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Groceries

September 10th, 2022 at 01:49 pm

I did my $20 weekly grocery shop yesterday. I spent $20.02 at Aldi and here's what I got: 

A block of cheddar

A bag of coffee

A bag of spring mix salad

A can of jumbo biscuits

A bag of flour

A bag of walnuts

Here are the adjustments I had to make:

I planned to get croutons and dried cranberries for the salad. Instead, I made my own croutons, and I used raisins in place of the cranberries.

I planned to get milk and granola, but that will have to wait another week.

I planned to get Swiss cheese and feta for recipes, but had to pass.

I had salsa on my list, but I will not make any Mexican dishes this week.

I was hoping to get maple syrup for pancakes and French toast, but it was obviously way out of my reach.

I wanted to get brown sugar for my oatmeal; again, that will have to wait.

I had peanut butter on my list, but I am still scraping the sides of my jar, and that will have to do.

I bought caramel-flavored coffee which was on sale, rather than the "donut shop" coffee I first put in my cart.

The biscuits were not on my list but they were cheap and adaptable for many things.

Now, bear in mind, I have plenty of food in my freezer. This is a personal challenge; I just want to see if I can do it. And if I can sustain it, that would be great!

 

Edit: I also spent $47 on a birthday gift for one of my grandsons.

6 Responses to “Groceries”

  1. rob62521 Says:
    1662939394

    I have been shocked at how expensive maple syrup has become, even at Aldi. So, if you bought it, it would probably be about half of your $20 limit.

    I was thinking about you the other day and wondered in your $20 shopping if you considered buying some nondairy powder creamer so you wouldn't have to do without if you run out again. Granted, it isn't as good as the liquid stuff, but it might do in a pinch.

  2. CB in the City Says:
    1662997161

    That is a good suggestion. However, I use creamer in iced coffee, so I fear it wouldn't dissolve well. I drink hot coffee black. Weird, I know!

  3. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    1663037238

    Is this a $20 a week challenge? For how long?

  4. CB in the City Says:
    1663084797

    LAL, it is really a $100 a month challenge. This month has five Thursdays, so I'm spending $20 a week. For how long? I don't know, maybe forever? As long as I can do it, I guess. Until I hit a wall.

  5. rob62521 Says:
    1663089059

    Well, CB, you do what you gotta do! Although I think most iced coffee is pretty strong, so the creamer would probably be a good addition. How about a can of sweetened condensed milk from Aldi just to have in your pantry? Or Evaporated milk? I keep a can of each in my pantry just in case I need it for something.

  6. LuckyRobin Says:
    1663117867

    If you happen to have on hand maple flavoring, molasses and sugar, you can make your own pancake syrup. 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp molasses, 1 tsp maple flavoring. Use a whisk to stir the sugar, water, and molasses together in a pan until the sugar is fully dissolved and you can feel no grit on the bottom of your pan. The liquid should appear clearer than when you started. Make sure there is no molasses stuck to the bottom of the pan. Turn your stove top onto high heat and bring to a rolling boil that you can not stir down. Turn off your heat. Leave the pan on the burner until the boiling stops. This is what makes a thicker syrup and not a runny, watery syrup. Remove syrup from burner and add maple flavoring. Stir in. Your syrup is ready. My mom always made bigger batches, though. She'd quadruple it, but we were a family of five. The sugar and molasses preserve it so it will last for a while in the fridge.

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