Grocery Haul

So even though I am no longer doing a no spend month, I am still working on cleaning out all of the food reserves that I had in my freezer. Because of this, I have really only been going grocery shopping every two weeks for the essentials and maybe here and there to fill in any gaps. I wanted to share with you what my grocery haul looks like this week for the meals that I have planned.

Grocery Haul: $23

1 lb pre-cut Kale	$1.99
1 lb organic Baby Spinach	$4.49
2 dozen Eggs	$4.59
1 gallon Almond Milk	$3.99
1/2 lb hard Genoa Salami	$2.64
1/2 lb Light Cheddar	$2.75
12 Bananas	$2.53

I am very lucky to have a family shared membership to BJ's Wholesale here in Jersey City; I previously mentioned my membership in 10 Things I've Bought That Save Me Money. As you can see from the prices I've paid for groceries, I literally get twice as much food as I would at the regular supermarket for the same price. There are certain things that I won't buy there because they do end up being more expensive, and other that I buy even though they are the same price just because of the convenience of already being there (case and point, the deli items). The bananas were actually purchased at my local ShopRite which is right next door because I don't particularly like BJ's bananas.

Buying produce in such large quantities means that you really need to know how to store it to make it last. Without proper prep, you will have tons of spoiled greens, fruits, and veggies by the end of the week. Since the kale comes in a large non-resealable bag, I pack it into two separate ziplocks. I line each bag with paper towels and squeeze out the excess air to keep the kale dry and crisp for two weeks. The spinach comes in a resealable container so I dump it out into a big bowl and line the container with a paper towel. I dump half of the spinach back in, fold the towel over it and then dump the other half on top. I then place another paper towel on top of the top half and make sure to store it upside down in the fridge. You would be surprised how properly prepping and storing your produce will extend their life.

Meal planning is also essential when you're living on a budget. Not only does it help to save money because no food goes wasted, but it also saves a lot of time and effort during the week since your meals are already planned out. I am lucky in that my job provides us with fresh fruit daily and also free lunch on Thursdays; this really helps with my planning for the week. My mom also leaves me dinner every night, a very big perk of my semi living-at-home situation. With all of the above, and my freezer and pantry reserves, I will be able to make my breakfast green smoothie and hard boiled eggs (breakfast every day), four sandwiches (two a week), and four salads (two a week), plus all of my meals on the weekends for the next two weeks.

Not bad for $23, if I do say so myself.