First Grocery Shopping Trip of 2014

Before beginning any kind of healthy eating program, you probably need to do a big shopping trip.  For me, this began with Taylor and Kelsey cleaning out the fridge on Friday night (I have a boot on.  I can't stand for long periods of time.  At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.).  It's funny how bare the fridge looks without most of the junk in it.

Saturday morning, Kelsey and I went to three different grocery stores:

• Whole Foods
• Trader Joe's
• Harris Teeter

I hadn't shopped at Harris Teeter before, and I wasn't that impressed.  Some of their prices were comparable to Whole Foods, but I didn't feel like the experience was as glamorous.  It was like shopping at Safeway while paying Balducci's prices.  If I have to pay an arm and a leg, I want the place to look fancy.

Anyway...my goal was to spend no more than $150 on this trip.

I started with a list of things I wanted to buy.

First stop was Whole Foods.  I know that they're CRAZY expensive, but there are some things that I've only seen there.  Coconut aminos (great alternative to soy sauce), nitrate free bacon, boneless chicken thighs, chicken wingettes, bean sprouts, and nori for our homemade sushi.  Total: $36.94 
                                 

Next up was Trader Joe's.  If I'd known then what I know now, I would have bought the bulk of our produce from here.  Yes, a couple friends tried to tell me, but I like to learn the hard way (by spending too much money).

I like the very feel of the store.  As soon as we got into the elevator, I felt happy (and so did Kelsey).

   

Yes, I'm a nerd.  I DID take a photo of the closed elevator doors. #dontjudgeme

My happiness soon waned.  This is the face I make when I realize that Trader Joe's is out of the almond meal that I prefer:

Back to business.  We bought jalapenos, raisins, red wine vinegar, bell peppers, and curry powder.  Total: $11.68

We ended with Harris Teeter, where we made our biggest purchase.  Like I said earlier, I probably wouldn't go there again to make the larger purchases.  Some things were on a great sale.  For example, they currently have packs of fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale (buy 2, get 3 free).  So, we got chicken breasts for around $2.00/pound once you total everything up.  Yes, we'll be eating chicken breasts for every meal next week, but at least it's cheap.  I have to thank Traci for the tip.  Total: $117.79

 

I considered it a successful shopping trip.  I didn't stay under the budget that I set for myself, but a few things were for Kelsey and Taylor (bread, pudding, etc.).

See you next week!