Emmapatterson1729 wrote: »

Cheese 1 3/4 cup shredded cheddar at local grocer $6.00. $4.99 for the big bag at chain grocer for local brand.

Better read the ingredient list on that shredded cheese; most has potato starch, cellulose, or similar added to keep it from clumping together. I buy block cheese and shred it with a grater as needed.

Do you mean beef fed GMO corn? I don't think there are any GM'd animals on the market (yet.)
There are GMO salmon on the market in Canada now though. It is NOT labeled as such but is farmed salmon. Any 'wild-caught' or Pacific salmon is natural - only some farmed Atlantic salmon are GMO.

[The GM salmon is currently only produced (on land) at a pilot plant run by AquaBounty in Panama. AquaBounty got permission from the Minister of Environment and Climate Change in April 2019 to produce GM salmon at an on-land site in PEI – the company says they will produce 250 tonnes of GM salmon in PEI, starting in 2020. (PEI = Prince Edward Island - a province in maritime Canada)/quote] https://cban.ca/gmos/products/ge-animals/ge-fish/how-to-avoid-eating-gm-salmon/

ARGH!

The pink slime being ground beef slipped right past me...<sigh>

I have a family of 4 and I budget $200/week...that includes food, paper products, cleaning supplies, pet food, basically anything you would pick up at a grocery store...we have 2 adults and 2 teenagers...I'm pretty sure the teenagers eat $150/week...none of us really eat breakfast, but the kids both pack lunches and snacks plus dinner at home every night...they are both really active too, so a decent amount gets spent on Gatorade and Body Armor each week.

I'm impressed @Emmapatterson1729!
@tcunbeliever I know what you mean by hungry teenager! My son is always looking something to eat in the fridge, pantry or cabinets (where I hide the cookies!)

I know I should probably stick to more of the same dishes and limit my grocery list.
The kids don't like school lunches so I have to pack everyday. I have been packing my lunch for over 10 years. I go out rarely because I want to use my lunch break outside doing something.
I do Costco run 1x a month and I blow $200 easy. Mostly Salmon, Beef, Ground meat, Chicken and Nuts, Cheese then other stuff as we need. Cereal, pasta, snacks for kids.
I like going to a local farmers market for produce as they are Fresh and Cheaper than others. But I also do Aldi when I can't make it to the market where I would spend $100/week now...

I think I need to look at what I am making and buying. I wanna be more budget savvy but don't want to eat boring. I'm gonna see if I can shop my pantry and freezer the rest of the month as much as possible!

@Emmapatterson1729 : this is $5.95 at Trader Joe's. 622 servings. Whole foods has the same with their 365 label. Maybe you have tried it already?

At first I worried about the grocery bills because the price of what we were adding, like more meat; but then I realized how much stuff we're giving up and how much less of good, satiating foods we need. Overall we do save money.

That's the gist, but just going thru more details for anyone interested:

We buy twice as much meat and eggs than we used to, but I get 60 eggs now for under $5 so that's not bad. We always bought butter, cheese, lunch meat, etc. I switched from half & half to heavy cream for my coffee, which is more expensive but lasts way longer.

Not getting cereal anymore has saved me a bundle on milk! We don't buy it anymore.

For meat we stock up during sales-- If you can invest in bulk and split it up, it goes a long way and you spend significantly less per oz, it pays to set aside a bit to do that. Last week I just bought a $60 sirloin tip roast at $5.99 per pound and cut it up into about 20 steaks-- hard to get steaks at under $6 per pound otherwise. I also bought a 40 lbs box of chicken breast at $1.65 per pound. Last month Food Lion had .59 cent per pound 10-lb chicken leg quarter bags, I bought 6 of them. Tomorrow I'm heading to Aldis for their $2.19 per pound ground sirloin sale. I also have things like bacon, pork chops, pork loins, ham, beef liver, etc. stocked up in the freezer from when they were on sale... of course I keep all bones and fat trimmings and make use of them as well.

Great part about stocking up on meat sales is not just that it's cheaper in the long run, but also if you are strapped for a month you have enough in bulk to get you through without having to worry about laying out money for groceries.

Tuna & sardines are quite cheap, esp. if stocking up on sale, and quite a healthy & filling meal. A buck per meal is a good deal.

We used to spend a lot on potatoes, mangos, apples, pears, oranges, grapes, etc. but now that the sweet tooth and carb cravings are tamed our servings are much, much smaller. Now we get mostly leafy greens, cabbage, onions, peppers, and cucumbers, berries and the occasional melon, I'd say overall I spend less at the produce stand than I used to.

Eliminating sugar, sugary snacks, carby snacks, cereal (oh how much cereal we went through), frozen meals like waffles and chicken nuggets and hot pockets & pizzas, most artificial sweeteners, soft drinks & drink mixes, pastas, rice, breads & bread products from slice bread to bagels & rolls, noodles, crackers, canned soups, salad dressings, sauces (bbq, teriyaki, etc.), ice cream, chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, popcorn, flour & baking ingredients, etc.... that has taken quite a chuck off our grocery bill that can be used towards more meat.

Also we rarely if ever eat out anymore. Not that we did much before, but at least 2 or 3 times per month we'd find ourselves going thru a drive thru for a fast food meal, or a giant sugar bomb cup of coffee for $6 a pop. That's a huge savings, though I never calculated it in my grocery money so I'm not sure how much but probably over $50 per month.

Some things we have added to the shopping list includes electrolyte supplements, psyllium husks, allulose (used very sparingly for egg white breads), pork rinds, bottled water (where we live the water quality is not too good and we're drinking so much more of it). Oh, and unsweetened seltzer cans make a nice treat for a meal once in a while. We spend a little more on almonds instead of peanuts, and nut butters with no sugar added, but again we're using much less in quantity.

Keeping up with buying butter probably costs a bit more than the cheap seed oils we used to use, but is a worthy place to splurge. I also buy tallow at the butcher for like $8 a pint, but that lasts for months. And I reserve bacon grease for cooking, so that's a savings.

Also we used to generally eat 3 meals per day + snacks & infrequent junk food binges... now we're satisfied most days with 2 meals, or 1 meal & a snack.

Funny, I used to not worry about a $5 splurge on a bag of Doritos even if it wasn't on my shopping list, but somehow managed to squeeze it in the budget. I had to remind myself of that with the meat prices or the prices of electrolyte supplements made me cringe lol. For some reason I was always more readily willing to shell out for a junk food splurge than for good, wholesome foods. Terrible mindset, thankfully broke that habit.