Sunday, April 7, 2013

Hy-Vee Haul

Last week I spent nearly $150 on groceries, and I knew that that needed to not happen again.  So, prior to meal-planning for the week, I took a mental inventory of what we had left in the fridge: lots of avocados (apparently I overestimated that we'd need eight of them last week), a box of cherry tomatoes, frozen fish and chicken, and a few miscellaneous items.  I also noted the things that we definitely needed to stockpile: string cheese, UVAB, eggs, mozzarella, and lots o' apples.

Once I jotted down our "do-not-buy" and our "we-need-more" lists, I started meal planning.  I realized that when I talked about meal planning last week, it may have sounded like it was a quick process.  That's totally not the case.  In fact, it takes me at least a couple of hours to figure out what kind of meals we want, how to break them down so that they fit into my allotted carb/protein ratio, how to get the most bang for our buck (i.e. use the same produce more than once), etc.


It involves a lot of math, a lot of moving food items around, a lot of changing quantities, etc.  It's a lot of work, but like I said before, it is most definitely worth it.  After all, I'd be lost without a plan.

This week, I was able to get out of Hy-Vee for a grand total of...


...$72.51.  I was certainly pleased that it was such a significant decrease in what I paid last week, and I know that the only reason it was so "much" at all was because of the amount of cheese I bought.  Seriously, why does Laughing Cow/Babybel have to be so darn expensive?!

But I digress.

Let's look at the load:


For produce, I picked up some carrots (and have nearly demolished them already), sweet potatoes, spinach, apples, green beans, and tomatoes.


For refrigerated items, I grabbed fresh mozzarella, cottage cheese, UVAB, skim milk, hummus, Laughing Cow, eggs, egg beaters, shredded cheese, and two packs of Babybel.


For pantry items, I bought corn muffin mix, sunflower seed butter, whole wheat hamburger buns, green chiles, creamed corn, enchilada sauce, and (an impulse buy) Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

Not pictured: volumizing mousse.

Not yet purchased (because I don't want it to go bad before I use it on Friday): lean ground beef.

The dinner plan for the week is as follows:

  • Monday: Palmer's salad (since I will be at Palmer's Deli having dinner with my Spanish-class peeps)
  • Tuesday: tofu + green beans + rice (since I have an event to attend with a friend, and this is a fast dinner)
  • Wednesday: chicken tamale casserole + veggies (since it's easy to take with us to bowling)
  • Thursday: Trader Joe's Vera Cruz fish + sweet potato + veggies
  • Friday: Ab's Diet burgers + veggies

So there you have it: yet another meal plan is in the books.

Stay tuned for a blog post tomorrow morning -- I'm going to hook you up with a recipe for the best crab cakes ever.


Charlie and I say, "G'night, y'all!"

6 comments:

  1. Go to costco for string cheese and apples! They both last me a long time and are affordable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good call. I need to start buying produce there, too, since I eat so darn much of it. But I should probably see if my membership is still good... :)

      Delete
  2. I get my string cheese at Aldi - they have a Light and Fit brand and on a weight watchers scale, are only 1 point. I think for a pack of 12 they're like 2.99 or something close - cheaper than HyVee or Dahls for sure. I normally buy 3 at a time because they can be hit or miss because I have to think it's a more popular item there. I hope you'll post the Wednesday recipe, that sounds delish!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aldi is a great idea! I totally forgot about it, but one of my girlfriends told me how cheap everything is. I'll definitely have to check it out. Oh, and the recipe will FOR SURE be posted. :)

      Delete
  3. You can get Laughing Cow/Babybell for only $2.99 each at Aldi or Trader Joe's. I think they have a long expiration date so you can stock up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know they had those at Trader Joe's! I'll definitely check it out. Thanks, Karla!

      Delete