I don't normally post over the weekend. However, I was thinking through my grocery shopping this week and wanted to write it out (for my benefit more than anyone else's).
As I've mentioned, my main grocery store is WinCo (every other week), and in the odd weeks I make a quick run (around the corner) to Walmart. I have specific foods, supplements, and OTCs that I buy at Walmart. So I wait for the odd week to pick those items up.
This week I needed a couple of supplements that both my husband and I take and some band-aids. So even though I didn't really need any foods, I went anyway and did pick up a couple of food items, too. I'm not sure why, but this was a chocolate-heavy shopping trip.
I bought the mega bag (36 oz) of GV chocolate chips ($9.42) ,a 3.52-oz bar of GV milk chocolate ($1.67), a 3.2-oz bar of GV dark chocolate ($1.67), and a 4-oz bar of GV unsweetened chocolate. ($3.14) The milk and dark chocolate bars are for future s'mores at our house, and the unsweetened chocolate is for making unsweetened chocolate-covered dried fruits or mixing with other chocolates when melting to make a darker chocolate. So a lot of chocolate. In addition, I bought a jar of GV coffee ($6.94), now my preferred coffee. I spent $22.84 at Walmart. I used some of the chocolate already in chocolate-covered raisins (sometimes I've just gotta have a bit of candy) and homemade magic shell.
I also stopped at Town & Country (a small regional chain in the Puget Sound area). They have an awesome natural foods bulk section. As much as I love WinCo's bulk bins, T & C has a few extra foods that WinCo doesn't sell. This time I bought some white whole wheat flour ($2.07) and also a dozen brown eggs ($3.99). I can find eggs for less than $3.99/dozen now, but T & C's brown eggs (and maybe the white ones, I haven't tried them) are better than Walmart's regular eggs. I spent $6.06 here.
My grand total for this week came to $28.94.
This coming week will be another WinCo week. I've been adding items to my list all week. My husband wants to come with me again. So I'll have to work around his work schedule.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends!
Chocolate is one of the essential food groups. :) It's getting so expensive, though. I thought of you recently, when I used cocoa powder to make no-bake cookies. It's a good way to get a chocolate fix for less money.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about no-bake cookies the other day. I made them all the time when I was a kid. We have enough sweets at our house for now, but I think I will be making them soon.
DeleteMy son likes to make them for work/church potlucks, which makes me smile (and I'm also proud that he contributes to events like this and doesn't just mooch food).
DeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI've been thinking about no-bake cookies this summer. I have a problem with oats sometimes, so I've been looking into alternatives to the oats part. There's something called quinoa flakes that many oat-free folks use. Next time I get out to the store with the good, natural food bulk bins I'll check to see if they have quinoa flakes.
You're right, no-bake cookies made with cocoa are a great way to get a chocolate fix for less cost. Chocolate chips have become so expensive. But at least they're less expensive per ounce than candy bars.
Also, Kris, that is so great that your son makes these for potlucks. You taught him well. How is he enjoying his new city?
DeleteI like Winco and Town & Country, but there are none close to me. The nearest grocery stores are the rather upscale QFC (Kroger), Safeway, and Fred Meyer (also Kroger). I can walk to QFC, so I often end up buying things there out of convenience. They have some decent sales this week - 2lbs strawberries for 5.99, 18oz blueberries for 3.99, and a carton of 18 eggs for 3.49 (one of the Digital Deals using the Kroger app). I don't really like using the app, but it does save me money. I also often find good markdowns on short-dated meat there.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I spent about $20 at QFC on 3lbs blueberries, 2lbs strawberries, and some marked down ham. Not bad!
Hi Tina,
Deleteyou bring up a good point. The more upscale stores often have great loss leader sales and good quality meat on markdown. I used to go to our nearby QFC just for the meat markdowns and produce and milk loss leaders. That's a great sale on eggs! Oooh, you did well with $20!