Massive Staple Grocery Haul
Every month or two, we head down to the suburbs to go shopping at big box stores for all our essentials - trips to Target, Walmart, IKEA, or Lowes can be a mix of fun and stress, depending on the day you're there. We know that these trips will be expensive and take some time, but that we can save money in the long run on staple items like canned vegetables, frozen chicken and seafood, toilet paper, shampoo, or dog food. It's not glamorous or fun like a trip to Trader Joe's or Uwajimaya, but we have found it allows us to get off-brand staples for less and have more money to spend on specialty items.
This past weekend, we headed to Walmart in Renton, WA to stock up on lots of canned goods and essentials for our family. We will use these ingredients throughout the month for all meals - breakfasts, lunches, dinners whether that's a fruity smoothie, hearty stew, or quick homemade tomato sauce with pasta and vegetables. Read below for everything we got in this massive grocery haul - and don't worry - we'll be back with other unique hauls featuring our favorite local spots in the coming weeks!
Check out what we've got for the week down below; I've included prices for each category for reference. Stay tuned for our transformed leftover recipes using these delicious finds in the following posts as well as my "What I eat in a Wednesday" series in my instagram stories. We love stocking up on staples when we can - be sure to share how you save money or what items you buy in bulk the comment section below.
Produce & Plants
This week, we stocked up on some fruits and vegetables from the produce aisle as well as lots of canned and frozen produce items to fill our freezer and pantry. As you know from previous posts, we love smoothies for breakfasts so frozen fruit in bulk is a great way to save money each serving. This week we got a mix of fresh, frozen, and canned items:
Spinach
Yellow onions
Green onions
Sweet potatoes
Poblano pepper
Spaghetti squash
Mandarin oranges
Bananas
Tiny avocados
Mango chunks (frozen)
Pineapple chunks (frozen)
Diced tomatoes (canned)
Sweet corn (canned)
Black beans (canned)
Green chiles (canned)
Corn tortillas
Mustard (jar)
Avocado salsa (jar)
Dried fruit blend with cranberries, cherries, and golden raisins
Roasted peanuts
Outshine fruit bars for a tasty dessert (frozen)
Blackberry sparkling water
Cherry-lime sparking water
Unsweetened almond milk
Total Cost: $81.92
Protein & Packaged Goods
When it comes to protein, we eat everything - plant based proteins, chicken, seafood, eggs/dairy, and red meat. We also try to mix up our snack and packaged options throughout the week for our health and the environment. In an effort to fill up our fridge and freezer, we got a lot of different protein options as well as snacks and desserts to keep in the pantry:
18 pack of eggs - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and baking staple at our house
Waffles (frozen)
Italian sausage
Andouille chicken sausage
Turkey sticks (cured for snacks)
Herb seasoned pork loin
Chicken thighs (frozen)
Shrimp (frozen)
Deli turkey
String cheese
Cream cheese
Greek yogurt
Mini ice cream sandwiches (frozen) - half the size of a regular ice cream sandwich so a perfect sweet treat in the evening
Cheeze-it crackers
Beneful adult dog food (dried) - for the pup!
Total Cost: $93.68
Let's Chat!
What are your pantry or freezer staples? Do you have a favorite recipe for simple weeknight dinners we should try next? Share you favorite products or recipes in the comment section below.
