There was a text from the pharmacy, this morning, saying my refills were ready for pick up - of course, they weren't ready when I went there, yesterday, to redeem by $5 coupon, on the last day it was valid! So, I went to the pharmacy first.
Then, I went to the Armenian store to get this week's advertised special and to take advantage of the one day, Thursday only, specials. Well, I took advantage of the iceberg lettuce, 3/$1 special; I declined the rest of the Thursday specials - Nescafe instant coffee, 350 g. for $5.49, mozzarella cheese for $1.99/lb., and (are you ready for this?) beef feet for $1.99/lb.! In case you are wondering what people do with beef feet, apparently, they make good stock for soups and stews. I have not tried them, myself, although I've eaten other, less common cuts of beef.
They have Saturday only specials, too: this week, they are - ham for $4.99/lb; something called "piknik cheese" for $8.99/1 kilo container, chicken drumsticks for $.59/lb., and honeydew melon for 5lb/$1. I am not planning to go grocery shopping, again, on Saturday, though.
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| 9/20 Groceries |
I love this particular grocery store for their great prices and the variety of things they have on sale. Today, I got all excited when I saw this sign:
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| Bags of Rambutan for $1.99/lb. |
Rambutan is a favorite fruit of mine. We had a tree in my childhood home in Sri Lanka.
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| Rambutan |
No, I didn't buy any, today. The picture is of some rambutan that was given to me on a previous visit to the Sri Lankan store, back in October, 2016. Back then, the Sri Lankan store was selling them for $4.99/lb., so today's price at the Armenian store was a bargain! I was very tempted to buy some, today, and even took a bag to weigh it. All the bags were 2+ lbs. and I didn't want to spend $4.00+ on fruit that was prepackaged and I couldn't check for freshness. However, I might still change my mind!
Today, instead of rambutan, I bought:
Broccoli crown @ $.49/lb = $.37
Snow peas @ $2.99/lb = $.18 (just a handful for the stir fry I want to make)
1 cucumber = $.50
1 lettuce = $.34
Peaches @ $.79/lb = $.88
Almonds (raw) @ $3.99/lb = $3.35
2 cans coconut milk @ $.99 = $1.98
2 packages digestive biscuits @ $.99 = $1.98
1 jar Nutella (13 oz) = $2.99
Chicken breasts, boneless/skinless @ $1.49/lb = $2.91
Total = $15.48
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| 9/20 Receipt |
At the check out, they had bars of dark chocolate covered marzipan for $2.49 and I put one on the conveyor belt, but put it back, again! So much temptation, at that store! But I knew I had approximately $30 to spend for the rest of the month, so I wanted to keep today's bill to about $15, as there are 10 more days left in the month, and I'll probably need to do another grocery shop, later this month, for bread, milk, maybe more fresh produce, etc.
September grocery budget = $75
Spent to date:
8/29 = $3.20 (came from September grocery budget)
9/5 = $12.11 (September grocery shopping week 1)
9/11 = $1.99 (for milk)
9/14 = $3.00 (for bread)
9/18 = $10.61
9/19 = $11.47
9/20 = $15.48
Total spent to date = $57.86
Balance remaining = $75 - $57.86 = $17.14
Dancer was very happy that I brought some broccoli leaves for him:
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| "My broccoli leaf!" |
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| "Delicious!" |
Lunch was a salad, with lettuce, cucumber, a grated carrot, a sliced radish, some of the almonds, sliced, and bottled salad dressing:
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| Salad for Lunch |
I will cook the chicken breasts (I bought two), tonight. I might make a curry with one and pan saute the other with onions to have with salads.
I also plan to make a stir fry with the smoked sausage I have in the freezer and some of the vegetables I bought, today. That will give me a variety of dishes to choose from over the next several days. I think, some of it will be frozen for future meals.
I also think that I had better stay out of grocery stores for the next several days! LOL!
How is your grocery budget looking, 2/3 of the way into the month?
I spent quite a bit of money this month on groceries. I had not purchased many for the past several weeks, so had quite a few things I wanted to get. I was able to use both my Ibotta rebates and some of my Bottle Drop money to offset the extra cost.
ReplyDeleteWe are still using a lot of garden produce, and I'm loving it.
I think heads of lettuce for 3/$1 is so cheap, I'm not even sure how they transport it for that price! I'm glad you got some:)
You did very well with your grocery shopping! I was just reading how you offset it with the bottle deposit refunds and your rebates. I'm so glad your garden is producing still.
DeleteYes, that was a good price on the lettuce, wasn't it? Lettuce is usually $.99 at the other grocery stores. Now, I need to eat it before it spoils!
Hi from Malaysia, Bless! It is rambutan season now here after an overglut of durians. Glad to see something familiar in your post today. I was in Kandy and Colombo a few years ago. Love the food and the people. I have postgrad students from Sri Lanka: very courteous and respectful individuals. They are a joy to have around.
ReplyDeleteHi Su'ad, some of the Asian stores here sell frozen durians. But they don't taste quite the same as the fresh ones. I was in Malaysia years and years ago - way back in 1973! Stayed mostly in Kuala Lumpur. I probably wouldn't recognize the city, now, though!
DeleteI am not familiar with rambutan but it is very pretty. It looks like some kind of sea creature. What does it taste like?
ReplyDeleteIt tastes like rambutan! LOL. Maybe a bit like a lychee? Sweet, but some can be a little sour, and juicy. It is a rather delicate flavor. There is a seed in the middle of the fruit which is bitter (which we normally don't eat, although I've read that some people roast it and eat it; I don't know how true that is, though). There are canned rambutan for sale in the Asian grocery stores, but the canned ones don't taste as good as the fresh ones, in my opinion.
DeleteYou found some great buys today with the items on sale and the overall fantastic prices you pay on fresh produce at the Armenian store. I like that as you pick up an item you have a general idea of how you are going to use it in a menu for the upcoming week or for freezer cooking. That salad looks scrumptious.
ReplyDeleteSomeone told me once that when we leave the house, our animals think we are going out to hunt. I don't know if that is true, but I know that all my pets would check each grocery bag as it came into the house and check out everything inside. I like that you reward Dancer with broccoli leaves. You must be a great "hunter".
Thank you, Susan. They had cauliflower on sale for $.39/lb. and I thought of you. I didn't buy any because I still had that one cauliflower in the fridge (which I cooked, last night).
DeleteI don't meal plan ahead of time, usually, but, when I buy something, I do so with a general idea of what I am going to make with it. :) Some of the broccoli I bought will be for the stir fry, and the rest will be for a side dish. The cucumber is for salads as I don't like the texture of cooked cucumber (we make a curry with cucumber).
Ha, ha, you know how Dancer always comes to see what I've bought - maybe he does think I've been out, hunting! And I have, you know - hunting for bargains, that is! :D
I forgot to mention that I came over to your blog this morning from the sidebar on my blog. It really is nice to go from my blog page and I am alerted to the fact that there is a new post to check out. Now I just have to wait and hear from my family to see if the email list is starting to work.
DeleteSusan, that's great that you were able to access my blog from your blog's sidebar! Hope the email list works for your family!
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