Grocery List: Revealed

I've been asked a lot by readers what I'm actually buying to keep my grocery bill so low ($150/mo), well today I'm revealing my typical monthly grocery store list--just to you, my faithful readers! :)

First, lets review a few of my basic principals:

-Buying in bulk and stocking up, if you'd like to read more about that, you can read my thoughts on the bulk shopping method or a little more about my bulk madness at my grocery budget Q & A (a good one to read if you're just curious about all of this).

- A few things that you'll need to remember is that we buy all our meat in bulk.

-If you've read my pantry list and freezer list posts, then you'll also remember I keep all sorts of things on hand for fixing meals.

-As a rule of thumb, nearly everything I buy is the generic brand or the cheapest unit price.

Now, lets get to my list, shall we. Due to all the things I just explained above there are very few things I need to buy regularly, but here they are:

-Dairy products:
*We get our milk delivered (but I'll occasionally buy a gallon or two when they are deeply discounted for the freezer).
*Yogurt, we usually go through a large tub a week, so I'll buy 2 each trip to the store (2x/mo).
*Cheese is one of the only large ticket items I buy at the store regularly. I'll buy the largest blocked cheeses, usually only once a month to every six weeks. I'll bring them home and freeze about 1/2-3/4 of each block to get us through for a while and just use what's not frozen for the first couple of weeks. Sometimes I'll also buy a large container of cottage cheese.
*Every once in a while I'll buy a heavy whipping cream if I have a recipe that calls for it or coffee creamer, which lasts me forever, it seems like!

-Eggs
*Most of the time I'll buy the largest container (2 1/2 dozen) and will last us about a month.

-Butter/Margarine
*I'll buy the largest container there is, so it'll last us a long time! When real butter & margarine sticks go on sale (usually around the holiday season) I'll stock up on as many as I can get and freeze them.

-Bread:
*I'll buy day old french bread to prepare and freeze as garlic bread or for making french toast, usually at least once a month (often times we'll go through a loaf before it's bad that week too). Sometimes they have rolls, buns or other baked goods that will work for something we're having that week or for freezing.
*When our "usual" sliced bread goes on sale for $1.50-$2/loaf I'll buy several loafs and freeze a few of them.
*If we have a meal coming up that requires buns, I'll buy those fresh for that week.

-Produce:
I try to have a high portion of our diet be fresh fruits and vegetables, so I get a significant amount of produce each trip to the store. I'll always buy what is on sale and/or the best value to keep the cost down. Since I do the price matching it's not uncommon for me to get prices like:
-$0.49/lb for Roma tomatoes
-4-6 avocados for $1
-6 cucumbers for $1
-10lb bags of potatoes for $1.59
-Special fruit like strawberries, pineapple, mangoes, watermelon are all really reasonable right now, most can be bought for around a $1 (except for the pineapple and watermelon, both can be bought for around $2, though).
Basically, my list depends on what's on sale in the produce department, but I'll get us well stocked! :) If there aren't any greats deal going on (especially in the winter) then I'll buy large bags of apples and/or oranges which will get us through a couple of weeks, easily.

-Rounding out what we've used or Stocking up on Sales:
The rest of my list will consist of a few things that we've run out of or are about to run out of from our stock pile. Sometimes there is quite a bit, other times it's just a few items. If it's something that is on a great sale then I'll stock up a bit.

That's about it. My lists are nearly the same every couple weeks. A few dairy products, some fresh produce (unless it's farmer's market or garden season!) and some breads are the main things I have to buy, the rest is just to keep on hand. Everything else is already in our freezer or pantry. Every once in a while I'll need a special item for a menu item or new recipe, but for the most part I can create all sorts of meals out of these basics.

6 Things You'll Always Find in my Freezer

Photo Credit

A couple weeks ago I told you the basics you can always find in my pantry. I promised a list of what's in my freezer too, so here it is! :)

1. Meat
We buy our meat in bulk, so you'll always find some form of meat to turn into dinner in a hurry! :)
This year I spent $78 on 40lbs. of chicken breast and another $125 on the meat processing fees for a deer a friend hunted for us this fall. So for about $200 we have approximately a year's worth of meat stored and ready in the freezer. (At the rate we're going, it may be even longer then that). We have all varieties of choices. Just to give you an idea, we have the chicken, 2-3 kinds of sausages, roasts, steaks, and hamburger. Then, I also bought a ham on sale during the holiday season and prepared it for meals and for lunchmeat. I did the same with a turkey we got for free from my husband's employer the week of Thanksgiving.

2. Milk

Yes, I know. Forget everything anyone ever told you about it being impossible to freeze milk, it's NOT true. There are few tricks to it though. 1. You MUST empty some of the milk before you freeze it. If you do not, then your milk will explode and you'll get the lovely job of cleaning out your entire freezer, wasting your time and your money on the milk you'll need to replace. 2. You have to completely, seriously, totally and completely thaw your milk before drinking any of it. It does separate will freezing, which leads me to number 3. You have to shake it back up after it's thawed to mix it back together (which is why you need to have it all thawed to mix it properly). If you do it correctly, it's very convenient to have an extra gallon or two in the freezer. It's there to keep you from having those "emergency" trips to the store late at night for milk for breakfast that turns into a full on grocery shop and you leave with a cart full of groceries you didn't need to buy! See, this is about SAVING you money and a hassle! ;)

3. Bread

Again, it's there to keep you out of the store. If you have a few extra loafs of bread in the freezer you don't have to go to the store each week for bread. Bread should also be fully thawed before you eat any of it, but it'll thaw just fine and tastes great. 

4. Quick meals 

I have several meals that I've prepared and frozen in the freezer for a quick dinner fix after a day that just hasn't worked well for a full on cooked dinner. I keep a lot of soups, and dishes like lasagna and a couple of frozen pizzas to keep us from resorting to, "let's just go out to eat." I also have meals that can be fixed really quickly and don't require thawing like raviolis, meatballs, fish sticks/chicken nuggets, that sort of thing. 

5. Shredded & String Cheese

Shredded is the one exception I make for freezing cheese that I plan to put in a meal. I know there are some cheeses that freeze well, but I'm not sure what they all are.  I just keep a few varieties of cheese in the freezer that are shredded and ready to add to a meal. Since they are melted (usually) on a dish, the texture change isn't a factor. It keeps my prep and cooking time lower and also ensures I have things to turn into a meal on hand. 

I also freeze string cheese because they are a great snack to have on hand, but we don't eat them quick enough (I buy the largest bag, it's the cheapest per unit) before they go bad. Since they come individually wrapped, I'll just thaw the number I need for the next few days and leave the rest in the freezer until we need them again. 

6. Frozen veggies
If you read this post or this one, then you know all about me any my frozen veggies! ;) I like to stock up through the summer on all kinds of fresh, great produce to use throughout the winter months when produce prices are higher. It's so convenient and cost effective to have a freezer loaded with summer! ;) And, because I love you all so much, I want to share this amazing find with you too. It's the perfect resource for knowing what to freeze from this summer's produce. (I freeze some of the things they say not to bother with, but I'm okay with that, it's working for me!)

What To Freeze

Here’s our handy guide to what does (and doesn’t) freeze well:

Food	Freeze	Don’t Freeze	Maybe Freeze	Notes
FRUIT
Strawberries	X
Blueberries	X
Raspberries	X
Apricots			X	Good taste, slight change in texture
Cantaloupe			X	Making melon balls can be work intensive
Honeydew			X	Making melon balls can be work intensive
Mangoes			X	Cube to use in smoothies; otherwise try using in salsa or preserving by drying
Peaches			X	Good taste, slight change in texture
Plums			X	Good taste, slight change in texture
Rhubarb			X	Plan to cook with it (like in pie)
Sour Cherries			X	Plan to cook with them (like in pie)
Oranges		X		Mushy, and citrus lasts long anyway
Grapefruit		X		Mushy, and citrus lasts long anyway
Lemons		X		Mushy, and citrus lasts long anyway
Limes		X		Mushy, and citrus lasts long anyway
Tomatoes		X		Hold off unless part of sauce or dish
VEGETABLES
Corn	X
Herbs	X			Try freezing into ice cubes!
Sweet Peas	X
Sugar Snap Peas	X
Wax Beans	X
Asparagus			X	A bit soggy, but will taste good in soup
Broccoli			X	Good, but similar to store-bought
Cauliflower			X	Good, but similar to store-bought
Green Beans			X	Good, but similar to store-bought
Spinach			X	Good, but similar to store-bought
Beets		X		Not great for freezing; last long anyway
Cabbage		X		Soggy and useless; don’t bother
Carrots		X		Not great for freezing; last long anyway
Celery		X		Gets limp and gross; don’t bother
Cucumbers		X		Too weird and mushy; don’t bother
Eggplant		X		Cook into a dish and then freeze
Onions		X		Last long anyway, not worth it
Lettuce		X		Meant to be eaten fresh; don’t bother
Potatoes		X		Not great for freezing; last long anyway
Radishes		X		Not great for freezing; last long anyway
Summer Squash		X		Cook into a dish and then freeze
Zucchini		X		Cook into a dish and then freeze

This handy chart came from LearnVest. 

Yes, you can all thank me now (by leaving a totally awesome comment), because this chart has the potential to save you bunches of money this winter at the grocery store. You're SO welcome! :) 

What's in your freezer?