This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn on qualifying purchases. Please see our disclaimer for more information.
In the month of January we tried to eat out of our freezer and pantry. Grocery shopping was usually picking up fresh produce, milk and other staples that we ran out of and I decided we couldn’t live without. In January, we did not get our beef CSA that we usually get (10 pounds of grass fed beef from a local rancher) and our group didn’t put an Azure Standard order in. Both of which we’ll go back to in February. I’m almost out of beef (I have 1 pound of hamburger and 1 round steak) and many of the Azure Standard items I use, like flour and grains, I am either out of or running low.
Our previous total for the month of January for food (includes dining out) was $283.55 this week we added our cow share, 4 dozen farm eggs and a trip to Albertsons.
Cow Share: We contribute to the feed and boarding of a cow and in exchange we receive 2 gallons of milk each week for a monthly cost of $54
Farm Eggs: I have 5 hens which give us 4 or 5 eggs a day. We need more eggs than that. I usually get eggs from my friend JLB but she lives almost an hour from me so it is not a regular thing. Joe found a lady with eggs and she is delivering 4 dozen eggs every other Wednesday to Joe’s work for us. 4 dozen eggs= $10
Albertsons
- Whole Wheat Flour
- Brown Rice
- Tea Bags
- Chai Tea Bags
- Spring Water
- Oatmeal
- 2 cans Pineapple Chunks
- 1 can Olives
- 10 cans Tomatoes (unsalted at 69 cents a can)
- Olive Oil
- Mexican Soda
- Ketchup (this I buy organic because of HFCS)
- Yogurt (for starter)
- 1 pound butter
- 1 gallon whole milk
- .78 pounds Jicama
- 2.42 pounds (6) Fuji Apples
- 5 pounds Potatoes
- 2.71 pounds Butternut Squash
Total: $46.41
Total for January: $393.96 for two adults, two teens and one baby plus 2 more adults eating with us about 50% of the time (my adult daughter and her husband stay with us). A good portion of this was from dining out. We had 3 Sunday’s that we ended up eating out after Church and one dinner out for a dining out total of $114.28 which was a big chunk of our spending. It definitely pays to eat at home!
This week I wanted to discuss the purchases of canned food that I made. I would prefer not to buy cans due to the BPA issue. But until we can get a garden and I can home can or find other sources for things (like tomatoes in jars instead of cans) then Joe and I decided that we will buy a few things in cans but limit our use of them. I suspect that a few things we will buy in cans for quite some time like canned olives and cans of salmon. The cans of pineapple I bought this week were so expensive ($1.50 each) that I should have just bought a fresh pineapple but the store didn’t have any.
How about that Mexican soda I bought? We have been fighting slight colds here and it was a treat since Lulu had asked me to bring home something for her. The soda is made with real sugar instead of HFCS and tastes delicious. We don’t drink soda very often and we all enjoyed it.
Are you concerned about BPA’s? Have you came up with other sources for things like canned tomatoes?
This post is linked to GCC Shopping Round Up where people share their shopping trips, good deals or coupon success stories.
>I have just recently found out about the BPAs in canned goods. Last summer though, I canned lots of tomato products, not enough to last all year, but about half the year. This year, I am hoping to put up enough for the whole year.
More and more I am feeling like if I want my foods to be not contaminated with chemicals, I have to grow it ourselves.
>I buy the Mexican sodas for my kids occassionally too. There's a little market not far from my mom's house that is owned by some Mexicans and we can buy the Coke w/sugar. Wonder why they don't sell it at the grocery store?
As for olives, what about an olive bar? Do you have a place that has antipasta that you can pay by the pound, sorta like at Whole Foods? I want some olives, but I'm waiting till I make my trip in two weeks to Baton Rouge's WF.
>Jennifer,
I feel that way too. It seems each week (day) we find out about some new issue with commercially produced food.
Motherhen,
I have been seeing soda's in the store that say 'throw back' on them with real sugar. I found 7 Up and Dr. Pepper but only in 12 packs and I don't want that much around to tempt me 🙂
We don't have any olive bars here (no WF or anything like that). But that is an excellent idea. I did get some home cured olives from Joe's Grandma a month or two ago and we eat those sometimes. But they are way to good to put on Pizza which is the main reason I purchase olives.
>my solution to tomatoes in cans and ketchup is simple: i do not eat tomatoes unless they are in season. i like them so so much but there are other vegetables in winter – or i cook with frozen veggies.