What I Bought - March 2011

Here is my recap of my March grocery spending. This is mostly for my own reference, although I know there are a couple of you out there who enjoy this kind of post as well.

I ended March with a total of $199.06 spent on groceries. That includes sales tax, and is just for food items bought at the store to consume at home. It doesn't include any household, pet or HBA items, nor any meals bought away from home. Also, we are a family of three.

Most of the groceries were bought at Aldi. The rest was bought at other grocery stores when on sale or when I just had to have something not available at Aldi.  Unless I've listed a brand name, all items are store brands.

I feel like this was a lot spent on groceries, and several things contributed to it.  I have to stop and remember that $34.59 of it was spent on a 35-pound jug of peanut oil at Sam's Club.  Peanut oil is our primary cooking fat (along with some olive oil, real butter and a little coconut oil).  We use it for baking, pan frying, deep frying, popping corn, in the refillable oil sprayer we use instead of Pam, to make a soft spread when combined with butter, etc.  We use a little of it in our homemade soap, too, sometimes.  A 35-pound jug lasts several months for us.  (I have no idea why the big containers are measured in pounds instead of fluid ounces like other oils.)

Some other contributing factors were my exploration into the world of local and/or organic milk and a trip to the freight salvage stores.  I didn't know I'd spend money on either of these at the beginning of the month.

Finally, a couple of purchasing errors were made this month.  As in, I picked up a regularly priced item by mistake when I thought I'd picked up a sale item, then didn't realize it until later and decided it was not worth a special trip back to the store to get a refund.  The same thing happened to Shane on a different day.  We just need to be more careful in the future.


Here's what I bought for $199.06:

MEAT, POULTRY AND EGGS
Eggs - farm fresh - dozen - 5
Corned beef brisket - pounds - 3
Turkey ham - pounds - 2.5
Bacon - pound - 2

SEAFOOD
Tuna - 5 ounce can - 4
Catfish fillets - pounds - 2
Shrimp - frozen, 51-60 size - pounds - 2

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS
Mushrooms - can - 4 ounces - 3
Green onions - bunch - 1
Cabbage - pounds - 2.5
Grapes - pounds - 2.25
Cuties clementines - pounds - 8
Green beans - pounds - 2
Potatoes - pounds - 15
Applesauce - quart - 1
Sauerkraut - 8 ounce can - 1
Carrots - pound - 1
Diced green chiles - 7-ounce cans - 4
French fries - pounds - 6 (hesitantly classified as a veg.)
Onion rings - pounds - 5 (hesitantly classified as a veg.)

DAIRY
Half and half - quart - 2
Local whole milk - gallons - .5
Organic whole milk - gallons - 1.5
Regular whole milk - gallon - .5
Kefir starter - box of 6 - 1
Butter - pounds - 2
Cream cheese - 8 ounce - 1
Yoplait yogurt - 6 ounce - 12
Mozzarella cheese - pound - 1
Cheddar-jack cheese - pound - 1
Kraft Philadelphia Cooking Creme - 10 ounces - 1
Provolone cheese - pound - .5
Sour cream - pint - 1

PASTA, GRAINS, BEANS
Organic lo mein noodles - pound - 2
Organic mac and cheese - box - 2


BREADS
Oat bran bread - loaf - 2
Burger buns - 8 count - 1
Plain bagels - 6 count - 1
Taco shells - dozen - 3 (eaten as part of a meal rather than a snack, like chips are)
Corn tortillas - dozen - 6

BAKING/COOKING STAPLES
White whole wheat flour - pounds - 5
Peanut Oil - 35 lb. jug - 1
Sugar - pounds - 4
Cornstarch - pound - 2
Yeast - pound - 1

CONDIMENTS/SPICES/HERBS
Cider vinegar - gallon - 1
Chocolate syrup - 16 ounce bottle - 1
Mushroom steak sauce - 8 ounce - 2
Low sodium Old Bay seasoning - 4 ounce can - 1

SNACKS
Bakery doughnut - 1
Cheese curls - bag - 1
Tortilla chips - bags - 3
Potato chips - bags - 2
All-natural ice cream - half gallon - 1
Fortune cookies - 16 ct - 1
Crisp Rice Cereal - box - 1 (bought specifically for marshmallow treats)
Pringles - can - 1
Dry roasted peanuts - 16 ounce jar - 1

BEVERAGES
Celestial Seasonings Green Tea - 20 count bags - 1
Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice - 64 ounce - 1
Bigelow Eggnog'n Tea - 20 count bags - 1
Bigelow Raspberry Royale Tea - 20 count bags - 1
Twinings English Breakfast Tea - 20 count bags - 1

SEMI-PREPARED MEALS
None