Food for My Family

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Eat Well, Spend Less Week #3 Wrap-Up and $50 Grocery Giveaway

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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!


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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I’d love to learn more about preserving local produce when it’s in season and less expensive. (No Krogers or affiliates in my area).

    Reply

  2. Budget-friendly quick meals. Rather than running through the drive-through, meals that can be fixed quickly at home.

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  14. I’ve loved the series and am so happy it’s not ending. I’d love to see more posts on quick, healthy meals as well as more ideas for stocking the pantry.

    Reply

  19. I would like to see info about the best way to prepare healthy food ahead. What freezes well, what can be combined ahead of time, etc. Also, any hints for sneaking more nutrition into foods I already make. Sweet potatoes into pancakes, etc.
    Love this!

    Reply

  34. i would like ways to be a better harvester – of the natural world around me – or at least a better gardener.

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  35. Making large recipes out of a few, fresh ingredients lets me eat well on a small, graduate student’s budget! I survive on leftovers! Thanks for the helpful recipes!

    Reply

  36. My family is planting a larger garden this year which means I need to learn how to can. How do I get it all done while working? Any strategies???

    No Kroger in my area.

    Reply

  37. I’ve really enjoyed the series, glad to know its not ending. I too would love to learn more on how you might put away in season produce for later comsumption.

    Reply

  39. I’d love a step by step guide on menu planning. I have really wanted to start doing that this year, but am dragging my feet!

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  43. I loved the series — great tips on shopping and planning. I’d like to see some great tasting frugal recipes. Thanks!

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  44. My question: I am a college student living on campus. I have access to a microwave, but that is it. How can I eat real food for less? I do yogurt and instant oatmeal for breakfast, but I’m stuck on everything else.

    Reply

  46. I love what you do! Right now I’d like ideas of things to take on vacation (airplane, boat, motels) to eat with limited ability to prepare. Snacks enroute. Meals in the room when we only have a fridge and occasional access to a microwave. We have food allergies, so eating out is a stressful challenge. Quizzing the staff, answering their questions, etc. gets tiresome and still doesn’t relieve the worry about whether something “snuck” in or we forgot to mention or ask.

    I love when you emphasize what’s in season now so we can take advantage of what’s fresh (and hopefully less expensive) now.

    Reply

  53. I gave up on coupons. Nine times out of ten, if there’s a coupon for it, you shouldn’t be eating it anyway. After a while of making the rounds, I’ve memorized who has what cheapest, and I try to hit whatever store is on my way back from whatever errand I’m running, and then stock up on the things that are cheapest there. As a result, I go to the grocery store about seven times a week, and yet, I never make a special trip there, so I’m not burning any more gas in the process.

    That’s one thing people don’t factor in: your time and gas. If you burned a gallon going there, then you had better have “saved” $4.00 in the process or it’s a net loss.

    Same with coupons. The average home printer cost about 27¢ to print a page, so if you printed a 25¢ coupon, you just lost two cents. Print more than one per page, or even shrink them down to print 8 or more, if you can.

    Cheers!

    Reply

  54. I would love to see ways to feed my family using more whole foods, eliminating convenience-type foods (love Tammy’s recipes!) for less money.

    Reply

  61. I’m loving this series. I would love to see more information on raw milk and grass fed meats. I’m really interested in learning more about that.

    Reply

  62. I’ve really enjoyed this series, especially yours as I am in the midwest! Like the fan above, I am interested in learning how to save (and where to find) grass fed meats. I recently watched Food Inc and am feeling a tad paranoid 🙂

    Reply

  64. I would love more ideas for using a pressure cooker and learning how to preserve foods (purchased on sale or grown at home). Thanks!

    Reply

  76. I would love to see some entries on eating to lose weight on a budget! 😉 We have been trying to eat healthier and lose some weight at the same time, but it seems like most “diets” are quite expensive.

    Reply

  91. I love this series – I love all the posts with everyone’s favorite frugal meals. That could be an ongoing “eat well; spend less” topic. A monthly frugal recipe to match the season??

    Reply

  97. I’d love to see some tips on canning and freezing fresh fruits and vegetables. And preserving herbs, too!

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  99. I have enjoyed this series on Eat Well. Live Well. I would like to see more on your garden and what you grow and how you use it to plan meals around what you grow.

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  106. I would like to hear about whole foods – but simple quick meals – maybe ones that you can freeze.

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  112. I am interested in cooking with seasonal items and specifically a variety of recipes to handle a “boat load” (aka. what to do with a wealth of tomatoes). It helps to have a few ideas up your sleeve, so the family doesn’t rebel.

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  114. I plan a menu religiously, and we don’t eat a lot of meat, so I make sure to cook delicious meatless meals.

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  116. I think more meals as well as preserving, canning and freezer meals would be a great help. Especially using products that are in season.

    – Megan

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  124. To save money on REAL Food I always look for the Kroger Manager Specials on meats and veggies!!–FB Friend!!

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  125. I would love to learn more about cooking with everyday ingredients that are cost effective, but I would already have at home

    Reply

  127. I think it’s fantastic to use quality ingredients and shop for deals on organics etc, but I can’t afford to make some of the budget recipes that were posted… I would love to see a more intense focus on the “spend less” portion 🙂

    Reply

  130. I would like more vegetable recipes and how to season/spice things up since I’m not very creative with veggie cooking.

    Reply

  131. hmmmm… a topic to cover? maybe transitioning to buying less from a chain store and more directly from farmers? this is my ideal but I’m barely halfway there! Thanks for the giveaway!

    Reply

  136. I would love to see more meatless budget friendly recipes. Meals that are quick to prepare and healthy are also appreaciated.

    Reply

  137. I would like to see more menu plans…i.e. two or three recipes (some to be frozen) using similar ingredients to avoid waste.

    Reply

  144. I have caught the end of this Eat Well, Spend Less, but I am so excited to get caught up!! My husband and I have been on a weight loss journey for the past year. I have lost 90 lbs and he has lost 160 lbs!!! We both have quite a way to go, but it’s been fun so far. We have just discovered the power of coupons and I have been trying to find the right network of blogs for me. I wondered when we began looking at coupons if we would be able to keep up our good eating habits with the coupons and this series is PERFECT!!

    How we save money (prior to discovering coupons): My husband works in the meat market at Brookshires and my stepmom is a Dept. Manager at Kroger. We find out about deals at both stores through those inside connections!! The trick is we have to have money when the special happens and that is not always easy for us. We have bought a LOT of markdown, almost out of date, meat over the past couple of years and it feels like we are at the mercy of people not buying something before it goes bad. Just in the past three weeks, we are getting better at the coupons and are having so much fun!!

    I am following all of the bloggers on this series now through email and when our computer gets out of the pawn shop (ugh!!) I will be following everyone on Facebook as well.

    God Bless You All!!!
    Janet

    Reply

  146. I totally agree with the big-batch and freezer-friendly food topics! My freezer has become my best friend in the kitchen but I can always find new ways to stock pile! 🙂

    Reply

  173. Now a fan on Facebook! Would love more ideas about cooking meals ahead and freezing so they actually still taste good!

    Reply

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