Guess how much I spent at Hillbilly Produce on those two big boxes of local apples (all which have some sort of small bad spot or mark)? One dollar each!! 
So two bucks for all of those apples, which leads me to my next question. How much do you think I paid for everything in the picture? $14.75! I actually came in under budget and got more than I expected (including some ground pork)…and everything I bought was local. Now that is a good deal, and I love good deals these days.
I had about $6 left after that purchase on Saturday and also some change left from the week before. I somehow managed to spend almost every last penny of that at Harris Teeter later that day. I picked up some organic whole-wheat flour, raisins, and bananas. So here is how things totaled up last week (ending on Sunday)…
- Wal-Mart: $30.66
- Earthfare: $45.70
- Milk Delivery: $27.97
- Hillbilly Produce: $14.75
- Harris Teeter: $6.55
This week started today with another lovely dose of $125, and I decided to try to do most of my shopping at Harris Teeter. I was annoyed that (with the exception of 1 package of string cheese) they did not have a single organic cheese option (much less grass-fed cheese). And I also really struggled with my tomato selection. I needed something to make spaghetti sauce with and originally thought about getting a can of crushed tomatoes. Harris Teeter has a decent line of store-brand organic stuff, but the canned goods are just packed full of way too much sodium. And I swore I would never buy fresh tomatoes again unless they were from the farmer’s market, but I suddenly found myself back in produce staring at the tomatoes (which were conventional, but did have a tag that read “Local N.C.”). So it came down to a can of sodium-filled precooked organic tomatoes or “fresh” so-called local conventional tomatoes (that may or may have not been ripened with ethelyne gas like most grocery-store tomatoes). You can see what I reluctantly purchased below. Here is a list of everything else I bought today for a total of $33.07, and all but 4 things were organic (the tomatoes, cheese, fruit leathers, and Triscuits)….
- Mayonnaise $4.89
- Triscuits $3.49 (on sale)
- 2 Lb bag flour $2.99
- Dried dates $5.49
- Fruit leathers $1.38
- Bananas $0.67
- Roma tomatoes $2.14
- Garlic $0.50
- Carrots $1.49
- Mushrooms $2.99
- Butter $4.39
- Cheddar cheese $2.00 (on sale)
Now I still plan to go to my beloved Earthfare tomorrow for a few things that I just won’t buy anywhere else (like seafood). But, if I reserve money for milk, the farmer’s market, a whole chicken for later this week, and sandwich bread from Great Harvest (which I am now out of) that means I can only spend about $15 – $20 at Earthfare tomorrow…yikes! Here is our dinner plan for the week…
- Monday: Spaghetti with about ½ lb. of ground pork cut with a lot of mushrooms, carrots, green bell pepper, and celery
- Tuesday: Some sort of seafood with an apple/sweet potato side item and some greens out of our garden
- Wednesday: Matzo ball soup (after making chicken stock)
- Thursday: Something with leftover chicken from Wednesday
- Friday: Don’t know yet…
Our fridge was feeling pretty empty before my purchases today, but I did manage to come up with some chili for dinner last night. I used a ½ lb. of the ground pork that I got from Hillbilly Produce as well as some black beans and cans of diced tomatoes I found in my pantry. Lots of you have suggested I start using some beans (even though I am not a big fan), and I am trying! I also had some whole grain corn meal in the freezer, which made for a nice side of corn bread! The chili was delicious (if I do say so myself), and I seriously cannot believe we are making this budget thing work on week 3 and counting….
After that trip to Harris Teeter, you will flip over Trader Joe’s. :D I am so proud of you for sticking to this! I don’t think I could do it. . . I adore my farmers and farm market, and I think I’d cut back elsewhere. What are your feelings about it thus far? ;)
Going to try TJ’s today! So far (at first) I thought the budget wasn’t as hard as I was expecting, but then last week was a totally different story. So after that experience I am thinking there is very little room for error (accidentally planning too many expensive meat dishes, making a recipe that doesn’t turn out good, etc.) so if you make some of these mistakes it can unfortunately really hurt on a super tight budget!
I hope TJ’s is a big help! I am super impressed– I’d have a very hard time doing what you are. . . especially since I need 80-90 mg of protein per day (and cannot have soy!) Do you get a special Thanksgiving/Christmas budget? :S
Oh ya the holidays are so not on this budget! We will actually be out of town for T-giving (and travel doesn’t count anyway), but I think my in-laws would be pretty disappointed if I cooked a Christmas dinner within our budget! LOL
I am with you on beans. I hate them and just cannot bring myself to eat them or cook with them. The only exception is that when I make chili I puree them in my food processor and then add them in because I want the protein of them without the taste and when I puree them, I can’t taste them. It’s tricky though because I’ve been trying to incorporate more meatless meals into our week, but I don’t like tofu or beans which are the main ways to do that.
Pureeing beans is a good idea! I agree it must be the texture or something that makes me avoid them.
I used to shop at Walmart, but I felt like I lost a little piece of my soul each time I went, so I switched to Trader Joe’s thinking I’d end up spending much more, but I actually spend less there. I spend about $80 a week for a family of 3 (just on food, not counting alcohol or non-food supplies). Trader Joe’s is the very best place to find organic food on a budget. Also, they have a lot of food that isn’t organic, but still doesn’t contain GMOs or hormones or any of the nasty stuff. Things under their private label (most of the things they sell) don’t have anything artificial, so even if it isn’t organic, I still feel good about buying it. They also have grass fed beef, which is hard to find where I live. Once you go to Trader Joe’s, you will be hooked.
I am going to try TJ’s today and hope to be pleased!!
Congrats so far, you’re doing great! :)
Lisa, checkout Bloom for next weeks items. I think you will find it is a happy medium between H.T. and Wal-Mart. Bloom has a fantastic selection of organic and gluten free items. You won’t be sorry. OR checkout that Home Ergonomics (sp) on South Blvd. They have a wonderful selection of grass fed beef in their deli and they even have bread that suits your requirements.. not many but its there!
I’ve never been to Bloom…is it in South Charlotte? I’ll look it up. I have heard of that other store on South Blvd (and I think they have a location on 74 too), but I also heard it is expensive. With so many stores I think I might be trying a new one each week for weeks to come!!
The South Blvd store is called Healthy Home Economist (hemarket.com). They do have a decent selection of organic foods, and it’s never crowded, but you are right that they are expensive. Although I occasionally find a coupon in magazines for $10 off if you spend $50 or more. But all in all, I prefer TJ’s and LOVE the new(ish) one in Midtown.
Instead of HT fruit leathers, try the Stretch Island fruit bars/rolls – they are yummy and made with real fruit (like a fruit rollup, but much healthier). Earth Fare sells them, and Home Market used to, but I think they were either out or stopped carrying them last time I stopped in.
Thanks for the tip although those special little treats might not get purchased at all if things continue to be as tight as they were last week!! :)
I may have to go to Hillbilly Produce just so I can get some of those chestnuts!! The cheese thing bothers me too about HT, but they still have a lot to offer. They don’t carry any fair trade certified coffee either, which also bugs me. I’m going to mention it to customer service next time I’m there. The only way to get these things in the store is to request them.
I used your whole wheat cheese biscuit recipe to go with our Grateful Growers pork chops, cranberry sauce and “Butternut Squash Supreme” last night. Yum! My kids loved them. Thanks!!
You know they do have an official “product request” list at HT so I suppose telling them about it would be the right thing to do…good idea! And I’m so glad the cheese biscuits were a hit with your family. We will miss having those because I can’t imagine having enough $ to put cheese in biscuits on this budget! LOL
I noticed you are buying bread tomorrow. Do you make your own bread? You may have covered this question before, if so, I didn’t run across it. When I decided to eat REAL food, I knew bread was one of the first things to go. I can not find bread with less than 5 ingredients at the store. (Who am I kidding? I can’t find bread with less than 30 ingredients at the store!) We have very limited shopping in our area and therefore I simply decided it was homemade bread or nothing. We haven’t been disappointed! I can’t imagine ever buying bread again.
I get the bread from Great Harvest and it is delicious! And only 5 ingredients :) I’ve thought about making homemade bread, but between the homemade tortillas and everything else I am happy to outsource when I can!
Love your blog! Just wanted to let you know where I get organic fruit strips much cheaper. Target sells their store brand “Archer Farms” of organic fruit strips in boxes of 8 (maybe 10) for $2.99, but you can frequently find them on sale for $2.50.
Good to know! I’ve bought them from Target before, but of course never paid attention to the price until now :)
I like Trader Joe’s, but they don’t give much information about where the food is grown or produced. The baked goods are inexpensive (and tasty) but how far did they travel to get to my store? I’d like Trader Joe’s even better if they provided information about where the food comes from….
Most of it comes from California, where Trader Joe’s originated.
I have shopped around for deals on real food and you will find that Earthfare is your best option. Saving money is important and for most of us a requirement, but time really is money too. The time you save just going to one grocery store can be used to make your own healthy options. The more you get to know one store, the more efficient you can be. You will get to know the products well and you will be able to easily spot a good deal. Earthfare takes coupons and has good sales. Stock up on sale items and match up coupons with sale items.
I can only hope that Earthfare ends up being the best option. Aside from price they are definitely the only “one-stop-shop” for everything I need. And as you said convenience is important too!
Almost every brand of canned tomato has a No Salt Added version – you just have to look! For tomato sauce I use either Muir Glen diced NSA or Dei Fratelli crushed tomatoes. The Dei Fratelli are not organic, but they have better flavor, in my opinion, for sauce. Each only has 15mg of sodium per serving and the ingredients are tomatoes and citric acid.
Thanks for your comment! The problem I had was finding a “no salt added” version that was also organic. I couldn’t find anything at HT with that combination.
$14 including ground pork! What a good deal!
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Hey there! I know this post is old but I actually bought some fruit leathers today like the ones picture above. I just wanted to make sure the apple and pear “puree concentrate” that is listed on the ingredients is good. It also says “natural strawberry flavor” which is kind of odd, so I thought I’d ask before I fall in love with how delicious they are and then find out they really aren’t “real food” :)
Puree concentrate is definitely still considered a “sweetener” so enjoy them but treat them as a treat…it’s surely better than fruit roll ups!
“natural strawberry flavour” isn’t necessarily from strawberries. Natureal raspberry flavour comes from the perianal gland of beavers. :-(
Hello, I realize this is an old post, however I’m new to this site, though, not all that new to clean eating. Trying to get “cleaner” for sure though. Anyway, my recent issue is with soybean oil, which seems to be in EVERYTHING. So annoying. So, wondered your thoughts on this as I noticed you, at least used to, consider Triscuits “clean” though they contain soybean oil, which since non-organic is most likely GMO. What is your thoughts on this? Thanks. I understand there is a WF alternative to Triscuits w/o soybean oil which I will most likely buy next time.
Hi Julie. I would say Triscuits are not a “first choice” but they do fall under the 5 ingredients or less rule. If your husband has a known issue with soybean, obviously those are something to avoid. I think if you can find an alternative to them that does not contain the soybean oil, that would be a better alternative. Good luck. Jill
I love your stuff!
A couple of thoughts from a grandma who was always on a budget, trying to avoid processed food, growing our own as much as possible and more recently becoming aware of carbon foodprint issues.
* consider powdered milk for cooking -never could get used to the taste for drinking.
* grow herbs if nothing else – parsley is so easy and will grow all winter in the South as will most others ( start from plants, though.)
* of all the common produce items at the grocery, bananas make the most serious carbon footprint.(Unless you live where they are grown.)
* your kids might like kale chips – and kale is an easy winter crop too.
Oh- and grind your own meats in the food processor to save money, have better control of the fat content and significantly cut down on bacteria!
Sallie, What kinds of meats do you buy to grind? I eventually want to start grinding my own but I have no idea where to start. Thanks!
I beg of you to try Publix. They are not as costly as Earth Fare. Their produce is fresh. Their meat is good. I get the Earth Fare draw. (Their ground beef makes the best burgers I have made in a while!) But please, from the bottom of my heart I implore you, try other stores more often.
Thanks for everything you do. And thanks for daring to be your genuine self.
“You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.” – Kenn Blanchard