September Grocery Shopping - Week 1

September 9 Groceries

Today, I went grocery shopping for the first time in September.  Since I am participating in Shelftember, I was going to buy only bread, dairy, and fresh produce.  As my freezer inventory on that post showed, I have plenty of fish, meat, and poultry in the freezer and eggs and cheese, etc., in the fridge, plus other items in the pantry.

My September grocery budget is $75 on paper, but, since I went over the August budget, I want to make up some of it by staying well under budget in September.  I will not go without, and will spend what I need to in order to eat well balanced, nutritious meals, but I would like to keep my September grocery spending to under $40.  I am budgeting $10/week for the fresh produce, dairy, and bread, and I am pretty confident I'll be able to do that without any difficulty (as long as I don't look at the snacks aisles!).

Today, I went to the Armenian grocery store and I bought:

1 Romaine lettuce = $.50
1 Broccoli crown, @$1.29/lb = $.57
1 loaf (24 oz) bread = $2.39
White champagne grapes, @$.99lb = $1.85
2 nectarines, @$.69/lb = $.62
2 Red Delicious apples, @$.39/lb = $.49
1 bunch (5) bananas, @$.49/lb = $.88
1 container (16 oz) kefir cheese/yogurt = $1.19
Total spent = $8.49

September 9 Grocery Receipt

As usual, I tried to buy only this week's specials as much as I could.  For example, there were other brands of yogurt, but this brand of yogurt was this week's advertised special, so that's the one I bought.  Yes, it says labne/kefir cheese, but it is a type of thick yogurt similar to Greek yogurt and it is very close in texture and taste to the buffalo milk curd I grew up eating.  We called it curd, not yogurt.  It would be made in shallow earthenware pots which allowed the water in the yogurt to evaporate, so the end product was very thick.  My father apparently liked to eat it with rice (according to what my mother said); the rest of us ate it with palm treacle, sugar, or jaggery (a type of palm sugar).

The apples I bought, too, were this week's special.  There were a number of varieties of apples for sale, but they were all priced at $.99/lb; the large Red Delicious apples were $.39/lb and I was happy to buy them instead of the other varieties.

The white champagne grapes and regular green grapes were both on sale for $.99/lb., but, I prefer white champagne grapes (sweeter) to regular green grapes, so I bought them; red grapes and black grapes were more expensive, this week ($1.29/lb., I believe).

There weren't many vegetables on special sale this week and those that were (spinach at $.50/bundle; cauliflower at $.39/lb) weren't among my favorites.  So, I was willing to spend a little more for the broccoli, which I know I will eat.

I didn't want to buy too much because I have been overbuying, lately, or not eating all what I have bought and there have been rather more food waste than I like as things spoiled before I could eat them (the faulty fridge cooling might have had something to do with that, as well!  Another reason why I bought the new fridge.)  I still have some green beans, a cucumber, and some carrots plus three ears of corn in the fridge, as well.  I want to finish those items and what I bought today, before I buy anymore fresh vegetables.

Today, I had a cup of tea and another leftover waffle (I reheat them in the toaster) for brunch.  After my grocery shopping, I had some buttered bread with a banana and a cup of tea.  A slice of buttered bread, eaten with a banana, is a childhood treat that I still enjoy from time to time.  Another childhood tea-time treat was a slice of buttered bread spread with sugar!  But I don't indulge in those much, anymore!  I haven't decided on dinner, yet, as I am not hungry after my tea.  Maybe some soup, a little later, or a salad.

I am not very good at meal planning, as I have a hard time deciding what I want to eat ahead of time.  But, I am thinking I will cook one of the pieces of fish and the green beans, tomorrow.  And maybe hard boil an egg to make some egg salad for sandwiches to take to the office for lunch on Monday.

Have you done your first grocery shop of the month, yet?