Early March Grocery Haul

 

I thought it would be fun today to share with you what I bought today at the grocery store. I do keep a fairly up to date store cupboard with a large variety of tinned and frozen meats, vegetables and fish, as well as other things such as flour, sugar, butter, lard, etc. 

Today's shop was to top up fresh ingredients and replace a few things which I had used and needed replacing.  As you can see my two feline "Snoopervisors" are hard at work inspecting everything for quality control!

 

I apologize for my mitts, the toaster and the embroidery pattern in the background.  The toaster is going to the local charity shop as I just got a new one which looks very vintage that I love, and my mitts I had not put away yet. The pattern is something I am getting ready to embroider! 

I thought I had done very well with my shopping today. I didn't buy any extras, but was still surprised when I got the total bill at the end. I do not know how families are coping these days with the costs of things. I really don't.

I did all of my shopping at the Independent Grocery shop here in town. Its where I go most of the time as their produce always seems to be a lot fresher than the produce at the other grocery store in town, and they do carry a lot of the President's Choice items and No Name Brands that I like to buy.

In no order of preference here we go! 

 

Sweet Potatoes were on offer and so I picked up two medium ones. ($2.66) I also got two medium sized russet baking potatoes. ($2.96)

I can remember when for those prices you got a whole bag of potatoes.  

 

These two items were indulgences on my part.  I have always wanted to try Pot Stickers.  Kind of like Chinese Pierogi I guess.  

The Chicken and Vegetable Pot Stickers came from the frozen section and cost $6.79.

The Buttermilk Breaded Chicken Breast Fillets were quite expensive at  $20.99, but as there is just me in the house they will last me for more than a few months. I know I could make my own, but sometimes you just want or need to be able to grab something quick from the freezer for your tea.

 

This is what is called a Stew Pack. It is a bag of vegetables used for making stews I guess, containing two swedes (rutabagas), a cabbage, a parsnip and some carrots. It was $4.99.

I think stew packs are a big of a bargain for a person living on their own.  I get 4 different vegetables for a fraction of what it would cost me to buy full sized bags of each.   And I find that nothing gets wasted from them. As a person on their own I always manage to use them up.

 

Refrigerated Grated Parmesan. A step up from the old green can we used to get when I was growing up, but not quite as good as the block that you grate yourself.  Even so this jar cost me $9.49

Refrigerated Pesto. Four individual pots of fresh pest for $6.59. It works out much cheaper than making fresh pesto from scratch. Especially this time of the year.  This brand is quite good.

 

I got a large Spanish onion ($2.80) and one head of garlic ($1.29).  I could have probably gotten a whole bag of smaller onions for not much more than the cost of this one onion, but this time of year they are getting near to their use by date and lots of times I end up having to peel quite a bit away to get to the usable onion.  Or they go bad before I can get them used.

With there only being me in the house this Spanish onion will do me for quite a few different recipes or meals.

There are a dozen Brussels Sprouts in the bag and I paid $4.90 for them. They are quite large, about the size of ping pong balls. I prefer smaller ones, but these will be great for roasting.

Spring onions at $1.99 a bunch. They come in handy for all sorts.

One medium cauliflower for $5.99. I will probably get about 4 meals from that. Its fresh looking and unspotted. It can sometimes be difficult to find one without manky spots on it. I like that it is sold as an individual and not by the pound. By the time you trim off all the leaves, etc. your cauliflower is usually half the size of what you thought you were buying! haha

 

I got a pre-packaged chopped salad. This one cost $6.99. I will probably be good for three to four meals for me.  You can buy a small bucket of a premixed salad for $6 and it will only last one meal, so this is actually worth it for me.

Some sliced Stone Roasted Ham. $7.88. This is good for sandwiches, in omelets, salads, etc. 

A package of the PC Free From Bangers, Honey Garlic. I will freeze these individually so that I can use them over a period of several weeks.  They are a good size and there are five in the package for $7.99, which for me works out to $1.60 per meal as I will get five meals from them.

These are the best sausages and about the only store brand sausage that I have found here in Canada that compares to the British sausages.  They also come in four flavors, hot or sweet Italian, regular bangers, and honey garlic.

I usually buy the regular or the sweet Italian. Today I fancied a change.

 

This was my take from the Dairy Aisle.  2 liters of full fat milk. This stuff is microfiltered and it seems to always last me well beyond the sell by date.  As a single person on their own, I was very tired of always having to pour milk down the sink. $5.99  It really does stay fresh longer.

Whipping cream $4.79  I would much rather use real cream if I can rather than the artificial stuff or the stuff in the can. Real cream holds up much better.

Extra old cheese, a large block for $6.49. It was on offer.  I always prefer to grate my own cheese if I can and old cheese gives you a lot more flavor for your money spent so you don't need to use quite as much of it when you are cooking with it.

The sugar free jellies were on offer at four packages for $5.00  They are normally $1.79 each. As  a diabetic I like the sugar free jellies. They make for a nice treat that isn't going to cause me too much trouble when it comes to my illness.  My blood sugars stay pretty even most of the time and it is because of treats like this.

I also like to have them on hand for when I know my father is coming for supper or lunch. He always looks for something sweet afterwards and as he is a diabetic as well, I know that these won't do much harm.

White kidney beans. I saw a recipe that I want to try using white kidney beans. These cost $1.79.  I think for things like canned beans, tomatoes etc. No Name Brand are quite alright, and they are always cheaper.  Quite often they are packed in the same factories that pack all the name brands.

Some squeeze paste treats for my snoopervisors. They really like these. $3.49.  There is four in the pack and I divide one at a time between the two of them. They are not an every day treat but an extra special treat.

I also needed a new toothbrush. $2.29  By the way, never throw out your old toothbrushes, once they are finished being used to clean your teeth, you can use them as great cleaning tools in the home. They are great for getting into smaller spaces and I find they do a great job of cleaning around taps, etc.

 

I got some fresh fruit.  The Mango ($4.99) was on offer and was a real treat. I had it for my lunch as it was quite ripe and I wasn't sure how long it would last.  It was so delicious. If I go out with my sister tomorrow I will pick up another one. It has been a long time since I have had a mango. I love LOVE them!

Two honey crisp apples ($4.27)  Remember when you could get a whole bag of apples for that price?

Three fresh bananas ($1.02)  Not too bad.  Now I just have to remember to use them up.  But even if I don't they are always great for baking.

Some red grapes ($5.35)  It has been quite a while since I have had grapes. I just fancied some and they are great in chicken salad, as are chopped apples for that matter.

Two fresh limes (1.98).  I plan on doing some Tex Mex cooking this week and limes are a must!

 

A jug of fresh orange juice. $2.99  It was on offer. I always like to have a small glass of juice with my breakfast and I am getting tired of prune juice.

Some Mayonnaise. $7.99  Pricey when you have to buy it when its not on offer.  But I only like Hellman's.

Plum Sauce $7.29 for the club pack, which will last me quite a while. I like it with the chicken strips and I thought it might also go nicely with the pot stickers?  I could be wrong. It always comes in handy however.

Tomato Ketchup $4.99  Again it was on offer and I was out of ketchup. This is an ingredient I use quite often.  It is great in sauces, soups, stews, etc. and you just have to have it on your chips! Heinz is the one I like best of all.

Not shown:

• A bag of dry cat food $15.99 (I buy the grain free, white fish)
• Two packs of Diet Coke 2/$11.00 plus deposit of $1.20  I save all of my refundables (you get half of your deposit back) and give them to a learning disabled man who is friends of my daughter who collects them.  He gives the money he gets to charity and it gives him something to do. Its like his job.
• Three bottles of sparkling water 3/$3.00 plus deposit of .30 cents.
• A large pack of toilet tissue which was on offer. 20 double rolls for $11.99  This was $8 off the regular price of $19.99 for non-members.

I wasn't thinking because if I had gone shopping tomorrow I would have gotten the 10% Senior's discount. Darn!  I just remembered it now! Oh well. Next time.

With taxes and everything my bill came to $215.86 and I almost died of shock.  Aside from the toilet paper, diet cokes, water and bag of cat food, everything fit into three grocery bags.   Again as I said, I do not know how families are making ends meet. 

Were it not for my habit of squirreling away food/nonperishables when I get a good deal on things and maintaining a good store cupboard I don't know how I would manage either.  We do live in interesting times.

Hmm . . . looks like one of my snoopervisors is all tired out from all of that work! Bless his heart.  This is Nutmeg.  The other one is Cinnamon.

Do let me know if you enjoyed this post in the comments below. If this is something you would like to see more often then I can certainly oblige. Its been a nice exercise for me to be able to write it all down like this and take note of exactly where my money went.

Tomorrow when I am out with my sister I will pick up some ground beef at the farm market. Its about $6 a pound and is organic and free range, locally produced.  I  like that it is the same color inside as it is outside!  I will also get me another mango. Yum yum!

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