Can you buy some bulk organic staples online? much cheaper that way!

If you like to bake, quiches are cheap and delicious. You can make both savory quiches (spinach) and sweet ones (vanilla).

Baked potatoes ($5 for the potatoes, $2 for the sour cream, $2 for the butter)
pasta ($3 for the box, $3 for the jar of sauce)
eggs ($3-$4 for a dozen)
popcorn made in an air popper for snacks ($7 for the jar, lasts several weeks, $3 for the week)
baby carrots ($5)
apples or oranges ($5)
bananas ($4)
milk ($4)
yogurt - 8 pack ($8)
bread ($3)
ground beef ($7)
deli ham ($8)
1 whole rotisserie chicken ($7)

In our house beans are healthy, cheap, and plentiful -- lentils (with carrots, potatoes), black beans (with white rice), pinto beans (in chili, with tomatoes, onions, cubed beef).

I get a lot of meals out of a 10 pound bag of potatoes, a couple of onions, a bottle of cooking oil, and a carton of 18 eggs. All on sale!

Take into consideration the value of your free time and gas to be driving to different stores to save a few bucks on items. I used to shop 3 different stores, and then i realized i was adding an hour or more to my shopping, it was way inconvenient and a hassle, to save at most $10! for me it wasn't worth it.

What you might think of doing is writing down in a notebook the prices of things you use regularly, that way when it goes on sale at a particular store you will know it is a real value. Like milk, or eggs, or yogurt, etc.

Walmart is much cheaper than giant/safeway for a lot of the basics. After shopping at Walmart for our groceries for a few months I'm horrified by Whole Foods prices when I go in now. I also agree with the other posters that staying organic on a budget is difficult.

Its tough to work in fresh organic vegetables at that price. Using frozen organic vegatables in some casserole/pot pie type dishes will go farther.

I would aim for 3 lunches and 3 dinners/week that are of the beans and rice variety (aka bare bones, nutritionally sound, cheap and filling)

Reduce meat consumption..beans and rice are your friends

You are going to have to let go of the organic fruit and veggies and only buy what is in season. For example I bought apples at aldi this week for 88cents a lb organic apples at whole foods were 2.50 a lb.

If you are able to get out to the Asian supermarkets in MD and VA, you can get very cheap veggies out there.

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live and where do you shop now?

I live in DC and shop either Giant or Safeway for sale items, ALDI for some produce and Whole Foods for dairy and meat.

Where do you live and where do you shop now?

I am a single mom with 2 dc's (10 and 7) and currently spend about $125/week on food but want to save more money and get budget down to $75. I prefer organic dairy, meat and veggies/fruit. I bake alot and don't buy many packaged snacks. Any suggestions on how I can reduce my weekly food bill?