July 2. Cash & Carry for 10 lbs 80% ground beef, $25.90 or $2.59/lb, 1/2 gallon heavy whipping cream, $7.45, 1-lb box cornstarch, 99 cents. Spent $34.34. (In case you wonder about the heavy whipping cream purchase, this is in large part as a way to top off some calories for my daughter needing to gain a few pounds. Any that is leftover, we'll use to top desserts, for the rest of the family. 1/2 gallon will last us 1 month. But we may be able to get her weight up to her healthy zone, in a month or two, adding whipping cream and more meat to her diet. So, not a long term monthly expenditure.)
July 5. stopped at Imran's ethnic market for apples, 39 cents/lb. Spent $1.69
July 6. Dollar Tree for my once/month stop. Only food item is soy milk (1 qt.). Spent $1
July 7. Fred Meyer -- Senior Discount Day -- love it! Everything I bought qualified for the 10% off, even the bulk bin items next to the nutrition center. Instant dry milk powder (enough to make 8 quarts, though I'll be using this in recipes, and not to mix up liquid milk as that's too expensive a use for this product), $6.11, 18-oz canister of dried plums, $4.49, dried dates at $2.49/lb, 85 cents, whole almonds at $6.29/lb, $1.95. Total spent $13.40
Cash & Carry. The weekly item this week is boneless pork loin, at $1.59/lb. Sounded like a good change of pace for us. I bought a 9.62 lb pork loin (to divide into smaller roasts for the freezer), for $15.30, a 5-lb jug of honey, for $15.29, a 4-lb bag of raisins for $8.59, 5-lb box of frozen cod fillets for $18.90, 10-lb box of pork breakfast sausage links for $18.99, and a 2 gallon box of milk for $4.18. Total spent $81.25
Month to date spent (I know I'd better figure this out soon) -- $131.68
A very meat-heavy month, so far.
July 9. Albertsons, they have 1-gallon milk on sale for $1.99/gallon, limit 2 w/coupon. I pick up my 2 (both whole milk). Spent $3.98.
July 18. Albertsons, they have medium eggs on sale for 99 cents/dozen, limit 4 w/coupon. I pick up my 4, my 2 daughters and I get cookies that were samples in bakery, then leave. Spent $3.96, and now I have fresh eggs again!
July 24. Albertsons, medium eggs on for 99 cents/dz, limit 4 again, bacon for $2.59/16 oz, limit 4 w/ coupon. Spent $14.32
Cash & Carry for 50-lb sack of white sugar, $20.99, 50-lb sack of all-purpose flour $11.99, wedge of Parmesan cheese (2.29 lbs @ $4.48/lb) for $10.26. Spent $43.24
On the Parmesan cheese wedge, I checked the price per pound at Albertsons and it was over $11 per pound, so Cash & Carry seems to be a great place for that. While Parmesan cheese falls under "luxury item" for our budget, it is aged over 12 months, which means I can digest it. When I make pizza for the family, it's best for me if I leave one little section without mozzarella, and only put sauce and other toppings. That little section is mine. But if I have aged Parmesan, I can put that in my little slice, and have cheese, too. Cash & Carry's regular price on that Parmesan is $5.59/lb. I paid $4.48/lb.
total spent for the month -- $197.18, over by $16.09. I did buy some treat items, but I'm glad that I did, this month. We are eating very well. The list of what I buy isn't always representative of the variety in our meals. If I were reading this list, I too would wonder, "what in the world is she feeding her family?!!" It really does look unbalanced, doesn't it? That's the nature of stock-up shopping. But in case you missed yesterday's post, Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the week, go back one day and you will see that we're eating well and balanced.
What I have bought for the month of July:
Meat
10 lbs ground beef
9.62 lbs boneless pork loin
5 lbs frozen cod fillets
10 lbs breakfast sausage links
4 lbs bacon
Pantry
16-oz box cornstarch
1 quart soy milk
medium-size box (to make 8 qts of liquid milk) of instant powdered milk
1 cup dry roasted almonds, unsalted
5 lbs honey
50 bs white flour
50 lbs granulated sugar
Dairy
1/2 gallon heavy whipping cream (this is the really good stuff, 40% fat, they should put warning labels on these cartons, "warning, you could get seriously addicted to this whipping cream". It has such a high fat content, that I can have small spoonfuls of this, whipped, if I want. Most "heavy whipping cream" sold in supermarkets is 36% fat.)
4 gallons milk
8 dozen medium eggs
2.29 lbs Parmesan cheese
Produce
9 Red Delicious apples
18 oz dried plums
1 cup dried dates
4 lbs raisins
(This is for live and learn -- it's my homemade "magic shell" for ice cream. I'll post my directions on Monday.)
