Come Shopping with Me

I've had a few questions about my monthly grocery shopping trip and what types of things I buy. Here's a peek into how I prepare for my monthly shopping trip.

The first thing I do is make a monthly menu plan. I plan our breakfasts,lunches, dinners, and snacks. After making our meal plan I take a freezer and pantry inventory. Now I begin my lists. I go to three different stores when I make my trip. I always head to Columbus because they have more organic/local food type stores than my small town.

My first stop is Trader Joe's. Here's my list of what I typically buy-
*Cheerios/Honey Nut Cheerios ( I bought 5 boxes total to have on hand for the days where we must run out the door. No more running through the drive thru!)
* 4 boxes of granola bars( again to keep in the diaper bag in case we're out during lunch time)
* 4 32oz tubs of organic yogurt. I tried making my own but it was way to runny!!
* Kerry Gold butter- this is grass fed butter. I tried making our own from our raw milk but it didn't turn out well. We are going to try again though.
* Chicken tenders- I use these to make our own chicken strips.
* Organic Pink Lady apples - I buy 10-15lbs at a time
* Organic produce- depends on what we need

My next stop is Whole Foods
Organic Chocolate Chips
Bulk foods- 50lb wheat berries, 50lb organic quick oats, 25lb organic popcorn
Gallons of organic apple juice
bulk organic m&m type candy
grass fed cheeses
100% grass fed beef roasts
bacon
bulk sausage --no msg added

Final stop Raisin Rack--local organic grocery store
* Pasture raised chicken breasts/whole chickens/chicken sausage
* 100% grass fed ground beef/hamburger patties
* bulk organic sucanat
* dairy free/soy free chocolate chips
* bulk spices
* sandwich pepperoni

Every other month I shop at a Mennonite bulk food store
*bulk baking cocoa
* bulk yeast
* bulk spices

We also have a Seventh Day Adventist store here that I shop at
* 4lb raw local honey
* bulk baking soda

I buy raw milk and eggs from a home school family for $5 a gallon/$2 a dozen. I buy at least 5 gallons a week. I make all our bread and snacks. I also froze tons of produce from the garden and produce auction. I buy 50lb of potatoes at a time.

I buy one large pack of diapers a month for overnights for my youngest two. I buy toilet paper in bulk, make our shampoo and deodorant. I buy cat and dog food in bulk.

We use cloth diapers and wipes. We don't buy paper towels. We're currently using my huge stockpile of laundry soap, dish soap, dishwasher soap, dryer sheets, and tooth paste.