J.T. and I have
had a fairly busy week. We had to make a
trip to Birmingham on Tuesday. While we
were there, I really, really, really
wanted to stop by Earth Fare, “the healthy supermarket.” My brother, who lives in Birmingham, informed
me that Earth Fare was also referred to as “hippie mart.” I am a type A, plain Jane, non-hippie kind of
girl, so I am not sure how I feel about that statement!
The moment the
supermarket doors opened and I stepped through was magical. In front of me appeared local, organic fruits
and vegetables, pledging to come only as far away as 100 miles from the
store. When I glanced to the right,
there was an entire section devoted to bulk foods – flours, grains, nuts, and
dried fruits – just to name a few. I headed
immediately for the bulk foods and starting analyzing prices. I was very pleasantly surprised to find many
grains and flours at prices lower than what I had been paying back home. Quinoa was only $3.99 a pound, when I paid
$5.99 for less than a pound a week ago at Publix. My beloved oats were only $1.49 a pound and I
could go on and on. Confession time: I
spent $22. I had decided before I walked
into the store, that I would allow myself to spend $25. This money came from my personal
miscellaneous budget. Each month J.T.
and I have a little money that we can spend on whatever. I know this may be weird, but
anytime I have extra money, I always spend it on cookware or food. What did I buy at Earth Fare? Of course, everything I purchased was organic. I wanted to clear that up so I do not have to
type “organic” in front of each item.
Here is the list: Oats, Brown
Rice, Quinoa, Black beans, Millet, Fine Corn meal, Brown Rice Flour, and Peanut
Butter. After we left the bulk foods
section, we proceeded to look around the rest of the store. Prices on other items were not nearly as
inexpensive as the bulk foods section, but it was fun to venture around. J.T. especially enjoyed all the free food
samples scattered throughout the store.
I will probably plan on stopping by Earth Fare anytime I am in
Birmingham to restock pantry essentials.
If you live in a town that has an Earth Fare, I am jealous!
J.T.
and I went back to the Home Grown Alabama Farmer’s market this week. You really cannot beat the prices they have
on vegetables. I paid $1 to get three
bell peppers! (these are $2 each at Publix)
I ran into one obstacle while shopping at Publix. I thought the Cascadian Farm cereal was on
sale at $2.50 a box, meaning after coupons I would pay only $1.15 a box. When I got to the store, I realized it was
only the granola cereal. Since J.T. does
not eat granola, I had to make some quick adjustments to my list. After breaking out my phone calculator J, I realized I needed to cut $3.00 from
somewhere. Luckily I had overestimated
on a few items and I was able shave a dollar or two off in the meat and produce
sections. I spent a total of $59.52 on
groceries this week…and I didn’t even use a $5.00 off coupon!
·
Dairy
o
Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.99
o
Silk almond milk @ $3.49
§ $0.75/1
manufacturer coupon - $2.74
o
1 dozen eggs @ $4.00 (farmer’s market)
·
Grocery
o
(2) Cascadian Farm Organic Cereal @ $7.98
§ (2) $0.85/1
manufacturer coupons & (1) $1.00/2 Publix coupon - $5.28 or $2.64 each
o
(1) Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil @ $5.88
§ $1.00/1
manufacturer coupon - $4.88
o
(1) 28 oz. can Muir
Glen Organic tomatoes @ $2.39
§ $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.39
o
(1) 14.5 oz. can Muir Glen Organic Fire-Roasted Tomatoes @
$1.69
§ $1.00/1 manufacturer
coupon - $0.69
o
(1) 8 oz. can Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce - $0.89
§ $0.60/1
manufacturer coupon - $0.29
o
(1) 6 oz. can Muir Glen Organic Tomato Paste - $1.09
§ $0.60/1
manufacturer coupon - $0.49
o
Publix Ground Cumin @ $2.99
·
Meat
o
1 lb. White Oak Pastures Natural Grass Fed ground beef @
$6.29/lb.
o
Publix Greenwise Chicken drumsticks @ $2.29/lb. - $2.56
·
Frozen
o
(3) Publix Steam in
bag Vegetables @ $3.00
o
(1) Cascadian Farm
Organic Blueberries @ $3.49
§ $0.85/1
manufacturer coupon - $2.64
· Produce
o
Organic bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.10
o
2 lbs. Sweet Onions @ $0.99/lb. - $1.69
o
1 lb. Sweet Potatoes @ $1.50/lb. - $1.50 (farmer’s market)
o
2 lbs. butternut
squash @ $1.50/lb. - $3.00 (farmer’s market)
o
3 bell pepper s @ $1.00 (farmer’s market)
o
1 bunch of Lettuce @ $2.00 (farmer’s market)
Total before
coupons $68.02
Less: coupons
used (8.50)
Total with Tax $59.52
No comments:
Post a Comment