With my first full paycheck following a long dry spell over the summer came the opportunity to do some serious restocking of the pantry shelves. Before heading to the stores I spent some time reviewing what we still have on hand. Our dry goods are pretty well stocked, we needed a few items here and there but mostly what we needed to restock was the freezer. We also needed a few fresh produce and dairy items. I took a look at what remains of my September menu plan and made a list then hit the road. I was apprehensive about shopping on a Saturday but with the new job hours I don't have much choice. I got out early and was surprised at how smoothly it went.
My first stop was Gordon Food Service Marketplace (GFS)
. I deal with GFS on a daily basis in my job and enjoy the top quality products they have available. I went there with the sole purpose of purchasing frozen vegetables, K-cups, and Veggie chips. Once I looked at their sale ad though I quickly made an adjustment and decided to stock up on pastas. They had 2 pound bags of Primo Gusto pastas on sale for $2.99 each. I bought one bag each of linguine, fettucine, farfalle, and penne. I also bought a 2 lb. bag of La Choy frozen stir fry veggies, a 2 lb. bag of mixed veggies, a 2.5 lb. bag of frozen peas, and a 2 lb. bag of frozen cut green beans, a jar of beef base, the large bag of Veggie chips I wanted as well as a large bag of crushed Oreo cookies pieces (I have a recipe in mind for these), a 3 box package of Nantucket blend K-cups, a box of Darjeeling tea, a box of Orange tea, and a box of Cranberry Apple tea, a 2 lb. bag of mixed dried beans for soup, and a #40 scoop for making cookies at the GF's house. I spent a grand total of $93.41 for all of the above (the scoop, $10.99 + 77¢ tax comes out of the household budget under kitchen tools,$81.65 from food budget ).
Next I headed out for BJ's Wholesale Club.
I knew before I even reached the doors this was going to be expensive. I needed a few nonfood household items I was totally out of, dishwasher detergent and paper towels, and another we were going to need desperately if we ran out, toilet paper. I like to buy all of these in bulk so that we have the supply around for a while. We aren't big users of paper towels but it is handy to have them when needed. I got all three of these items as well as a lovely fall colored shirt with long sleeves off the $10 bargain table in addition to my food items. I am slowly adding to my work/social occasion wardrobe. Quite a number of my practical t-shirts are showing signs of wear and tear and with working the aftercare I can't hide behind an apron like I can in my cafeteria position. I need to be presentable to the parents when they pick up their children, so I need to step up my game, clothes-wise. This shirt is the first step towards this.
I also purchased food, focusing mainly on restocking and replacing items we were totally out of. I brought home a 3 jar package of applesauce (mainly for bread baking), a 48 oz. box of cheezits (we were totally out of snacks & kids were complaining, lol), a large bag of bbq chips for GF (his favorite and I like to treat him when I can), 2 bags of chips for kids at home, 10 lbs. sugar, 2 lbs. pecans, a 2 pack of Smart Balance, a 6 pack of Uncle Ben's white and wild rice, a 2 pack of mozzarella & sun dried tomato chicken sausages, a bag of fresh sauerkraut, a case of Chobani fruit flavored greek yogurts (college age daughter has decided she likes these after all so there goes my private yogurt stash, lol), a 3 pack of Johnsonville Maple breakfast sausages, a 4 pack of ham steaks, a large canister of brown gravy mix, a 1 lb bag of shaved mozzarella-romano cheese blend for salads, a large pot roast, a 3lb. package of ground beef (broke down into 3 1 lb. packages as home for freezer), a super large pork loin (cut into chops, a roast, and cubes), a large eye of round (cut into a roast, 4 steaks, and cubes for stew), and a four box combo of Barilla Plus pasta (spaghetti & angel hair). My grand total for all of the above was $248.06 ($10 from clothing budget, $49.41 from household nonfood budget, $188.55 from food budget)
My final stop was Aldi.
I came home with a dozen eggs, 4 slim jims (treats for the kids), 2 containers of their Fit & Active whipped topping (to use in a dessert I am taking to a family reunion picnic next weekend), 3 cans mandarin oranges, 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 1 can pineapple chunks, 1 bag mini marshmallows (also for the dessert), 1 box pierogies, 1 bottle each of 100% grape juice, 100% cranberry juice, 100% apple juice, cranberry-pomegranate juice, tomato juice, and ruby red grapefruit juice, 2 bottles steak sauce, 1 jar coffee creamer, 1 jar Miracle Whip, 2 cans crescent rolls, 1 box multigrain 'cheerios', 1 bag sweet potato chips, 8 pck of Reese peanut butter cups (a treat for college age daughter on her first full week of working aftercare), 2 bags baby carrots, one bunch celery, 1 block NY sharp cheddar, 1 value pack frozen salmon fillets, 1 value pack frozen tilapia fillets, 1 bag frozen mussels in tomato-garlic sauce, 3 lbs. frozen BLSL chicken breasts, 1 jar honey, 1 bottle Pumpkin spice syrup, 1 bottle Apple butter syrup (both of these were seasonal items that I thought we'd try), 2 boxes granola bars (college age daughter requested these for packing in her backpack), 1 bag shredded mild cheddar, 2 packages kielbasa, 1 bag string cheese, 2 packages cheddar brats, 1 roll breakfast sausage, 1 pint lowfat cottage cheese, 2 packages pudding cups, 1 2 pack romaine lettuce, and one tub of pretzels. Total cost $113.89 all from the food budget.
I spent $384 and some change on food. About $34 over budget. However I was extremely under budget all summer so it will balance out at year's end. I still need some more fresh produce but will get to the farmer's market later in the month.
I also ran two other small errands. I stopped by Lowe's to purchase another box of Damp Rid bags for my basement (I love these, they smell good and they are really solving my basement dampness issue) and to Target for carpet deodorizer and air freshener and the latest issue of Living Simply magazine. I chose the Glade fall scent of Pumpkin Spice for the air freshener and purchased two small candles in the same scent. Lowe's was $9.17 and Target was $18.01
All in all it was a satisfying shopping day.
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