Truth. 47.229% of my long run thoughts cover grocery lists and dinner meals plans. During my Saturday morning runs I am both a) hungry and b) trying to simplify the venture to the grocery store after I get home and showered.

Last Saturday when I mentioned getting my grocery list ready to hit up the store, Brittany from the blog Suburb Chic gave me a new blog topic idea:

Right now, we have a weekly budget of $85 for the family’s groceries. Let me tell you something. That $85 has to get streeeettttttcccchhheeeeddddd out and it also means that sometimes I have to put away little extras that I love – like the avocado I had to say adios to this past week. Sad. 🙁

It also means that I have figured out the basics and essentials for our weekly groceries, which I’m happy to share. So, thanks for asking Brittany!

PRODUCE

I always hit up the produce section as the very first stop on my shopping. On my list, I have veggies we need for our dinners, the fruit we (okay I) feel like snacking on that week, and the standard produce we almost always have on hand.

• Favorite Veggies/Dinner Produce: broccoli (M’s favorite!), zucchini, mushrooms, onions, sweet potatoes, brussels, fresh green beans
• Favorite Fruits: apples and whatever else in season – mango, melon, and plums are big favorites right now!
• Standard Produce: fresh spinach, bananas, carrots, cucumbers, avocado (if it fits in the budget), and berries

The Refrigerated Section of the Store:

For this section, I really cut down the spending by buying less meat. We have meat in our basement’s freezer from the cow share we received at the beginning of the year and have turned to more vegetarian dishes. Occasionally chicken will be on the menu, so I will purchase a pack of organic, local chicken. We will use half that week and freeze the other half for later to cut down on the cost. My main costs in this area come in the form of dairy:

• one gallon 1% milk for Peter and Makenzie
• one carton unsweetened vanilla almond breeze for myself
• one pack Stonyfield Farms organic yogurt for Makenzie
• 3-4 Chobani yogurts for myself (because I just can’t go back!! and sometimes that means $$ coming out of my personal budget)
• cheese – a block every few weeks to slice for snacks for Makenzie, deli slices of swiss or cheddar for sandwiches to stretch over 2 weeks, shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese for English muffin pizzas or our regular taco nights
• eggs – I love eggs!
• hummus – and yes, I need to suck it up an make my own, but I love Sabra’s Roasted Pine Nut flavor just so much…and roasted pine nuts would not make making my own cheaper. 😉

The Inner Aisles

This is where extras for snacks, dinners, etc usually come into play and I try to stick to the essentials here.

• oatmeal – basic rolled oats
• raisins – because I need them in my life
• cereal – usually store brand cheerios or if a particular favorite goes on sale
• snack bars – larabars and lunabars when they go on sale
• Makenzie snacks – Annie’s bunnies and fruit bars (I let the kid snack like a kid when I’m not feeding her fruit, cheese, yogurt, green smoothies, and hummus)
• peanut butter – unless we buy a ton of jars for a steal off Amazon, of course

• dinner canned/frozen veggies/fruit – corn, mixed vegetable bags, peas, canned beans, crushed or diced tomatoes, jar of applesauce for the kids
• breads – 1 pack of sandwich thins, 1 pack of flat out or other whole wheat wraps, 1 loaf of whole wheat bread, 1 pack of whole wheat english muffins (not to go through all in one week, but we always have these types on hand)
• whole wheat pasta and natural/no sugar added sauces
• frozen pizza – we always have a pizza in the freezer…and it usually gets consumed every Saturday night we don’t have plans [I know this is supposed to be my healthy grocery staples, but it’s on my healthy grocery list because mental health - if I want pizza and don’t feel like cooking, I’m having it! 😉 ]

Well, I am pretty sure that covers the basics of our trips to the store.

What are YOUR grocery staples? What section of the store do you start shopping?

FFF Spotted: Check out my guest post about stress-free vacationing on my friend Katie @ Healthy Heddleston’s blog!