Mmm Dinner

I’m pretty proud of my grocery budget and the fact that our family of 5 consistently eats for less than $400/month. A couple people have asked me how I do it, so I figured I’d start posting a few of my meal plans, tips and tricks. I typically shop at our local Kroger (though this particular store is heinous, but hey, it’s mine) but you can do this with any local market.

I spent $95 this week on food. Here’s what we’re eating for dinner:

Thursday: saag paneer with brown rice and strawberries
Friday: baked artichoke pasta and oranges
Saturday: spinach burritos and apples
Sunday: chicken and olives, whole wheat french bread, broccoflour and pears
Monday: potatoes and kielbasa and apples
Tuesday: taco chili and oranges
Wednesday: leftovers

For breakfast, I tend to eat cereal and berries, Brendan likes bagels and the girls typically eat some kind of vegetable bread (this week, it’s whole wheat pumpkin flax) and bananas.

For lunches, we eat leftovers and the girls tend to eat some variation on sandwiches, quesadillas or pasta. I pack Brendan’s lunch for work and brown bagging saves us a TON of money.

Tips this week:
1. Always check your receipt! I saved $12 because of store error. My artichoke hearts and broccoflour were free. Know your store’s policies. Mine gives you your produce for free if the price is wrong in the register. I find mistakes every week. I check my receipt while I let my older girls ride a penny horse near the customer service desk.
2. Buy things on sale! I nabbed 8lbs of naval oranges for $3.99. My organic pears were $.99/lb.
3. Make things yourself. Baby food is the biggest rip off in the history of the universe. I pureed a can of pears myself. $.99 makes an entire ice cube tray full and the baby eats about a cube at a sitting. Compare that to the two servings of Gerber food you pay $1 for and the math is easy.