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$95 Groceries Purchased + Weekly Menu Plan for 8

Brigette’s $91 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

$95 Groceries Purchased + Weekly Menu Plan for 8

Want to see what we bought for this week’s $70 grocery budget? I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories. See all posts on my $70 Grocery Budget here.

We Were a Family of 8 (+ baby!) This Week!

We had a very unexpected, but blessed and stretching week this week! I mentioned last weekend that we took in three kids for a temporary foster care placement (ages 13, 11, and 3). They ended up staying the entire week instead of just the weekend since they are still working to find permanent placement for them (and we didn’t want them to be sleeping in the DCS office this week — something that often happens in these cases, sadly.)

It was interesting to go from 3 kids and one on the way to having a 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, and 3 year old + baby on the way. We had to re-remember how to do the whole car seat thing (which we quickly discovered we were very rusty in!) and shopping with a three-year-old! 🙂

We’ve had so many special moments and made so many fun memories and I’m grateful for the opportunity for us to pour into these sweet kids! We also bought quite a few more groceries than normal since I wanted to make sure to have plenty of their favorite foods and also because 13-year-old boys who are 6 feet tall eat a lot! 😉

(By the way, this week reminded me of how grateful I am that I have such a great stockpile of all sorts of things on hand. It definitely helped allow us to have lots of different meal and snack options without having to keep running to the store or spending a bunch of extra $$ on full-priced groceries!)

Here were the groceries we bought this week…

Kroger Shopping Trip #1:

2 Barilla microwave meals — marked down to $0.79 each
1 dozen eggs — marked down to $0.49
2 Ore-ida Mashed Potatoes — marked down to $0.39 each
3 St. Ives Sheet Masks — marked down to $0.89 each
2 dozen cage-free eggs — marked down to $1.29 each
Garlic Bread — marked down to $1.89
2 cartons Minute Maid Peach Punch — marked down to $0.89 each
Stoneyfield Yogurt — marked down to $0.99
Green Grapes — $3.36
Red Grapes — $4.58
Lettuce — $1.79
7 Simple Truth Yogurts — marked down to $0.29 each
2 cartons of raspberries — $1.25 each
4 bags of apples — marked down to $0.99 each
1 bag of avocados — marked down to $0.99
1 bag of potatoes — $1.99
2% milk — $2.59
Whole milk — $2.99
2 Stayfree pads — $1.99 each when you buy 5 participating items, used $3/2 Kroger digital coupon = $0.49 each
2 Colgate toothpaste — $1.99 each when you buy 5 participating items, used $4/2 Kroger digital coupon = free after coupon
Simple Truth Tortilla Chips — $0.99 when you buy 5 participating items
Total with tax: $44.90

There was this HUGE section of dairy markdowns at the store one of the days I went this week! I wished I had more refrigerator space because I would have bought more!

Kroger Shopping Trip #2:

3 boxes of Kroger cereal — $1.49 each
2 boxes of Coconut Cheerios — marked down to $0.79 each
4 Stoneyfield yogurts — marked down to $0.29 each
Kroger rolls — marked down to $1.09
4 6-packs of Danimals drinkable yogurts — marked down to $0.49 each
2 2-packs of Oui yogurts — marked down to $1.09 each
4 bags Kroger potatoes — marked down to $1.49 each
2 Simple Truth yogurts — marked down to $0.29 each
1 can of carrots — marked down to $0.29
5 bags of Birdseye frozen veggies — $1 each when you buy 5 participating items
Total with tax: $33.33

Kroger Shopping Trip #3:

I wasn’t planning to go to Kroger a third time, but when I saw their deal on cheese over the weekend, I knew I had to run by there again!

5 packages of Kroger cheese — $1.29 each with weekend deal
1 gallon of water — $0.89
2 bottles of apple juice — marked down to $0.89 each
1 bag of onions — marked down to $0.99
5 boxes of Jolly Time popcorn — $0.99 each when you buy 5 participating items (only 3 are shown because Kathrynne took two boxes to school for a party)
1 loaf French bread — marked down to $0.99 each
Total with tax: $17.27

This Week’s Dinners:

Monday: Ritzy Chicken and Peas (the three kids we’re taking care of were with their worker this evening and we just had a crazy simple dinner because we had three different places to be this evening!)

Tuesday: Homemade Rotisserie Chicken in the Crockpot, Mashed Potatoes, Peas, Grapes, Garlic Bread.

Wednesday: Barbecued Meatballs, Cinnamon Apples in the Instant Pot, Roasted Broccoli, Mashed Potatoes, Rolls

Thursday: Dinner provided by Brown Bag (My friend coordinated with them to have them make dinner for us — something that they offer free of charge to foster families! How kind and amazing is that??)

Friday: Salad, Grapes, Ritzy Chicken Casserole, Leftover Corn & Peas, Leftover Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Bread

Saturday: Dinner out

Plan for Sunday: Steak, Roasted Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli, Grapes, Leftover Garlic Bread

Brigette’s $91 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

My older sister, Brigette, shares her shopping trips and menu plans every week! You can go HERE to see all of her weekly menu plans and you can go HERE to read all about her family!

Aldi

1 gallon Whole Milk – $0.97

1 gallon 1% Milk – $0.97

1/2 gallon Unsweetened Almond Milk – $1.65

1/2 gallon Orange Juice -$1.64

1 can Whipped Topping – $2.65

1 2-oz bottle Vanilla – $2.65

1 24-oz jar Honey – $3.79

1 32-oz carton Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt – $3.45

5 single-serving Greek Yogurts – $2.95

1 pkg String Cheese – $1.95

1 8-oz pg Sliced Cheese – $1.79

2 16-oz bags Shredded Cheddar Cheese – $4.58

1 pkg Pepperoni – $1.99

2 cans Green Beans – $0.76

1 bag Fresh Green Beans – $1.49

1 bag Pazazz Apples ($1.49/lb – I’m looking forward to trying these for the first time!) – $4.71

2 Avocados – $0.78

1 bag Mini Sweet Peppers – $2.69

2 pkgs Broccoli Crowns – $2.58

1 pkg Grape Tomatoes – $1.49

1 16-oz bag Mini Cucumbers – $1.99

1 large tub Organic Spring Mix – $3.49

1 pkg Romaine Hearts – $2.39

2 pkgs Zucchini ($0.99/lb) – $3.36

2 huge Cauliflower – $4.58

2 bags Frozen Broccoli Florets – $1.90

1-lb Sausage – $1.89

2 cans Tomato Sauce – $0.76

1 8-oz pkg Cream Cheese – $0.65

1 box Kookie Cereal – $1.65 (Can you tell my husband did the grocery shopping this week?!? :))

1 box Cinnamon Crunch Squares Cereal – $1.32

1 large jar Strawberry Jam – $1.79

1 pkg Sandwich Crackers – $0.99

1 box Cheese Crackers – $1.49

1 bag Pretzels – $1.29

1 bag Plain Rice Cakes – $1.45

1 bag Powdered Sugar – $0.89

1 16-oz pkg Deli Meat – $2.65

1 pkg Fresh Chicken Thighs ($0.79/lb) – $4.70

1 1-lb box Butter – $1.99

1 loaf Sandwich Bread – $0.65

3 dozen Eggs – $1.47

Total: $87.87

I got all of the above for $4.10 at Harris Teeter earier in the week during a 3-day Super Double Coupon Event.
Deals are no longer available, so I am not including the coupon links.

Weekly Grocery Total: $91.97

Weekly Menu Plan

Breakfasts

Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfasts. Choices include:

Cereal, Oatmeal, Fried/Scrambled/Boiled Eggs, Toast, Veggie Omelets, Smoothies, Yogurt, Fruit

Lunches

Crackers/Pretzels and Peanut Butter, Cheese Sticks, Apples, Mini Peppers x 2

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Cucumbers, Oranges x 2

Leftovers x 3

Dinners

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Roasted Broccoli, Applesauce

Venison Roast in the Crockpot, Tossed Salad, Garlic Mashed Cauliflower, Bread Machine Buttery Rolls

Crustless Quiche, Parmesan Roasted Zucchini, Tossed Salad, Gluten-Free Oatmeal Spice Muffins

Crockpot Italian Chicken, Rice, Tossed Salad, Green Beans

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza, Green Beans

Meatloaf (I use ground venison for this), Baked Potatoes, Tossed Salad, Roasted Cauliflower

Date Night Out (Kids eat leftovers at home)