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Farm Kitchen:  Organic Grocery Shopping - Need Help  |
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JEN000
Farmgirl in Training
16 Posts
Jennifer
Omaha
NE
USA
16 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 21 2011 : 10:33:30 AM
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I am in need of some help from all of you frugal organic shoppers, please!
I was very interested in using the Budget Mix to make most of my recipes this week and hoped that my total shopping bill would be much lower. But I found that it was much more expensive.
Items on my grocery list:
2 Beef Tenderloins
10 oz Cremini Mushrooms
1 Shallot
Chicken Broth
Tomato Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Ricotta Cheese
4 oz Pepperoni
Chorizo
1 Jalepeno
1 Bell Pepper
Cilantro
Black Beans
Eggs x 2 dozen
Salsa Verde
1 tomato
1 avacodo
1 cup sour cream
Fig Preserves
1/2 cup bleu cheese
1 cup smoked sausage
1/2 cup pecans
3 large potatoes
Ham slice
3/4 cup guyere cheese
3 Pear
3 Tangelos
1 box of cereal
White Flour
Wheat Flour
With this I intend to make Beef Wellingtons, a MJ Foldover, MJ's Savory crepes, MJ's Fig & Cheese Panbread, MJ's Pear Cake, and MJ's Ham & Cheese Bakeover.
That's 5 dinners and a dessert. The total grocery bill was $140. I about freaked when I discovered that 2 beef tenderloins (1lb) was $27.00. If I wasn't so shamed, I would have told the butcher nevermind. Of course to be fair, the recipe calling for them wasn't a MJ recipe. So without those ingredients the bill would have been about $110 for 4 meals and a dessert. Still, I feel like for about $28 a meal, I can go out to eat for nearly the same price (and I do have plenty of organic restaurant options). I'm really not trying to complain. I truly want to be able to make this work so I'm asking for your tips and tricks on buying cheap & organic and also using MJ's recipes, while also satisfying my sophisticated tastes.
BTW - I understand that many farmgirls would rely on their own gardens and livestock to provide for most of their shopping list but I am a city farmgirl. My entire backyard is a garden and I will be growing most of my produce this year in which I will see my grocery bill go down pretty significantly (crosses fingers). For those beef welligtons, perhaps I can make chicken wellingtons instead? I just didn't want to reduce eating my favorites just to be organic. |
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CurlysQuilts
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Sarah
Northeast Kingdom
VT
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2011 : 12:20:32 PM
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The trick that I find for shopping frugally involves buying in bulk, and it also takes time to build up your supplies. For example, I get the majority of my dry goods (sugar, baking powder, yeast, spices) at my natural food store and keep these things in my own containers at home. Spices in particular, you really are paying for the jars, not the spices. Also, you can go to your local grocery store and see about ordering things by the case, epecially if it's something you buy a lot of. I am ordering a case of organic apples from my grocery store once a month or so, since everyone in my family eats an apple every day. I'm saving because they charge me less per pound than they do in the store. Cameo apples here are 1.69/lb for organic, but I get them in the case for 99 cents per pound. It takes time to firgure out what's going to work for you, but there are lots of ways to eat healthy without spending a ton of money. :)
Curly's Quilts
www.curlysquilts.etsy.com
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
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Breanna
True Blue Farmgirl
208 Posts
Breanna
Parker
Colorado
USA
208 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2011 : 1:56:01 PM
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Grocery Game ( http://www.thegrocerygame.com ) has some great deals with coupons, etc. My mom gets things like razors, pads, deodorant, shampoo, and pretty much anything that is not a food item, for free or very cheap. As to groceries, you can look around on their site for coupons, but I am not sure if there are any for organic foods. We try to eat organic when we can, but with some things we have to buy the un-organic brands to save money. Costco (hopefully there is one near you!) has really good deals on bulk organic produce, and Sprouts (again, maybe you have one near you, we have them here in Colorado) carries a lot of organic or natural foods for a cheaper price.
Hope that helps!
~Breanna
Farmgirl Bre
"...that my glory may sing praise to you and not be silent, O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever." Psalm 30:12 |
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JEN000
Farmgirl in Training
16 Posts
Jennifer
Omaha
NE
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2011 : 4:08:19 PM
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| Thank you Breanna and CurlysQuilts! This is a great start. I'm making a notebook of these tips and I'll try each of your ideas out. |
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Montrose Girl
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm
1360 Posts
Laurie
Montrose
CO
1360 Posts |
Posted - Mar 22 2011 : 06:18:28 AM
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Sometimes you have to pick what you can afford organic. Of course it would be best to eat everything that way, but in this economy it isn't always practical. Part of your expense is the veggies you are buying out of season. Since they are being shipped in, they are more expensive this time of year anyways. I've also learned about substitution. That is a lot of cheeses and some of those are more spendy. Can you double on one? Tenderloin is great, chicken is cheaper. So part of buying cheaper is also cooking a bit differently. Don't take this wrong, everything you are cooking sounds wonderful, but maybe plan the more expensive meals in between some less expensive meals.
Organic meat is expensive period unless you can buy directly from the farmer.
As Sarah said, bulk is great. When things go on sale, get extra cans of tomatoes, sauces, and broth. Our health food store goes in spurts where tea is $1.00 off a box. Yup, I buy enough to last several month, buying three boxes pays for the forth.
Don't give up. Keep trying. Maybe make a list of what you are spending for what and check every time you go. If you find you are spending a lot on tomatoes definitely find a good sale.
Laurie
http://www.inntheorchardbnb.com/ |
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Montrose Girl
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm
1360 Posts
Laurie
Montrose
CO
1360 Posts |
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Okie Farm Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
1674 Posts
Mary Beth
McLoud
Oklahoma
USA
1674 Posts |
Posted - Mar 22 2011 : 06:47:36 AM
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Jennifer, I totally agree with Sarah on the buying in bulk and building up a pantry stock, as well as shopping sales for items ahead of time. The second thing that I encourage is to learn how to substitute. For example, I love beef wellington, however, it is EXPENSIVE!! The beef tenderloin or filet, as it is called, is the most expensive cut of beef you can buy in a grocery. And you have to be careful about the quality. I have had some REALLY bad tenderloin.
So, you try to find the next best thing. I make "pork wellington" using a whole pork tenderloin. You should be able to buy two organic pork tenderloins placed on top of each other to make a nice cylinder of meat on sale for $9.99 (1 1/2 lbs). Now, I am talking the real tenderloin, not center loin which is what pork chops come from. The tenderloin is only about 2" in diameter at the most and is about 12" long or less.
And mushrooms...I realize that gourmets want specific mushrooms, but if you are on a strict budget, go with regular mushrooms that are fresh. Or cheese - buy a bulk amount of cheese and it comes out cheaper than a small amount so that you have more for later on. Freeze the leftover cheese. Or CAN it: http://www.oklahomapastrycloth.com/blog/?p=2887
There are all kinds of substitutions that you can make and still come out with a fantastic meal. :-) Good luck!!
Mary Beth
www.OklahomaPastryCloth.com
www.Oklahomapastrycloth.com/blog
The Sovereign Lord is my strength - Habakkuk 3:19 |
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JEN000
Farmgirl in Training
16 Posts
Jennifer
Omaha
NE
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - Mar 22 2011 : 12:57:39 PM
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These are all wonderful ideas. Thank you very much for helping me! It is going to be quite an adjustment. I think organic filets are 3 x's the price for organic than regular.
I like the bulk idea but I don't usually eat anything regularly except for milk, eggs, potatoes, and onions. I plan on growing the potatoes and onions this year. Can't buy bulk milk or eggs because they'd spoil.
I think what I'm looking at is having to totally change my eating habits.
I need to find ways to use up leftover ingredients like cheese, sour cream, etc that come in 2 cup portions when you only need 1/2 a cup for a recipe.
I have a Whole Foods and a Trader Joes. Hyvee and Walmart have some organic ingredients as well. |
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CurlysQuilts
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Sarah
Northeast Kingdom
VT
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Mar 22 2011 : 3:02:28 PM
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Defintely give yourself time to figure out what works for you. Don't get discouraged. It just takes time to redo you're way of thinking and shopping. But if you're committed to the change, the benefits outweigh the frustration!
Curly's Quilts
www.curlysquilts.etsy.com
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
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rksmith
True Blue Farmgirl
858 Posts
Rachel
Clayton
GA
USA
858 Posts |
Posted - Mar 22 2011 : 5:48:24 PM
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I work towards replacing 1 or 2 things per grocery trip with something organic and am stockpiling supplies in this way. If you can find an organic farm or grassfed farm nearby, definitely check into doing business directly with them. You also might consider finding a CSA, you can get some good prices that way as well. Also, milk and eggs can be frozen, so you could buy those in bulk and freeze until needed. Also changing your diet (lifestyle, any change really) find one "bad" thing you want to take out and then replace with one good thing. It takes a while, but this method works very well for me--I don't do well with a complete 180 type change, lol. Also grow as much of your own food and herbs as you can, will save a bundle that way.
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet--Dr. Kioni
http://www.mynsp.com/rksmith
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4737 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4737 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 08:34:40 AM
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I buy my organic groceries mostly from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Whole Foods has coupons on-line and in their store at the entrance, exit, and by the dining/bathroom areas. A lot of people will ask me in line where I had gotten my coupons. They never noticed them before! Whole Foods sells spices and dried herbs by bulk as well as a lot of other items.
Like everyone else has been saying, sometimes you have to choose what you can afford. I order a lot of my cleaning, some grocery and personal products on-line from Vitacost.com. They charge half of what Whole Foods does for these items & their shipping cost is very cheap.
Good luck shopping!
Dawn in IL |
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 10:07:24 AM
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Here are some suggestions. Don't know if they can be done organically, but they should reduce overall cost.
Regular mushrooms; onions instead of shallots; cottage cheese instead of ricotta; hot Italian sausage instead of chorizo; a big container of sour cream (in the fridge it takes a long time to go bad); try to get the pecans at Costco--you can get a big bag and put the extra in the freezer; slice your own chunk of ham; and Swiss for Gruyere. And if you hunt, elk or deer backstrap might substitue for the beef tenderloins. I don't know how Beef Wellington is made.
Why were you shamed into buying the tenderloins? Did the butcher cut them special? If not, I would have said, "No thanks."
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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highlandviewpantry
True Blue Farmgirl
214 Posts
WV
USA
214 Posts |
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Farm Kitchen: Organic Grocery Shopping - Need Help |
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Organic Grocery Shopping - Need Help
