Two Weeks of Groceries... LOTS of Produce!

I’ve been so busy the past couple of weeks that I haven’t had time to put together a picture and post my weekly totals. Unfortunately the phone I was using to take the photos is no longer working, so I don’t have a picture to post this time. Since I’m a little behind on posting, I’ll include both this week’s and last week’s totals together in one post. My total savings isn’t as high as usual, but I purchased a TON of fresh produce… so I’m still happy! My husband wants me to start juicing vegetable and fruit for him to drink at breakfast (trying to up his veggie intake), so we are going through a lot of produce. I am so thankful for coupons!

Total (for two weeks) before sales and coupons: $532.76

Total paid (for two weeks), including tax: $78.68 (I averaged less than $40 each week!)

Here is what I purchased:

4 bag family size Tostitos chips

4 Stax potato chips

2 bags Kettle Brand chips

1 large salsa

1 can artichokes

18 (6 oz. each) can almonds (purchased at multiple stores – no shelf clearing)

3 (6 ct. each) Snapple

12 (2 ct. each) Beechnut Stage 4 meals (chicken soup and macaroni - all will be donated)

1 (10 ct.) pack flour tortillas

28 packs M&M Easter candies (purchased at multiple stores – they were stocked!)

3 Fresh Takes cheese and breadcrumb mix

6 Cooking Cream

1 Philadelphia chocolate spread

2 (8 oz. each) Land O Lakes butter and olive oil spreads

6 (1 lb. each) Land O Lakes stick butter (only $1.75 per pound)

10 (6 ct. each) Kraft Milk Bite granola bars (rain check used)

2 (4 ct. each) fruit smoothies

12 (8 oz each) Kraft cheese (no shelf clearing)

4 Stouffers premade dinners

10 lbs. chicken breasts

6 lbs. whole chicken

1 ¼ lbs. boneless pork chops

18 lbs. carrots (that is not a typo – I really did buy eighteen pounds of carrots)

2 lbs. strawberries

8 ½ lbs. bananas (wow, that’s a lot of bananas… where did they all go?)

9 lbs. apples

3 lbs. onions

1 lb. asparagus

1 lemon

2 loaves whole wheat bread

2 (10 ct. each) bags small bagels

6 glazed donuts

9 CoverGirl products - nail clippers and files

4 Sundown vitamins

1 Pediacare child pain reliever/ fever reducer

6 Lady Speed Stick deodorant (submitted for $5 MIR)

5 bags (3.5 - 4 lbs. each) dog food

6 (5 oz. each) dog treats

Saved More Than 92% on Real Food!

What an amazing week for couponing! There were so many great coupons available… I just can’t believe how much milk and produce I was able to purchase and I still spent less than half of my weekly budget! I used 5 of the Facebook coupons for a free gallon of milk wyb 3 breakfast items (3 Facebook accounts and 3 computers – should have been able to print 6 coupons, but only got 5 for some reason). We were down to only one more half gallon of the Smart Balance milk from several weeks ago (I froze the milk), so the free milk coupons came just in time! I also used the Publix produce coupon on my bananas, strawberries, mushrooms and asparagus. Who can say no to cheap produce?!

Total before sales and coupons: $312.20

Total paid, including tax: $22.70 ($14 of which was the Zyrtec, so only $8.70 for everything else!)

Here is what I purchased:

5 gallons milk

12 Voskos Greek yogurt

8 Fresh Takes

4 Milk Bites granolas (my boys LOVE these already… I’m going to have to buy more!)

4 chocolate Indulgence cream cheese

2 lbs. strawberries

6 ½ lbs. bananas (“nanas” are my 2 yr. old’s favorite fruit)

1 lb. mushrooms

1 lb. asparagus

8 Pillsbury toaster strudels (we were down to one box, so my husband was very excited to see I bought more)

4 Stouffer’s dinners

6 Bird’s Eye Voila meals (had the Chicken Alfredo one for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Yes, it was a pre-made meal, but most families would have gone to McDonald’s after the kind of busy day we had. Instead, we ate a meal at home. It was far more cost effective and I think the meal was actually pretty healthy with the addition of fresh lettuce from my garden and some strawberries. There are just days when I don’t have time to fix a home cooked meal and it is so nice to have a back-up plan that doesn’t involve the drive-thru.)

2 Welch’s all natural grape spread

4 Pepperidge Farm goldfish

1 Beech Nut crackers (used free product coupon)

1 (48 oz.) canola oil

2 Lipton Teas

1 Knorr beef stock

2 loaves whole wheat bread

3 Sundown vitamins

6 Band Aid packs, trial size

2 (40 ct. each) Zyrtec (husband has to have this for his allergies)

26 cans Science Diet canned dog food