Welcome to week 3 of the $29 budget challenge. This week we ended up with some overage from last week plus extra food because we were invited to a preview party where lunch was included and my family treated me to Chinese take-out for Mother’s Day.
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For some reason I calculated last week’s groceries at $140 instead of $145, plus spent about $7 under that. The overage ended up being about $13, which I definitely used this week to stock up on a few items and buy more organic products, and we are having company this week so it helped me stay on budget while buying extra. This week we shopped at Wegmans. Whole Foods and Wegmans are my two favorite grocery stores because they are clean and both make an effort to provide healthy and affordable foods.
Grocery List
Wegmans
Meat
- Organic boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 3.25# – $16.52
- Organic turkey bacon – $5.99
- Pepperoni, .25/lb – $1.49
- Organic ground beef – $6.99
TOTAL: $30.99
Produce
- Oranges, 8# – $6.99
- Organic apples, 3# – $5.99
- Organic baby spinach, 11 oz. – $3.99
- Broccoli florets, 48 oz. – $4.99
- Romaine Lettuce, 2 heads – $1.99 x 2
- 2 plum tomatoes – $0.87
- Zucchini – $1.79
- Star fruit – $2.50
- 6 ct. mini cukes – $2.99
- 3 white sweet potatoes – $2.65
- Green bell peppers – $2.00
- Bananas, 2.25# – $1.13
- Green beans, 1# – $1.99
- 6 corn on cob – $2.00
- Organic celery – $2.99
- Tomato on Vine, 2.5# -$4.99
TOTAL: $51.84
Bakery
- Vermont Whole Wheat Bread – $2.99
- Thomas English Muffins – $2.19
TOTAL: $5.18
Dairy
- Stonyfield, 32 oz. – $3.59
- Organic milk, 1 gallon – $5.69
- Wegmans mozzarella, 16 oz. – $3.99
- Wegmans tortillas – $2.49
- Wegmans butter, 16 oz. – $2.49
- Wegmans cream cheese – $1.59
- Cheddar, 3# – $5.89
TOTAL: $25.73
Grocery
- Snyder’s pretzels, 16 oz. – $2.49
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips, 24 oz. – $3.89
- Wegmans organic basmati rice, 35 oz. – $4.59
- Wegmans organic salsa, medium, twin pack, 45 oz. each – $8.99
- Wegmans organic tomato sauce, 23.5 oz. – $2.99
- Wegmans balsamic vinegar, 17 oz. – $3.49
- Organic garbanzo beans, 16 oz. dry – $2.69
- Smuckers natural peanut butter – $2.99
- Organic jam – $3.29
- Organic oats, 24 oz. – $3.49
TOTAL: $38.90
Frozen
- Wegmans green beans, 16 oz. – $0.99
- Wegmans cauliflower, 16 oz. – $0.99
- Turkey Hill all-natural ice cream – $3.59
TOTAL: $5.57
SHOPPING TOTAL: $158.21
IBOTTA: -$3.20 (I am not taking this total out of groceries until I cash out later this month.)
Left from Last Week
- 1/2 bag potatoes
- Celery
- Lemons
- Limes
- Tomatoes
- Jalapeno
- Corn tortillas
- Mozzarella
- 1 pack hot dogs
- Carrots
- 1+ dozen eggs
- 1/2 package mushrooms
- 1 cup rolled oats
- Yeast
- Flour
- 2 lb. black beans
Week 3 Meal Plan
Breakfast
- Egg and veggie quesadillas (onions, peppers, leftover mushrooms, cheese)
- Apple and Oat Parfaits
- Oatmeal with sugar and milk
- Oatmeal with bananas, chocolate chips, and peanut butter
- Smoothie – 1 cup spinach, 1 carrot, 1 orange, 1/2 cup yogurt, 1 cup milk, 1 banana
- Pancakes and fruit
- Egg and veggie quesadillas (Whatever veggies are left)
Lunch
- English muffin pizzas, fresh broccoli
- Cheese and bean quesadillas, celery sticks
- Salad loaded with veggies
- Hot dogs, pretzels, carrot sticks, and fruit
- Baked tortillas with refried beans, cheese, salsa, and lettuce
- Vegetables with hummus and cream cheese, green beans, and fruit
- Lunch at Ikea (Salad if home)
Dinner
- Homemade pizza, spinach and strawberry salad, chocolate chip cookie cream cheese bars
- Balsamic Chicken thighs, rice, and steamed broccoli
- Turkey BLTs, green peppers, tomato slices, cheddar slices
- Rice with zucchini, tomatoes, and chicken (Sauteed zucchini and tomatoes, mixed with rice and chicken thighs, shredded, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon chili powder, tiny pinch crushed red pepper)
- Vegetarian Tacos (minus mushrooms)
- Beef and Black Bean Burgers, mashed cauliflower and potatoes, green beans
- Corn on the cob, grilled chicken, salad or veggies
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I have been following your challenge and thing you are doing a great job. I am impressed that you stayed on budget while purchasing organic food and at Wegmans! We have a Wegmans and although I love to shop there, I do find them a bit pricy at times. I look forward to reading more.
Thank you. I think that no matter where you shop it takes weighing your options out well. My tip is to use the online account to create a list. It keeps an estimated total and drowns out the lure of all the pretty things in-store, plus you can check things off in the app as you shop. I love Wegmans because compared to our local Giant or Acme they tend to be more affordable, clean, and carry many more produce options, including organics. That being said, it is all in what you buy. For example, I can’t afford their organic bell peppers and only buy the conventional there in season. Their family pack of organic chicken drumsticks is one of my favorite “finds” because they are $1.99/lb.