I’ve been asked several times in the past couple weeks what a typical grocery-store trip looks like for us. As I’ve mentioned before, we shop once a week at the regular supermarket for perishables to supplement the bulk staples we buy on thrice-yearly stock-up trips to Costco and Winco. (Our basement looks not unlike a fallout shelter with buckets of rice, dried beans, and sugar; 50-pound bags of flour; gallons of canola and olive oil; and a chest freezer full of individually wrapped portions of meat bought on markdown.) This is in addition to whatever is harvestable from our garden and the eggs we get from the chickens. Because sometimes the perishables last for more than a week, such as a bunch of cilantro or a block of cheese, this requires planning all our meals several weeks in advance. It doesn’t exactly leave room for spontaneity, but at the same time, we’re never left scrambling. With that in mind, here’s a rundown of this week’s purchases and what we plan to make with them (some meals are using produce left over from past weeks, some of what we bought this week will carry over into future weeks). Because we plan so far in advance it’s difficult to shop based on what happens to be on sale, but because seasonal produce pretty often tends to be, our planning is always done with that in mind.
This week’s receipt:
• 2 medium celery roots: $4.07
• Broccoli: 67 cents
• 1 bunch bananas: $1.50
• 2 1/2 lbs. Granny Smith apples: $2.19
• 1 bunch red-leaf lettuce: $1.49
• 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes: 93 cents
• 1 quart of milk: 99 cents
• 1 box pasta shells: $2
• 3 1/2 lbs. yellow onions: $1.79
• 2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes: $2.19
• 2 leeks: $2.19
• 3 heads garlic: $1
• 4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese: $2.49
• 8 oz. cheddar cheese: $2.29
• 1 small container of plain Greek yogurt: $1.09
• 2 cups of chocolate chips: $1
• 1 carton of tofu: $1.19
TOTAL: $29.07 (the remaining $5 or so is made up in staples)
What we will be eating this week:
Breakfasts:
Eggs, bread and fruit, hot oatmeal “granola” with blueberries and walnuts
Lunches:
Dinner leftovers, banh mi sandwiches, bread and fruit, salad
Dinners:
Celery root and beer soup, spaghetti with bacon & greens, rye berries with tomatoes & Andouille, chicken & pomegranate stuffed shells with Gorgonzola & pine nuts, tofu mole tacos, vegetable cheddar soup
Extras:
Orange Creamsicle sherbet
The $35 a Week Project 