Market Report - April 12

I missed last week's posting, but rather than playing catch up I'm just going to go on with life.

$39
2 yellow honeydew
9 oranges
6 medium heads broccoli
3 red onions
9 lemons
10 limes
14 tangerines
6 yellow grapefruit
2 lbs globe grapes
2 lbs black seedless grapes
2 lbs jalapeno peppers
6 mango
Green grapes

Staying on track to spend $300 this month too.  It can be more of a challenge when I don't spend the time to plan a bit.  Not a lot.  I'm not a planner, but sometimes even I have to give in and write things down.  The biggest challenge I face right now is my teenager wanting stuff that's not in the plan and complaining that she's "hungry" when she had the opportunity to eat dinner.  She also doesn't want to fix anything herself right now - a bit of a princess period going on.  What she means when she says she's hungry is "fix me something because I didn't like the last thing you fixed"  It doesnt' happen.  She's the youngest of 4 and I quit being sympathetic years ago.

Another challenge that's just starting is keeping up with meals on the weekends. We have a job that requires us to be out of the house a lot and it can be difficult to plan sometimes.  I'm determined to get better at it.  A new cooler is probably going to be needed since during the hot part of the summer anything we take with us will spoil.

I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

March 21 - Market Report

I spent $43 today.

Lots of goodies today

2 yellow bell peppers

3 orange bell peppers

12 roma tomatoes

green grapes (free)

4 kiwi fruits

bucket of spinach

2 boxes of clementines

4 lbs of sweet potatoes

2 lbs of globe grapes

4 lbs black grapes

9 lemons

9 limes

1 small head brocoli

24 blood oranges

2 boxes of strawberries

lime pepper

ancho powder

chives

Lime fiesta spice

some sort of salad peppers.  don't know what kind but they were only $1, so I decided to try them.  They're not spicy at all.

Then I got home and had a salad.

In addition to my market trip I spent $5 on cheese, $7 on rice and chickpeas, & $4 on feta.

This is week 8, but payday comes in the middle of the week, so I have one more market trip to get through.  Going to have to shop light next week - but that should be doable.  Right now I have $37 left for that trip.  That does put 5 trips in March, but not all months are created equal.  :-)

Market Report - March 7, 2014

It's hard to believe that one week ago it was snowing.  Today is bright and happy and sunny.  Picked up the big kid and headed off to the market.  Spent $44.  I need less from the grocery store this week, so the $4 isn't going over budget.


And I got cactus!  I love cactus.

My $44 bought

1 lb green beans

8 large apples

4 head garlic

some free grapes (I like free stuff)

28 mandarin oranges

4 cactus paddles

3 packages blueberries.  Really really really tasty blueberries!!

4 packages strawberries

3 pears

2 cucumber

1 bag tangerines

6 naval oranges

12 lemons

10 limes

10 plums

1 head cauliflower

2 small head purple cabbage

Nobody in my house ever lacks vitamin c!  Between the peppers and citrus fruits we have an abundance of C in our diet. 

The cactus is going to be used in omelettes tomorrow and then in a soup.  If you're not a fan of the feel of okra you might not like cactus.  I'm from a southern family so I don't mind slipperiness of okra or cactus.  Just part of the foods I consider normal.  My grandmother used to fry up okra and I may give fried cactus a try.  By necessity I am gluten free so I'll have to find a good batter that's GF.  When I do I'll post the results and recipe (if it's tasty) on www.kruelwich.com

We were good on peppers this week so I was free to splurge on extra strawberries and blueberries.  What we don't get eaten will go into the freezer before they spoil.  I don't see many of them making it to the freezer.

The $300 - starting month two

I didn't quite make it in month 1.  I splurged and we went $17 over.

Going to give it another try this month.  I do have a lot of leftovers and stuff in the freezer, so we are in pretty good shape starting out this month.  I just need to stay on track and use that stuff.

This week I spent $47 at the market.  $37 on fruits and veggies and $10 on Hummus and Tzatziki sauce.  Both came from a local restaurant/specialty store.  The hummus is probably  my all time favorite variety.  They just get it right.

For the $37 I got

5lbs black grapes

2 bags key limes

12 roma tomatoes

1 bag radishes

2 honeydew melons 

4 beets

3 orange bell peppers

3 red bell peppers

1 spaghetti squash

1lb poblano peppers

4 lbs sweet potatoes

9 oranges

5 nectarines

2 very small head broccoli

3 cucumbers

2 red onions

I also spent money at the grocery store

$17 porkchops (two packages on clearance - lots and lots of porkchops)

$6 thin sliced steak

$7 crumbled goat cheese

$1.50 purple cauliflower

$1.50 orange cauliflower

$5 goat cheese

$5 cheddar cheese

$2 cottage cheese

$2 sour cream

That means I am at $94 for the month.  I have enough meat to last me probably the entire month now.  I might buy some bacon, but we'll see.  I still have some chicken and ham in the freezer from last month.  I also have broccoli soup base ready to go and tons of fruit for smoothies.  We were also given some fruit this week, huge tubs of pineapple and mango and two fruit plates.  The fruit plates came from a vendor at the market.  It's good to be the balloon lady.  Anyway, I suspect that in a worst case scenario I have enough food in the freezer and pantry to feed the family for a month.  We would lack in fresh fruits and veggies, as well as snack food - but it could be done.  That's kind of  where I want to keep it.  I don't want so much I never go through it, but I do want a backup supply for when something happens and we can't work for a couple of weeks.  

I have $206 left to spend this month.  $120 will go to the market for fresh and then I have about $28 a week for other stuff.  I may have to cut back on my expensive goat cheese habit.  I do love my goat cheese, but I'm also pretty determined to stay under budget this month!

This week's Market Report

Another week - another visit to the market.  Today I came in $4 under budget, though I'm probably going to spend that at a traditional grocery store.

For my $36 I got

4 red pears
2 smaller butternut squash
10 kiwis
1 package of  habanero peppers
2 bags of spinach
1 giant bag of green onions (I have no idea what to do with that many, but it was only $1)
6 mangos
3 large red onions
4 baking carrots
4 grapefruit
1 lb jalapenos
1 lb poblano peppers
5 plums
7 limes
6 lemons
6 oranges
3 large avocados
2 bags of small sweet peppers


I still need to buy for the week
shredded cheese
snack food for the husband and kid
butter
maybe some broccoli

Before today I had $168.97 left over for the week.

Now I have 132.97

Two more trips to the market will use up $80 of that and I have only $17 a week left over for each of the 3 weeks.  I estimate I will spend $10 this week on additional items and think each other week will come in under too.  Basically, it's looking good for keeping it below $300 this month.

The 300 - month one, shopping trip 1

Ham 14.35

chicken 3.45

chicken 3.54

chicken 3.57

tomato paste .39 (x3)

4 ears corn 2.49

bag of tangerines 2.49

green beans 2.50

diced tomatoes .89

hazelnut spread 2.49

shredded cheddar cheese 2.79

chicken broth 1.49

Gluten Free Bread 3.99

Tortilla chips 1.19

Sour Cream & Onion Chips 1.49

Spiral Sliced Ham 16.85

2 lt. Dr. Pepper 1.48

2 lt. Cream Soda 1

Apples 3.50

Pears  3.67

Pork Chops 6.17

Smoked Sausage 3.98 (x2)

6 bell peppers 4.00

24 bananas 4.00

3 yellow bell peppers 1.00

12 kiwis 2.00

7 limes 1.00

12 lemons 2.00

12 oranges 2.00

6 cucumbers 2.00

2 bags blood oranges 4.00

2 large sweet potatoes 3.00

2 lbs poblano peppers 4.00

10 Anaheim peppers 1.00

6 pomegranates 8.00

3 heads broccoli 3.00

2 cantaloupe 1.00

3 boxes of strawberries 3.00

For a grand total of 131.03

That leaves me 168.97 for the rest of the month.  I won't need more meat.  I have a chicken for each of the next 3 weeks plus two entire hams, pork chops and 4lbs of sausage.  I have some ground been in the fridge and some in the freezer, so I'm good on the meats.  I also have plenty of beans and rice.  I will spend about $40/week on more fresh fruit and that leaves me 48 for other things.  That's not bad at all.  

Next month will be more difficult.  I won't have some of the stuff in reserve like GF mac & cheese or potatoes.  I do however have quite a bit of canned and boxed foods that I need to use up.  I looked them over today and I will do an actual inventory sometime over the next week.

Month one will be doable and not even all that difficult.  I'm not sure I could go that low without the kick ass prices at our local market.  It's practically a produce wholesaler.