Week 3 of the Eat Well, Spend Less series was all about the grocery shopping process from the point of view of your regional area. From Canada to Seattle to Texas, we all threw our experience out on the table to share the ins and outs of our shopping trips with you. Here’s the wrap-up, and don’t miss the grocery giveaway at the end!

I shared our own shopping hurdles here in Minnesota and how the system changes depending on the time of year. As it so happens, now that it’s warming up (or it’s supposed to be warming up) and the market days are drawing near, I’m remembering all the reasons why the long winters are worth it here in Minnesota. I love watching the farmers’ market come to life and see how the changing season brings in new produce and more and more people.

Navigating Four Seasons in Michigan and the Midwest

Katie is in a relatively similar regional area, and she definitely deals with the four seasons just like we do. She breaks down how to find different deals based on the season and how to use her location in Michigan as a benefit because of other things she is close to like raw milk Wisconsin cheese. From you-pick fruits to preserving food with canning, Katie shares exactly what she does to make those seasons less of an obstacle when trying to provide the very best for her family.

A Canadian Shopping Experience

Moving over to the East and into Canadian territory, Aimee shares her idyllic shopping experience in Montreal, where markets are a way of life. She takes you from the market to the warehouse store to specialty shops and health food stores and then out into the farm and her own potager.

The Hills of the Appalachians

Mandi shares her family’s strategy for making sure they have what they need each week without needing an emergency run to the store, as emergency runs to the store are around a 2-hour production when you live out in the hills and country. She utilizes things like Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program and looking for options outside of traditional grocery stores, like purchasing locally from farmers.

Everything’s Bigger in Texas, Except the Grocery Bill

Alyssa shares how her grocery bill doesn’t also have to be Texas-sized in the Lone Star State, with tips like her Top 10 Basic Grocery Shopping Rules and the need to shop intentionally to avoid those impulse buys.

Saving in the Southwest

Katie shares her tips and tricks for purchasing only what you need when you’re in the store, from meal planning to avoiding shopping when you’re ravenously hungry. Plus, the pictures of her grandpa’s grocery store are amazing. I’m a sucker for family history.

Saving in So-Cal

Jessica has the challenge of feeding a family with six kids in California, where the cost of living is definitely not cheap. Read how she manages to do it while sticking to a budget. She shares her strategy for stocking up on loss leaders, as well as sharing the real savings in California: produce.

Shopping at Multiple Stores

Carrie shares her strategy for using coupons and the best deals available to save while shopping at over 10 stores. Now, that doesn’t mean she’s visiting all of those stores in one week, but she is selectively rotating where she shops and when she shops there based on the deals available or what it is she buys at any one given store in Colorado.

Saving Money, Time and Eating Healthy

Tammy shared her strategy for eating in the Pacific Northwest on a budget and with a healthy diet. From menu planning to limiting her shopping to two stores, she goes over the nuts and bolts of finding a deal, working ingredients into the meal plan and eating whole foods.

A $50 Kroger Gift Card Giveaway

I’m so excited to be able to give away a $50 Kroger gift card to one lucky Food for My Family reader (and to one reader at each of the other blogs, too!) as part of the culmination to the Eat Well Spend Less series. Even better, we’re not stopping the series! We’ll be bringing it back once a month, covering more topics on how we feed our families healthy food while staying on a budget!

Note: The Kroger gift card is good at all Kroger-owned stores: Kroger, Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fry’s, QFC, City Market, Hilander, Owen’s, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker’s, Gerbes, Scott’s Food & Pharmacy, Fred Meyer, Dillons Marketplace, Fry’s Marketplace, Kroger Marketplace, Smith’s Marketplace, Food 4 Less, Foods Co. Don’t have one in your area? I’ll trade you for an Amazon/Target/Walmart gift card.

How to Enter to Win

1. Leave a comment. What would you like to see in the upcoming Eat Well, Spend Less topics?

2. Follow @KrogerCo and @FoodforMyFamily on Twitter and tweet the following, and come back and let me know you did:

Win a $50 @KrogerCo gift card to help you #eatwellspendless from @FoodforMyFamily http://wp.me/puu57-2gw

3. Join the Kroger community on Facebook. Come back and leave a comment letting me know you did so.

4. Join the Food for My Family community on Facebook. Come back and leave a comment letting me know you did so.

THE RULES:

This giveaway will run until Friday, April 29th at 11:59 p.m. EDT and is open to all U.S. and Canadian residents. A winner will be chosen at random using Random.org from all eligible entries. Each reader has 5 chances to win by completing the above tasks and leaving a separate comment for each entry method completed. Chosen winner must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize. Good luck!

Now, go enter all the other giveaways from everyone else participating in the Eat Well, Spend Less series!

• Aimee from Simple Bites
• Alyssa from Kingdom First Mom
• Carrie from Denver Bargains
• Jessica from LifeasMOM
• Katie from Good Life Eats
• Katie from Kitchen Stewardship
• Mandi from Life Your Way
• Tammy from Tammy’s Recipes

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

More from Food for My Family