Wednesday chain ads

ednesdays chain ads, Alberways and QFC.  

Alberways
Shrimp 4.77 a lb buy 2 lbs.
Lucerne cheese 3.88
Eggs .98@@
Salsa 2/4.   24 ounces



QFC

Milk 4/5
Tillamook ice cream 2/6
Berries 1.88 black, blue, rasp.    
Green beans .99
Tomatoes .99
Strawberries 2.99

About it.  

Eggs were 1.19 atmFM
Berries were 1.50 at GM, not black berries.  

Meal plans for week of May 15

meal plans for week of may 15 based on taste of home brunch cookbook and dining in a dime ideas :l
Dining on a dime  
https://yboutu.be/x3jZP6nnkJA
Quick notes :   Meal plans are basicly a protein, a starch, and a vegetable or two.   Corn, carrots, and squash are starches.  I learned that from the nutritionist when I went to diabetes school.  
Balance color and textures.  

1. vegetable  bean soup , artisan bread or biscuits. 
2. Pizza , green salad 
3. Marinated pork chops, peas, biscuits 
4. Bean and beef enchaladas, lettuce and tomato 
5. Homemade chicken nuggets, oven tries, fruit salad 
6. Shrimp stir fry , rice 
7. Breakfast 4 dinner : sausage quiche 

Tuesday - how to meal plan and why

Meal planning...why bother.?  

Not  planing your meals can make you plan for disaster.    Running to the store for that  one thing mid week that you forgot exposes you to all the stimulation they retailers want to get you to buy more.   It is also more gas, more time, and usually more money than if you got that thing on sale.  

It's my personal opinion that planning for a month is to extreme.   It might work for some people. But our  planning is constantly adapting for foods that need to be used up or something that I found that was a really really good sale. It's that adapting that saves money.   Weekly plans work better for is,  I got a dry erase magnetic board for the fridge.   It works.   I also have a form that I designed in excel.    It has the days of the week on blocks, my personal matrix in the "extra" block. And two columns: one for a lost of basics we always have on hand and one for things we need to purchase to fill in the meals.

We use a matrix based on proteins.  This gives us a variety of meals and assures everyone gets some of what they like to eat.  It took me a while to come to the conclusion that you can't please  everyone all of the time , but you can please everyone some of the time.   If the meal isn't their favorite, their favorite will come in rotation.   The basic protein, starch and fruit or veggie meal matrix keeps us balanced.

Our matrix is :

• 1 beef 
• 3 chicken or Pork
• 1 fish or shellfish 
• 2 vegetarian 

Others have a different matrix, say maybe one based on themes, or tuoes of food like Mexican, Chinese, etc.   

Having a outline helps make meal planning fast and easy.   Having a list of entrees that your family likes and that are easy to prepare clinches the deal.  We, like many families have a couple of basic "winners" that we eat every week.  They are open ended so it possibilities are endless.   Those are pizza and breakfast 4 dinner.   Both are very inexpensive meals.   Scratch pizza can be as low as 1.09 a pizza .   Eggs these days are a dollar a dozen.    Having a few really inexpensive meals affords you the luxury of a meal or two that is more of a splurge and still effectively averaging five dollars a meal for the proverbial family of four.  

Having a binder of recipes and forms organized is a great help too.   If you are drawing a blank, it's a good thing to have.   

A plan and recipes that are easy and inexpensive and clean up is minimal is key in keeping the pizza delivery gremilins away.   A delivered pizza can cost twenty dollars.   A handmade one can cost 1.09 .   Scratch lizzamcrust cossts .17 - .25 depending on your cost of flour.   I just purchased pepperoni for .50 a package.    With two dollar a pound cheese and a part of a pizza sauce jar from the DT, a pizza can be 1.12.

Note : groceries on the cheap is a different way to buy groceries.  The emphasis is on replenishing what you have used rather than buying just what you need for a particular week.   This allows you to only buy what's a RBP and means you pay 1/2 price for almost all your food.   

If you spend more time planning your shopping trips ( no impulse  buying ) and making meal plans, and less tome cooking, your budget will be better off.   We spend 1/2 of the amount the USDA estimates oirmfood should cost.  That figure osmcost of food at home: part of our weekly amount is stocking food for future meals.    That figure is 55.00 a week so far this year.   The average family of four can cost as much as 1213.00 a month,   At 75.00 00 a week, that is 315.00.   That's a difference of 898.00 a month or 10.776.00 a year.    

Monday , May 8th kitchen management.

Note: no one expects you to do my kitchen management, it's just an example of the thought process.  Doing some up front work for an hour or so makes mealtime a lot less stressful.

1. Wash the stove vent  filter ,   ( dishwasher ) indonthis thenfirst ofmthe month as recommended by the installer of the stove.   
2. Wash potatoes, carrots, celery and peppers in vinegar water and dry,   Put   potatoes in a colander.   
3. Cook bacon , drain and crumble 
4. Make pizza dough,   Place in fridge in a container with a lid . 
5. Make note on the day before having chicken nuggets to thaw the chicken breast.  
6. Shred parm cheese for the speghetti and meatballs and the chicken nuggets. 
7. Chop  vegetables for stir fry,   
8. Clean fridge and reorganize shelves.   
9. Straighten pantry,  
10. Wash kitchen floor and disinfect countertops and sinks including drains.   

1. 
   

Meal plans for week of may 15

meals for week of may 15 with notes

1. Vegetable soup : beans, diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, peppers, Italian seasoning. Onions if preferred.    Plain biscuit rolled with cheese like a cinnamon roll. Cut and baked.   
2. Pizza : most pizzas can be made for between a dollar and two dollars based on those of crust and toppings.   A far cry less than buying a pizza.   Even the crust at Safeways is two dollars.    
3. Chicken enchaladas with sour cream sauce : use pieces of chicken from de- boning the split chicken  breast.   
4. Sloppy joes (Mexican style.) our favorite sloppy joe scratch recipe called for catsup.   Catsup has HFCS.   I found a simple slow,cooker recipe that calls for enchalada sauce and o got enchalada sauce for ten cents a can.   
5. Pork chops (from pork loin ) rice medley , peas and carrots.    
6. Tuna cassarole.with  peas : use homemade cream soup mix.   Start with vegetable plate.   
7.  Breakfast 4 dinner,    Eggs continue to be cheap.  A sausage quiche is an easy dinner with field greens and /or fruit. 

It isn't always what you eat, but rather, how you buy what you eat.    Center cut loin pork chops can be 1.50 if you buy a loin in your rotation, or they can be 399 a pound.    That's a lot of difference for the same product that you have spent maybe ten minutes cutting yourself,    Develop safe knife skills.   Your hands should be as far away as possible from the knife,    If you can, crest a flat surface on the time to be cut to reduce the chance of it slipping,    Use a good chopping board that is dry. 

Fred Meyers ad

Sundays ad is here.     The ads are not much about food.   Most of it is Mother's Day .    There are, however, some good deals.

• Blueberries  and raspberries 2/3 
• Milk .99 including chocolate 
• La croix water  1.99
• Sour cream/cottage cheese 2/4 - larger
• Ragu 2/3$$
• FF split chicken breast 1.29
• Naval oranges .9

My target meat - rotation meat would be themso,otmchickem breast.  It's not as good as the .87 ones we gotma few weeks back, but if you didn't get them, this would be good.    It's still a WHOLE lot cheaper than 8.00 a pound.   

Friday recipe : vegetable chilli - slowcooker

This is a adaptation of my vegetable soup.   It came as a clean up, use  up refrigerator hack.  

Vegetable chilli.

2 cups dry pinto beans 

1/2 can diced green chilies 

1 cup COOKED hamburger, de-fatted and drained 

Enough water to cover beans to your second knuckle 

Process in insta pot or other cooker on bean cycle or cook until beans are tender 

Drain in colander.    

Switch imsta pot  to sauté mode (or sauté in pan with a little olive oil ) 

Olive oil 

2 carrots, sliced thin. 

2 stalks of celery chopped 

Switch to slow cooker mode and ADD 

Reserved bean mixture. 

2 cans diced tomatoes.  Do not drain 

1 quart stock of choice : vegetable, tomato or beef 

1 T taco seasoning 

Program for desired hours (6-10) 

QFC haul

QFC haul savings 61 percent

Hillshire Farms sausage   1.99
Kroger frozen peas FREE
Classico pasta sauce 1.49
Jimmy Dean sausage FREE
Milk 1/2 gal 1.49
Blue bunny ice cream 2.49
Barilla elbows 2/1.25 or .625 each serves 6

Total 8.71

Thursday bullets : principles

Ten easy ideas to cut your grocery bill in half

• Know the price of the things you buy in a regular basis : never pay full price.  Look for the RBP ( rock  bottom price ) and buy enough to last you until the next sale.  Keep a limited stick on hand . 
• Portion control.  Exocets say your dinner  plate should be an eight inch plate and 1/4 of it protein, 1/4 starch, and 1/2 vegetables or salad. 
• Find sources of protein your family will eat that cost less than two dollars a pound.   Your target price of a meal for 4 people should  be five dollars or less.  Average . ( 2 adults and 2 children ) 
• Develop a list of dinners that are within the price range that your family likes and can be made easy to cook and take little non- passive time. Make best use of pressure cookers , slow cookers, and your oven and microwave. 
• Scratch cook ,   Places like pinterest are full of easy recipes.   Adapt recipes that use boxes and cans of ...... 
• make your own bread.   It seems daunting, but there are recipes that take very little effort and taste divine.   The cost difference is about 90 percent when buying bulk flour.   A loaf of artisan bread takes 10 working minutes and cost about a quarter.   Most of them cost upwards of three dollars to purchase.   
• Avoid processed foods.   Basically, anytime someone has to handle your food, it's going to cost you more.    With few exceptions.  I can get pasta sauce on sale cheaper than I can make it.    And there are a few items that I either just don't buy or I buy on sale because scratch is too  labor intensive. 
• Spend more time planning and shopping, and less time  cooking ,   You virtually get paid to shop, you don't get paid to cook.   
• Plan meals and allow yourself at least two meals back up for those days when a ,?!; storm happens.  It happens to  even the most organized people I know.    Plan for it.   
• Make mealtime fun and engage the children sometimes.  It teaches them to cook.  Engages them so they aren't making a mess while you cook, and gives them confidence.  Wash their hands , and we avoid anything sharp, hot, or raw meat.    Of course , a teen can learn safe skillsx and a toddler can count, stir, pour some things.   At four my granddaughter could spread pizza sauce with a basting brush, fill a pizza. And roll pizza crust with supervision.   Of course, the pepperoni was on the shape of a happy face, but we lived to tell about it ! Lol.   When they are involved, they are more likely to eat it.  

Wednesday ads 5/3/17

Alberways ads     QFC was a two week ad


1 day sale 5/5

Ground beef -20 percent fat     1.98
Tomatoes, peppers, avocados, mangos .88
Mission soft flour tortillas. Or corn tortillas or 8 ounces of cheese. .88
Tortilla chips .88

Regular
Pork shoulder roast .99
Strawberries 2.77
Top round roast 2.77
Milk 2/3.- gallon carton




That's about it.  
Good price on milk and cheese.  

Alternative grocery haul. -2.00 over

I decided because we are well stocked for us, I would go on a no spend May.    That means my budget for fresh fruit and veggies etc is thirty dollars.    I spent  thirty two.

Groceey Outlet
Bag of Romas 2.49
Land of lakes butter 2/4
Deli sliced  cheese 2.39


Dollar Tree

4.5 pounds pinto beans 3.00
4 packages hormel pepperoni 2.00 regular wimco price 6.80.  Note: coupons,com coupons.
( Easter candy is 4/1)

Winco

Sour cream 1.18
Idahoan mashed potatoes .38 instead of .89 at FM
Bell peppers .78
Grape tomatoes / large container 5.98
Gala apples .98 a pound
English cucumber .78
Less .12 bag refund


Total 32.00.

Grocery outlet and DT are three towns over from us, but I needed to go there for an appointment so we stopped.  I can usually make up the cost of gas with savings.  

Phycology of shopping

There was a bleep on Facebook lately  about the phycology  of shopping, grocery shopping in particular.  It didn't  tell me anything I didn't already know, but it was a good reminder.    I worked for a food wholesaler non profit that helped small producers get their product into grocery stores,   Its not an easy task for the little guy.    Big corporations pay slotting fees.   Basically, they pay rent for the middle eye level shelves.   People naturally gravitate  for easy.  Looking up and down can save you money because those products are not paying slotting fees to pass on and they usually have a smaller profit margin.  

Retailers bombard you with visual and stimulate your senses.   They try to cloud your sense of need and want.  The trick is to have a good picture in your mind of what you are going to the  store to buy, and not to give on to the "want" .    It helps that you are buying to replentish  your stock rather than to put  together meals on the fly.   It keeps you more in focus,    It also helps to avoid taking children or husband's shopping with you.  

It's no accident that the junk foods are the first thing you see .   It's designed to get you to start putting things on your cart.   It's also no accident that there are huge carts these days.   I get the huge carts at Costco, otherwise when you buy toilet paper there would be no room for anything else.   LOL

Knowing their dirty little tricks to get you to buy more is your first defense in avoiding the pitfalls and staying on budget.    The more time you spend on a store, the more you are going to spend.  The more people you bring with you, the more you are going to spend.  It helps if you do have a family member with you to divide and conquer . divide and conquer-- giving part of the list or something you don't know where to find it to that person.  It saves time and creates focus rather than let that pickle, candy, beer.....fall into the cart!     Men are hunters, women are gatherers.

Because of the slotting fees, the item  you need may be in the front of the store or on the impulse isle, but it very well might be cheaper in the regular isles.     Case in point,   The more carb loaded hamburger bins were 2.40 in the impulse isle one day , the smaller more sensible ones were on a regular isle for .68.    A big difference when you are in a limited budget.    That 1.70 would pay for  the rest of the meal-- or at least the meat to fill the hamburger.  

The perimeter of the store has the basics.   This is virtually every store you go into.   It's because they are more perishable and need stocking more frequently.   Produce, dairy, meat, and bakery. All have more stocking or require handling that is done behind closed doors.    Don't go down isles unless you  need to.   The isles are marked almost everywhere but Costco.    You can save time and avoid impulses if you just avoid the isles.   That candy can't just jump onto your cart!    Studies show of you touch a product, you are more likely to buy that product.

The big one .....

Stores have big sales to get you in the store.   Their premise is to get you in the store and get you to buy all your groceries at that store.   Beat them at their own game.  Buy the things that are on sale and don't buy the things that are over priced.   Have you ever noticed that if hamburger buns are on sale, the hamburger to go with them is not ?     It's a trick.   You don't have to buy into it.   That's why spending the time to go to two stores is to your advantage.  Pick two stores that are close to each other.  Next best thing is to pick two stores that are close to other places you have to go on a regular basis -- the gym, the kids soccer practice, the doctor, work, grandmas house.......whatever works.  

Two stores give you the best sales of two stores and the best selection of produce.   Produce has the
biggest mark up of the necessity foods.    Pick it carefully and don't overbuy.   You can blanch and
freeze or dry some things that are not going to be used up fast enough.

Do some research.  In our area , Fred Meyers and Winco have the best prices normally.   But, it's not good to be complacent , sometimes other stores have good sales.    Find your two best stores based on price.   Don't base your grocery stores on the friendliest clerks, or the most fancy, or the variety of specialty foods.   You want your store to be clean and have the best prices.

Big packages aren't always the best thing.   The price is good sometimes, but sometimes it is not.   Bring a small calculator or see if you have one in your phone.   Many times they have a price per ounce and it's hard to compare bulk to a can or package.  The biggest difference you can make in budget savings is to know the  lowest price  for the things you buy on a regular basis.  Paying a premium price for that can of cranberry sauce you use once a year won't hurt too much; but, overpaying for that can of diced tomatoes you use every week, can really hurt.

Our average ticket is 30.00 or less.   I can get in and out of a store in 30 minutes or less.   I shop for three of us.    Naturally, of you are shopping for a big family, you will spend more time.    I watch a lot of grocery hauls.   The majority of the hauls that have h u g e tickets, have a lot of liquids and junk food and individual packages.  It's a good thing to avoid, it jacks up your bottom line a lot.   I can't wrap myself around a three hundred dollar grocery haul.   Everything you need will eventually be on sale sometime.   Rarely does a necessary item not ever go on sale.  Picking the right time to buy enough product to last until the next sale is paramount in keeping your food bill the lowest possible.
If chicken is .88 his week and it's a very low price, forgo something else and buy two.  Next week, buy more of the thing that you didn't buy.   You will be money ahead.    You spend less because you don't ever pay that dreaded F word...    full price.

Kitchen management

Week of may 8th

Looks like this week will be using up most of the remaining potatoes.   It's hard for us to use a whole bag of russets, it takes a concentrated effort to finish a bag before it goes bad.    Ten pounds of potatoes cost barely anything more than the five pound bag.

• Clean fridge, dump  anything dead and salvage anything that needs to be salvaged: cook it, freeze it, dry it, incorporate it onto a meal.   
• Wash and clean veggies for stir fry and peppers, chop and put on jars .  

• Wash potatoes with vinegar water.   Dry and place in a colander.  - potato soup,sausage and peppers. , fries 

•  Disinfect countertops and sink including drains.   

•  Wash refrigerator vent.   
• Wash kitchen floor
•  Make pizza dough
•  Make bread, and bread dough if necessary

Sunday, meal plans for week of 5/8/17

What's for dinner for week of 5/8

1. Pizza 
2. Breakfast 4 dinner - bacon and cheese scones included 
3. Potato soup 
4. Sausage, potatoes and peppers 
5. Speghetti and meatballs, salad , rolls 
6. Homemade chicken nuggets  and oven fries 
7. Shrimp stir fry, egg rolls 

Notes 

1. Pizza is a staple here.   Trying a new soft dough on the kitchen aid 
2. Breakfast 4 dinner is a good way to average costs.    Eggs continue to be cheap.   Doing a new recipe on the internet, from joy of baking. 
3. Potato soup is quick and can be made in the slow cooker.   
4. Sausage was pirchased  for two dollars at QFC.   Add potatoes and peppers either on the stove or in the oven.   
5. Speghetti and meatballs a child favorite.   Easy! Sauce was 1.50 at QFC, and pasta was .75 stocked earlier,   Meatballs are two dollars a  pound at Winco.    Leaves plenty for green beans with money to spare on  a five dollar budget woth leftovers for lunch. 
6. Homemade  chicken nuggets from  Eighty seven cent a pound chicken dipped on melted butter and dredged on bread crumbs and parm cheese,   Oven fries 🍟 tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with garlic pepper.    Add fruit or salad - maybe coleslaw?   
7. Shrimp stir fry over  rice or with ramen noodles.   Vegetable egg rolls.    Ramen noodles are my go to to round out a basket coupon,   I want as close to the dollar amount of the coupon base so I get the most percentage discount.    I round the .99 items to keep track, so I add one or two top ramen to make sure I go over the base.   We don't use the packets in the ramen (ugh!) but I add the noodles to stir fry sometimes.    This is always over the five dollars.   Bit.  other menus will bring the average down to well below five dollars a day.    Averaging means that you don't have to feel deprived while on a right budget.   

Thursday bullets. - Five things

Bullet day .....Five things that taste remarkable oven roasted.

1. Russet or red potatoes 🥔 
2. Radishes 
3. Green beans 
4. Carrots
5. Brussel  sprouts or broccoli 

Basically, drizzle with olive oil and toss with salt and pepper or garlic pepper.    

Bake on a cookie sheet or a roasting basket at the same temp as your other foods.   

Sunday FM ad

Fred Meyer ad for tomorrow

4 Day Sale / SMTW

Ice cream 2/5
Pork loin 1.77
Peppers .99
BBQ sauce .99


Regular weekly ad
Eggs .99
Strawberries 2.88
Tomatoes on the vine 🍅 .88
Cucumbers , radishes 2/1.00
Stock up : tomatoes, veggies, or beans .50

Spiral ham 1.29

Notes :

.50 is my target price for diced tomatoes.
Note that split chicken breast was .87 last week.   This week FF Boneless, skinless chicken breast is 3.99 a pound.  Boning your own saves over 75 percent,   Elsewhere, boneless, skinless  chicken breasts of mystery origin are 8.00 a pound.

Rotation meat this week would be the pork loin,   My lowest buy price is 1.69, so 177 isn't bad,    I did get it for 1.49 last time, but that doesn't  happen often.  

Friday : recipe day

I am trying something new.  Friday's are recipe day, where I try to take a classic  recipe and make it better, cheaper, and faster.

We are doing pancakes from scratch.   It was my mission to adapt the recipes to have less fat, sugar, or salt and be relatively quick.  Pancake mixes have anti clumping agents  and preservatives in them,

Scratch pancakes

Sift together
1-1/2 cups flour
3.5 tsp baking powder
T tsp salt
1 T sugar

Mix together wet ingredients
1-1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3T melted butter.

Whip egg into milk with a fork, breaking yolk . Temper the butter with some of the  milk .

Add the floor mixture to the wet mixture.  

Cook pancakes on pan griddle.   Turn when bubbles form and the edges of the pancake are  dry.

Keep in a warm 200 degree oven until all pancakes are made.

Sercemwith bitter, syrup, or jelly.

Thursday bullet day : 5 things where making is better than buying,

Never say Never, but.......

5 things it's a waste to buy -

1. Bread crumbs and shake n bake .     It doesn't make sense to throw away your bread heels and then go buy someone elses dry bread.   Dry the bread on the oven and out it through he food processer. Or, before o had a food processer  I used a box grater on a sheet pan.   Shake n bake is no more than dry bread crumbs with some spices  and herbs.    I add some grated Parmesan cheese.  Ditto croutons .    
2. Chicken stock.   Paying a dollar for two cups  of chicken stock that you can get for free is not practical.    Besides the fact that the canned stock has more sodium in it.   It's not a lot of effort to throw bones on a slow cooker and add the scrapings or ends from your veggies and some herbs and let or do it's thing.    
3. Vegetable stock .   
4. Muffins,   Store bought muffins can cost fifty cents a piece and are full of carbs.    Homemade are still carbs, but you can portion control and they take minutes to make.   Use your own muffin mix and add whatever bits of fruit you may have hanging around.   Grease your muffin tins  or buy silicone so you only buy them once as apposed to paper ones.    I still have some paper ones for times I have to take them someplace.    
5. Rice crispy treats,   Buying individual treats are expensive,   I can always find marshmallows for a dollar or less.  Chocolate crispy cereal on a bag is inexpensive and my RBP for butter is  two dollars a pound,   They take minutes to cook and make a special treat every now and then,   

Safeways and QFC haul.

Safeways was first.   I had a twenty dolkarmbisgetmbecause that was the amount of the basket coupon.  The closer you come to the dollar amount, the more percentage you save.  I spent 20.61 less the two dollar basket coupon made it 18.61net

I got

Pickles 2.52
2 Top ramen noodles .36
Salsa  1.30  with coupon additional
3 pillsbury rolls 4.50 with coupon additional
2 - 2 lb cheeses 3.60 each
Strawberries 3.69

Total 18.61

QFC
Spent 12.94
4 pkgs tortillas 1.00 each
2 eggs .99 each
2 jars pasta sauce 149 each
2 sausage ropes at 1.99 each


Total 31.55 spent

Wednesday ads - 4/26

The ads for QFC and Alberways
NOTE: QFC is a two week ad


Alberways - my rendition of Safeways and Albertsons - same ad, different locations

Chicken thighs, drums, or leg quarters, .67 ( we have no idea where they come from )

Cantaloupe .99. EACH

 Cheese Lucerne : 3.99 for TWO pounds @@  
Note too that my just for you has a 2 dollar off twenty dollar basket coupon .  
Ten percent makes it 180 a pound.  

Friday only old El Paso taco shells. 1.00  nite coupon out there for 1.00 off of two dated 5/1
Makes taco shells .50.    Or .45 with basket coupon,  

This could be a great gricerynhaul of played right.   It always hekosmofmyoumcan double dip the coupons,  


QFC TWO week ad

Strawberries 1.88
Avocados 1.00
Eggs .99
Barilla 1.00. - cheaper at FM this week


Boneless  1/2 Pork loin 1.99.  Top of my target price , but within reason especially considering
Center cut Pork loin chops 3.99.   That's a heap of difference if you care to spend five minutes cutting off Pork chops.

Mission tortillas 1.00 hard or soft
Refried beans 100

BUY 4, SAVE 4

Craft ranch - 1.49 - look for coupons
Hillshire farm sausage  1.99
Classico pasta sauce 1.49 - look for coupons