Shopping for Meals- $73 Shop?

      This is a little twist on Sunday meal planning. As all of us have seen inflation in the grocery stores, I thought I'd step back and share what I bought with $73 and how I'll use things. Now this was not a specific weekly shop as some items will be used in future weeks, and I'll be using items already in my freezer, fridge, and pantry.  So when you read both tortellini and ravioli, likely not served in same week, but I bought both. But, I think it's an example of how I shop, so if I shopped this way all the time, over the course of a month, it would be about $300.

      However, there's top off shops, milk, bread, fresh stuff, so probably another $20-$25 a week.  Yikes, things were higher than I recall, but I didn't struggle finding anything. The truly scary thing is this started off as a top off shop, which why a plan is needed. As I bought a few things Thursday, plus pizza for take and bake, we're already at $127 for June and it's only the 5th. Maybe I can skinny back, or count pizza in our entertainment budget instead of grocery's, but the money was spent regardless. Can we stay to under $400? It'll be tight and even tighter to hit my 90% of budget target for both H&G, $427 in full. What's a month without a challenge?

     Now, no one has allergies except for my shell fish intolerance.  We don't eat Keto, or have any real restrictions at all. My older daughter is vegan, but even when she's here, she provides food she'll eat and anticipate that will continue when she stays here temporarily. None of us are fussy eaters, but boredom is real! These groceries may or may not be part of your spending. Yes, I bought convenience, but also to stretch the budget. For example, I bought a 3 pound bag of meatballs for $7.98, $2.62 pound, but the lowest priced hamburger was $3.29 a pound. Fresh local vegetables aren't here yet, so I bought several bags of frozen.

     The receipt has a couple non food items including sunscreen, ibuprofen, and magic erasers, but the food was $73. Here's a sample of meals that I had in my head to come from these.

• Meatballs for sauce over pasta
• Meatball marinara sandwiches
• Meatballs in gravy over some starch ( I have a huge gravy mix jar from Sam's, and many starch options)
• Meatballs in a Cottage pie
• Meatballs for hamburger in goulash with the penne pasta
• Ravioli with red sauce 
• Tortellini with spinach and cheese sauce 
• Chickpea and vegetable curry 
• Hot turkey and cheese paninis
• Black bean and tomato pasta salad (likely with corn I already had)
• Roasted vegetables to serve with rice or cous cous

     The meatballs may or may not stretch to 6 different meals, so those are options. There definitely are leftovers of all others for lunches. I make sure we have fruits and veg for snacking and along with meals. There's oatmeal, bread, and eggs for breakfast. You'll see I had a few treats; chips, popcorn kernels, a large soda, and DH's lemonade he can't get enough of on hot days. Cut those items, and I'd have spent $9 less. Next week, I'll try getting more meat, and a few different pantry items to restock items we've used. I'll need baking supplies one week as my flour and sugar are running low, but I topped off ingredients for rice krispie bars, both traditional, and the peanut butter/ choclate to use up that box of cereal. 

     Once I normalize with my long work days, I'll try avoiding so many convenience items, but I'm giving myself grace this month. There you have it. A weekly shop in my life for a family of three.