After breakfast, I did a 40 minute weighted workout on the elliptical followed by 20 wall pushups and 20 tricep dips. Then, I cleaned up and headed out to my home away from home...Trader Joe's! Boy, I did some serious damage in there today. I bought lots of my staple items and a few new goodies. Grand total - $132!!! I'm going to make sure I really dwindle down the freezer items before I stock up again. I ran into someone I knew in there and ended up chatting for a while too. Before I knew it, it was almost 2:00 p.m. I was starving and shaky. I don't like messing with my blood sugar like that. I knew if I didn't eat a little something before I got home, I would start grabbing a bunch of junk, so I broke out a Larabar from my grocery bag to tie me over...
I ate half (2 POINTS) and my body thanked me...
That was a good move. It gave me time to put the groceries away before fixing some lunch which involved this great find...
Here are the facts...
I decided to top 2 slices with a Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge, 1 oz. smoked salmon (also from TJ's) and a little fresh dill. I went with some good ol' carrots and TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for a long awaited 6 POINT lunch...
Note to self: don't wait so long to eat. It seems when I do that, I feel munchie in the afternoon. I think I eat so fast, it doesn't have time to register. I ended up grabbing a bunch of honey wheat pretzel sticks and a cheese stick. Then, I had one of these...
Can't feel too badly, they are only 1 POINT...
But they sure are tiny little things...
Then, it was time for dinner. I got out my last serving of Rigatoni with Three Cheeses from the freezer and added a cup of Trader Joe's Potato Vegetable Medley to it for a tasty 7 POINT meal...
I was pretty stuffed after that, but I couldn't help digging into these...
Just a note about these; I bought them a while ago and noticed that the nutritional information was incorrect. It stated that the total fat was 4.5 gr., but under that the saturated fat was listed as 8 grams. Well, that doesn't compute, so I contacted them and they finally emailed me back stating that all the nutritional information was correct, except the total fat and sat. fat were inadvertently switched upon printing. So it should be listed as a serving of 9 pieces are 130 calories, 8 grams total fat, 4.5 gr. of that is sat. fat, and there are 5 gr. fiber. That makes 9 of these guys out to be 2 POINTS. I should not know this. I did MEASURE out 9...
Plus another handful :( Ick. Now, I feel gross. I have crossed off all my Weekly Allowance POINTS. That's it; I don't want to use any more this week. *talking to myself* C'mon, you dope! You're almost to goal. Now, KNOCK IT OFF!
Okay, I'm better now :) I'm not messing this up! Too close. Gotta remember...GOAL....GOAL....GOAL!!!!
I thought I'd throw out a Question (or two) of the Day for you all...
How much do you spend a week on groceries for your family? Do you think it costs more or less to eat healthy?
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21 comments:
Oh, my gosh, definitely costs more on your wallet to eat healthy, but I look at it this way. What's it costing us to not eat healthy? Right?
So, okay, it's just DH and I, and weekly, I spent $100easy. Last week I tried to keep it at $75 and use what we have stocked up because $$$ were kind of tight, but I still went over. Didn't hit the produce store yet either.
loved this post. too bad i don't have a TJ's here :( but i hit one up whenever i can when out of state!
i only gocery shop for myself, and i will buy things here and there that last quite awhile so it is hard to say how much i spend weekly.. but i would say it is probably around $50 a week, sometimes more if i have to reup on supplies like oats or protein powder. i buy mostly organic and natural foods which is more expensive, but i don't think $50 a week for all of my meals is bad because i never eat out. so for me, it is actually cheaper to eat healthy because before i ate this way i was eating out for around $8 for lunch and $10 for dinner and that was each day!!
i spend about $150-$170 a week. we are a family of 5, and yes it does cost more to eat healthy for sure!
We talked about this at our last WW meeting. For us I find it to be pretty much the same only because I've always 'tried' to eat healthy. I do spend far too much about $150/week and am trying to cut back. I also try to keep my kids, hubby and I eating all the same foods.
What I've started to do is put my receipt on the fridge and cross off the things I use as I use it. Last week I didn't use $30 worth of stuff, which I will use this week. And my bill was down to $110.
Progress I'd say :)
OH, I want to go shopping with you. I don't have a Trader Joe's. You would think Houston would have one! We're not exactly rural, you know. :)
I don't even want to tell any one what we spend on groceries. It's a lot. But we do eat it. I like to buy in bulk when things are on sale like buy one get one free chicken or the "reduced for quick sale" meats if they are in ok shape.
I miss trader joes. My indulgence there were orange flavor cranberries and the satay noodle box-sugar and carbs ahoy! But so tasty.
There's 3 of us and we all buy things so I'm not really sure. Healthy eating is more expensive...
I hate it when I get TOO hungry!! Good luck the rest of the week...
It definitely costs more. This exact time last year, I had the art of couponing down to a T. I could go into Kroger and have a cart full, I mean a heaping cart full, and have the total before coupons and loyalty card come up to $160.00 and after using my loyalty card and coupons only pay them $26.00. BUT. The stuff that was in my card was mainly processed food that I really couldn't make a good, healthy meal out of. So, at the beginning of this year, I quit using coupons for food and now I spend around $120.00 per week on groceries but it's healthier stuff. I figure I can either pay the price now, or pay it later. If I find a good coupon for something that I'm going to use, or if it's for toiletries...things like that, I'll use it. But for the most part, I've not been able to find them for the healthier items that I buy.
There is a TJ's about 1 1/2 hours from our house...I've been thinking of making a special trip just to go there. Is it worth the special trip? I've never been to one and I'd hate to drive that far to be disappointed. I mean, I can tell that you love TJs, but would you drive that far to go to one?
I LOVE Trader Joe's!!! It's time for me to take another $100 plus trip there.
Thanks, you guys are making me feel a lot better about what I spend. I seem to be on target with what you all are doing!
Sarah -GREAT idea with the receipt and crossing off your purchases as you eat them!
Terri- I know what you mean about the coupons. I don't even bother any more - never have a coupon for the things I buy anyway! TJ's an 1 1/2 away?? Hmmm... I don't think you'll be disappointed, but I'm not sure if I would drive that far. Like I said, keep an eye out in your local supermarket for similar items; they might cost more than at TJ's, but you'll get to try some of the same items. When I come across something in the market that I think is the same as a TJ's item, I'll make sure to mention it in a post. Hope that helps!
Grocery bill for the three of us is ...ridiculous. Three people eating healthy in the Chicago metro area, who include things like laundry soap, health and beauty aids, paper goods , cleaning supplies and vitamins in their grocery purchases- it varies between 160 and 330 per week.We do not shop in the traditional fashion though. We work to have a constantly well stocked pantry that would feed us healthily for a month if emergency hit. It is something we have faced in the past and may happen again. It also enables us to be able to help out others who are faced with emergency circumstances. With both hubby and I in ministry on different paths, this comes up pretty often.
I only buy for myself. I spend at least $100 every two weeks. I love the idea of the receipt on the fridge. I am going to do that. I love love TJ's. I don't think that expensive. I have started using coupons again because money is tight. Giant will sometimes double them.
Christine
Eating healthy is definitely more expensive. 'Bad' food is so cheap, no wonder America is getting bigger year after year! For the 6 of us that live here, I spend anywhere from $200-$300/wk.
Dont you just love the prices at Trader Joes? I bet you were able to stock up on a lot of things for $132 there! We have I guess 5 or 6 TJ's in my area (outside of DC) and I go every couple of weeks and stock up on my favorite eats from there. Their prices on things like Olive Oil, Chicken Stock & Almond Breeze cant be beat!
We spend on average $130 a week on groceries. There are two of us full time and then we have the kids every other weekend.
We are finding that eating healthier is really actually costing us less once you add in all of the actual food that we eat/ate. We hardly ever eat out now, we pack our breakfast and lunch to take to work (so no eating out there either) AND we find that we don't throw away food at the end of the week due to it spoiling (actually eat the produce...imagine that?).
I am sure that we could find ways to spend less money on groceries, but we do eat a lot of fresh produce. As for coupons, coupons are pretty much always for processed foods...so yeah, now wonder America is the fattest nation!
PS-I LOVE Spelt Bread. I nannied during the summers in college, and one of the families had two kids that were allergic to just about everything. They used Spelt Bread with Soy Butter..OMG so good!
I was just going to ask if the spelt bread tasted good, those mango pops look great!! Def gotta hit trader joe's this week!
I have been budgeting $75/Week. With extra 'fun' meals not included in the budget for say...a fun fish meal or steak dinner on the weekend vs. going out for dinner...
To stay at $75.00 I do all my shopping online & have it delivered. When I get to my 'shopping cart' and my total is over $75...time to start chopping out the un-necessary items.
How do you account for un-necessary? (Because WW Bars, High Fiber Breads & Low Cal Cheeses are in fact higher priced...but TOTALLY NECESSARY!) You got me! Mostly it is the expensive gerber baby 'snacks' that get thrown to the wayside. Sorry baby! Cheerios it is!
We usually spend about $400 to $600 for two adults each month. I do a monthly stock up from Trader Joe's, Costco and Whole Foods and then by the weekly essentials at the Farm stand or grocery store. There are also a few items we buy at Target. I do think it is expensive to eat healthy, especially if that include eating organic which we try to do.
It actually costs me less because we don't eat any more processed stuff. Veggies and fruit are cheaper at the Farmer's market. And I found a cheap organic butcher. So all in all, I spend about $50 a week for three of us.
i don't know exactly how much i spend, but i know it's a lot! i do like to buy things on sale and go from store to store when i know i can get it cheaper somewhere else, but that usually means i will end up at some grocery store at least several times a week. i am also very easily swayed by my food moods and that means extra grocery shopping as well! since it's just me, i have a hard time stocking up because it takes much longer to get through one thing.
i love all your TJ eats though! they really do have some awesome finds :)
I've never been to a trader joes. We don't have one in our whole state :(
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