Nov 4 I did my shopping at Walmart this week. I bought a pint of whipping cream, head of cabbage, bunch of bananas, 1 can of apple juice concentrate (for making spice cider on Thanksgiving, mixing in some crabapple juice and a sliced tangerine), 4 packs turkey snack sticks, 2 3-lb boxes elbow macaroni, 1 gallon milk, 2 2-lb bags powdered sugar. Spent $34.62
Nov 10 Fred Meyer after church for instant decaf coffee. We also got 1 bagged salad for free with coupon, and 2 bags of tortilla chips. Spent $10.47
Nov 17 My husband and I stopped at Fred Meyer after church for milk While there we also checked the clearance aisle. I bought 1 marked down jar of coconut curry sauce (my husband wanted this -- it'll make an easy meal), 4 dented cans of green beans, 5 large cans of mixed nuts (no idea why these were marked down, but they were a steal), and a bunch of bananas. Spent $34.11
Nov 18 My daughter was near WinCo in the AM, so she stopped in and picked up some apples for us. spent $4.
Nov 23 My big shopping for the month at WinCo. 10-lb bag of all-purpose flour, 5-lb bag bread flour, 10-lb bag potatoes, 1 acorn squash, turkey breakfast sausage, 1 lb sliced pepperoni (for pizzas), natural peanut butter, salt, frozen fish sticks, mayonnaise, 5 lbs carrots, 8 lbs butter, dried dates, 2-pack pork sirloin roasts, celery, bananas, mushrooms, tangerines, apples. Spent $97.88
Nov 25 I needed to get just a couple of last things for Thanksgiving Day. First I stopped at Grocery Outlet 12 oz frozen sausage (for stuffing), 12 oz bacon. Spent $5.49 at GO. Across the street, Walmart 2 packs turkey snack sticks, 1 canister onion powder. Spent $8.44 at Walmart.
My total in person spending for November was $195.01. Eek! That's a little more than I'd planned. We also paid for our next batch of beef this month, even though we won't receive it until December. That cost $359.00 So, my total spending for groceries in November came to $554.01. December's spending will be a lot lower, even with Christmas and New Year's to shop for, simply because December won't be a beef month for the budget.
What I bought:
fresh, frozen and canned produce
head of cabbage
3 bunches of bananas
several pounds of apples
10 lbs potatoes
fresh mushrooms
5 lbs carrots
acorn squash
frozen apple juice concentrate
4 cans green beans
dairy
pint whipping cream
2 gallons milk
8 lbs butter
meat
6 packs turkey snack sticks
turkey breakfast sausage
sliced pepperoni
fish sticks (for busy days, cheaper than fast food for a family)
2 sirloin pork roasts (for smoking)
pork sausage
pork bacon
large order of beef
pantry foods
6 lbs dried pasta
4 lbs powdered sugar
jar of instant decaf coffee
2 bags tortilla chips
jar coconut curry sauce
5 large cans mixed nuts
10 lbs all-purpose flour
5 lbs bread flour
mayonnaise
dates
small jar onion powder
from the bulk section
natural peanut butter
salt
This was a very heavy meat purchasing month. Not only did we pay for our next batch of beef, but I also bought a few pounds of pork, lots of sausage (for Thanksgiving sausage and for daily breakfasts), and enough pepperoni for 5 pizzas. The turkey snack sticks add up. But I'm willing to buy them because they make a healthier snack than carb-heavy cookies, cakes, and breads.
I also stocked up on butter this month, adding to the stash each time I found it on sale. I now have about 20 lbs of butter in the freezer. If it's still at it's lower price of $3.48/lb later this week, I may buy another few pounds, enough to get us through all of the holiday baking and tide us over till Easter sales.
There are some foods we could do without (like the tortilla chips). However, a little fun food goes a long way in keeping spirits upbeat. For example, I used almost one entire bag of tortilla chips to make beef and bean nachos one night for dinner. I was using up some of the last of the garden tomatoes and green onions in this meal, too. My family loved having nachos as the dinner that night.
I didn't buy a whole lot specifically for Thanksgiving, as I've mentioned before. I figure I save quite a bit by cooking so much from scratch for this holiday. As Thanksgiving is "just" a meal holiday in preparations (as opposed to gift-giving with birthdays, Christmas, and other holidays), I can find the time to cook for a week leading up to the big meal.
That wraps up November. How did you fare with grocery shopping this past month? How much butter is too much to keep on hand in your household?
You've asked the big question here--how much butter is too much? I have bought ahead and frozen it for years now, but I'm having to make adjustments, now that we have a smaller household. I will be interested to hear what others think. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI can imagine needing to make downward adjustments in just about every food category for the months your grown kids are away. I've really cut back on how much milk I buy. This last month I only bought 2 gallons. That's a half-gallon per week split between 3 milk drinkers. Gone are the days when I'd buy 8 or 9 gallons for a month.
I'm curious, too, how much butter others stock up. I imagine it would be based on how long until one expects the next good sale. At least that's how I've done it.
I don't know how much is too much. I rarely have more than a three or four pounds and that's only when I am stocking up from a sale. Usually we have a pound or two in the fridge. However, we don't bake that much, and we don't use butter regularly for much else. Too much butter, I would say is when you run out of space or you can't use it up before it goes bad. But it should freeze for a long time.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteAt least butter keeps well frozen. I try to rotate stock on the frozen butter. But I did find 4 pounds from 2022 this past summer. It tasted fine -- no freezer taste or anything like that. If a household didn't have much freezer space, then they might want to prioritize that space for another food, and not butter. My family seems to go through a lot of butter. It surprises me, at times, how often I'm refilling the butter dish.
I bought 4 more pounds of butter today. I'll see how long 24 pounds lasts us. At least it's something I won't have to think about for a long while.