Grocery Haul 8/10/12

I thought I would start doing these grocery hauls to show about what I buy every two week period and give an idea of what I spend.   But first, here is an idea of  my shopping guidelines.

1) I prioritize ethically, raised pasture raised meat and eggs, above all else.  I pay a little bit more for it, but I also spend a good amount of time to trying to find the best price on meat per pound. As mentioned, in this previous post.

2) I don’t buy extra fats. I only use cooking fats, which are cheap and easy. I use lots of pasture ghee and beef tallow. I get both for under $1 a lb and render the beef tallow myself in my crock pot.

3) As a result of prioritizing meat over produce, I buy conventional produce or the highest quality I can afford. I would usual go to the farmers market but, this week my step brother is getting married and we are moving in two weeks. Again, just do the best you can. I always peel conventional produce if it can be peeled and wash it the best I can.

4) I try not to  spend more than $1 a pound on produce; that is what fits in to my budget right now. We eat about 20 pounds of produce a week. I know that is a lot but, that is the base of all our meals. This is possible by focusing on loss leaders at the supermarket and only buying in season at the farmers market.

5) You will notice a bit more starch in our diet than in most, I use it as fillers not as the main part of the meal. We do eat regular potatoes, peeled and in small quantities to beef up the meal. I figure it is the lesser of all the evils as far as starches. I do eat sweet potatoes also, but they are triple the price.

6) I only buy things in cash. I take out the amount I can spend and put whatever I have left into the “bulk fund” for larger purchases later on.

Anyway, here is the haul.

Here is the breakdown of the haul:

New Seasons Market (a local whole foods type market):

5.8 lbs Pasture Raised Lamb Ribs

7.2 lbs Pasture Raised Lamb Neck

5.3 lbs Pasture Raised Beef Shanks

5.3 lbs Free Roaming Turkey Necks

.5 lbs Chicken Livers

Total: $56.18

Winco:

2.81 lbs Zucchini

2.88 lbs Sweet Potatoes

3 Green Bell Peppers

2 lbs Carrots

4 Cucumbers

6 lbs Red and Green Cabbage

5.65 lbs Jicama

2 Eggplants

5 lbs Russet Potatoes

3 lbs Onions

3.4 lbs Cantaloupe

4 lbs Bananas

1.5 lbs Celery

10 lbs Chicken Thighs (for homemade cat food)

2 lbs Butter

5 Limes

Non-paleo items for the non-paleo SO:

5.2 lbs Whole Wheat Flour

1.85 lbs Oatmeal

4.4 lbs White Flour

1 lb Instant Non-fat Milk

2 lbs Short Grain Rice

Total: $58.58

Total for two week shopping haul: $117.55

This will be enough to last us about two weeks. I ended getting about 44 lbs of produce for the next two weeks, that averages out to about 60 cents a pound. Using this strategy means I can’t be to picky but, cuts my grocery bill in less than half. I will be sharing recipes this week for the unusual cuts of meat this week. I had $120 pulled for this two week shopping trip and managed to keep in under that mark, which makes me very happy. This is my first time trying to do a two week haul and I will be more adept at it the next time I do it.