The Grocery Budget

I have decided to start a new series on the blog called : The Grocery Budget. I got the idea when the dear husband told me what we had spent on groceries since going gluten free. The results were actually pretty shocking because were are saving an insane amount of money. I have to tell you that before my gluten free days, grocery shopping was one of my favorite hobbies. Going into a lovely store like Ellwood Thompson’s, The Fresh Market, Good Foods Grocery, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s was weekend entertainment for me. If we were bored, we would hop in the car and drive to one of my favorite stores depending on what we were “in the market for”. We also had a tendency to eat out – a lot. We would eat many weekend meals out as well as one meal during the week. The amount of money we spent on food was frankly just stupid.

Recently, we have come upon some financial challenges and have had to pay much closer attention to our food budget. I had to start thinking more about wasting less food and money and this was around the same time I had to go gluten free. In the beginning, I was thinking that it was going to much more expensive but come to find out, it really is much cheaper. We haven’t eaten out once unless you count the Whole Foods Hot Bar and our pockets are getting fatter as a result. Even with my high standards on food quality we are literally saving buckets of money. This sparked the idea that maybe people would enjoy seeing what it cost to eat quality food on a budget. People always say that eating healthy, organic, sustainable food is more expensive and I would like to challenge that theory and myself with this new adventure.

So, here is the plan, each week, I will post everything that we purchase from the grocery store as well as it’s cost. I will also post the meal plan for the upcoming week and make note of anytime that we eat out (which I am sure will be rarely because of the gluten free thing). So, no time like the present to get started! This week, I shopped at Whole Foods and bought the following (I meant to take photos but got stuck in traffic so I didn’t get home until 45 minutes later and I was concerned about my cold/fresh ingredients, I am weird like that) but hopefully, next weeks post will include photos.):

• the big box of organic baby spinach $5.99
• 2 organic avocados $3.00
• 2lbs conventional whole carrots $1.99
• 2 lbs organic red grapes $4.22
• 1 lb organic broccoli $4.13
• 3 organic kiwi $1.99
• almost 2lbs of raw cashew pieces $7.69
• one each orange, red, yellow conventional peppers $3.99
• almost 3lbs of organic bananas
• 2lbs conventional tomatoes on the vine $6.13
• Bob’s Red Mill shredded coconut $3.39
• 2 organic red pears $2.22
• 4 conventional honey crisp apples
• Pamela’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix $5.69
• Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste $5.59
• Whole Foods brand grapeseed oil $5.99
• Blue Diamond Hazelnut gluten free crackers $2.50
• Blue Diamond Pecan gluten free crackers $2.50
• Locally made salsa $4.99
• 16oz hummus $4.99
• Whole Foods prepared coleslaw $2.55
• 2 cans organic light coconut milk $2.98
• Roasted Pork from Hot Bar $4.51
• Whole Foods brand Carolina BBQ Sauce $4.99
• 5 ESSN Sparkling Fuji Apple drinks $4.85
• 1 dozen local, free range, organic eggs $3.99
• 1 jar Whole Foods brand organic tomato basil sauce $2.29

Other items that impacted the bill

• Bag credit -$.20
• Nickel for Non Profit bag credit donation $.20
• Donation to local schools $1.00
• Tax $3.27

The total bill was $122.12 which was $22.12 over budget. My goal was $100.00 but the hot bar dinner put a large ding in my budget. Also note that this week, we did not have to buy meat or beans because we already had plenty to get us through. We have also already stocked up on some gluten free basic sauces, almond flour and gluten free grains. As time progresses, these things will obviously make an appearance.

Don’t forget to check out the meal plan that this weeks groceries is going towards!

Question: Is this a series of posts that you will find interesting? Is there anything you would like to see me change or add to it?

More on This Topic?

• Necessary Spending
• This is the plan, Stan
• Food Made Simple
• The Blue Jar
• How to Make a Grocery List