No Grocery Store?

Recently, I've been reading more and more articles about people who have decided to avoid the grocery stores.  At first I was skeptical.  But now, I'm intrigued by the idea.

What would it really take to avoid buying groceries at the grocery store for a year? 

First, you need to answer some questions.

What is considered a grocery store?

Where you're going to get the essentials that you need (like toilet paper ;) )?   

How much stuff can you order from places like Amazon and Azure Standard?

Are you going to not eat anything you can't grow or produce yourself?

Will you only buy from local sources, ie farmers markets, co-ops...?

What staples (beans, rice, sugar...) are you going to decided are on the ok to buy list?

What about pet and animal feed?

And once the questions have been answered, you to need to set the ground rules.

And what about rewards?  Are you going to have a monthly reward dinner out to celebrate making it through another month?

I think we're going to go for it.  It'll take us time to figure out the answers to these (and more) questions and to establish the ground rules.  It'll take time for us to plan our gardens and calculate how much and what we need to plant.

But in the long run, I think it will be worth it.  Imagine the freedom from running to the grocery store every time you decide you have nothing to eat (even though your pantry is well stocked).  Or the money that could be saved because you're not tempted to throw extra things in your cart (and in my case, the gas to drive into town ;) ).

Not sure on a start date (although January 1st sounds good).  As we work through the questions and develop our ground rules, I'll keep you posted =)

Affordable Produce

I love fresh produce.  It is a staple in our house, especially since we mainly eat fruit and veggies for snacks in between meals.  I have heard from many people that they don't buy much fresh produce because it's so expensive or that it goes bad too quickly.  Quite frankly, I don't believe that.  I truly believe that fresh produce can be quite economical and if you make a point of eating it then it won't go bad.  

Now the first thing that you have to do is buy produce that is IN SEASON.  This means that you shouldn't buy strawberries in December; buy them in the summer. 

Second, buy local if possible.  Find a farmer's market near you.  We have found a great local farmer's market and the local farmers have great deals!  Last weekend I was able to buy enough produce to last our family of six a week and a half and I only spent fifty dollars!  I was thrilled and I know where our food came from.  ***As a sidenote here, none of these farmers are certified organic but after talking to them I know that they are using clean farming methods.***

Third, find a local Bountiful Baskets.  This is a national produce co-op that has helped save our family a TON of money.  I used them a lot in Dallas and recently found out that there is a pick up five minutes from our new house.  You can chose a conventional basket or an organic basket and then they have different seasonal add ons.  On the weeks that I can't make it to the Farmer's Market I make sure to order a basket through them.  You never know what you are going to get but to me that is half of the fun!  

Last, you can grow your own produce.  This is something that I have tried and failed at for several years.  However, this year my kids are already planning out our garden for Spring.  I am gearing up and hope to have a great little garden set up soon! 

Stocking Up

As I shared here last week, I've been a little shocked by the prices of groceries out here.  I decided on Friday that I needed to do a monthly meat "stock up".  Basically, what I did was go to Costco and buy a month's worth of meat.  I love buying meat straight from the farmer, however when you are on a budget the best way that I have found to get affordable meat is through a bulk buying store.  Our favorite bulk store is Costco and I think that the meat tastes better than from a grocery store.

I bought a lot of ground meat to make taco salad, ground beef stir fry, and Sweet Potato Chili.  I also bought some stew meat, whole chickens, chicken thighs, pork loin, salmon, and tilapia.  I will use sprouted beans to bulk up some of our meals and focus on making this last a month.  

I know that some people tell you that when you are cutting grocery budgets to go meatless, that is not an option for our family.  My husband and I struggle on a vegetarian diet, we have major hypoglycemic tendencies and meat along with good fats are one way to combat those energy and blood sugar dips and crashes.  

Next week, I will tell you about how to get fresh produce without making your checkbook cry! 

My Grocery Dilemma

When you move 180 miles and stay in the same state you don't expect the cost of living to be that expensive.  However, when that move involves Austin; which my husband and I have decided is a cross between California and Colorado; you tend to get sticker shock. 

To save on space we pretty much ate everything and lived out of the pantry and freezer before we moved.  So that means when we moved in I had some oranges, a little bit of coffee, and some pistachios.  We hit the Farmer's Market first and loved it but were shocked to find eggs going for six dollars a dozen when we had been paying three fifty or a max of four dollars a dozen!  After Farmer's Market we went to the grocery store, apparently it is one of the busiest HEB's in the state, I have decided that it is the largest grocery store ever and my kids and I wandered around with our mouths hanging open.  My mouth dropped open even more when I checked out and was told the grand total!
I have realized that I have two choices, I can either compromise the way we eat so that our food costs go down or I can find effective ways to eat real food without having to rob banks on the side.
Over the course of the next few weeks I will be telling you exactly how I cut our budget and hopefully help you along the way.

The Menu Plan Failure

I have a confession to make.

It's a big one. 

I despise menu planning!  

I have tried for years to succeed at it but I just don't.  I love the idea of being organized and sticking to my plan but half the time I look at what's on my menu and I'm not in the mood to eat what I've planned or I get distracted and it's five so I need something quicker than what I've planned so I end up winging it.  Really there are a lot of "issues" I have here so I have decided to quit menu planning and instead I "non-plan." 

I'm actually saving money this way because we are still eating at home most of the time and I am no longer driving myself crazy so it's a win win for me.  I hope some of you can use this non-planning method and save yourself a headache or two.  

I get a basket of produce once a week from a co-op on Saturday, so I never know what will be in there.

On Wednesday or Thursday, I look around and see if there is anything that we are out of that we need and how we are on meat, eggs, cheese, and any canned items we use.  

I ask the kids and husband if there is anything special they want for the week and if there are any recipes that I want to make (I have become obsessed with playing with new recipes lately) I add those ingredients to the list.  From there I head to the store. 

The first place I head to is the meat department.  I have been finding marked down meat lately on Wednesday and Thursday's and have been stocking up.  Last week I found grass fed meatballs on clearance, a dollar a package!!!  I buy meat that looks good and is on sale or affordable.  I also try to buy bigger cuts because we are a family of six and my three boys can EAT!  I would rather buy a whole chicken than just a package of thighs plus then I can make bone broth from the bones and we can have soup for lunch the next day.  I will also buy the giant packages of meat so that we can eat leftovers for lunch or I can freeze half of it to pull out one night I don't feel like cooking.  

The next place I head is the canned goods area (mainly because it's the next place in the store I shop).  I always try to keep canned tomatoes on hand (I aim for bpa free and organic).  You can do so much with canned tomatoes so they are one of my favorite staples.  I also try to keep tuna, rice, and tons of different spices on hand.  

From there I hit the frozen foods.  I always have frozen broccoli, mixed veggies, and green beans on hand.  Most of the other produce I buy fresh but these are just ones I prefer frozen, plus they are good to have if you are running low on produce.  The mixed veggies I toss in with rice and diced chicken to make a stir fry.  Broccoli is good sauteed in garlic and butter and green beans are just GOOD!  

Then I head to the dairy section.  I get my milk from a farmer so I don't need to worry about that.  My kids eat eggs daily so I always have to stock up on those (yes, I'm the weirdo that buys six to eight dozen eggs at a time).  I also make sure to have fresh cheese on hand, my kids LOVE cheese!

From there I hit the produce area.  I only grab stuff there if we are low on something and we won't make it until we get our box.  My favorite go tos are; carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers, avocados, apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, and spaghetti squash.  

So I'm done shopping, what's next you ask?  

Simple, I make what I feel like.  In the morning or the night before I pull out what I feel like cooking.  If I know it's going to be a busy day I toss stuff in the slow cooker.  If it is a day I feel like playing with a new recipe I will do that.  You can never go wrong with roasting a chicken or cooking some ground beef and throwing in some veggies to go with it.  I still have a plan the only difference is that I'm not stressing out if I don't follow the plan.  

My only rules are that I only go to get groceries at the store once a week and that I don't let anything go bad.  By following those two rules I have found a lot of new uses for using up ingredients AND I have saved us some money too!

What about you, do follow a meal plan or a non-plan?

Grocery Shopping With Kelli- Part Two

I almost made it two weeks on the groceries I bought.

Then, my family ate all of the fruit and veggies.  Soooo, I went to the store and tilapia was on sale.  Sixty dollars later we were restocked and happy!
I work really hard at making a meal plan and sticking to it.  I also strive to plan on leftovers for lunch or even to use for another meal.
Every Sunday we sit down as a family and write out a menu.  The menu is written in stone our families calendar so I know if we are going to have a long day I plan a crock pot meal (or leftovers).  By meal planning I save myself a lot of headaches and a lot of drive thru dinners!

I have no idea why this is upside down...  Pretend that it's right side up. 

Another way I stretch our budget is having BFD.  What's BFD you ask?  That is what my eldest has coined Breakfast for Dinner.  It is oddly one of my kids favorite meals.  We do a lot of frittatas, egg casseroles, and quiches.  These are quick and easy dishes that I can load up with veggies and my kids LOVE them.  If we have BFD I normally add a fruit salad as the side dish.
One other way to maximize my grocery budget is CORD.  This is something I read in a magazine somewhere a few years back and I thought was brilliant.  CORD is short for clean out refrigerator day.   I take all of our leftover vegetables and little dabs of leftover meat and keep them in a Mason jar in the freezer.  When the jar gets full I thaw it out and add some kind of broth to it; either rice, pasta, or potatoes; and any other kind of vegetables that are about to go bad.  This give me a "free" meal every month and I am no longer throwing away dibs and dabs of food!
What tips and tricks do you have for stretching your grocery budget?

Grocery Shopping With Kelli

I get asked a lot what my family and I eat.  My oldest son, Kamron, is allergic to soy and has shown several signs of gluten intolerance.  When I first had Kamron allergy tested I was so relieved to know what to stay away from food wise, however I quickly became overwhelmed when I started going through our pantry and grocery store.  Soy is in everything!!!

The first thing I did was start shopping at Farmer's Market in Dallas.  I love going down there on Saturday morning and picking out our veggies and fruit.  There are also some meat farmers.  However, during soccer season this is not possible because we have early games on Saturday.  So I am going to take you through a typical grocery trip with me. 

I buy lots and lots and lots of fresh produce!  I normally shop at HEB or Sprout's.  I like Sprout's prices on produce but HEB has a better selection, they own Central Market so no surprise there!  I buy organic produce from "The Dirty Dozen" list only, remember there are six of us!  If something is on sale or clearance for a jaw dropping price I stock up.  Most things can be frozen for later or tossed into a soup.  Here is a good article on freezing produce. 

Next, I hit the meat department.  There are actually quite a few places I buy meat.  I buy from HEB, Costco, and a few local farmers.  I found the farmers from Eat Wild.  I understand that not everyone can afford to buy locally sourced meat and I am not going to preach at you about it!  If you can great, if not that is okay too.  Lately HEB has had some great sales on meat and since I am already there getting produce it is saving me money to shop there and not drive in the opposite direction to hit Costco (big win!).  The last time I was there they had Salmon for 4.97 a pound.  I stocked up and had them package it in two pound portions.  Then those portions went into freezer bags in my freezer.  They also had chicken drumettes on sale for 75 cents a pound, I bought quite a few packs of that. I will have my husband grill those and we will use them for lunches, soup, chicken salad, etc.  I had beef in my freezer from a previous stock up session so we were good there!

Then, I hit the dairy area.  We eat a lot of meat and cheese with fruit or salad for lunch so I kind of go a bit "wild" when I buy cheese.  I grabbed some string for the boys, some Havarti because I LOVE it, some basic Cheddar, and some Mozzarella.  I also grabbed eggs, we do Breakfast for Dinner at least once a week, it is cheap.  We also eat Yogurt but instead of buying little cartons I buy the big carton and portion it out into little Tupperware containers.  The kids can add fruit to it if they want or eat it plain.  

Last I hit the aisles.  I bought olives, rice crackers, salsa, canned tomatoes, and rice.  Sometimes I hit the freezer section but I have found that it is cheaper to buy big bags of frozen green beans, broccoli, and mixed veggies at Costco.  

So what did this trip cost me?  It cost 230-  Yes, it is a LOT and yes I wanted to cry but we have enough food for about two weeks.  I also took that and divided it by six and felt better.  I will update on the 29th and tell you how long this lasted and give you some tips for stretching your meals.