Sunday, January 31, 2010

Monthly Food Purchase Update #1 of 12...

Okay...as promised... here's the good ... the bad... and the ugly...

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One thing to note: I LOVE double coupons...Per store rules... "a limit of 3 double coupons can only be used in 1 transaction"... I use 3 coupons... put the stuff in my car... and walk back in and use another 3... yada yada yada... I just didn't want you to think that I go to the grocery store every stinkin day of my life :)... it's more like twice a week....okay...maybe three... (I'm working on that)

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Enough Laundry Detergent to wash 192 loads $21.66

FYI: I'm looking forward to growing my own soap this summer...Mr. H sent me some soapwort seeds...and with a bit of luck I'll be bottling my own laundry detergent soon.


Craisins $5.98 (Yes, I had coupons)


8 Avocados


$4 ... on sale...


I cannot NOT buy these Nut Clusters at .50 cents a bag...
(I won't eat them... but the handsome husband will)


Yep, $5.18 for the stupid nut clusters and cushy t.p.



Okay... So YES... everything in this photo is a processed food... with the exception of the toilet paper... and those are turkey hot dogs by the way... still horrible... but at least they are turkey...


BUT... and this is a GIANT but.... I only spent $4.54 on the above items... because I had a whole purse full of double coupons.... I simply cannot pass up *free/almost free* food.... even if it is processed. With the double coupons all 4 packs of the yogurts were free, the cocoa puffs were .39cents for 3 boxes, free nut clusters and free crackers, free v-8... well, you get the idea...


Okay, I needed parchment paper...
garlic (I didn't grow enough last year) curry (in the bulk food section of course), cheddar, and fancy smancy chips (which I had coupons for)


All that was $14.42... just in case you didn't see it circled...


Okay... now here's the chicken.... remember when I said I wanted to eat only non processed happy healthy meat (well up until the part where they get butchered)... remember that? Well have you seen the price of an organic chicken in the meat section? It's like $15... holy crap... so I sorta did an in between thing here... I didn't buy the evil Tyson hormone loaded miserable chicken... maybe next time I'll be able to suck it up and pay for the organic free range chicken.


I bought from this company instead... on sale... note to self: think about raising my own meat birds... and most importantly ...where can I hide them (from my husband) until harvest time?


3 whole chickens on sale for $9.89


Okay... so now we have the stuff I bought at Costco... and if you're asking yourself: Mavis... I had no idea you drank Guinness... I DON'T... that would be for my Irish husband... because apparently it's never to early to start celebrating St. Patrick's Day...


Basically, Costco is Evil...


I picked up 12 yogurts and a tub of salad dressing for the low low price of .50cents...total...


See... look at that! I LOVE DOUBLE COUPONS!


I spent $1.17 on (4) 2liter bottles of 7-up...
I had a double coupon and couldn't resist...


Now if you are talking to your computer screen and saying: Wow Mavis... what happened to "jumping off the processed food chain?" This is all processed food... Well, you are absolutely right... (I have no response... I just wanted to let you know I can hear you talking to your computer screen).


Deodorant was on sale for .99cents woohoo...


4 deodorants, orange juice and cough drops (I LOVE cough drops) $6.44


Double coupons again...


Look... I only paid a quarter!

Ohhh... buy 1 get 1 free on cinnamon toothpaste...


$6.52 for 6 tubes of toothpaste & 4 toothbrushes...
I should turn pro!


Fruit for the pancake breakfast... and crappy lettuce and crappy rolls because the girl who thinks shes a bird threw them in the cart...


I need to stay away from Costco...


Bananas, butter, baking powder, muffin cups and apples for the pancake breakfast


I wonder why there are no coupons for fruits & vegetables?



We have a Milk Man who delivers 2 gallons of milk a week... And even though it's more expensive than the grocery store (almost double) $41.60 a month...
I'd like to think that it helps me save money in the long run by not having to "run to the store for milk" all the time (ha ha ha)...and I like that it's from a local dairy...with cows I've actually seen (driven past) before... and that I know where the milk is coming from... unlike the big giant milk corporations where you have tens of thousands of gallons of cows milk being shipped into some giant mysterious vat and being bottled up and shipped all over the USA...

I did a very bad thing here... in a moment of weakness... I bought 5 boxes of cake mix. liners & 1 frosting because I was too lazy to whip up 5 batches of cupcakes from scratch... Yep... I took the easy way out. Shame on me.


See that $10.23 ...down the drain...

2 newspapers & 2lbs of cheddar cheese
(Had I of known of my impending windfall of free cheese I would have not bought it)


$6.99...

Valentines Day is just around the corner...
personally, I think it's a dumb holiday...
but the candy sure is pretty...

Now you tell me...what intelligent person would go out and spend $4 on a paper card (that will end up in the trash) or worse yet... CUT FLOWERS...that die... and cost bookoo bucks? Luckily I have the handsome husband trained... I receive No card... and No cut flowers...and I like it that way... Personally, I would find a 25lb bag of pinto beans more romantic than a card, flowers or candy...
but I'm a little soft in the head...


Luckily my Mom always gives me 2 See's Candy gift cards at Christmas...
It works out great... because each year the girl who thinks shes a bird gets to pick out a bunch of free candy to give away to her friends... It's a sweet deal :)
The gift card total was $32.20...
So I only had to pay $ 2.25 for all that loot...

*free salad dressing, *free yogurt and 2 lbs of cheese


For $3.96... not bad...
(again...had I known I'd be eating cheese with every meal for a month... I would have not bought yet another block of cheese)


Corn flakes were .34 cents each, giant hershey bar .29 cents, conditioner $1.08 and another 2lbs of cheddar cheese for $3.99... ARE YOU KIDDING ME? More Cheese?

All for $6.03

I had read about Ghee and thought I would give it a try...
and at $6.59 for 7oz... I was not impressed... to me it tasted like melted butter that had been place in a jar and left to sit in the frig... I tried to like it... I really did... but with it's steep price tag I was not impressed. The honey however... was well worth it's $13.50 a quart price tag. I usually buy honey at the farmers market from a lady who keeps bee's in town... but there is no farmer's market in January...so I had to pick it up (the same honey) at the local health food store.



$20.09... ouch...



Brocolli $1.12, Cauliflower $2.43, black beans $.95 Bananas $1.39 and 2 packs of cough drops @ $.50 cents each...See... not only do I have an unhealthy obbsession with prom dresses... I have an unhealthy obsession with cough drops... they are my drug of choice... On a good day I pop about 3-4... on a bad day... maybe a 1/2 a bag...



Do you see what I see? If I reuse my bags... I get a 5 cent credit at the grocery store... I'll have to remember that one... I wonder how much money I can save in an entire year by reusing bags...


Free candles...yipee! Look for these in an upcoming gift basket!


2lbs of butter and cantaloupe $5.19


3lb Organic Rice $7.39


$32.44 (with coupons & rebates) of corn syrup crap...
I posted about this purchase here.


$6.99 for another boatload of crap...


.76cents...

.70 cents...

$7.60 for 15 bags of cheese and 6lbs of butter...

F R E E... plus I made .12 cents profit on this deal...

$4.34
This deal for coffee came just in time... The handsome husband had been using the "free samples" I swiped from a hotel back in November... When I asked him how the coffee tasted he said "It tastes cheap" Then I told him I only paid $1.50 a can for it... then he quickly decided "It's fine... I can drink it"
(I think coupon fever might be catching on)

The problem with buying to much cereal for ultra cheap...
is that you have to buy more milk... $8.99 for (3) 1/2 gallons at Costco...


I'm beginning to come to the rationalization that just because you have a coupon...
does not mean you have to USE IT....

Normally I buy the Handsome Husband real half & half for his coffee...
but when partially hydrogenated soybean oil is FREE (coffee creamer) it's hard not to put it in your cart! .65 cents for tissues and creamer...


Finally... something healthy...

AND it was on sale... 15lbs. of oatmeal...$5.00

$1.66

5lbs of clemintines (with a coupon) $2.49, 6 red peppers $3 and a loaf of bread
from Panera (gift card)

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This "self analyzing your food purchases" thing was interesting...
Had I not taken pictures of all the crap I bought... I would of never guessed that I brought all this processed food into our house...

On a scale of 1 to 10...
10 being eating twigs and berries
1 being eating 100% processed food...

I think maybe I scored a 2+... which is okay...
because that only means there is a HUGE room for improvment.

Although I was saving money on what I had bought... after seeing the photo's all talleyed up at the end of the month, I came to the conclusion that this was not the direction I wanted to be heading in... The whole point of this little experiment was/is to be buying less processed foods... more organic...more "whole (one ingredient) foods"...so I can learn to cook "real food" and to not be snacking/heating something up from a can... or a box... and also (and this is the BIG ONE) to spend less money each month doing so.

I'm looking forward to continuing this project for the rest of the year. I wonder how our eating habits will change over the course of the next 11 months...

So... what would you score my January Food Shopping on a scale of 1 to 10?

Any idea's/suggestions for improvement...?

9 comments:

  1. C'mon back on the wagon, Mavis:-). It is amazing what all a person can buy with coupons and how much they can save. Those food companies are smart. They lure us in with coupons and get us hooked on their products (all the high fructose corn syrup helps). But we're all smarter than they, right? Giddy-up horses (the horses pulling our wagon of course):-).

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  2. Holy stinkin' cow! (to borrow my favorite phrase of yours...) Well - you kept it under $400 but like Thy Hand said...you've saved money, but on...what? Can you use your double coupons on things like frozen or canned fruits and veggies...?

    A few quick "DIY" tips: You eat a lot of yogurt - have you tried making your own with that good milk? Try the Duggar's recipe for homemade liquid laundry detergent. Works great and is super cheap. Oh yeah, and Ghee is just clarified butter - you can make that yourself, too.

    If you have the space to raise your own meat chickens or can team up with someone who does - GO FOR IT! We love raising chickens for friends b/c they come to help on butchering day and it's a party!

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  3. I love your honesty. I bet I would also be shocked at all the processed stuff I buy if I took the time to document it. I tend to point out the 50 pound bag of oats and ignore the box of crackers.

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  4. Think of this as your own 12 step program..12 months 12 steps. Step #1 admit you have a problem. You point out the dilemma we all face when trying to move towards a healthier lifestyle/food choices and stay within our budgets. I love that you are chronicaling as it is helping me become more aware of my purchases too. This month I took your challenge and kept track of all our grocery purchases. Let's just say "very eye opening" Keep it up, Robin

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  5. What a great job on keeping it under $400. I wish that I had the avocados and rice...even we splurge on them once and awhile.:) It will be very interesting to watch this experiment and your food habits develop through 2010.

    My only advice is to keep heading in the right direction. It is so very challenging in today's world but perseverance will pay off in the end. Jumping off the processed food chain is not easy but I have a feeling you will make that jump and than some. Like Mrs. Mac said, think of food as health. Unfortunately the healthy stuff is the most expensive unless you grow your own.

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  6. Thyhand... where are the coupons for fruit and vegetables? More importantly... how many days til spring? Then I won't HAVE TIME to clip coupons... I'll be too busy growing food.

    Stephanie...I have thought about trying to make my own yogurt...maybe now would be a good time to start :) And technically I DO have the room the raise meat birds... but I'd have to hide them until harvest... the handsome husband has said I could buy 4 more birds...BUT THAT'S IT!... maybe I need to look into some sort of camouflage netting to shield the birds from the HH and the neighbors...

    JJ... honesty is more fun... who wants to read about people who have it all together?

    Anonymous/Robin...I agree... How about for February (ie: Step 2) I agree to stop clipping coupons (for junk food)... but after Feb8th... because the word on the street is next Sunday's coupon inserts will be the "biggest savings of the year"...

    Mrs. Mac...You are absolutely right... I need to ask myself (starting Feb 8th) "Is this Healthy"... actually I probably need to write it down on sticky notes and place them throughout the house... and on my purse... and to my forehead as well.

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  7. Mr.H...You are always so stinkin positive I can hardly stand it...(that's a compliment). You know what I need? I need a greenhouse... Then I would be too busy to clip coupons in January because I'd be growing salad...

    You cannot start if you don't begin... (cheesy but true) So Feb. 8th... I'm onto step #2

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  8. OH. WOW. What a post!! I cannot imagine taking photos of all the food I bring into the house, but it surely would be an EYE opener! But, it really is more fun to watch you do the photo documentary ~ again ~ WOW!

    I LOVE avocados too ~ they are super yummy in a sandwich with cream cheese, sprouts and cucumber...and sprinkle with a little sea salt...SOOO good! :)

    Have a wonderful evening!
    Camille

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  9. Do you think this post is long enough? I got lost twice trying to find the comment section.:)

    So, I planted a few soapwort seeds the other day and put them in the refrigerator to get a couple-three weeks of cold stratification as that helps with germination. I happened to look down and see them in the crisper drawer today and thought HOLY CRUMB! What a dunderhead I am, I forgot to mention to Mavis that the seeds germinate much better if they have been stratified...oops. So, if you have already seeded yours and they don't germinate very well that is why. I will send you more if that is the case...just thought I would let you know.

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I LOVE comments BUT if you know who we are...due to the fact that we are currently enrolled in the international witness relocation program because of a moon shining incident in Dingle, Ireland involving 3 Mutton, a pair of red shoes and a road flare .... please do not reveal our personal information.... You know.... like names, places, or our favorite brand of toilet paper :) Hey, thanks!