Welcome to Frugal Frog Friday: Grocery Store Edition
This upcoming week I am going to take the Frugal Frog Grocery Challenge. The rule of this challenge is to make the groceries I bought yesterday last ALL week. I have a TERRIBLE habit of going to the grocery store multiple times a week. My tendency is to go to the grocery store when I am bored or stressed out. That has been happening a LOT lately.
I went to two different places to get all of the groceries for this week: Price Rite and Wegmans. I can only get the dehydrated coconut flakes (to make coconut butter!) from Wegmans. Also, Wegmans has much better bananas and fresh fruit.
Here is my Wegmans bounty:
11 Bananas
2 packages dried coconut
2 cans of no-salt green beans
1 can no-salt chopped carrots
Unsweetened Apple Sauce
Gum (My addiction)
Pecans from the Bulk Food aisle
If you have not checked out the Bulk Food aisle at your grocery store, you are missing some serious frugal frog deals! Pecans are crazy expensive in their pre-packaged state. I saved at least 30% using the bulk bins!
From Price Rite I got LOADS of goodies:
3 GIANT sweet potatoes
3 Baking Potatoes
1 Cabbage
1 Sweet Onion
1 Zucchini squash
1 Bunch of Kale
Tomato Juice
Crushed Tomatoes
Stew Meat
1 dozen eggs
Loaf of wheat bread
Hamburger Buns
Generic Shredded Wheat
Generic Rice Krispies
Generic Frosted Flakes
(Chase will totally go through 3 boxes in a week!)
The Grand total came to....
Total = $44.43
I promise I will confess to the blog if I break the challenge!
How much do you usually spend on groceries each week? Do you love grocery shopping or hate it?
Showing posts with label Frugal Frog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frugal Frog. Show all posts
Friday, September 23, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Fall Frugality at its Finest
The Organic Apple Festival was a blast! We had never been to the Rodale Institute and were excited to learn all about their organic agricultural initiative. We were also totally excited to do anything and everything APPLE!
It was such a perfectly crisp autumn day! We looked around and then picked up some baskets to pick our own apples--so fun!
It was actually quite a hunt, because without the use of pesticides, worms had gotten to MANY of the apples.
Chase did not fully embrace the proper apple picking posture. :)
The ambiance was incredible. There was a bluegrass band playing and it made the entire experience so rich and memorable!
I felt like we had stepped back in time!
You could also pick your own herbs! How fun is that?!
Before we left, Chase decided that he could not leave without trying an Apple Cider float. He thoroughly enjoyed this autumnal treat!
We had an incredibly fun day and it definitely met our FRUGAL but FUN standards:
It was such a perfectly crisp autumn day! We looked around and then picked up some baskets to pick our own apples--so fun!
It was actually quite a hunt, because without the use of pesticides, worms had gotten to MANY of the apples.
Chase did not fully embrace the proper apple picking posture. :)
The ambiance was incredible. There was a bluegrass band playing and it made the entire experience so rich and memorable!
I felt like we had stepped back in time!
You could also pick your own herbs! How fun is that?!
Before we left, Chase decided that he could not leave without trying an Apple Cider float. He thoroughly enjoyed this autumnal treat!
We had an incredibly fun day and it definitely met our FRUGAL but FUN standards:
Parking = $1
Apples Picked = $1.50 (We picked four...Haha)
Apple Float = $2
Total Cost = $4.50
(We also got some great freebies: coupons, free organic string cheese, free organic chocolate milk, free grocery tote bag, a free temporary tattoo AND a painting/coloring picture!)
While our plans were to go to The Burgery tonight. We decided to do our own burger night at home. The temptation to eat at home, in our snuggies, and spend the evening on the couch was just too much!
Local, Free-Range Bison Burgers are SO yummy!
Eating in PJ's is the BEST. Now on to "House Hunters" and "My First Place."
What is your favorite weekend activity? Have you done anything autumnal this weekend?
Friday, September 16, 2011
Frugal Frog Friday: Take 2
Happy Frugal Frog Friday!
This week has been BANANAS. I have been working overtime every single day this week. Consequently, I am dreadfully exhausted, but the house fund is getting lots of extra $crilla this week. However, the unanticipated long hours have left me scrounging for eats at the bottom of the barrel.
Yes, I did in fact steal food from toddlers. Hey, at least it was gluten-free.
Now, onto Frugality Fun 101. This week we went into e-bay overdrive. On my last trip back home to Kentucky, I went down to the basement and went through boxes of old college stuff. It has been four years since I have seen most of this stuff, but I found some gems in the form of a brand-new harp tuner, shoes, and a jewelry box. We have already sold the harp tuner and are $24 richer. Awesome! I heart e-bay!
Chase got inspired and went through some of his stuff and sold his set of P90X DVD’s for $55. This took all of 15 minutes, we made some extra crash to put in the house fund, AND we got rid of things we were not using. If you have not caught the e-bay bug—you really should!
Now for the Frugal Frog weekend game-plan. We have been hit by autumn so our weather is divine. The plan for this weekend is to soak up fall.
Friday night plans:
Either watch a movie on Netflix or rent one from the Redbox. We will also be roasting every vegetable in the house. It will be an autumnal feast!
Source
Source
Cost = $1
Saturday:
Saturday is all about the apple.
Rodale as in:
I am SO excited! I will be sure to take MANY pictures. Even more important, admission is FREE and parking is $1. Um, sign me up!
Saturday night we are actually thinking about going out to eat. We have done SO well at saving and making extra money this week, so we want to do a little something special. Plus, we have just heard about a new-ish restaurant that sounds totally fun, economical, and paleo-friendly. It is called The Burgery. I am pretty sure we can get out of there spending no more than $25.
Saturday Activity Cost: $26
Sunday we are planning on finally taking our little brother on that fall walk we have been trying to coordinate. The weather looks AWESOME, and completely autumnal, so it should be very fun. Our hope is that we can teach him that being active in nature is even MORE fun than watching TV and playing the DS.
We may come back to our apartment and make something apple-filled to celebrate the season!
Sunday Cost: $0
Chase and I are also hoping to carve out time to read and relax on Sunday afternoon. It should be a nice, low-key day!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Weekend Update
This weekend was a total Frugal Frog victory! I realize that our morale is high because it is just the start, but I will take it!
Friday, we did just as I planned and watched "Suits."
On Saturday, we did not do any discretionary spending. We ran the most miserable race ever. (Which I actually just found out that I was 9th overall and the 3rd woman finisher...however, this was a completely ABYSMAL race. By the 15th hill, I began walk/running which is 100% abnormal for me.)
After the race it would have been SO easy to stop for brunch on the way back from the race, as we had to travel an hour there and back, but Chase was a champ! He literally fled temptation and did not eat lunch until we got home.
Saturday afternoon I did some grocery shopping at Price Rite. I adore grocery shopping. It is my happy place. I get giddy to try new things, which can be problematic on the pocketbook.
Source
Price Rite is a market that has ridiculously good prices, however the selection can be hit or miss. I got out of there with the bulk of our week's meals accounted for spending a mere $23. Um, AWESOME! I made sure to stick to my list, which is something I am not always good at doing.
Saturday night, Chase and I tag-teamed dinner. He was in charge of ambiance and I was the cook.
I think he did a pretty nice job!
As suggested by the owner of the Bison farm, I cooked the bison burgers on the George Foreman grill (a remnant of my college days). It was seriously the easiest process ever--I greased it with a bit of coconut butter and cooked each burger for 3-4 minutes. For my burger, I added some sliced onion to the top and bottom. The grilled onion tasted insane combined with the sliced avocado on top of my burger!
We also had a salad and baked sweet potato fries. And let's not forget about the non-alcoholic wine. :) I actually only had one sip and then I realized it was totally flat--boo!
This dinner was so fun, incredibly delicious, and completely frugal! It tasted so much better than anything we could have ordered at a restaurant.
Our Saturday night entertainment ended up being a lovely walk around our neighborhood. The weather was perfect and it was utterly relaxing.
Source
Today, the threat of thunderstorms prevented us from going on a nature walk with our "little brother." Instead, we went with Plan B and used a Groupon to go bowling.
For lunch, we took our little brother to Sam's.
Source
He stinking LOVES that place. (His favorite activity is to travel around the store with Chase and collect the free food samples!). The total cost of lunch was $7. Not too shabby.
Tonight, I will be diving into a bowl of delicious Paleo Pumpkin Chili (Recipe to come tomorrow!) and peruse my *Free* library loot!
Magazines, Chick-Lit, and DVD's.
Doesn't get better than that. By the way, I will never buy another magazine. The Bethlehem library seriously has every single magazine known to man!
Presently, we are watching "The Last Samauri" with Tom Cruise.
Source
Does anyone else have trouble watching Tom Cruise now? Somewhere in between divorcing Nicole Kidman, jumping on Oprah's couch, and condemning Brooke Shield's for taking anti-depressants, I began to loathe him.
What do you think of Tom Cruise? Do you love him, loathe him, or not care at all?
Friday, we did just as I planned and watched "Suits."
On Saturday, we did not do any discretionary spending. We ran the most miserable race ever. (Which I actually just found out that I was 9th overall and the 3rd woman finisher...however, this was a completely ABYSMAL race. By the 15th hill, I began walk/running which is 100% abnormal for me.)
After the race it would have been SO easy to stop for brunch on the way back from the race, as we had to travel an hour there and back, but Chase was a champ! He literally fled temptation and did not eat lunch until we got home.
Saturday afternoon I did some grocery shopping at Price Rite. I adore grocery shopping. It is my happy place. I get giddy to try new things, which can be problematic on the pocketbook.
Source
Price Rite is a market that has ridiculously good prices, however the selection can be hit or miss. I got out of there with the bulk of our week's meals accounted for spending a mere $23. Um, AWESOME! I made sure to stick to my list, which is something I am not always good at doing.
Saturday night, Chase and I tag-teamed dinner. He was in charge of ambiance and I was the cook.
I think he did a pretty nice job!
As suggested by the owner of the Bison farm, I cooked the bison burgers on the George Foreman grill (a remnant of my college days). It was seriously the easiest process ever--I greased it with a bit of coconut butter and cooked each burger for 3-4 minutes. For my burger, I added some sliced onion to the top and bottom. The grilled onion tasted insane combined with the sliced avocado on top of my burger!
We also had a salad and baked sweet potato fries. And let's not forget about the non-alcoholic wine. :) I actually only had one sip and then I realized it was totally flat--boo!
This dinner was so fun, incredibly delicious, and completely frugal! It tasted so much better than anything we could have ordered at a restaurant.
Our Saturday night entertainment ended up being a lovely walk around our neighborhood. The weather was perfect and it was utterly relaxing.
Source
Today, the threat of thunderstorms prevented us from going on a nature walk with our "little brother." Instead, we went with Plan B and used a Groupon to go bowling.
For lunch, we took our little brother to Sam's.
Source
He stinking LOVES that place. (His favorite activity is to travel around the store with Chase and collect the free food samples!). The total cost of lunch was $7. Not too shabby.
Tonight, I will be diving into a bowl of delicious Paleo Pumpkin Chili (Recipe to come tomorrow!) and peruse my *Free* library loot!
Magazines, Chick-Lit, and DVD's.
Doesn't get better than that. By the way, I will never buy another magazine. The Bethlehem library seriously has every single magazine known to man!
Presently, we are watching "The Last Samauri" with Tom Cruise.
Source
Does anyone else have trouble watching Tom Cruise now? Somewhere in between divorcing Nicole Kidman, jumping on Oprah's couch, and condemning Brooke Shield's for taking anti-depressants, I began to loathe him.
What do you think of Tom Cruise? Do you love him, loathe him, or not care at all?
Friday, September 9, 2011
First Frugal Frog Friday
HAPPY FRUGAL FROG FRIDAY!
SourceThe first work week of frugality fun is coming to an end today. Due to the fact that I have been working crazy hours this week, I haven’t even had an opportunity to spend money—score! In fact, Chase had to stop by the market to pick up some milk and cereal for himself and he came home with GENERIC brand cereal. This is a big deal because he is a bit of a cereal snob ;-) ! If you have strolled down the cereal aisle lately you know that it can be pricey! You can save $2 a box by selecting a generic brand instead. While that may seem insignificant, Chase goes through about 2 boxes of cereal a week. In a year, we will save over $400 just by buying generic cereal. Plus, he said that he cannot tell a difference—double score!
Now comes the more difficult part—the weekend. We usually eat out at least 2 times during the weekend. Typically, we will have a nice dinner out on Saturday night and go out for Brunch or a late lunch on either Saturday or Sunday. Additionally, we usually go to the movies or some type of show. We also spend time with our “little brother.” (Chase and I volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Lehigh Valley). Often we will take him to a movie or out to Brunch with us on Sunday.
So here is our frugal, yet FUN, game plan:
Friday night:
Instead of going to the movies tonight, we plan on catching up on the final three episodes of “Suits.”
(Gosh, we will miss this show! It is SO good!)
Savings: $20
Saturday:
We are both participating in a local race at 9am (I am doing the 10k and Chase will run the 5k).I am so excited to fall back in love with RUNNING!
Instead of going out for a post-race brunch, we will go home and I have promised to fix Chase ANYTHING he wants for a celebratory breakfast. (He will most liked choose non-paleo pancakes...I will abstain, he will devour).
Savings: $25
We picked up some grass-fed bison at a local farm, so I plan on grilling some burgers and making sweet potato fries. We will set the table all fancy, light some candles, and maybe break out the non-alcoholic wine we have chilling in our refrigerator. (Haha, we are SO lame! However Fre is pretty delicious!)
Savings: $50
Typically after races, I treat myself by getting a 30 minute massage at a local spa. To save some money, and have some fun, I am making a deal with Chase for a massage exchange. I am such a terrible masseuse, I am sure this will be a very memorable “date.”
Savings: $50
On Sunday, we are going to take our "little brother" on a nature walk. The trees are starting to change colors, so it should be a fun experience! We will also make Sun Tea which he will have a ball preparing. He loves to experiment in the kitchen. After our walk, we will come back to our apartment and drink iced sun tea and practice reading. He is such a smartie, but he needs more reading confidence.
Savings: $25
Instead of shopping or eating out, Sunday will be our “un-plug” day where we watch as little TV as possible, and use our computers minimally.
We might go out to coffee (actually we are both tea drinkers, but "going to tea" sounds a bit too fancy-schmancy) and people watch. We have a blast people watching together and making stories about the families and individuals we see.
I plan on trying my hand at some crockpot paleo chili, so we will have a chili supper on Sunday night. Chase and I are going to have a “reading” night where we jump in bed with a bunch of magazines, and books.
Savings: $40
TOTAL WEEKEND SAVINGS: $210
Now this is the "Game Plan" but life does not always go as scheduled. I will be sure to report back on Sunday to let you know how it goes!
What are your plans for the weekend? Are you planning to save some $$$ this weekend?
Now this is the "Game Plan" but life does not always go as scheduled. I will be sure to report back on Sunday to let you know how it goes!
What are your plans for the weekend? Are you planning to save some $$$ this weekend?
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