This past week has been crazy!
My darling daughter gave herself a slight concussion last Tuesday banging her head against one of her LEGO storage containers. So we’ve spent the last few days with no screen time, very limited books, no playing outside, and just quiet activities in general. I’ve been surviving on Jesus and coffee, pretty much.
Allison’s doing just fine now, though! Besides complaining of a light stomach ache, she’s been her usual goofy self and desperately wanting to go outside and run around. So hopefully this will pass soon.
Grocery-wise, this weekend was amazing. I had some gift cards from Swagbucks and Fetch Rewards that I used at Sam’s Club; and when everything was said and done, I realized we looked like cheese addicts. Not only did our Sam’s run mostly consist of cheese, but so did Aldi. Cheese is life though, so I’m not too worried.
Here’s my awesome haul from the weekend:
Mr. Mac’s Grocery Outlet
Bag of 12 Belvita bars: $2.00
Bag of 12 RXBars: $4.00
Total: $6.00
Aldi
Russet potatoes, 5-pound bag: $2.49
Milk: $1.49
Romaine hearts: $1.99
Carrots: $1.29
Crackers: $1.19
Balsamic vinegar: $1.89
Greek yogurt: $2.99
Rice Krispie cereal: $1.19
2 cucumbers: $.49 each
Hummus mini cups: $2.99
Red grapes, 2.06 pounds: $2.04
Bananas, 4.3 pounds: $1.89
Strawberries: $2.19
2 cans crushed tomatoes: $.65 each
Sliced Provolone: $1.79
Olives: $.79
2 broccoli crowns: $1.49 each
Roma tomatoes: $.99
Tomato paste: $.39
Cottage cheese: $1.59
Feta cheese: $2.19
Spinach: $1.19
Rice cakes: $1.69
Pepper Jack cheese block: $1.49
Oranges, 4-pound bag: $1.99
Marshmallows: $.89
Chocolate chips: $1.29
Multi-colored peppers: $2.99
Fresh green beans, 1-pound bag: $1.69
Total: $49.85
Meijer
Crest Kids toothpaste: $2.59
Eggs: $.59, used a $.25 coupon from the mail
Green onions: $.89
Glutino honey mustard pretzels: Free with a store coupon when I spend $10.00
Three Bakers gluten free bread: $3.99
Extra gum: $2.00, used a $.45 coupon from the mail
7 bags of frozen veggies, 2-pound bags: $1.67 each. Used a $2.00 off coupon when I spend $11.00 on frozen foods.
Total: $19.05
Sam’s Club
Shredded cheddar, 5-pound bag: $11.48
Shredded mozzarella, 5-pound bag: $10.48
String cheese: $8.98
Frozen berries, 4-pound bag: $7.98
Total: FREE thanks to gift cards from Swagbucks and Fetch Rewards!
Weekly Total: $74.90
Menu
Lunch is always leftovers. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were purchased in previous weeks.
Dinner
- The Bomb Italian Sandwiches (On sandwich bread*, using turkey sausages from the freezer*), roasted green beans
- Egg Roll in a Bowl (Using shredded broccoli stalks from the freezer instead of coleslaw mix), rice*, fruit
- Grilled marinated chicken*, Lentil Salad, roasted broccoli
- Broccoli Cheese Baked Potatoes, fruit (Attempting to use cornstarch instead of flour for the cheese sauce)
- Open-faced Italian Sloppy Joes (Using ground turkey from freezer*, using leftover spaghetti sauce from the Italian sandwiches and using leftover hot dog buns from freezer*), frozen veggies
- Mexican Rice and Beans (Black beans in pantry*), roasted potatoes
- Pancakes
Breakfast
- French toast casserole from freezer*
- Oatmeal
- Carrot Pancakes
- Yogurt with frozen berries and Honey Vanilla Granola
Allison’s Lunch
- Rice cakes with peanut butter, raisins*, strawberries, string cheese, crackers
Miscellaneous
- Cucumbers, carrot sticks, and hummus for snacks
- Making Rice Crispy Treats for Allison’s Easter party
What’s on your menu this week? Share in the comments below!
Jaime is a Nutrition Coach through the ISSA and professional writer. She has 4 years experience coaching and 9 years experience in writing. She enjoys cooking easy meals, running, and learning more about food.
Jaime specializes in helping women with ADHD learn to meal plan and cook healthier meals without getting overwhelmed.
Michelle
Tuesday 16th of April 2019
Poor Allison ?. Hope she’s better now. Great shopping and a cute little helper.
Jaime
Tuesday 16th of April 2019
Thank you, she's completely better now! =) Thank goodness, we can finally go outside and play.
Robin
Monday 15th of April 2019
I love using swagbucks and I also use bing rewards for free gift cards. Bing has less places to shop and only so many points you can earn each day compared to swagbucks but they are really easy to use and only takes a few minutes each day! You should check them out.
Jaime
Tuesday 16th of April 2019
Thanks, Robin! I've heard of that before, so I need to check it out. =)
Sara
Monday 15th of April 2019
As a suggestion, I think you might have more success using gluten free all purpose flour or brown rice flour as the thickener in your cheese sauce over corn starch. I think the texture would more than likely be better with flour. I can't say with 100% certainty it will work out, but with all of my experience in gluten free cooking, I can say that is definitely the route I would go.
I always love seeing your shopping trips and now that you are gluten free as well, I am even more excited to see how you manage that on a budget! Thanks for the time you put into the posts!
As an aside, we have recently found that the Namaste Brand Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend is awesome! We bought a five pound bag of it at Costco and I think it was only $8 or $9 (I can't remember exactly), but it was an excellent price. We have bought four pound bags of Pamela's mix at Meijer for close to $15. I don't think I can even make it for as low as the costco price was and it's an excellent blend.
Jaime
Monday 15th of April 2019
Sara, you are a lifesaver!!! Thanks for telling me about Costco's flour. I'm making a gluten free carrot cake for Easter this weekend and was gonna start pricing the gluten free flours. =) I hope you can continue to comment every so often and give me tips, lol. This is all still new to me!