Mainly shop at Trader Joe's, need to spend less on groceries - Page 2

[tea_time]

I third Bountiful Baskets.  I've been splitting a basket with a friend for over a year now and it's been great!  We split the organic for $25 (we each have only 3 in our families) and I often have to give things away b/c I can't eat enough.  It is random and sometimes there are things I don't want/like but I just pass them on. 

[Momsteader]

You are welcome!  Everyone I have recommended it to really like it. I haven't had to give anything away yet (just 3 of us also, but two are 'teen' eaters LOL) and if it's something I've not used....I just look up how to use it and try out a new recipe. Sometimes the BB group page on FB lists recipes for things in the baskets too.

Also each week they have additional things you can add in. We've done 9  lbs of organic mangoes (about 12 of them) for $7.50 and 8 lbs of strawberries for $10. I also hear their tortillas are great, and I saw the bag last week and it was huge!

[Nicole730]

We do a lot of smoothies here too.  What about buying a frozen juice concentrate (I know TJ's doesn't have these cheap) and then adding a small spoonful to the smoothie?  Might make it last longer.  Although you probably won't be able to find pure peach juice concentrate.  We have a store here that sells reduced produce all the time and we're able to cut up and freeze all sorts of fruit for our smoothies.  For more veggies, you can add carrots, spinach, and cabbage to smoothies.  Do you use the same fruit every time?  We don't, just base our smoothies on what fruits available/on sale.

[goldingoddess]

If you have a Costco membership I would suggest getting your frozen fruit for smoothies there.  I'm not sure if it is the same in AZ, but where we are in CA we can get frozen organic berry mix, organic frozen peaches and frozen mango (not organic I don't think, but mango's don't have high pesticide residue) for much less than conventional at TJs.  We don't buy it, but I'm sure organic milk is less at costco than at TJs.  We also get our quinoa, organic rice and organic pasta at costco, and it comes out to the same as conventional at TJs.  

TJs is the is the closest 'health' food store to us so we do a lot of shopping there, but if I'm not careful I spend way too much on goodies, so I try to limit it to the same few items: tofu, bread, pitas, tortillas, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, frozen yogurt, tomato sauce, tea, and seaweed snacks.  I NEVER buy fresh produce from them.

[Dar]

Fry's is a lot cheaper than Trader Joe's, IME... but when you switch stores I think it always takes a while to figure out what you're getting, and sometimes you have to change it up a bit. I'd also look for an international supermarket or Asian supermarket, because they're often cheaper for things like spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, and grains. Also Grocery Outlet sometimes has good stuff, even organics at times - it's nothing you can count on but worth a look every once in a while, or it used to be anyway. Sprouts is best for some bulk stuff, especially on sale, and Costco rocks for other stuff, like yogurt or frozen fruit or some fresh veggies and fruit.

I'd do a rotation, and try to hit each place once a month. Even though Sprouts is far from you, you can maybe combine it with another trip and stock up. 

[SundayCrepes]

I didn't realize Costco sells frozen fruit. I'll have to check them out. (We stick with frozen magoes for our smoothies because I like them best and they are cheapest.} I'll also look their for quinoa and pasta.

I typically avoid Costco, but I do buy cat food there (we are supporting a cat colony. So far I've trapped, neutered, and released 14 cats.) We also buy the grated parmesan. I normally don't look at their other stuff because it's in such bulk, but I will definitely look next time we go.

I either buy spices from the bulk section of our food co-op or in the plastic bags at any grocery store. They're usually in the "hispanic" section, though at Sunflower they're in the produce section. A bag is less than $1. We use a lot of curry, otherwise most of the spices last me forever.

As long as I'm mentioning our co-op, I buy our laundry detergent there. I get Oasis brand because it breaks down into plant food. (We use the laundry grey water on our outdoor plants.) Anyone know a good online source for Oasis cheap? I order it via special order so I get a 10% discount, so it's around $22 a gallon (you only use 1/8 cup per load and it's really good, gentle stuff.) Amazon sells it for about double that price. On the other hand, I don't mind supporting local and since I can't afford the co-op otherwise I don't mind buying it there.

[kalisis]

Thing is, if you want to eat cheap, you have to not be picky.  That's what I've found out - we eat what's on sale and make do with what's in season.  It's not always stuff we want, but it's within our budget.

There are some good cookbooks out there - the one that comes to mind is:  "More with Less Cookbook" since I don't see a lot of grains on your meal plan.  We eat rice a couple times/week - it's cheap, versatile and filling. 

I don't really find TJ's to be a good bargain.  Their produce is more expensive than the local market - I shop at the one all the migrant farm workers frequent.  It's not pretty inside, it's dim and sort of dingy, but they have great produce for great prices and the turnover is fast, so it's always fresh.  I am able to splurge on berries every now and then there because I'm saving on other things - I can't even TOUCH the berries at TJ's, they're so expensive.

Also, pasta.  If I shop the sales, I can get it 3/$1 at the regular grocery, where one lb there is more than double that.  I do buy quinoa there because I like their brand and I buy their lentil soup for nights I don't feel good or need something fast (I'm a single mom).  The kids will eat it spooned over any kind of grain - quinoa, bulgur, couscous. 

We never buy any fake meat substitutes - morningstar does not come into our house.  It's far too expensive.  Finding a good bean burger recipe your family likes is imperative for saving money.  I can whip up a batch of burgers in no time and either potato salad (cheap!) or some fries go along with it (also cheap if you make your own).

This is a good rundown of cheap, healthy foods - incorporating them into your diet on a regular basis, along with some grains, will save a lot.  http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2010/04/10-cheapest-healthiest-foods-money-can.html

[SundayCrepes]

MDC won't let me respond underneath the quote.

Great website. I'll have to look at that more.

I guess our budget isn't so tight that I have to totally give up on being picky. My husband mentioned tortellini with beans several times today. I don't know if I'll make that because it's an expensive dish (though really yummy,) but that doesn't mean we can't have almond butter sandwiches for homeschool park day. (I detest peanut butter and almond butter is only $5 a jar at TJ.)

We don't eat much fake meat stuff. I buy morning star buffalo wings to give some oomph to fried rice (we eat that about once a month.) As a special treat my son can have some of their fake bacon. I might buy a box of that every couple of months.

I wish we had a good place for produce other than the grocery stores. I only know of one Chinese market in our part of town. It is really gross and disgusting. It smells awful (they could at least mop the floor.) And the customers are pretty scary. I think all the homeless drunks hang out there. Not someplace I want to take my kids. If anyone lives in Tucson and knows a good place to buy produce, I'd love to hear about it. We live near the university. I've tried the farmers' markets a few times and they never have much of anything. Historically they mainly sold craft stuff. The one near me is now selling more produce, but I wasn't impressed by the selection. Of course, it might help my mental attitude if I tried going at this time of year. The last time I went was the middle of summer. Walking through a dirt parking lot on 105 degree days is not my idea of pleasure shopping. 

Originally Posted by kalisis 

Thing is, if you want to eat cheap, you have to not be picky.  

This is a good rundown of cheap, healthy foods - incorporating them into your diet on a regular basis, along with some grains, will save a lot. http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2010/04/10-cheapest-healthiest-foods-money-can.html

[MCsMom]

I'd suggest ditching the boxed cereal for breakfast.  Get some steal cut oats in bulk, soak/boil them the night before and then let them sit overnight in the ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part oats.  In the morning, heat up add a little milk, water or fruit juice if you wanted it 'creamer'.  Hot, quick, healthy, and much cheaper breakfast food.

[syn_ack89]

You don't buy veggies for snacking because you say you don't like them. However, your kid might (especially with hummus). You might think about that because veggies are typically much cheaper. Plus like a PP said, if you offer veggies the kids may not be hungry vs getting more fruit (PP offered veg instead of fruit and child is suddenly not hungry).

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by syn_ack89 

 veggies are typically much cheaper.

Really? That's interesting. I guess I never compared snack veggies to fruits. I grew up in a household where the only vegetables we ate (besides potatoes) were canned corn, canned, green beans, and canned peas. YUCK!!!! For a special treat, my mom would buy a can of mushrooms and saute it in margarine for the two of us. (Okay, we did eat corn on the cob, tomatoes and iceberg lettuce.) So now I cook with broccoli, artichokes, eggplant, cauliflower, spinach, etc., etc., but the thought of snacking on veggies is totally foreign to me. What would everyone suggest for veggie snacks?

[syn_ack89]

We eat mini-carrots, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, celery and cucumbers. If you buy the prepared, ready to snack versions they are about the same as fruit. If you buy the veg and prepare them yourself they are cheaper (where I am). I usually have fruit as part of morning snack and veg in the afternoon.

I eat all of them with hummus. I eat celery with cream cheese. I salt slices of cucumber. Carrots I usually eat plain. You can also use other types of dip.

[Polliwog]

I don't think that your choices are that bad. Your family must drink a TON of milk if you'd save about $35 by switching to conventional. Can you cut back on a lot of milk?

My kids are HUGE fruit and veggie snackers. I've found TJs to be cheaper than my local grocery store.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by Polliwog 

I don't think that your choices are that bad. Your family must drink a TON of milk if you'd save about $35 by switching to conventional. Can you cut back on a lot of milk?

My kids are HUGE fruit and veggie snackers. I've found TJs to be cheaper than my local grocery store.

We go through 3 gallons of milk a week. With our morning smoothie we use about 2 cups each day. I'm not sure where the rest of the milk goes...evaporation, I guess. lol.

Irony is, when I was single I never bought milk unless a recipe called for it. Then I'd just buy a small container. Yeah, TJ here is cheaper than other stores for the type of foods we eat.

[bodhitree]

Originally Posted by SundayCrepes 

I didn't realize Costco sells frozen fruit. I'll have to check them out. (We stick with frozen magoes for our smoothies because I like them best and they are cheapest.} I'll also look their for quinoa and pasta.

I typically avoid Costco, but I do buy cat food there (we are supporting a cat colony. So far I've trapped, neutered, and released 14 cats.) We also buy the grated parmesan. I normally don't look at their other stuff because it's in such bulk, but I will definitely look next time we go.

You could save a lot of money by buying more at Costco. Frozen fruit, milk (our Costco does carry organic milk), mushrooms, broccoli florets, red bell peppers, whole wheat pasta, almond butter, multi-grain bread, quinoa, potatoes, and frozen corn are all things that I buy at Costco. We don't have Trader Joe's here, but all of those things are cheaper at Costco than I can find them anywhere else in town.

I second the suggestions from PPs to make cheaper meals and to make more of your own foods from scratch. I can't afford to buy stuffed pastas--so we just have normal, much cheaper pastas. I can make my own veggie burgers for about a quarter of the price of buying them premade. And like PPs, we have oatmeal with fruit in it for breakfast because we can't afford to have smoothies all the time.

Honestly, if you want to save money you're going to have to change either where you shop, what you eat, or both. You can't save money on your groceries without changing one of those things. Of course, you have to decide what your priorities are and whether it's worth it to you to change the way you do things in order to save some money.

[Dar]

Originally Posted by SundayCrepes 
 but that doesn't mean we can't have almond butter sandwiches for homeschool park day. (I detest peanut butter and almond butter is only $5 a jar at TJ.)

But it's much cheaper at Costco, if you're willing to buy two biggish jars. I think exploring Costco more might save you a lot right there - I know it's huge and overwhelming, but if you could take a couple of hours and go there alone and just check everything out, slowly, and take notes, then you could come back and shop pretty quickly the next time.

Also, since you're in Tucson, Grantstone Market is where we used to get great prices on veggies and fresh tofu, and it would be close to you, and the Santa Cruz River Farmer's Market always struck me as cheaper than a lot of the others. It's on the other side of the freeway, but maybe you could combine it with a trip to the Desert Museum or something. I know gas prices are a consideration, but the way I look at it is that if I drive an extra 10 miles round trip that's maybe a buck or two in gas, so if I can stock up and get deals that save me ten or twenty dollars it's worth it..

I'm not sure if Tucson Cooperative Warehouse is still around, but we used to do bulk orders from them, too...

[crunchy_mommy]

As far as veggie snacks, we eat carrots, cucumbers, red or yellow pepper slices, tomatoes, frozen peas & corn, etc. Our go-to dips are hummus & peanut butter, but sometimes we make other kinds of dips. We also do a lot of "mini meal" snacks that are mainly veggies... so we might have some left-over stir fry, for ex., rather than a piece of fruit. We really don't eat much fruit... I mean it tastes good & all, but my body just can't handle that much sugar (I'm hypoglycemic). When we do have fruit, we often have nut butter or something with it, so the 3 of us might share one or two apples and a scoop of almond butter, or banana slices with PB, so one piece of fruit can go a little further. I would imagine daily smoothies would get costly as well... we do smoothies more as a treat, and we make them pretty cheap (water, frozen fruit or fresh-about-to-go-bad fruit, sometimes a handful of nuts or nut butter... It sounds like all the fruit & milk is really adding up for you guys.

Originally Posted by bodhitree 

Honestly, if you want to save money you're going to have to change either where you shop, what you eat, or both. You can't save money on your groceries without changing one of those things. Of course, you have to decide what your priorities are and whether it's worth it to you to change the way you do things in order to save some money.

I agree with this. It sounds like you are not in such of a financial crunch that it's really *worth it* to you to make many of the changes suggested. That's totally OK, nothing wrong with just checking out your options and deciding to continue what you're currently doing! I do think you have a lot of grocery spending you COULD cut back if you need to, but maybe this just isn't the best area for you to cut back in. Maybe consider whether other parts of your budget (entertainment, gifts, clothes, whatever) might be easier for you to cut back on if you still want to free up some money.

[SundayCrepes]

Yeah, I need to explore Costco. I don't know if I can get away without taking kids (2 and 5.) But the kids love to go in the walk in refrigerator and try the samples, so if I take them through the fridge often enough they should be entertained.

I live very close to the GrantStone market. I don't feel safe there so I don't go, especially not with my kids.

I have been to the Santa Cruz farmer's market. I should try it again in the winter (versus the summer.)

The Tucson Cooperative Warehouse closed awhile back. I used to buy a bunch of stuff there.

Lots of people have mentioned oatmeal. I ate it a lot in the early stages of adoptive nursing (but life was so overwhelming then I bought the premade frozen stuff from TJ.) I should explore the world of oatmeal more.

[karne]

There are certain items from TJ's that I love, and are very convenient for me (marinara sauce in a can, some of the jarred sauces, etc), so I still shop there.  I like the frozen fish for fish stews, too.  But, frankly, for my frozen veggies and fruit, I have been shopping walmart and BJ's.  I hate that I shop there, but I need to keep my budget in mind.  My dd has 1-2 smoothies per day, and this is actually where she gets most of her fruit intake, so I tend to buy a lot of frozen fruit.  I can get bags of mango chunks, wild blueberries, strawberries, for a pretty decent price.  I too, do not want to cut out the fruit.  BJ's has good prices on avacados, which my very picky ds loves, so I buy them by the bag.

Do you ever roast veggies and serve over brown rice?  My kids won't necessarily snack on veggies, and I personally don't care for raw veggies myself.  But somehow roasting changes everything.  I cook up brown rice just to keep on hand in the fridge, and a quick easy dinner is brown rice, roasted veggies, and a grating of cheese-sometimes some beans thrown in.  We also have chickens, so I do a lot with eggs--again, brown rice with a scrambled egg, or over-easy egg served on top, with a little tamari is a good meal for us.  Fruit on the side.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by karne 

There are certain items from TJ's that I love, and are very convenient for me (marinara sauce in a can, some of the jarred sauces, etc), so I still shop there.  I like the frozen fish for fish stews, too.  But, frankly, for my frozen veggies and fruit, I have been shopping walmart and BJ's.  I hate that I shop there, but I need to keep my budget in mind.  My dd has 1-2 smoothies per day, and this is actually where she gets most of her fruit intake, so I tend to buy a lot of frozen fruit.  I can get bags of mango chunks, wild blueberries, strawberries, for a pretty decent price.  I too, do not want to cut out the fruit.  BJ's has good prices on avacados, which my very picky ds loves, so I buy them by the bag.

Do you ever roast veggies and serve over brown rice?  My kids won't necessarily snack on veggies, and I personally don't care for raw veggies myself.  But somehow roasting changes everything.  I cook up brown rice just to keep on hand in the fridge, and a quick easy dinner is brown rice, roasted veggies, and a grating of cheese-sometimes some beans thrown in.  We also have chickens, so I do a lot with eggs--again, brown rice with a scrambled egg, or over-easy egg served on top, with a little tamari is a good meal for us.  Fruit on the side.

We don't have BJs. I avoid Walmart. When I've made roasted veggies (and they were good,) my kids wouldn't eat them. Neither would my husband.

As my husband and I have been having this discussion, he has suggested rice with gravy. We already eat mashed potatoes and gravy with over easy eggs. Not sure what I would serve with rice and gravy to differentiate it from the other dish (I don't want another egg and gravy dish.)