Life As Mom » Grocery Geek

Afternoon Reading: Grocery Geeking Out

Jessica Fisher — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:11:55 +0000

My weekly grocery geek feature has moved! Hop on over to my food blog, Good Cheap Eats, for the play by play on how we’re eating well, acting our wage, and enjoying life. We are rich in vinegar, laundry soap, and pomegranates this week.

Come geek out with me.

Keep Store-Specific Stocking Up Lists (Frugal Friday)

Jessica Fisher — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:07:39 +0000

Typically I love to go grocery shopping. Between the food and shopping for the deals, I always find something to entertain myself with. My first job was actually at a grocery store, too.

But at the same time, grocery shopping can be a chore. Or feel a little postal. But, since I can’t get the kids to stop eating, I have to keep shopping.

Over the last few months, I’ve found that it is simpler to frequent a handful of stores rather than doing the 8 to 10 stops that I used to do in my heavier couponing days. The sales are just not that great in my area; I haven’t bought the paper for coupons in months. since we’re moving away from a lot of processed foods and being a little more particular about hormones and GMO’s, I’m also finding that my field of options is narrowing.

My solution has been to isolate the stores where I know I can get the items that I typically want at a fair price. This doesn’t stop me from looking at the circulars each week. But, I know that when there isn’t a great loss leader sale, I can fall back on these stores for the basics to get us through.

Stocking Up

Costco is my go-to spot for milk, some cheeses, some fruits and vegetables, dried beans, oils, vinegars, and breads.

Trader Joe’s, with its pledge not to sell items with GMO’s, is proving to be a good place to buy a lot of my staples. Most of their dairy is also hormone-free, meaning I can relax a little about reading every single label.

Walmart has great deals on condiments, dairy, canned goods, and cleaners.

Keep a list.

I’ve found that if I keep lists of the same things that I buy each week or two at these stocking up spots, I prevent myself from reinventing the wheel. Instead, I can just print off a list and check off the things that we need to replenish in our stores.

You can download a copy of this planning page right here. One page has my regular stocking up items. One page is blank.

By keeping my grocery shopping to a minimum and keeping regular grocery stock up lists for each store, I’m better able to make use of my time as well as my money.

How do YOU save money?

Grocery Geek Goes Wild

Jessica Fisher — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:44:55 +0000

I didn’t realize that when I was placing different co-op orders that they would all converge on the same day. The same day as double ad day at Sprouts, even. It makes me sound like a hard-core shopper!

I told you I was reforming my ways.

But those stops were all on my list Wednesday. So, I was one wiped out woman by the time we made our rounds, meeting big semi trucks to unload big bulk packages and herding five kids through the grocery store. And that didn’t even count putting the food away or cooking it up!

I spent $100 on our Azure Standard order. Enough flour, sugar cane juice crystals, and rice cakes to last through…. well, awhile, anyway. I also thought we’d try out a whole grain cracker (note: one box) and that I’d experiment making my own vanilla extract, so I bought some vanilla beans. It won’t be ready until Spring and by then what I have will be gone.

Here’s how things come packaged from Azure Standard:

I confess to being a little overwhelmed by the ginormous bags. It’s only the second time in a year that I’ve ordered. The jury is still out on whether or not this will be a regular gig.

Our box from Abundant Harvest Organics was particularly fun as they added a surprise load of plums. Yum! I never knew I liked plums until we tried the plums from the AHO. They are a whole other creation than what I’ve been getting at the grocery store. I’ll never be able to go back.

The box has mostly normal stuff this week, though I do have a traffic jam of squash and eggplant. My freezer can only hold so much ratatouille!

This week’s box held: tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, apples, grapes, plums, melons, garlic, hot and bell peppers, squash, mint, lettuce, potatoes, radishes, and carrots. The subscription is $38.80 per week.

I made mint syrup right away to add to hot cocoa and coffee drinks. Yum!

I also bought 20 pounds of granny smith apples ($16.00). I figure 80 cents a pound for organics is reasonable. Not the cheapest I’ve ever seen, but definitely good.

As if that wasn’t enough, five children and I rolled through Sprouts-the-store-formerly-known-as-Henry’s-that-I-wish-still-were. I don’t even remember what we bought. Eggs? Protein powder? limes and cilantro? Some chicken? I think I’ve blocked it out. All I remember is that the bill was under 50 bucks, which wasn’t bad considering the whey protein was like $16.

So, all that totaled up? I think we spent a little over $200. I’m not sure what I’ve spent all month, but there’s still some money in the envelope to get milk and cheese and whatever else we need this coming week.

I’m ready to stop shopping. But, I’m not sure anyone is ready to stop eating.

Grocery Geek Presents: Choosing Regular Shopping Stops

Jessica Fisher — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 08:50:24 +0000

It used to be that I regularly visited a multitude of stores each week. In fact, Vons, Albertsons, Ralph’s, Costco, Walmart, Sprouts, Henry’s, Stater Brothers, Walgreens, and CVS were part of my weekly rotation. For several years this worked for us. I clipped coupons, stalked the sales, and then made my rounds, sometimes hitting all ten stores on a Saturday morning.

Yes, I know how to spend a weekend.

But, as the stores in Southern California have changed their sales and coupon policies, as we’ve changed our eating habits, and as I’ve realized that there are more good things that I have to say no to, my list of stores in dwindling.

In a month, I might visit this list of stores:

~~Vons~~
~~Albertsons~~
Costco – for bulk items like bread, dairy, some produce, meat, and some dry goods
Walmart – for toiletries and basics that Costco might not sell
Sprouts – for produce that isn’t in our co-op box and meat on sale
~~Henry’s~~
~~Stater Brothers~~
~~Walgreens~~
CVS – for prescriptions
Trader Joe’s – for “healthier” items that I can’t get at the above stores
Ralphs – for any specialty item that they above don’t carry.

It still seems like a lot. But, 6 stores down from 10 is an improvement! Where I might have gone to every store every week previously, now I go to each store once or twice a month. I hope this means I’m making better use of my time.

Lately, I’m trying to simplify as much as possible without sacrificing too much in terms of budget or quality. That’s a weight chore right there!

On Sunday, I braved Costco. Yes, yes, I did. I went during the Chargers game and that helped. On my list? The basics: juice, bread, milk, cheese, butter, carrots, spinach, chips, and turkey meat. I also included protein bars and Gatorade for the men in the family. (We’ve entered hockey season, and those are “necessities.”) That was $99.01 exactly.

On Wednesday, I picked up our produce box.

The fruit wasn’t as plentiful as it’s been in previous weeks, but apples are coming next week. Yeah! I experimented with sorrel this week. Sounds like something horses eat, but it was delicious with grilled fish and spinach. The produce box was $38.80. So, my grocery total is up to $137.80 for the week. Just about right. So far, so good on fitting more organics in our budget.

I haven’t bought meat in several weeks. We’ve still got several packages in the freezer. But we’re eating lots of fresh veggies!

How’s YOUR grocery shopping going?

Grocery Geek Presents: Fitting Organic Produce Into the Budget

Jessica Fisher — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:45:58 +0000

As is normal for me in the fall, my focus turns from getting the best deals to saving the most time. Both are limited resources; both have “costs.”

Looking toward upping the nutrition in the things I buy, I am finding that I’m using a lot fewer coupons than in months and years previous. I know that I can find great coupon deals on healthier foods, but the time investment is a little sketchy. I’m not guaranteed a great return on my investment. Plus, it’s sometimes simpler to just buy the bulk box of something at Costco or Trader Joe’s or pick up straight ingredients and make my own.

That said, grocery shopping has been all over the map this past couple weeks. A stop at Walmart here, a run into TJ’s there. The one thing that has been constant has been our weekly produce box from Abundant Harvest Organics. You can read my review of our first week’s box here.

Crunching fruit

Our box from week two was amazing! I’ve never eaten plums that were so delicious. My kids didn’t know what they were since the store plums I’ve purchased have been awful by comparison. These were so crisp and the perfect blend of sweet and tart.

Week three seemed a little smaller in size, but I think it was just because those amazing plums were gone.

It’s been fun to get a box full of goodies and see how creative I can be with what we get. It’s been easier than last year’s CSA experience in part because the box includes such “normal” foods. I’m not feeling stretched to use the items in the box because, for the most part, they are things I would buy anyway.

This week’s box included: basil, lettuce, arugula, radishes, cucumbers, three kinds of summer squash, two kinds of tomatoes, melon, green beans, grapes, red potatoes, cucumbers, and jalapenos.

I’ve also purchased an extra ten pounds of grapes each week which has been a wonderful way to keep us supplied with fruit for snacking. They’re so fresh, you can hear them crunch!

Crunching numbers

Each picture’s contents cost $38.80, for all organic produce, fresh from the farm. I think that this is comparable to the organic sale prices that I see in my local stores — and the quality (of most things) has been better than what I would buy in the produce section.

My grocery expenses have averaged $750/month this year to feed a family of 8. Last year I averaged $624/month. This number kind of surprised me. The USDA projects a 3.5% to 4.5% increase in groceries. So obviously, this is a bigger increase than that. My spending is less than what I spent in our more extravagant days and definitely below the national average, but still seems like a marked increase.

And yes, I’m probably comparing myself to families who get by on $50 or $60/week. Honestly? It’s just not realistic for our family. It never was. Even in my cheapest, most driven couponing days, I allowed myself $100/wk to feed my family. My kids are growing, I have four BOYS, I have limited time, and I’m trying to buy better quality food. Something’s gotta give.

All food budgets are not created equal. Or as my friend Amy puts it, what you spend is irrelevant.

If I stick to a $750 budget, my produce costs will take up $155.20, leaving me a little under $600 to spend on dairy, meat, and canned or non-perishable items. As I think long term about this and how it fits in our budget, I’m thinking this is doable.

Overall, I am just ecstatic to have found great tasting, fresh produce at prices we can afford.

Grocery Geek Presents: Abundant Harvest Organics

Jessica Fisher — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 08:18:43 +0000

This has been “batten down the hatches” week. My book manuscript is back in my hot little hands and I’ve got about a week and a few days to make corrections and mail it back. I didn’t know why I had put off the start of school until Sept 6, but apparently God did! The timing works out well — as long as we’re prepared.

So, preparation has been the name of the game this week. Last week I mentioned how we did a big Costco stock-up. I also cruised through Walmart getting a few household items this week so that we don’t run out next week when I need to be focused on other things. And since it had “almost been” two weeks since I went to Costco, I went again to make sure things were stocked.

Yes, I’ve exceeded the amount that I budget for groceries this month, but I’ve got the cash and am buying into next month. As one Facebook peep pointed out, I was under budget last month, so it all works out in the end. I’m quite at peace to take from our discretionary funds in order to make things easier on my family in the grocery department.

I bought a ton of stuff at Costco, including lots of meat and cheese so that I could get some meals in the freezer. All told it was about $200. Yes, really. BUT it “should” last a long time. I also bought some “convenient snack items.”

I know, talking out both sides of my mouth. I want homemade and healthy; I want cheap; but I also have to buy myself some time. I also know that I will do this imperfectly. So, I’m trying not to overthink things and hopefully, will strike a happy balance.

A new wrinkle in my grocery shopping was the arrival of our first box from Abundant Harvest Organics, an organic produce delivery service. A reader mentioned this company a couple weeks ago. I did some research and decided to give it a go. While the prices aren’t as cheap as conventional produce on sale, they certainly are competitive with conventional non-sale prices as well as organic sale prices.

Everything unpacked and sorted:

Here’s what we got this week: seasonal fruit (grapes and peaches), potatoes, chives, peppers, squash, corn, lettuce, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil. I paid about $48 for this amount of organic produce, shipped directly from the growers which are all located in Southern California.

I processed a lot of the items that could be frozen (corn, green beans, potatoes) right away so that I didn’t feel stressed to use it up. I’ll be reviewing this service more indepthly over on Good Cheap Eats next week, in case you’re interested.

So, this month I went about $250 over my budgeted $600. $850 to feed 8 people is not bad — and still dramatically lower than what the government allows for those on a “thrifty meal plan.” As an interesting aside, I looked up the USDA food costs averages for the year and nearly choked! Our family’s total came to over $1000 for a month. If I spent that, we could eat like kings — organic kings!

Makes me wonder a little about government spending, ahem. For now, I’ll try to keep my own spending in check.

How are YOU geeking out on groceries this week?

Grocery Geek Presents: Convenience Buys & a Costco Stock-up

Jessica Fisher — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 07:56:33 +0000

This past week I’ve made a concerted effort to get a handle on feeding my family “nutritious and delicious” foods that are also easy to get on the table.

As I mentioned last week, we’ve shied away from a lot of the processed foods that were regular staples in our pantry a few years ago. I explained that we’re at a crossroads of sorts trying to up the nutrition, feed hungry boys, and stay in the black.

On Sunday afternoon, I spent a couple hours prepping foods for the week — and it was such a help throughout our days to be able to grab a box of veggies or cheese slices straight from the fridge. (I’ll share more on this tomorrow.)

But, in addition to making my own convenience foods, I marched forth bravely and bought a few storebought things as well. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

I spent about $70 at Trader Joe’s on dairy, pantry staples, snacks, and some convenience items like potstickers and hummus.

Then a trip to Costco after a long and tiring doctor’s appointment turned into a big stock-up venture. Hubs met me there, and we had a mini-date at the warehouse tossing into the cart cheeses, milk, crackers, dried fruit, bananas, potatoes, breads, bagels, ground beef, steaks, fancy cheeses, juices, honey, vinegar, sea salt, and a few convenience items, like pita chips and mashed potatoes. Yes, really.

We had a “good time” and ended up spending $300 at Costco. Yes, really. However, the items that we bought will carry over into next month, I’m pretty sure. But, I’ve spent my grocery money for the month — and there are still 10 days to go. I may go a little over budget if we need milk or fruit before the end of the month. Thankfully, we have the cash, so we’ll just spend less on something else.

In the meantime, my kids have plenty of things to snack on and I’ve got lots of items to work with. Seeing as my manuscript is coming back to me at the end of next week, I’m going to need all the convenience I can get!

Have I been irresponsible? Have I blown our money? Have I caved?

I don’t think so. A glance at the grocery ads in San Diego county show me that I’m not missing much. I’ve bought good quality food and plenty of it. I’ve splurged on convenience, but (hopefully) without sacrificing taste or nutrition.

Where do YOU splurge?

Grocery Geek: At a Crossroads

Jessica Fisher — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 08:00:53 +0000

My grocery shopping adventures have met a crossroads. Tonight at dinner my boys each asked for a second hamburger. I only made eight, so that was quite impossible. They “filled up” on Sunchips and carrots. But, it gave me pause.

A Growing Family

My family is growing. With a husband doing manual labor most days and four sons aged 14, 10, 9, and 7, the quantity of food I need to prepare is growing. No, they aren’t eating junk. And no, they aren’t overeating. All the boys are pretty slim and trim.

But, food, whether that’s burgers, peaches, or pumpkin pie, is disappearing at a pretty fast clip. This is to be expected and normal I think for a growing family.

Fewer Processed Foods

Today in line at Walmart, I watched the woman ahead of me unload several cases of beer and soda as well as several boxes of Captain Crunch, Lunchables, and many bags of snacks I didn’t recognize. There was no milk, no produce, and no fresh meat. The only “real food” she had in the cart was bottled water. And that made me think.

Not in a judgemental way — I have no idea what else she has at home or if this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of purchase. There’s a lot of unknown in that equation. But, it made me reflect on how our family’s eating habits have changed over the last year or two.

We still eat some processed foods (the aforementioned Sunchips, for example) and I love to eat out. But, I’ve been making a lot more from scratch. And I haven’t bought pop in quite a long time. A Vanilla Coke used to be my regular, daily habit.

Not so Great Deals

On top of all that, I’ve not used more than a handful of coupons in the last six weeks. Sales have never been as good in California as they were in Kansas, same with the coupon deals. With the economy what it is, I don’t expect this to improve in the coming months.

Clearly, my shopping and cooking habits have changed — and the store deals have as well. And so here we are at a crossroads. I still love to grocery shop; I still love to cook good food; I still love to save money. But, I’m kinda curious what form my grocery geekiness will take in the coming months or how my food budget will change.

One thing I do know, is that I will not go quietly. I don’t think I will ever have quite the full cereal cupboard for practically FREE that I once did. So, I’m going to continue plugging along, buying the (healthier) loss leaders, and trying to make the most of what we have.

That said, this week’s big shopping trip looked like this:

I spent $54 on the dairy and produce pictured, some organic, some not. Hubs spent another $16 when he picked up some things I forgot. I spent another $20 in Walmart today. For the week, we’re at $90. We still have a few freezer meals and some meats in the freezer as well as pasta, beans, and rice in the cupboard.

Full disclosure: last week I spent about $140 at Costco and $100 at Trader Joe’s on the basics. We had depleted our stores in July and with my mom coming to watch the kids while I was at a conference, I wanted to make sure that they had plenty.

So, for the month we’re at $330. There’s a whole lot of month left, so we’ll see how it goes. I have a feeling that I will need to bake up a storm soon — and do some extra rice and beans nights if we’re going to stay under budget.

Are you seeing changes in your grocery buying habits?

Grocery Geek: Ending the Pantry Challenge?

Jessica Fisher — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 15:00:49 +0000

At the end of last month I knew that I had a ton of food in my pantry and freezer. So, I set upon a Pantry Challenge, trying to make the most of what we already had instead of “shopping as normal” at the grocer’s. I didn’t make any hard and fast rules or make a spending limit. Rather, I tried to be mindful of my purchases and not to let things go to waste.

Well, the month is up, and I’m still finding treasure at the bottom of my freezer. Most of the items are of the quick lunch variety, like individual soups and calzones, but there’s also a turkey and several packages of fish, burgers, and brats. That turkey is got to go this week!

Come back tomorrow for a peek at my meal plan. And you can read what we really ate during the Pantry Challenge over on Good Cheap Eats.

I think I have the basics for another month’s worth of meals! So, unless there’s a screaming deal on meat or pantry staples, I’m going to try to stick with my dairy and fresh produce lists.

Grocery Geek This Week:

In addition to random trips to CVS ($3 gallon of milk), Trader Joe’s ($15 sunbutter and misc dessert items chosen by hubs and 2 boys) and Costco ($5 just milk!) these are the food purchases that entered the house:

Walmart is not necessarily the cheapest when it comes to dairy (Costco has that title), but it is a close second. Since I know the more I shop, the more I’ll spend, I’ve been avoiding Costco like the plague. I know I will be tempted to stock up on other things that we’ll use, but that will prevent me from using what we already have.

I’ve been baking a lot of Artisan Bread this month, but buying sandwich bread. Costco is cheaper on that, too. Hmmm…. maybe I need to rethink my Costco strategy?

I ended up spending $40 on groceries at Walmart this week on dairy and a few dry goods.

At Henry’s I loaded up on produce, eggs, cheese, and another gallon of milk? For a total of $52 I got organic lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, bananas, and celery as well as conventional grapes, mushrooms, cilantro, green onions, potatoes, cuties, carrots, and onions as well as a few dry goods and dairy products.

I also made an Amazon coffee order. I told you awhile back how much I loved the convenience of having a coffee machine thingy. With sales and Swagbucks I was able to get this big box of 50 K-cups for only $5!

My grand grocery total for the month is $445.

I’m actually quite stunned. I used very few, if any, coupons, and just focused on adding (mostly) whole foods to our household. I’m not sure what this means for the coming month, but I’m amazed that I spent so little on food costs. We ate out a few times during the month, but that totaled only $115, much lower than most months. So, I’m going to say that this challenge was a success!

Plus, I lost a pound or two. Which, at my age, is priceless.

How did you save this month?

Grocery Geek: Mergers, Buy-Outs & a Pantry Challenge

Jessica Fisher — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 08:04:53 +0000

You know you’re a grocery geek when you spend time researching the origins and founders of certain grocery stores and wonder if mergers and buy-outs are going to have a negative impact on your weekly shopping trip.

I’m sure most people don’t give these things a second thought. But since I rely on knowledge of each store’s rules and regulations, and yes, even their histories, to help me keep our budget in check, it was a big deal to me this week to hear that Henry’s Markets and Sprouts of California have merged.

And to be honest, this news didn’t make me happy. While the two stores have competing sale prices, I’ve had terrible experiences with Sprouts’ meat and produce over the last year. So much so, that I’ve ceased to shop at Sprouts altogether. It doesn’t matter that it’s the farther store; at one time I was willing to make the treck for their clearance bread. But, a few too many bad apples convinced me it really wasn’t worth great prices on day old bread.

So, I’m not sure about this Henry’s buyout. The manager got a little defensive on my trip there this week, claiming that Henry’s was Sprouts to begin with. But, that’s not what I read.

See? Total grocery geek. But are you going to come to blows with a manager over how Sprouts was really the second company and not the first? Clearly I need to pick up some more hobbies.

Anywho, I did make one grocery stop this week:

$52 will get you all this at Sprouts-the-store-formerly-known-as-Henry’s-which-was-really-always-Henry’s-but-I-won’t-argue-with-you-about-it.

Purchases included conventional berries, cucumbers, lettuce, avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, and broccoli, as well as organic carrots, celery, bananas, and grape tomatoes. Oats were on a killer sale @ $.69/pound, so I had to get some. And beef which rarely goes on sale these days was $2.99 for extra lean Angus beef. And since I love my latest Bleu Cheese burger with Chipotle Mayonnaise, I had to get it.

I had to.

So, I think that brings our grocery expenses to $325 for the month. Yet, our milk supply is dwindling as is the coffee. And we have a date with some smores at the beach, so I need to rustle up some of those fixins. I’m sure I’ll be making a weekend stop at Walmart.

But, so far, so good, eh? We’ve only eaten out once in the last week — and we’re eating like kings. I still haven’t busted out the turkey from the freezer yet, either. Check back tomorrow for my meal plan and how these new purchases are fitting in.