Groceries..

Saving Money on Groceries

Many people are surprised at how little I actually spend on groceries every week.  I am pretty bat shit crazy at how I plan out my grocery list, planning out my meals ahead of time.  This way I don’t waste food, or money.  I had someone say “How do you know what you will be in the mood for?” etc etc.  I went through a bunch of my recipes, and I made a rotation (that I use most of the time), to utilize the same items and not let them go to waste.  Why buy a bunch of mushrooms, scallions, etc if you only use them for one recipe?  Makes no sense to me, and since I am usually cooking for me, and once or twice a week for me and my guy, I don’t cook that much food.  Just good food :)

I plan out my meals Monday through Friday, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner..as well as snack food.  This way I am not eating out all the time spending $10-$15 on lunch, when I can bring my own, soup/salad/sandwich/leftovers. 

The low end for groceries is $40 and the high end is $80. 

One example may be:

Chicken Marsala, Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Garlic Bake, Fish and Veggies, Pot Roast all in one week, using many of the same staple ingredients

This week I spent about $80 on groceries, for

Stuffed Shells; Fish and Veggies; Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Salad and Rolls; Enchiladas and Rice;

Spent most of the money of fresh fruits and veggies for my new diet.  Averages about $3 per meal for the week.  This way I don't eat out for lunch, dinner, etc and waste money.

I used to just buy random stuff for whatever day I "actually cooked".  This would usually cause me to order out, eat garbage, and spend about $25 a day on dinner.  Nuts when I realize I spent less than $5 total tonight on dinner.