas is pushing $4 per gallon here. I filled my tank for $75!

Then I started thinking...
We fillup 7-8 times per month (2 vehicles) so that we are spending about $500-$600 per month in gas.

Yikes!

And...I listened to an analyst predict (speculation, I know) that prices will hover between $5-6 per gallon by summer's end.