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$101.73: Don’t shop when you’re hungry.
Don’t talk to me either. Somehow everything has changed since becoming pregnant, or maybe everything is just magnified.
Now, when I’m hungry, I am a real CRABBY McCRABERSON.
Don’t talk to me when I’m hungry, or I might bite.
I wish I was kidding.
Anyway, we’re back from Italy and I just find it hilarious that the very first thing I did (after brushing my teeth) was go to the market. I was still in my travel clothes which were gross and I looked like I was in clothes that were worn for 16+ hours, but I didn’t care.
FEED ME.
I rushed over to Whole Foods to stock our fridge for the next few days until I can get to another market. Looking at this list and our schedules, however, it might actually last us until next week. I bought a couple of prepared items because I had to eat the minute I got home. I do not eat plane food, the sandwich I bought at the Rome airport got soggy, and the flight was 2 hours longer than I thought it would be. I was realllly hungry. I forgive myself the prepared foods though because I don’t think $100, especially at Whole Foods, was all that bad.
Meal plan:
Lunches: salads or pasta with sauce for me, big salads with roasted chicken for PB
Snacks: I didn’t really buy any. Pineapple, grapes, and then whatever we have in the cupboards.
Dinners: T: stuffed artichokes W: pizza and salads with friends R: salads with boiled eggs F: we are both away
Here’s what I bought:
Prepared pasta with smoked mozzarella $4.95
Pineapple chunks $4.27
Prepared salmon $8.60
1 lb of fusilli $2.19 (ridiculous!! Never being pasta there again!)
English muffins $2.69
Annie’s balsamic dressing $5.99
Tropicana orange juice- carton $3.39 (is this a lot cheaper at other markets?)
1 can corn in water $0.89
Bread crumbs $2.49
3 rolls $2.07
2 croissants $3.58 (it’s a pregnancy/Italy thing- but next time I’ll buy from Sam’s Club where I can get 8 for that price)
Whole roasted chicken $7.99
4 artichokes $13.96 (woah! I love them so hopefully they are delicious and will be worth it)
3 bananas $0.99
Potatoes $4.99
1 garlic clove $0.72
Green grapes $3.04 (way cheaper than I thought they would be and they are awesome)
2 lemons $1.58
1 pint grape tomatoes $4.99
shredded mozzarella $4.69
parsley $1.99
1 small container kalamata olives $4.05
2 avocados $5.00
Large container arugula $5.99
Total spent: $101.73
Moral of the story: Fresh produce is expensive!
Solution: We joined a CSA!!!!
Wimer’s Organics has a new pickup location that is somewhat in our area. We signed up for an all season biweekly vegetable share that goes from May through November. It will hopefully be perfect for us since one box should feed 2-4 people and we are only getting them every other week. I only wish the CSA had fruits too, but I won’t mind picking those up from the Thursday farmer’s market once it starts up again or even from the regular store. With the CSA I hope to save money and expand our vegetable repertoire. I can’t wait for the first box!
Oh, and my friend Amy wrote this great post just for me to help me with my grocery bill. She and her husband are experts in not spending a lot at the market. Check out her post!
PS- Italy stories will come as soon as PB gives me a copy of the pics. I can’t wait to share our incredible trip with you.
Grocery budget challenge posts:
The Details
How much do you spend?
Week #1 $89.13
Week #2 $186.91
Week #3 $53.11
Week #4 $29.39
17 Responses to “$101.73: Don’t shop when you’re hungry.”
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hahah- oh do I know that “Don’t mess with me, I’m hungry & pregnant feeling ;)”. I think $100 at WFs is pretty darn awesome. I can spend what feels like endless amounts of $$ in that store. Glad you’re back! Hope the trip was fantastic. And I SO want to join a CSA!
CSAs are awesome–hope you love yours! For a full share, mine costs $25/week for all local, all organic produce. Since I split the share with another person, I pay just $12.50 a week for more-than-enough produce. My grocery budget is tiny during CSA season–hope yours is too!
Maybe it’s just me, but that amount seems reasonable for two people, dpeending on how much you’re eating out. I average around $68 a week myself and I’m just one person. I agree with you though, that as much as I love WF there are so many things that are smarter to get elsewhere.
I don’t I had ever been so hungry…but hey it’s all goof to a good place! 🙂
jeeeez. looking at that list i would NEVER have guessed that it totals up to over $100! thats where all of my money goes. what do you think of reading terminal produce? when i move in to my place i was thinking about where ill shop, and i picture myself biking to RT for produce. 🙂
Hope you had an awesome time in Italy. I can’t wait to hear about it!!
I am with you on turning into a MAJORLY crabby person when hungry while pregnant. In fact, the Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy Book mentions this and I had to laugh out loud at her description. Do NOT mess with a hungry pregnant woman.
Also, I love the prepared pasta with smoked mozzarella at WF. It was one of the only things that worked for me when I was still in the sick stage of my pregnancy!
Thanks for the shout out! I would say $100 is pretty darn good, lady. You got a lot of stuff for that amount of money, and at Whole Foods? Go you! 🙂
It’s also hard to meal plan and stick to a grocery list when pregnant because you will HAVE to have certain foods! I would plan to make chicken, for example, but then think ALL DAY about hamburgers…so much that I’d need to go to the store and buy stuff for hamburgers! haha!
I can totally relate – I am super crabby when I am hungry!
Looks like you found a ton of great stuff at the grocery store even though it was a little pricey 🙂
I’m shocked at the price of the annies dressing, I love there dressing but at the reg food store its maybe $3. I wish I had a CSA that was close by, my only problem is I’m very picky, but I could give my parents what I wouldn’t use. I can’t wait to hear about your trip!
@Jen, It was the really big size bottle if that helps? I am nervous about the CSA a bit because I hate cabbage and collard greens and kale and a bunch of other things, but I’m sure between my husband and I we will like almost everything!
@RhodeyGirlTests, ok I was thinking it should be a big bottle at that price lol! Maybe you can find some new ways to cook those you don’t like, and end up liking them. My nana makes kale all the time its just way to bitter for me.
joining a CSA is such a great way to save money! And, you get to experiment with new produce and unexpected surprises! Can’t wait to see what you get 🙂
You do not want to be near me when I am that hungry and I’m not pregnant so I don’t have an excuse! Those stuffed artichokes sound delicious. Can’t wait to hear about Italy!
Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my favorite meals is stuffed artichokes! YUUUUUUUUM!
Sounds like you’re doing great! I always thought I was a bit nutty, but am only down to an average of about $75/week. About the orange juice…I think that’s about the price I pay for a gallon of Wegman’s OJ? I don’t know what Tropicana runs for…it’d take a hell of a coupon 😉
I can’t decide if I want to continue my CSA into the summer, in the winter – there were unfortunately an abundance of microgreens and not enough meals in the week to add them too …
I figure in the summer I can go all Farmer’s Market??? Not sure still deciding!