Fred Meyers ad. My take on RBP

Its hard these days to pick the RBP because there is a shake up in the food industry here and grocery prices have taken a hike up.   I watched a u tube if a lady in Texas, I was very surprised with the prices.  I know that she has a lot of kids to feed and she coupons and "shops" the sales, but the oryxes were a good forty percent lower than we have in the PNW.   

The ads 

Shrimp 5.99

Apples .99

Note: the cheese is,not a bargain......just because something has a coupon, doesn't mean it's a bargain, I want as close to two dollars a pound as I can get for cheese.   

Bacilli pasta and hunts pasta sauce.   .79@@. Note Braille pasta hasn't had a coupon recently that I could find.  That's a good price.   The pasta sauce would normally be a good price, but the dollar tree has it for .75 when you buy four with an in store coupon.   

Yogurt is 10/5 and there are coupons out there.   Get them while you can.  We get a new batch in a few days,  

Pears .99

Cantaloupe 2.00

Rock bottom Prices 

I got Campbell's soup for .59 this week at Safeways with a store coupon @@ and a manufacturers 

coupon.$$.  

Almost everyone will take both except Winco.   Stacking coupons is the best way to get the lowest price possible on an item.   

I got frozen entrees for .68  at QFC using a coupon.   Favado has a link.   

Any pasta under a dollar that is a good brand is a good buy.   Brailla  for .79 is remarkable.   

I try for meat at two dollars a meal ( three of us eat meat). That is the same amount I spent in 1970 for three of us,   I have to admit that we are eating different.   We no longer have a roast very often and steak is out of the question.   My husband has esophagus issues and the cost is prohibitive on our budget.    I can still average two dollars a meal or less.   That is what you need budget for a five dollar meal.  ( four dollars a day) we actually spend less than four dollars a day per person.   

Last night we had pork tenderloin. Baked acorn squash and honeydew melon .   

I have got diced tomatoes and beans for fifty cents lately at Fred Meyers.   

Sliced black olives are .70 at Winco.   We use them on vegetarian pizza a lot.   Also nachos 

Seasoned mashed potatoes are .87 a pouch RBP.   Occasionally I get them cheaper at Winco.   

Frozen vegetables  are always under a dollar, I prefer a pound if I can find them. 

I got frozen French fries and tater tots for .60 for two pounds with a coupon at QFC.   They are cheapest on the five pound bag at grocery outlet.   

The few times I buy a cake mix or brownie mix, I get them for a dollar.  That is close to scratch.    

Oatmeal I buy at Costco.  I want cereal at a dollar a box.   I got 12 ounce box of Cheerios for a dollar at Fred Meyers with stacking .   

Thanks for stopping by

Please share 

Jane 

Meal plans, why bother

Lots of feed back.... why bother with meal plans,.fly by the sear of our pants....I may not feel like eating that that particular day.  

Meal plans are just that..a plan.   Plans can change.   It's a starting point.   They are good because ....

• They keep you balanced.   I started to wrote plans the other day and looked at them more carefully....I had way too much processed food.    Time for a re-write.   I try for no more than once a week.    Processed food see not popular with the foodies, so they are some of the more reasonable foods in the store.  
• I try for two dollar a pound average for protein.  It would be real easy not to have a variety of meals.  
• Making a plan and a list of things that need to be used up saves money by not wasting food and you don't have to eat the same thing three days in a row.  
• Having some meals planned that are quick and efficient will stave off the fast food gremlins when you day isn't going as planned!    
• Posting meals should keep family members from eating the rice you pre made for tonight's dinner.  lol
• It takes away the " what's for dinner" delima at four in the afternoon.   I'd rather be taking a nap!    ... Really!    

Thanks  for stopping by. 

Please share 

Jane 

The ads

I basically shopped at the dollar tree and Costco this week.   Today we went to Costco and got the months worth of dairy and a few staples ( olive oil, etc. ) and of course, bananas and sausage.    The dollar store is good these days for cookies, coffee pods, and pasta sauce.  Hunts sauce has an in store coupon that makes it .75.  That is the lowest it has been  for some time.  

There was no QFC ad this week.  

 HAggens - two weeks,

Friday- Sunday
Potatoes -5 lbs .89
Parm bogo. - hard to tell if it's a bargain w/o cost.

Week coupon
Bread 1.69
Goldfish 1.00
Ice drink 2/1
Tillamook cheese 5.99

Chicken soup 1.09 ***** Safeways .79
Klondike bars  3.99***.  Safeways 2.99 just for u

Now, the dual companies .....LOL


Albertsons
Dijourno 5.00
Mission tortilla chips 1.49

.80 when u buy 10
Pasta sauce
Manwich
Retried beans
Catsup
Snack pack,
BBQ sauce

Notes:   Diced tomatoes and beans are .50 at Fred Meyers , pasta sauce ism.75 at the dollar store with in store coupon.( buy 4) Retried beans are as cheap all the time at Costco.


Safeways
Five dollar frenzie
Tri tip roast


Jimmy dean sausage 4.99 lb ( about half that at Costco)
Soup .79@@
Kraft dressing 1.49@@
Shrimp 3.99@@
Dijourno 4.99@@
Stag chili .99@@
Folders 6.99
Tomatoes .99

Safeways has the same ad for .80 when u buy 10

That's about all.

Trip to Grocery Outlet, Fred Meyer and Dollar Tree.

Usually, when we go to town, I like to try to hit as much as possible so that I can save more than the gas we use to go.    Grocery Outlet and Dollar Tree are next door to each other.    Fred Meyer is on the way home.  

At Dollar tree, I didn't buy any food this time.   I did get 100 percent cotton shirts for granddaughter.   She , like many three year olds, is a messy painter and eater.  Having a T shirt for her to change nto that is dark and doesn't show stains, helps greatly in the stress level of the house.  It isn't a bib, because she is a "big girl" and it teaches her to change into grubbies when she is doing something messy.    I found Revlon nail enamel and Elf lipstick.   SCORE!

Grocery Outlet didn't score much.   Blue cheese for .79, five head bands for DGD, and some Tillamook cheese and vegetable stock.

Fred Meyers had some good sales.  Their ad didn't have a lot, but keeping eyes open saved a lot.  
I did splurge and bought a DVD ten per cent off for DGD.  Soup was .79.  Yoplait was 10/5 and I had a dollar coupon.   I got 20 Folgers coffee pods for 4.29.   canned tomatoes and canned beans were fifty cents.  Milk was .99.  hopefully I got enough to last until QFC has it on sale again.  Frozen entrees were .79,  

We came home and put the vegetable stock, tomatoes, beans and two carrots and celery ribs in the crock pot on high for dinner.   I added some herbs and garlic and onion.   About a five dollar pot of soup and enough for tomorrow's dinner too.  

My daughter went shopping too.  She got five pair of shoes (summer) for .50 TOTAL.   Also pants, leggings and a jacket for the baby and the total was 18.00,

I digress, back to food.  

Meal plans go a long way to make sure you eat what needs to be eaten soon in your fridge and  stave off the take out bandits.   But, never underestimate the  joy of finding a unadvertised special and taking advantage of it.  

If you are on the four dollar a day budget, or less, it is imperative that you average five dollars a dinner.  That is still doable in this climate. It certainly is not the same meals we had for five dollars even five years ago, but it is doable.   Food prices have taken a jump.   I spent eighty dollars a week for the past quarter.    I do have to say that the pantry and freezer is stuffed and we don't need to spend a lot the next month.   Still, twenty dollars per person per week is not over budget.   Four dollars a day is 28.00 and that is not counting the cost of a stock.  

Thanks for stopping by
please share

jane

Fred Meyers ad

Fred Meyers ad

Grapes. 1.28
Milk .99@@
K cups 4.99
Campbell's soup .79
Pumpkin pie 2.99
Michelinas entrees .79
Tomatoes 2/4 (grape organic)
Roma's .89
Zucchini .99



Just a nite worth reading ...  FYI

Heritage farm chicken is Tyson.   Tyson is southern grown chicken.    Tyson as also has petition and ot earache from the government to ship their chicken to China for processing .  Rather ironic cause atone time, China wouldn't import chicken from Arkansas.   Besides the fact that it takes away jobs from the USA?   Just saying.......

Foster Farms has assured me that their chicken comes from wa, ore, and ca.   They are processed in those states ass well and they have no plans to change that plan.  When you buy deli CHICKEN you  don't know where it came from,  



that's about all



Thanks for stopping.

Please share

Jane

The ads

Finally got the ads today.    I went to qfc today.  Frozen potatoes are a dollar for two pounds.  

Safeways
Country style ribs 1.99
Oranges .99
Yo plait 10/5

five dollar Friday
Cantaloupes 3/5


Apples .99
Top round 3.99

Qfc
Oranges .99
Berries 2/5
Freschetta  3.99$$
Pork shoulder 1.99
Michelinas entree .88
Kroger veggies and potatoes 10/10

Albertsons
Top round 3.99
Ribs 1.99
Oranges .99
Ice cream 2.99
Milk 2/5@@
Apples .99
Mjb7.99$$ coffee



Jane

Dinner for a song!

At the dollar tree. Buy four with in store coupon , makes them .75 each -  far out pull dares.    Watch for dented cans.   

Getting organized.

Meals on a budget takes a bit of organizing.  It used to be that you could have a few tried and true recipes and rotate them to make meals that made everyone happy.    Now, people decide they need to be vegetarian or gluten free or whatever, and it takes a bit more to keep up with plans.

I have binders I picked up at the goodwill and print recipes from Betty Crocker on line.  Sometimes someone will give a new one to me,   Plastic sleeves are at the dollar store. The office big box stores have them, but I don't see the need to have super good quality for this use.   If you have the recipes under plastic it saves them from getting messed up with splatters while you cook.    I also have my personal recipe binders from the 80's .

I recently found recipes that are designed to make ahead the night before and put in the fridge.   You can come home from whatever and stick them in the oven, or in the crockpot the next morning and have dinner ready.   I find this desirable because our meal time is late because of schedule issues and by that time, I'm wasted.  The last thing I want to do is spend an hour cooking dinner AND watching a toddler.   LOL.   Before, it was nice to come home from work and shove something from the fridge to the oven and sit and watch the news with a glass of ice tea, or have time to get a load of laundry in before dinners.

I'm in the process of separating the recipes into other sub groups.   I have deserts and sides on one book and main dishes in another.  

I have developed a meal plan work sheet that helps with using up what needs to be eaten  soon and listing what you have to work with and what you may need to buy to fill in.    Most of the time  I don't need anything but I don't stock any speciality items like avocados etc.

Mohave a small closet /pantry on my kitchen.   I have different items in sections on shelves.  I can tell if I see white space whether or. It I need to watch for a sale.   This doesn't come fast, but eventually you get there.   When you find something 1/2 price  you buy two instead of buying one.  You have spent your regular money, and you are one ahead.   Eventually you get to the point where you only buy the sales on its,a the you use in a regular basis and the perishables you need.   Once a month I go to Costco and buy eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese.  I watch Fred Meyers for milk and buy as much as I think we will need before it goes on sale again, watching our consumption and pull dates.  Usuall I can rotate between qfc and Fred Meyer sales and cover ourselves.  I haven't had to pay full price for milk in a while.

We get Winco on October 22nd.  I can't wait.  It is no sere that I am not a anzmoured with the merger or buy out of albertsons and Safeways.  It has created a big upheaval in the grocery industry and now Haggens has filed chapter 11 stating that they have lawsuits pending from the ,eager and owe wages.  My daughter was stiffed out of three grand worth of wages, it os,not a good thing

At least now, we have Kroger and Winco along with Costco and grocery outlet to stay the tide until things level out. I suspect that the two stores will merge, and unfortunately, stores will close and jobs will be lost.

Being flexible and changing meals to adapt to the rising cost of some food items, knowing your prices on your staple ite,s and stocking when it's a RBP are tools you can use to keep your grocery down to a manageable amount.

The Internet can be a wonderful resource for recipes and ideas.

Thanks for stopping bylease share

Jane

Fred Meyers.

There was some discussion on Facebook about grocery stores.   The newspaper was discussing the difference between whole foods milk and safeways milk, safeways was more expensive.   This milk was six dollars a gallon.   I am comvinced that people with six figure salaries can afford food from those kinds of stores.   The rest of us would like to have a roof over our heads and clothes in our backs too.   LOL.   The discussion changed to the most expensive and the cheapest stores.   The Everett herald some years ago made up a typical grocery basket list.   Then they sent people out to price the list at chain grocery stores.   At the time qfc and Fred Meyers were owned by separate companies.   qfc was the most expensive and Fred Meyers was the cheapest.    Now I would love to do that experiment, but don't have the manpower.   My best guess would be that Haggens is the most expensive and Winco would be the cheapest.   Safeways used to be my go to grocery store, but things changed when Haggens took over.    I, convinced they are slowly merging the two stores.   it will be interesting to see the end result.  

Fred Meyers ad

Stone fruits are .99 ( plums, nectarines, peaches
Butter 1.69@@limit 2
Cheese 4.99@@ limit 2
Cheerios. 1.49 @@$$ limit 4. Nets a buck with coupons
Foster farms grill pack .99 ( note :  only one time in five have I found grill packs when they were advertised.)


The coupons this week are good.   Werthers original candy ismamdollar off two.   They are at the dollar tree.   Also. There is a coupon for soup.   I think it is at the dollar store too.   There are name brand foods at the dollar store.    Anything with a six in the start of the bar code is from China.    Dollar store has a limit per transaction in coupons,  I think it is four.   When you score a match up, it is usually a good price .  The dollar store is already a bargain in most cases, and add a coupon, it's really a bargain,   So,e things, however, are more expensive than a grocery store sale price.   It still boils down to know your prices.  I have the handful of staples we buy memorized.   But, numbers come naturally for me, I was an accountant for years.   Many people use a price book, either a small notebook they can carry with them, for a spread sheet in the computer.    My tablet has a spreadsheet.

The ads

Rather disappointing ads this week.   That being said I don't need to buy anything but ice cream, and it's on sale and its my favorite brand!    SCORE!

Being flexible goes a long ways in doing groceries on the cheap.  

Haggens is filing for bankruptcy.   The way they raised prices doesn't surprise me, but apparently or stems more from the circumstances around purchasing ALBERTSONS and SAFEWAYS.   I think they are working towards combining the two stores.  Their ads are looking more and more alike.   The prices have made a remarkable increase, and I, not liking that two companies control most of the chain stores and the lack of competition.    The shopper looses in that scenario.    We do have WINCO coming in and they are advertising for workers, so it must be sooner than expected !   And,mothers is Costco, grocery outlet, the dollar store ( for a select few things ) and big lots.


2 week ad until 9/15
Haggens

Beef chuck or eye of round roast 3.99
2 lbs carrots .89
Red potatoes -5 lbs 2,00
Coupons
Johnsonville brats 1.99
Re fried beans .79
Fiona paper towels 2.99$$
Cheese 4.99
Tillamook ice cream 2,99

ALBERTSONS
Buy 5, save 5
Net prices
Ore idea frozen potatoes 1.99
Oatmeal, 1.88
Cookies 1.99

Freschetta  pizza 4.99@@

Tillamook sale
Buy 10.00
2 lbs cheese 6.99
Yogurt 20/10
Sour cream 5/8
Sliced, shredded cheese 3/10
Ice cream 3/10
Ice cream bars 3/10
Sliced cheese 2/10

Cantaloupe 2/cucumbers, bell peppers 1.00

QFC

Chicken .99
Broccoli, tomatoes .99
Milk 4/5

Buy 5, save 5

Freschetta 4.99
Apple juice .99
Klondike bars 2.49


SAFEWAYS

Five dollar Friday
Johnsonville dinner sausage
Chicken strips FF
Cheese -2 lbs
Digiorno pizza
Angel soft tissue $$

Can't elope 2/5
Cucumbers, green pepper 1.00


Bs brownie mix 1.00


That's about it.

Thanks for stopping by

Jane

Questions,questions,questions.

What do you do when you aren't on snap and you don't have any sum of money at a time to stock.
The sad truth is there are a lot of people on this world, and each one of us has a different personality.    There are two kinds of people that land on snap.   There is the person that has just lost their job, had a baby, or fell on temporary hard times, and the person that is a generational welfare person, and probably some that are in between the extremes.    I would venture to say that there will b some people that are too lazy for whatever reason to make the effort to put nutrition on the table with little resources.   Sometimes , it is because they don't know any better, sometimes it may be because of mental illness.   I won't try to address the latter, I'm no expert by any means.  If it is just because they don't know how to cook, or don't know how to find bargains, or what to buy, or are overwhelmed by the magnatide of their situation, I can at least steer people on the right direction.  

We , in this area, have a dollar tree in every neighborhood, usually next to a Safeway store or a grocery outlet.   If I was trying to save gas, or had little resources, I would pick one that was near a grocery outlet.  That would be 130th and aurora in Seattle or in Kenmore.   You can go a long way to put food on the table shopping at these two stores,matching the ads, and finding coupons.   There are coupons on the Internet, but also in the paper and even of you don't have the buck for the paper, you can probably find the ads and coupons if you ask around,  often they are just put in people's recycle and they would gladly give them to you.  

As a rule of thumb, I would stay away from ready made and processed foods.   Myself, I try to limit our intake of processed foods to once a week.   If you have an completely empty pantry, I would, however resort to some boxes.  The deal breaker for me is if a box is cheaper than I can make it from scratch.   If a recipe calls for an expensive item ( a special sauce or creamed soup for example) I find a way to substitute.   Cream soups can be substituted with a cream soup base mix you make yourself, Google "taste of home/ cream soup mix.".

That being said. There are things at the dollar tree that can easily make a meal on the cheap.  

Top ramen is 5-6 packages for a dollar.  There is also bags of frozen stir fry vegetables and vegetable oil or a olive oil blend.   You can stir fry vegetables mad add the cooked noodles.  Save the flavor packet.

Add the flavor packet to some milk and flour and make a thickened sauce.  Dollar tree has tuna and noodles for a dollar a piece.  

Uncle bens rice mixes are a dollar.   There is a coupon for 1.00 on four .  That makes them .75 each.  

Grocery outlet has cheese for a buck for 8 ounces  often.   You can add cheese to any starch and add protein.  

With a coupon, pepperoni is  .50.    Even without it. 1/2 a dollar bag of cheese, a dollar pepperoni, and a dollar pizza crust from the dollar store will make a pizza .  Add part of a can of tomato paste, or there is pizza sauce at the dollar tree.  Use part of it for a pizza and add the rest with cheese and macaroni for a casserole.   I have got mixed peppers for as low as fifty cents at grocery outlet.  

Bread is a dollar, peanut butter is a dollar.   jelly  is a dollar also.  

For a treat, there are chocolate striped shortbread cookies!    Cereal is a dollar, try for the least sugar coated one,   And juice drinks are four for a dollar.  As well as applesauce.  

Oatmeal is cheapest on the canister at grocery outlet.  

I got a bag of Foster farms chicken tenders cheap at grocery outlet.    They can be cubed , cooked, and added to any casserole.  

I have gotten pancakes , just add water, for fifty cents.   And sometimes you get is near the pull date and can be had for pennies.  

Being flexible and having a watchful eye for bargains can go a long way to put food on the table for pennies, even of you don't have a lot of money at a time.  

Meal plans from shopping trip

Yesterday my daughter and I went to Costco.    I got cucumbers, peppers, and butter.  
I am still under budget.  

Meals from shopping trip

1. roast pork tenderloin , oven roasted potatoes, carrots, peppers, radishes.   
2. Pizza from crust bought at grocery outlet and cheese from Costco.   
3. Fish packets ( spinach, rice, white beans. Tilapia, green beans.   
4. Egg cups made with tortillas and eggs, spinach and cheese, fruit ( use spinach left over from fish packets) 
5. Pork and vegetable stir fry ( use ramen noodles only ) and stir fry veggies.  Add spinach!   
6. Meat loaf, baked potatoes, salad.   ( peppers and cucumbers ) 
7. Out / leftovers 

Notes : 

1) Pork tenderloin was four dollars with a coupon.    Peppers are a dollar ( sometimes .50 at grocery outlet) and radishes are .50 at Fred Meyers.    Meal 4.00

2) pizza ( 1.50 crust, .50 cheese ( grocery outlet) tomato paste .10) total 2.10

3) fish packets ( tilapia 2.50, bens .50, rice, green beans .50.   4.00

4) eggs, tortillas, spinach , cheese - 1.62 

5) pork ( from #1) top ramen .40, stir fry veggies 2.00. Total 4.40

6) meatloaf 6.34, potatoes .30, salad 1.50.   8.14 

7) leftovers. 

Total. 3.38 per meal.  

Add a bag of salad 2.68, cucumbers 1.00, spinach 1.00, tomatoes 3.00.   1.28 per meal.   

Total  4.66.    

Under five dollars a meal based on six meals.    

Fred Meyers bargains

This is going to be short and sweet.  
Fred Meyers

Grapes 1.28
Milk .99@@
Oranges .99
Bread 3/4@@
Bumble bee tuna. 2/1. Limit 6@@
Cucumbers, green onions, radishes 2/1.  Note don't buy from Mexico now.   Recall alert.  
Good ground beef 3.99
Nalley chili .99@@

That's about it.  

Bye!  

Jane

This and that

Groceries on the cheap doesn't have to be depriving yourself of good food.   It does mean that you change your priorities to not eating out a lot and not eating the most expensive cuts of meat.    We do still eat meat, those of us that choose to.    It takes a bit more time than that person that goes to one store and puts what they want or need on the basket and checks out.    There's nothing wrong with that if you have the money and it isn't your priority to save.   If you don't have the money, you are on a position temporarily that you have to use SNAP, or you just want to stretch what you do have, a little time can give you great payoffs.   If that payoff is nit running out of S NAP allotment before you run out of month and having food in the cupboard, that's a good thing,  it may mean that you can free up money to pay for your meds, or make both ends meet.   

Pairing all available ways if cutting your food costs is an easy way to save.    Planning your trip and finding ways to cook the meals quickly to make up the time works for me.  Basically, I get paid in savings to shop, I don't get paid to cook.   As long as the food is good, and people like it, it works for me.  

Yesterday's trip.    I am writing this to show an example, not to boast of my shopping skills.  I am just an ordinary person without any special talent.    I have done this for years, even when I was holding down two jobs and had three kids at home.    

I digress 

SAFEWAYS and dollar store.   

Dollar store first because it would have no perishables.    Our dollar tree and SAFEWAYS are close together.   Many others in the area either have a SAFEWAYS or a grocery Outlet near them.   It makes for a easy way to plan trios to save gas.   

Basic bounty paper towels 1.00 less a .50 coupon made the roll .50 

Dawn detergent, small bottle ( I got it for stain removal) was 100 with a coupon made it .50. 

Betty Crocker a gratin potatoes were a buck with a .50 coupon for two made the. .75.  

I got a book marked 27.95 and well worth it for a dollar.  

Four pure Apple juices were a dollar.  ( a splurge because anything in individual boxes is high, but worth it so granddaughter can help herself.  ) 

SAFEWAYS : 

SAFEWAYS had a meat sale.   A lot of it was processed, but it has far out pull dates and I allow it for a garnish type addition to a meal and once a week.    It saves a lot of time and money,   Sometimes by seven o'clock when I can cook dinner, my body doesn't want to cooperate.    

Sirloin tips in gravy was five dollars : less than buying the meat and cooking it 

BBQ beef was five dollars.  - ditto 

Ham cubes were five dollars -   I can get four meals from a package.  

Pork tenderloin was five dollars and I had dollar off coupons.   So,e from last month and some from this, all cutrrent dated.   We can get two meals on a tenderloin and that makes a meals meat 2.00.  That was my budget when my oldest was three ( 43 years ago). .   

Tilapia filets were five dollars a bag.    

Black olives were BOGO. 

Corn 2/1 

Strawberries 2.00

Bread was 1.25 , bins .88 and there was an .20 ibotta on each.   

Most of it was either on sale really cheap, or cheap with a coupon, sale, ibotta ir a combination,   

This is the time of the month that the coupons are up on  coupons.com .  That takes me about half an hour to print two coupons for the things I may want.    They are filed in a binder under categories so I can find them fast.   0ther than that, I spend about ten minutes a week looking at favado to see if anything at the stores I am going to is matched with a coupon.    The coupon inserts are dated and placed on a file folder so I can quickly pull the coupons if they work.   Note the dollar three match ups are not always correct.   You have to pay close attention to the size of the packages and not all dollar trees carry the name brands.   Ibotta takes about two minutes while I unpack the groceries 

I generally can save an additional six dollars or so a week besides the regular sale prices.  Certain stores have better buys on certain things.  It os to your benefit to know what is cheapest regularly at which store. I never buy bananas anywhere but Costco.  The experts will tell you it is a waste to buy organic bananas.  Cheese is cheapest at grocery outlet and Costco.   I buy tillamook blocks whenever they are 250 a pound or less. 

Stocking affords you the luxury of only buying what's on sale.  This week, it was mostly protein next week, it may be frozen veggies and a chicken or hamburger.   It lets us eat well on less money.    My average for four of us is 75.00 a week.    That is half the USDA stats for thrifty cooking and we eat meat and facilitate a vegetarian and a diabetic diet.   

Thanks for stopping by

Please share 

Jane 

Retailers dirty little secrets.

If You know their tricks, you can  beat them at their own game.   I used to work for a non profit that helped small companies to bring their food products to market.    It is really tough for small companies to get onto larger stores.    Shelf space is at a premium.  

1. Manufacturers pay slotting fees ( basically rent ) for shelf space.   The eye level shelves are most desireable and command the highest "rent ".  It's not too far of a stretch to expect that they are going to factor  their rent into the price of their product.   Save:  look up and down.   
2. Most of a grocery stores profit lies in impulse buys.   Write  yourself a list of sale items and stick to it unless something shouts I really can use that and the price is right.   You don't really NEED M and Ms-- that hamburger that is priced at two dollars a pound because tomorrow is the pull date, however, can be a bargain to be wreckened with.   Take it home and cook and freeze immediately.
3. It is No accident that the toys are on the same isle as the sugar coated cereal or the candy and gum are near the checkouts.    First of all, avoid taking children to the store with you.   Some husbands can be just as bad.LOL. Leave the kids home if you can possibly find a way.   You will be less distracted and can make better decisions.   Try swapping babysitting with a friend or neighbor.    Leave them with dad or grandma....
4. It is also no accident that some retailers change their stores around what seems like weekly.   Costco is notorious for that.   The longer you spending a store, the more money you are going to spend.   The bigger the cart, the more money you are likely  to spend.   If you have to look for something, you are likely to go down every isle.   Costco does not mark their isles.  
5. When walking around the store, the  outside perimeter of the store has most of the dire necessities : dairy, bakery, produce, and meat departments.    The inside isles have sundry items and canned, boxed goods.    Don't go down a isle unless  there is something you need down it.   
6. Don't touch anything unless you are going to buy it,   Statistics show of you touch it, you are probably going to buy it.  
7. Retailers use, music, lighting, and smells to draw you in and keep you there .   They have studied shopping trends.  Focus on your list.   
8. Pricing is another way to disarm you.   Just because something is 10/10 doesn't mean you have to buy ten.   Some smaller packages of cheese are price low until you do the math,   And find out they have exorbitant prices.   It helps to learn basic figures in your head .  If something's 3/2 it is .67 each.   3/5 is 1.67 each.   There are 16 ounces in a pound, but a cup of grated cheese is four ounces.    Go figure.    
9. Ten dollar off fifty dollars. Those coupons are meant to get you in the store.   The more you spend over the fifty dollars, the less percentage you are getting off your purchase.   If the products are 125 percent of retail, you haven't saved a thing.   Do the math, and plan your trip.  If you have coupons, factor them on and try to stay as close to the fifty dollars ( or whatever the amount is ) I shop with a plan and my husband adds our purchases with a calculator from the dollar store.    
10. Buy six save three.   Do the math.  check the bottom line,  if all the products on  their list are highly processed junk food, it's not a bargain at any price.  It all boils down to the first basic tool you need to do groceries on the cheap!    

KNOW YOUR PRICES.   Every item in that store has a RBP.   You can really score if you know what that RBP is and use coupons or rebates to get prices as low as possible.  Remember, the store doesn't care if you use coupons. They get reimbursed for the coupon and are paid a fee for processing them.   

I do these off the top of my head.   There are more articles on the subject on earlier posts.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share 

Jane 

The ads 9/2 15

Traditionally, holiday weekends are not the times to find good bargains except on BBQ food.  

QFC
Grapes 1.28
Cheese 5.99
Butter 2/5
Buns 4/5
Ice cream bars 2.49
Cool whop .99



Buy 5, save 5.  Net prices
BBQ beef 2.99
Cereal 1.99


Hebrew national 2/7

SAFEWAYS

apples .99
Grapes 1.28
Hot dog buns .88@@

Five dollar Friday
Hormel dinners
Tilapia
Lloyds BBQ beef
Soup .79@@
Corm 2/1

ALBERTSONS
APPLES .99
Grapes 1.28
Corn 2/1

Haggens
Ten dollars off of fifty
Apples .97
Corn 6/2



That's about it.    



thanks for stopping by

Please share,

Jane

2nd week of meals

I did notice that a lot of the last meals had processed meats in them.m some of them were just flavoring, token amounts.

2nd set of meals

1. Mac and cheese ( extra fiber macaroni .46 with Fred Meyer Catalina and ibotta . Add .50 worth of cheese at 2.00 a pound  ( grocery outlet) mixed veggies .50.   2.50
2. BBQ chicken parts ( wings, thighs, legs  (1.50) corn on to cob. 1/2 ears .66 (Fred Meyers)  salad 1.50   3.66
3. Bean soup - 3.00 ( scratch) rolls 1.60.  4.60
4. Pork chops 3.40 BOGO last week at QFC ,  bread, Apple stuffing    Chopped broccoli  4.40
5. Sloppy joes, oven fried potatoes , salad    .88  ( bums - Winco, sauce (scratch) .25, 2.25, salad 1.50, potatoes,1.00.   4.38
6. Shrimp stir fry.   Shrimp 5.00, ramen noodles, stir fry veggies 1.50.   6.90
7. Vegetarian pizza.      2.00 crusts. .10'tomato paste.  .50 cheese,  black olives .70, 25 peppers.   3.55, saladm150. 5.05

31.49/7= 4.50 a meal.     .

That's about it 

Jane 

How to meal plan

We went grocery shopping yesterday.  I hit the grocery outlet and Costco.    We hadn't spent a lot so far  this month and needed to replenish stock.    I am still at 70.00 a week.   Our USDA stars  are 147.00.   Do the math.   4 people at four dollars a day is 16.00 a day.  Sixteen dollars times 30 days is 480.00.   70.00 x4 equals 280.00 or 10.00 a day and my costs do not reflect my ibotta money.m.
In other words ,

USDA per person per day is 5.25 a day
Quoted snap is 4.00 a day
Ours is 2.50 a day

Now, a caviat  is that my daughter and granddaughter eat at school during the week , so there is no breakfast or lunch eaten during the week.  And, to be fair, most school aged kids on snap  get free lunches and breakfast  at school.      Still, the difference in cost goes a long ways to exemplify the benefits of stocking, couponing, and only buying at RBP.

How to plan a menu.   I made a work sheet up to facilitate the process.    It has seven squares for menus , one for my matrix. And two columns : one for things we have,  with things that need to be used first marked, amd one column for need to buy to fill in.

You could also go at it in a different direction and theme your nights.

1. Pizza night 
2. Soup night
3. Sunday dinner 
4. Mexican 
5. Breakfast for dinner
6. Pasta 
7. Fish and chips or some kind of a sandwich ( hot dogs, sloppy joes)

Anyway you approach it, having an outline goes a longways to make the process faster and easier.   

I have a matrix of 2 beef, 2 chicken or pork, 2 vegetarian , and 1 fish  or shellfish.   

I look at the list, making note of things we need to use up first ( a highlighter helps) and start writing down meals paying close attention to any day when dinner needs to be a quick one , or one that is easy like in the crockpot.    

Note any speciality items that you might need to fill in.   

1. Split pea soup with ham cubes in freezer.   3.25 ( ham cubes 5.00/4 meals , split peas and a biscuit mix .   ( I would make cheese biscuits from scratch. This is some can cost it. ) 
2. Pizza 2.50. Green salad with tomatoes 1.50 or 4.00 ( pepperoni is .50 with a coupon at dollar store , cheese at 2.00 a pound at grocery outlet, part of a tomato paste can, and 150 pizza crust from grocery outlet . 
3. Roast beef a jus sandwiches , green salad.   Salad 1.50, roast beef 4.00 (Costco) rolls 2.00.  - 7.50
4. Salmon noodle casserole.   3.00 salmon, noodles 1.00, white sauce mix.-stock, peas and carrots free from QFC.    4.00
5. Hot dogs, buns, pasta salad, fruit.    Hot dogs, free from QFC, buns .88 (Winco) salad .75 with coupon.   Bananas 1.39/2.- .70-----2.33
6. Eggs, bacon, yogurt parfaits, pancakes.    Eggs (1/2 doz 1.00, bacon 1.00 ( Jennne-0 dollar store) pancake mix .50( grocery outlet) yogurt .40. Blues .30, granola - too little to count ( chez at dollar store) 3.20
7. Potato soup. 1.60 ( potatoes at Winco - on sale with ibotta) milk a dollar at Fred Meyers, bacon from dollar store package.  

Average 3.63 a meal.   Note : I didn't go to all those stores in the same week. That's what stocking does for you.   I usually go to two chains a week.  I go to the dollar store and grocery outlet when we are in that area for something else.    Costco is on a need to go basis and is in our backyard practically.   lol.  Winco is when I can't find good proces at the stores that are in our area.   We are,supposed to get a Winco next year.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share.   

Jane 

The ads

We have all the ads today, most of them are not very good.  

Safe ways

Lettuce .99
Cantaloupes 3/5
Ground beef 10 percent  3.99
Chicken noodle soup .69@@. Limit 6

Five dollar Friday
Cream cakes
Quilted northern
Brawny
5/5 brownie mix or cake mix
Safeway pods (12)
There are coupons for some of these



Yo plait 10/5
Cucumbers 1.00

T he evil twin....LOL.   Albertsons
15 percent ground beef 3.99
Cantaloupe  3/5
Dryers BOGO
Lettuce .99
Berries 2/6

Haggens

Cantaloupe .47 lb
Pearsv2.00
Oranges 1.00
London broil 3.99
Haggens tina 2/1@@
Top round roast 3.99

QFC

Apples .99
Peppers 1.00
Quilted northern/ brawny 2/10. $$$
French bread 1.00
Lettuce 1.00
Pan bread 2.00


Thanks

Fred Meyers, rite aid, grocery outlet, dollar tree, gas station, Costco, amd my daughters work.

All in two and a half hours.    

Grocery outlet had pizza crust for 1.28.  They also had a tin of Keebler soda crickets 1-3/4 pounds for two bucks.    Pam ale mom, confetti, just add water for .50.   And applesauce 2/3 . 

Rite aid has wet and wild cosmetics 3/200 with a dollar reward of you buy two units.   There was supposed to be coupons to make out .03 , but they aren't in our smart source.   Still 1/2 price is  good.    

Dollar tree had my sugar free parfait for a buck, a good book on southern cooking , ( they also have one on costal outdoor living) 

Fred Meyers has bumble bee tuna for a buck.   Rontini pasta - extra fiber is a buck, with a additional dollar Catalina and a twenty cent ibotta.    

Many veggies and fruit at good prices.   Milk is a buck as well as sour cream.   

Costcos bananas are on a .2o ibotta , 

That's about all.   

Fred Meyer

Fred Meyers ads for today.   Fred Meyers ads run from Sunday through Saturday.    

New crop apples .99

Heritage  farms chicken breast 1.99. ( note this is Tyson  brand and comes from Arkansas.  ) 

Corn 3/1 

Milk 1.00@@

Zucchini .99

Grapes 1.49

Oranges 1.49

Frozen veggies 1.00  (10/12'ounces). Winco is always 1.99 for two pounds.   

Sour cream 1.00

Bumble Bee tuna 1.00

Suddenly salad 1.00

Smart taste pasta 1.00

Kroger  pepperoni 1.00.  ( note of hormel has a coupon, it is .50 at the dollar store.   ) 

Angel soft tissue is a dollar and there is a .45 coupon out there.   

That's it.    

Winco haul. 8/22/15

We finally got out of the house  to do a Winco trip.

I digress.   I bought all the things that are cheaper at Winco.   I spent almost fifty dollars, but considering the other weeks of the month I averaged forty dollars, that is not bad.  

In addition, I used coupons and Ibottas on potatoes, Yoplait, and Betty Crocker brownie mix totaling 1.40.  48.53.  

Chicken noodle soup was .88.   Yoplait was .50 less .30  in Ibottas and coupons equals .20 each.
I got diced tomatoes, refried beans, and sliced black olives all cheaper than the other stores.   Usually Costco is cheapest for refried beans.    Sometimes I get tomatoes and regular beans  for fifty cents at Freddie's.    English cucumbers were .78 and peaches were .98 a pound; they were a dollar each at Costco.   A large bag if lettuce was 2.38.   Mission tortilla chips were 2.38.   Cream puffs were 4.38.   The same ones were 6.99 elsewhere.  
Coupon savings were 4 percent.   I got a dollar off of two picante sauces and a dollar off of Yoplait.
Picante sauce netted 1.28.  

That's about it.

Blog series...what to do with eggs - Vol 5

Note: I have already done hamburger. But not on this series.

Eggs have doubled in price.   They are still a good buy.   There seems to be a grave difference in prices in other parts of the country.   I am not talking about, free range, no GMO , organic chicken eggs.  I am talking about the regular eggs I grew up with.    I can find them for two dollars a dozen.  We used to get them a few months back at Fred Meyers for a dollar.  That's .17 an egg.   Two egg servings for four people is 1.36 for protein a meal.  I am finding them for two dollars at Costco.   I had to buy five dozen for that price.   If you have breakfast for dinner once a week, we can use them up before the pull date that is a month out.  

Last week we had a dinner of confetti pan cakes, bacon, and yogurt parfaits.   Dinner on a bare bones basic budget should be five bucks for the proverbial family of four-- two adults and two school aged children.  

Note: some of this was really hard to cost out.

Confetti pancake mix ( just add water) .50 at grocery outlet
Bacon - turkey bacon is a dollar for 5  ounces at dollar tree - jenne-0
Yogurt parfaits - 3 vanilla yogurts I paid twenty cents for , blueberries .83. Granola is misicule price.  I got it at the dollar store ( chex ) and just sprinkled the top with it.
Total 2.93.  
Dinner two:
Pork chops were BOGO at QFC this week.   Four pork chops were 3.30.  
Add frozen potatoes from the dollar store ( from USA)
Add mixed vegetables from QFC ( I got them free) but the cost 1.00 ( 1/2 a package )
Cost 4.80.  

Average for the two meals 3.87 a meal.  
You can have good food for five dollars a dinner.  
You can't have food from Mars, but you can have good food.  
 I digress.  

Ten things you can have with eggs:

1. Quiche ( aka impossible pie.   Most of them take two eggs and milk amd Bisquick.  You can out anything in it you please, just create the bulk of whatever the recipe says.   In other words, if it calls for a cup of meat, you need sometching that is going to take the same amount of space.  Veggies work that have been partially cooked. You don't want them to give off water.    
2. Scrambled eggs 
3. Egg English muffins.  A quick breakfast is a bear up egg in a glass measuring cup, 35 seconds in the microwave ,  put between a split English muffin.   Out the door!   
4. Waffles , CHOCOLATE waffles!    
5. Eggs Benedict 
6. Deviled eggs 
7. Omlettes, my mother used to separate the eggs, whip the whites and finish it off on the oven. I just beat the eggs, add a little milk or sour cream into them, put them in a greased pan and cook them on a medium heat, scraping the sides with a rubber spatula letting the raw eggs flow to the outer edges of the pan, cook eggs thoroughly and use the same precautions as meat.  
8. Egg muffins ( grocery outlet- "Feed your family in 4 dollars a day"  free at grocery outlets .   
9. Fried rice.   
10. Nievos rancheros   ( I'm sorry, I probably butchered the spelling  - Mexican eggs!     Yummy!   

I, sure there is more, this was just off the top of my head!   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share 

Jane 

The ads

OK, I'm getting more disappointed at the merge of Albertsons, Safeways and
Haggens.  I used to be able to get good buys at Safeways.    Now, not so much.   Safeways and Albertsons ads are beginning  to look the same and Albertsons high  prices are mostly prevalent. Meanwhile, Haggens prices are higher than the proverbial giraffe male anatomy.    LOL

Albertsons

Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes, suddenly salad, brownies and cake mix 1.00
7 percent fat hamburger 3.99


Haggens

Lettuce 1.00
Avocados 1.00
Hebrew national 4.99**

Safeways
Foster farms chicken .99
Milk 2/5@@
Lipton tea bags 2.99@@

QFC is last weeks ad

I got pork chops BOGO.
Chicken is a buck
I had coupons for free Hebrew national , regular price 3.99
And frozen veggies
Smart carb elbows were a buck
Kroger pasta was a buck amd I had a .45 coupon.  
Kroger pasta sauce in jars is a buck
Grapes were I believe 1.28.  

That it.

I shopped cautiously.  

I didn't have the ads yet.   We went to the dollar store where I bought jello. And some hair accessories for my granddaughter, foil sheets, and Jennie O turkey bacon.  

I went to Safeways, read the ad, and walked out.  

I went to the goodwill and found shorts for baby for 1.60.  I also found sequins for 1.60..the equivalent  of more than twenty five 3.00 bags at today's prices.    

Then I went and spent 28.00 for food....all totaled 1/2 off  and I haven't checked ibotta yet.  

No ads! Thoughts

We had no ads in the mail yesterday. Our  mail person leaves a lot to be desired.    LOL.   The FAVADO ads say next week.   I don't know of that means they got the wrong date and the right ads, or they have all next weeks data.   LOL.    I'm in the dark.  

Last night we had yogurt parfaits ( vanilla yogurt, blueberries, and granola in a short footed glass) , confetti pan cakes I got form.50 at grocery outlet, and bacon.    Easily a less than five dollar dinner.    And fun!  

Eating n the cheap doesn't mean boring, or eating beans until you could fly to the ,oin on your own power!    LOL.  

Tomorrows rite aid and Fred Meyer ads

Tomorrows ads, today!      

Fred Meyers doesn't have a lot of things in their ad.    What they do have is good.  

Peaches .99
Canned veggies or to,a toes .49@@ limit 6
Brawny paper towel 4.99@@ see below
Cottage cheese 2/4
Frozen veggies 1.00- 10-12 ounces.    (I'd rather have 16  ounces.   )

RITE AID
Scott paper towels Mega. 7.49 - .50 coupon - 5.00 when u buy 2.  Nets 4.49
If there are brawny coupons, it would be as cheap.  

70 ounces Xtra laundry detergent 2/4, less 1.00 on two coupon. Less 1.00 points makes it 100 a bottle.  

Milk is. 2.69. It's a dollar a half gallon at QFC.  



That's about all.

Thanks for stopping  by
Please share and follow

Jane

Just a vent.....

Someone on another blog thread made the statement that couponing is just a way to fill a void and build ones self esteem!

It probably shouldn't effect me, I probably shouldn't take that personally.   But it made my blood boil.

Couponing only fills the want for us to have toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, soap, and laundry soap without spending our hard earned money or dipping into savings.  

There is a certain amount of pleasure when you walk out of a store with 22.00 worth of things you really need and suddenly it clicks in your husbands brain, he stops dead on his tracks, and says, we paid 1.09 for that!    You can get that stuff cheaper than retail at Costco, or Walmart. But I doubt you would get it for 1.09!

I don't spend a lot of time couponing.   Some of that  time is spent also watching a three year old play.
I do make a lot of money doing it.   Ibotta takes a couple of minutes while putting the groceries away.   It also should make toilet paper arrive on my doorstep for FREE!   There is something about the word  FREE that excites me, when it is not a free water bottle from the fair!   LOL.


FREE means I don't have to spend money on some of our necessities , so we can have some luxury items, like a date night with friends or an outfit from the Goodwill!

To say someone is sick and a hoarder  for stockpiling so they can make both ends meet is just plain over reacting to outrageous reality TV that not reality.   Like, OMG, I have two boxes of Bisquick!

One time, our family was in crises on a holiday.  My husband and children ate the holiday dinner at Denny's .   I never want  to be in a position, that I can't feed family because I don't have food in the house.    I wrote this blog because I know some people on snap don't know how to cook and shop and run out of money before they run out of month.   No child should suffer the insecurity of having empty cupboards.    SNAP is there to alleviate the problem; it only can work if people can know how to manage their grocery money.    Writing cookbooks will help-- only of the food is regular food--not food from MARS that the family won't eat!  

The statement I heard that said they told their toddler they didn't have fruit because they were saving to buy organic doesn't resonate with me........any fruit is better than no fruit!  



Just saying....

Really cheap inspiration for meals.

I always watch  for ideas for low cost dinners .  These cookbooks were 40.00 retail and I got them for a dollar each at the Dollar Tree.  Remember you can omit or substitute ingredients that are pricey, or make scratch white sauce imstead of expensive soups.

Blog series: what to do with pork loin - VOL4

Ok. Pork loin can be found at this period on time for 1.79 to 2.00 a pound.   I try to stay close to two dollars a pound average for protein.   Some things are higher, some not so much.   If you buy one bulk thing a week when it is on a true sale and buy enough for a months worth of THAT meal, you will save money and time.    I try for a half a loin because three of us eat pork.   If there are only full loins on Sale ,consider splitting the cost with family or a friend.  

Pork loin is  versatile.  The difference is that some things I buy, I cook ahead.   Some of the pork, I do not.  

Five things to make with Pork loin :

1. Cut a 1/2 inch slice if the end, and set aside, the cut enough pork chops for a couple of meals.   There are a lot of crock pot and other recipes out there for pork chops.  My favorite is to make a stuffing with a little chicken broth, dry bread cubes, and a chopped up apple, poultry seasoning.   Put in a greased baking dish.   Brown the pork chops on both sodes, and add to the baking dish . Finish  off in a 350 degree oven I til the pork chops are done and the stuffing is warm.   
2. Cut off a two pound section for a roast.   You can roast that the day you bring it home or shortly after.  More later.   *
3. Cut the first slice and the end pieces into cubes for stew
4. Pot pie,
5. cooked cubes  over rice,potatoes, or noodles.   ( same as stew beef)
6. Sweet and sour pork over rice  ( same as chicken ) 
7. Fried rice 
8. * After you have a dinner of roast pork! slice it thin and make BBQ pork sandwiches.   

You can freeze the pork sliced thin, or use it for a second meal the same week.   

Pork chops can be frozen as well as the cubes with some of the juice from baking.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share, and follow 

Jane 

Chicken pizza on five dollar dinners

Dinner: chicken and peppers pizza 

Ingredients 

Individual pizza crusts (2.00 for 4) 

Olive oil 

4 tsp tomato paste 

1 tsp Italian seasoning 

Mild peppers , chopped 

1 large slice cooked chicken breast, cut  into small cubes.  

White cheese 

Hear oven to 450 while assembling pizzas. 

Turn oven DOWN to 425 and bake 7-10 minutes, or until crust is brown on bottom and cheese is melted.   

The ads for Wednesday

Here are the ads for Wednesday.  

QFC. - this osma two week ad .   Keep it.

Grapes,1.28
Draper valley chicken ( local) .99
Berries 2/5
Milk .99
Frozen veggies 1.00 ( 10-12 oz) 16 is better.
Corn 2/1


Albertsons , then Safeways.   These ads are almost identical.   Same ad agency?      Wouldn't surprise me if the two stores merge.   We are supposed to get a Winco at the first of their fiscal year.   That would be March, I believe.  

15 percent beefm3.99
Grapes 148
Milk 2/5@@

.88 sale
Refried Evans
Pasta sauce
Canned tomatoes.   The best deal here is the pasta sauce.  
Corn 2-1

Safeways

.88'sale,
Diced tomatoes
Pasta sauce
Refried beans
Grapes 1.48
Corn 2/1

Haggens
Ragu 2/3@@
Freshestta @@ pizza 3.99


That's About it


I would check ibotta and coupons.  


Thanks

Jane

Oatmeal- a healthy way to start your day.

18 servings of instant oatmeal is 3.99 on sale at grocery outlet.   92 servings of oatmeal is 7.99 at Costco.   That breaks down to .22 each for instant and .09 each for scratch.   Scratch takes no more time or energy to make.    

Instant 

1) measure water and place in  bowl.  2) open package and pour into the water3) place bowl in microwave,  program microwave and push  start button.   

Regular oats 

1) measure 1 cup water 2) place water in bowl.  3) measure 1/2 cup oatmeal and place in bowl.   4) program microwave for 1-1/2 minutes and push start.   

I keep a 1/2 cup measure in the canister.   

 Two and a half  servings for the price of one.  

Fred Meyer haul... What to do with what you got

I spent just at 25.00

I got
Strawberries, raspberries, grapes.
Milk and sour cream
10 yoplait with a dollar coupon
A almost six pound Foster farms chicken
Fruit will supplement breakfasts and or fruit salad for a dinner.  






I bought orange and vanilla yogurt for Popsicles and yogurt parfaits,  
Chicken will net two dinners  from chicken breast , a BBQ chicken dinner, amd chicken soup.  

Sunday ads

Not much here.    The smart source is in the paper, but johnsonville sausage and Kens  salad dressing.

Fred Meyers has

Foster Farms whole chickens .99
Grapes 1.28
Tomatoes  .99
Cheese on coupon is,not a bargain.    Do the math.   They are betting  you aren't.
Ground beef 10 percent 3.99
Milk .99@@
Broccoli .9lettuce .99
Cucumbers 3/2
Onions, radishes 2/1
Corn 2/1
Berries 2/5

That's about it.,,

Heritage chicken breasts are 1.99 .  when I asked they couldn't tell me where they came from. I found out that heritage is a Tyson  product.  


Thanks for stopping  by
Please follow
Jane

On reading a lot of blogs

I have read a lot of blogs this afternoon.  Did the housework I could do. Worked in my studio. And needed a break! LOL.

Groceries on the cheap is not about eating top ramen the last four days of the month.   It's , also, not about Slaving  in a hot kitchen all day making everything from scratch,    Now, of that is your hobby and you enjoy cooking that much, by all means go for it!   I sm assuming if you are on snap you have a family and the responsibilities that go along with it.   If you aren't  on snap, you might have other things you have to or want to do.

I found a compilation of recipes that are quick, or cook themselves  in the crockpot, or I can make when I feel up to it and put on the freezer for when I don't, or things are busy.

Today, I made a banana, blueberry, oatmeal bread.   It took only minutes and while it was cooking, I worked on my so called studio.   Each one in my family called ot something different depending on their mood.   It's the art room, grandmas room, the studio, or the craft room.  

The way you cut the cost of food without sacrificing good meals is to not waste money at the grocery store.   Paying full price is throwing your money out the window,    My dad used to say that the manufacturers factor in the amount of the coupon when they set a cost on the product.   You are shooting yourself in the  foot if you aren't  taking advantage of it.

Or, in other words. you get paid for shopping, not for cooking.  

Blueberry, banana bread,

A good way to get a head start on breakfast.   Quick and easy, and in the Betty Crocker cookbook free on line.  

Easy. Mix wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients.  Fold together and add blueberries.  

Bale in a loaf pan with a greased bottom.   

Blog series...what to do with ground sausage -vol,3

Ground sausage is reasonable at Costco.  Ground meats are cheaper to plan ,ears with cause the portions can be smaller, but look larger.    One way to use less meat and still hav good nutrition is to add other things to the menu that contain protein also.   Chilli is a good example.    My mother used to make depression stew-- potatoes and carrots and any bits of meat she could find,   Bacon and a few meatballs?  

You can reduce the fat content  of sausage by De-Fattimg  it.   It comes in three pound tubes at Costco-Jimmy  Dean. I usually make a few patties for breakfast for dinner, and make crumbles of the rest.   You can use :

• Sausage in quiche 
• Sausage in pasta sauce 
• Stuff peppers 
• Bean and sausage soup
• Breakfast burridos
• Can substitute for ground beef in many recipes   

Easy sausage and bean soup.  

2 -15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes 

4 cups chicken stock ( I use better than bullion) 

2-3 carrots, sliced or diced and sautéed with...
2- 3 stalks of celery, sliced or chopped
Diced onion to taste

2 cans of your favorite beans, the same or different, drained .

3/4 cup of cooked sausage.
1-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Place all ingredients in the crockpot , cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Can be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the sausage.
Sodium can be reduced if you rinse the beans before you add them

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Jane

Safeway haul

Safeways has five dollars off of five.  They offered second item in the same transaction another dollar off.   I got

• 2 no sugar added ice cream bar packages.   ( 16 grams total each bar) reg 3.50
• 4 suddenly salads for. 1.00 less coupons - .75 instead of 2.29 each 
• 2 packages of brown rice 
• 1 Ragiu pasta sauce for 1.38 plus a .50 ibotta on it.  

Plus I got Catalina's for 

1. 1/2 of a five dollar gift card 
2. A half off coupon for Joanne's 
3. A dollar off coupon for suddenly salad 

Total spent 12.30 minus a fifty cent ibotta 11.80

23.45 retail

11.80 actual

Savings 50 percent 

The ads

Here are the best of the ads.   No surprise here, Haggens is pretty much over the top, Albertsons and Safeways ads look a whole lot alike.  I'm wondering if we will soon have a
SAFEBURTONS LOL.
QFC is non existent, use last weeks ad.  


Haggens
I honestly tried to find a bargain at Haggens.  
Cascade Ice drink is a buck!  

Albertsons
Buy 6,  save 3, net prices

Klondike bars 2.49
Chicken of the sea tuna .99
Iced tea in bottle 1.99**
Lipton tea 100 ct. 2,99**
Suddenly salad .99 - look for coupons
Kraft salad dressing 1.99 ( 2.50 at   Haggens) $$
Butter 2.49 ( cheaper at Costco)
Grated cheese 249 ( this equates to five dollars a pound) - cheaper at grocery outlet and Costco.  
Oatmeal 1.49***. 18 ounce canister or box of instant

** question,meow many gallons of iced tea can you make for 1.99! LOL.   66 tea bags would be 2.00.
At six bags per gallon, some water and ice you would make 11 gallons.  
 *** econo lesson - instant oatmeal osma more expensive than buying a box.   The crate at Costco is even cheaper.   There is not any difference in the time it takes to cook it.   I put the oatmeal in a lock n lock canister with a 1/2 cup measure from the dollar store.   One cup of water, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1.5 minutes in the microwave.   Use a bigger bowl so it won't run over.   You can keep cinnamon sugar in a shaker bottle, or just add fruit and milk.  

Grapes 1.99
Peaches .99
Cantaloupes  2/5

SAFEWAYS
GRAPES 1.99
peaches .99
Cantaloupes 2/5

Double take!  

Five Dollar Friday
Blues
Meringue pies
Bounty basic paper towels.  

Crazy 88'sale ( I see Albertsons )
Ragu Padua sauce 1.38
Baby tomatoes BOGO

7 percent hamburger 3.99
Hamburger or hotdogging .88@@
Milk 2/5@@

Thats about it.

 The hamburger would be the best meat of choice for rotating. If you didn't do it last week I would do it this week. I make crumbles, taco meat, meatballs, meatloaf, Salisbury steaks.  

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Jane




,

Blog series: what to do with. Chicken Vol2

Ahh, chicken.  The meat all the mystery meat aspires to......LOL.

Chicken is still one of the most versatile and cheapest meat in  the butchers case.    Last batch I bought was .88 a pound.   I only buy chicken grown in the PNW..   I had a chat with Foster farms.  They tell me that their chickens come from wa, or, and ca. and  are processed there. They have no plans to change that.  - few notes about chicken : 

1. )Chicken rotates in sale prices about every four to six weeks. My RBP was at QFC last Janiary.   It was Super Bowl and they marked whole fryers are .50 to sell out.  I needed to cook them that day, I came home and roasted two and put one in the crockpot.  

2. )Never buy a chicken that is less than three pounds. Five a better benchmark.   It is almost always cheaper to buy whole chickens.   It takes about ten minutes or less to get a chicken cooking, the rest is passive cooking.   Three pounds is the break even point-- less than that, you are paying more for bone than you do for meat.   

3) as with all meat these days, cook it thoroughly and clean as you go, washing your hands.  Don't cross contaminate with raw food.   The most efficient for us is to use the buddy system, one of us handles the raw meat, the other the salt and oil bottles.   We can get a roast chicken in the oven in six minutes flat.   

4) after the chicken is done and cooled a bit, I take off the legs, thighs, and wings and put  them in a gallon bag.   Then , I separate the back from the breast, and cut the breast in two.   The back goes into a bag for soup, and the breasts are cut in two and placed  into a bag for 2 dinners.   There are three of us eating meat.   Your portions may be  different.  

5) buying frozen chicken breasts  are costly and you don't know where they came from. 

6) the way I get Boneless , skinless chicken breasts is to buy a grill pack when it is a buck a

pound  and separate the thighs, legs, and debone the breasts.   The dark meat makes good BBQ chicken.  BBQ sauce is cheap this time a year ( RBP a buck or less) or always a dollar at the dollar store.   The dollar store one is smaller.

7) the quickest, easiest way to cook a chicken ( non- passive time) is to peel and rough cut an onion.  

Place onion in bottom of the crockpot.  Place chicken on top of the onion.   Make a spice rub ( or get one at the dollar store) and rub the chicken.   Cover and cook on high for an hour a pound.   You can't substitute the onion.  You discard the onion, so if someone doesn't like onion, they don't have to eat it.  

The juice makes really good stock for soup.   You will have in tact breasts.m the other meat will be fall off the bone done.  Just right for enchiladas, soup, tacos, burritos, chicken pot pie.  

Which leads me to a zillion ways to use chicken-- well a lot, not that I would exaggerate!   LOL

1. Buffalo chicken pizza
2. Chicken and peppers pizza
3. Burritos
4. Enchiladas 
5. Chicken pot pie 
6. Chicken noodle  soup 
7. Chicken noodle casserole
8. Chicken nacho bake ( Betty Crocker on line ) 
9. Greek chicken pizza*
10. Hot and spicy chicken
11. Pulled chicken sandwiches 
12. Chicken Alfredo
13. Sweet and sour chicken
14. Chicken enchilada casserole 
15. Chicken Pam 
16. Skillet chicken nachos 
17. Chicken and dumplings 

The recipes for the * on are in the Betty Crocker on line cook book.   You can print the recipes and put them in a binder.   I find binders at garage sales and the goodwill.   Now is a good time to find them cheap on back to school sales, or get your little one the newest hero and take their old one.   Buy a set of page protectors at the dollar store.   Put the recipe you are using in it and it will stay clean. 

Remember, if a recipe calls for something that is processed, or you don't have , you can always substitute for scratch.   You can also cook a recipe that calls for raw chicken substituting cooked chicken instead.   Alter the cooking time accordingly. Ie. Cook the sauce, and add the cooked chicken.  Savory cooking is not an exact science., you can play!  Cream sauce mix recipe is on another blog.  It is a substitute for cream of .... A lot cheaper and more healthy!
Makes great Mac and cheese.....another blog!   LOL

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Jane 

Dinner

Stir fry vegetables and shrimp over brown rice.  

The ads and a few notes

The ads are here.  

The newspaper today has a few good food coupons.  One for yoplait.  I tried to download the coupons  from coupons.com.  Seems my new printer does not hold a cue.   I opened the drawer to see if there was enough paper and it lost m coupons.  You can only print two coupons.   I did discover that you can filter the coupons now, so you don't have to look at a zillion coupons to find the food ones.  
There are no free things at rite aid.  

Fred Meyers
Strawberries 1.49
Shrimp 5.99
Peaches 1.29
Butter 2.99@@ this beats Costco this time.
Kroger beans, tomatoes, vegetables. 2/1. Limit 6@@
Sausage 2,99@@
Hebrew national 3.99
Blues 2 lbs 4.99
Pears ,99
Corn 2/1
Foster Farms grill pack 1.29 ( note one time in five I have found stock.)
Shoulder butt roast 1.99

I have no idea what a shoulder butt roast is, but it was just fun typing it!  

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Jane

Four dollars per person,, really!

First of all, if I had four dollars a day per person for food. I would think I have died and went to heaven!    If I spent that on food we wouldn't have enough to pay for meds or anything else for that matter.    I spend more now than  I did a year ago, basically because food has gone up.   That is  112.00 per week, I spend close to 80.00 and  have stock left over.   Our pantry I almost always full alon(with the freezer.

  It's not about cooking everything from scratch every day, but more about shopping wisely.   Spend more time shopping and less time cooking.   Not necessarily,buying ready made with a lot of preservatives, it's more about not  paying the F word (full price) for anything.

 Portion control.  No kid needs to eat the majority of a three pound roast. It's not even healthy. The latest information I have heard is that we need  six ounces of protein day and part of that should be eggs.    ( remember when eggs were a no no and bad for you.?) my motto, moderation.

Meal plans and their cost.   Based on Seattle prices...according to stats, Seattle and New York have some of the highest COL.   

1. Shrimp stir fry, rice.  (7.00)
2. Eggs, hash browns, berries, biscuit (5.00)
3. Homemade Mac and cheese, peas and carrots (frozen) (2.84) 
4. Hamburgers, corn on cob (1/2 per serving) non GMO, salad (5.30) *
5. Taco casserole , lettuce and tomato . 3.00
6. Ham and scalloped potatoes, chopped broccoli. ( 2.75) 
7. Chicken soup, cheese biscuits.(  2.60)

* sloppy joes would run cheaper.   

Total cost   28.49.   

The protein game.

Protein is the most expensive category of food shopping.   There are few coupons for meat, some for cheese, and almost no ibotta rebates on meat alone.   Beef and pork have taken an almost double jump on prices in the last year.   Yet, it is an essential part of creating healthy meals.

My answer is to buy in bulk on a rotating basis.   First, you make a matrix for meal plans based on family preferences.   Ours is 2 beef, 2 pork or chicken, 2 vegetarian, amd a fish or shellfish.   I based it on the fact that my daughter likes vegetarian and will eat fish, and my husband doesn't care for pork or chicken, but favors beef.   I will eat almost anything.   That's the way I was raised.  Be thankful that we have food.  Just eat!    

I digress.    

That breaks down to 

8 beef meals 

8 vegetarian meals 

8 chicken or pork 

4 fish or seafood.  

28 meals 

The next step is to go over the ads and FAVADO ( not always accurate) and find the so called loss leader for the week.    Buy as much as you need to make the allotted meals for that protein.   When you get home or shortly after. Bulk cook and portion control the meat.   Next week, pick another meat.   

By rotating your purchases. You can pay the RBP on your protein, cook more efficiently, and have less clean up.    Dinner is ready on half the time or less because you haven't had to cook the meat that is usually the most time intense part of the meal.   Making a matrix means that your meal planning is half done, and you are eating a variety of meals.    

Personal example 

Last week was a slow week for specials, not much there with the regular chains.   I went to Grocery Outlet and WINCO.   Winco always has chicken for a dollar a pound.   I didn't need chicken.   I got grated cheese at Grocery Outlet for BOGO 8 ounces for 1.99, or 1.99 a pound.   The specialty cheese was 3.00 a pound, but still less than the alternative at the other stores.    I can always get grated cheese at Costco wholesale for 2.3xx a pound in five pound bags, depending on white or mixed cheese.  You can do a lot with Mexican blend.   ( some vegetarian meals covered) Winco had a pound of ham cubes for five bucks.   

This week, Safeways had shrimp for five bucks a bag.  I also got hamburger with a 5 dollars off 25.00 total purchase coupon for 2.80 a pound.  I took it home. Made four hamburgers, amd cooked the rest into crumbles , defatted it, and froze it in cup portions.   If I had to defat the hamburger at mealtime. I probably wouldn't do it.   I am tired when our meal time rolls around, amd I want quick and easy-- quick, easy, and 5.00 is not an easy task.   I have eight beef meals, and two fish.   

Three weeks ago or so, I found pork tenderloin roasts at Safeways in five dollar Friday. I had dollar off coupons.  I bought three pork roasts for four dollars each.  This week, they are 5.99.  

Now I have six  pork meals.  

Several weeks ago, I got chicken , wa grown, for .88 a pound at Safeways .  Eggs were 2.00 a dozen at Costco and  Fred Meyers.   You don't have to have a Costco card to buy at Costco. Get a friend to buy a gift card for you.   Although, for gas alone, it's worth the expense.  

Lets do the math.   

3 pounds of cheese   7.00

5.32 pounds of hamburger 14.90

1 pound ham 5.00

3 pork  tenderloins 12.00

2 bags shrimp 10.00
2 dozen eggs at 4.00
1 chicken 4.40 ( 5 lbs.) 

32 meals - 57.30 or 1.79 a meal.   

Add a starch  and a vegetable or fruit , and you have an easy five dollar meal.   You can eat om four Dollars a day, eat reasonably healthy, and not spend your entire day cooking scratch food you can't pronounce.   

1.25 a day for dinner, leaves you more than enough on a four dollar budget for breakfast of cereal and fruit and a leftover or soup and half sandwich for lunch.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share and follow.  

Jane

Haul from Haggens and Safeways, 46.00

Haul from Safeways and Haggens.  

I had a coupon for five  dollars off of 25.00 I got from my daughter.    I bought hamburger, six  cans of black beans, and four GMO free ears of corn and a cucumber.   

At Safeways I bought 2 bags of shrimp and took advantage of the Five for five sale with 2 BBQ 

sauce , 2 salad dressings with a coupon, and a package of French fries.