Organic on a budget – you can do it! This week we spent $87 on groceries, and most of it was organic. Here is our weekly grocery haul and menu plan. It’s also a quick update on our #CheapHealthyCostco experiment.
Guys, I’m loving Costco.
Finally, a grocery store that packages food the way my family consumes it: in massive quantity.
This week we shopped at Costco and Aldi and spent $87 on groceries.
Nearly everything was organic or at least non-GMO. That’s not always my top priority, but during our #CheapHealthyCostco challenge, I want to see if they will fit in our budget.
Normally, around 60% of our produce is organic. Since shopping at Costco, nearly all of it is.
Here’s a breakdown of what we bought:
Costco
Kirkland organic eggs – $3/dozen
Kirkland organic Greek yogurt – $5.79 for 3/4 gallon
Kirkland organic peanut butter – $9.99 for 3 1/2 quarts
Kirkland organic tortilla chips – $1.96/lb
Lotus foods organic gluten-free rice ramen noodles – $.75/cake of dry noodles
Kirkland organic frozen strawberries – $2.47/lb
Organic romaine hearts – $4.99 for 6 hearts
Organic baby greens mix (for cooking and smoothies) – $3.68/lb
Kirkland organic maple syrup – $10.99 for just over 1/2 gallon
Organic blackberry lemonade (compromise food/treat) – $3.89/gallon
Total spent at Costco: $75
Aldi
Bananas – $.44/lb
Cabbage – $1.29/head
Butter – $2.55/lb
85% Dark chocolate (dairy-free) – $1.99 for 4.4 oz
70% Dark chocolate (dairy-free) – $1.99 for 4.4 oz
Total spent at Aldi: $12.08
Total for groceries this week: $87
We normally spend around $140-160/week on food. Our Groceries & Household budget has $16 left for the rest of August. With around 10 days left in August, we should be just fine.
Menu This Week
Here’s the thing about menu planning.
I don’t like it.
Not in an I-just-can’t-make-myself-do-it kind of way. I actually enjoy putting together menu plans and coordinating grocery lists. I love these simple Weekly Menu Plan printables.
The truth is, in some seasons, menu planning doesn’t help us save money. Sometimes, instead of detailed planning, I keep simple ingredients on hand and just decide dinner the morning before. It’s a very effective way to save money and eat healthy, and it’s what we do 80% of the time.
That being said, I usually have a general idea of what kinds of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners we will compile that week.
Here is this week’s plan:
Breakfasts
- French toast casserole (made with leftover Easiest Bread Ever)
- Blender oat and brown rice pancakes (gluten-free) (recipe coming later)
- Green smoothies
- Eggs
- Granola and yogurt
Lunches
Some combination of the following:
- Crunchy ramen salad (recipe coming)
- Vegetables – carrots, celery, lettuce
- Celery, peanut butter, and raisins
- Beans topped with cheese or homemade chimichangas (with leftover Cumin Beans)
Dinners
- Spatchcock chicken, roasted green beans, salad, rice or deeply flavorful baked sweet potatoes (one of the fastest ways to cook a chicken)
- Stir-fry (made with leftovers)
- Vegetable soup (kind of a spin-off this one)
- Crunchy ramen salad with leftover chicken (recipe coming)
- Cumin Beans (will likely turn into burrito bowls or serve with cornbread and sauteed cabbage)
- Leftovers
Snacks
- Popsicles (made from leftover smoothies)
- Fruit – frozen fruit, bananas
- Vegetables – carrots, celery, lettuce
- Nuts – whatever odds and ends in the pantry
- Raisins
What About You?
Do you menu plan? Does it help you save money or do you do something else?
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We love those ramen noodles! I’m looking forward to your recipe.
I do menu plan. I’m not sure it helps save money, but it does save my sanity, so that’s something! It also helps me remember to use things from my freezer and defrost them in time.
Saving your sanity is SO important! Thanks for the comment 😀
We keep nuts & seeds and dry fruit (almost always raisins) to use in baking, Chinese Chicken & Cashew (& a few other entreés) and for fake granola. I pour some cheerios in a bowl and add cinnamon, sesame seeds, (sliced almonds sometimes) shredded coconut and then (canned, diluted coconut) milk w/vanilla. They eat walnuts/sunflower seeds/ pepitas with it, but theyre tasty in it too. The second bowl they usually just sprinkle some cinnamon on and use some vanilla when pour on milk.
No need for eggs that morning, so we get to have egg salad for lunch!
Wow, way to go! My kids are texture wimps – anything with nuts or coconut flakes is on the “no-thanks” list. But they’ll still eat it.
More With Less and Extending The Table ckbks have some frugal ideas. From the Mennonites. Great ethnic recipes, like Kusheri, in ETT. But ya gotta get MWL, too— its a classic!
Theres a 3rd ckbk too, Simply In Season, that I bet is awesome too. Im buying it soon now that I know of it!
Great ideas, thanks!