The Grocery Store Project Week 2: Grocery Outlet

I decided this week I would go ahead and do Grocery Outlet. In case you don't have one of those by you, it's basically the type of store that gets the "overstock" from other stores and sells it to you for ,supposedly, a huge discount. We have one near by and it gets a lot of hype. I frequently see numerous cars in the parking lot and people walking in and out, so it seemed like it was popular around here and I figured it was worth a shot. Plus I had a $5 off coupon if you spent $25 bucks or more. So that's a pretty good deal.

Before I get to my receipts,  Let's talk a bit about how a store like Grocery Outlet works and how it's different from your regular grocery. Like I said, they get the extras from stores and sell it for a lower price. What does that mean for shoppers? Well it means lower prices for one thing, but it also means stock that can be a little hit or miss. As in, you won't always get the same items week by week and not all of these items will be a brand you recognize. This isn't always bad, but you have to be aware of what you are getting. Another thing is, you have to REALLY check the dates on the packages. If something is frozen, fine, but you definitely want to check the dates on your fresh stuff like cheeses, meats, etc. And, you have to be prepared that they may not have an item you need for a recipe or you may not like the brand or quality of that product. So as long as you keep all of these in mind for your trip, you will be good to go, and hopefully not disappointed..

So last night as I built my meal plan for the week, I tried to pick products that I knew would be just about anywhere. I also knew that I was going to have to be prepared to either substitute or change the plan if something wasn't available or up to my standards OR I was going to have to be prepared to go to another store. I was prepared for that and decided that I would just play it by ear when I got there. If something was a really imperative product, I would have to go elsewhere, but if it was easily subbed for something they did have, I would do it.

So let's get to comparing, shall we?

My meal plan this week is:
Monday: Beef Tacos with rice
Tuesday: Ricotta Stuffed meatballs with pasta and a veggie
Wednesday: Hamburgers with couscous
Thursday: Greek lemon rice soup with a veggie
Friday: Meat and spinach lasagna
Saturday: Pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes and a veggie
Sunday: Crock pot Hawaiian chicken with rice

I'm going to actually talk about my overall experience and opinion before I get to the receipt because this was a bit of a different circumstance. You can walk into a major grocery store and know what you are going to find, but this was a different beast, so to speak.

This week was a typical week for us as far as items go. I needed toilet paper and frozen chicken breasts, but we had frozen ground beef, so like I said in the intro post to this project, it all kind of equaled out. I was a little nervous because some of the items I needed this week were things that are typical for us, but may not be typical for all stores. I mean sure, I figured I could get shredded mozzarella and toilet paper at Grocery Outlet, but would they have ricotta cheese? Would they have pork tenderloin? If they did, would it look okay to me? I was a little nervous going in about where I would draw the line and shop at another store.But I was prepared for that so in I went.

Walking through the aisles, it was clean and organized and pretty well stocked for the most part, maybe not quite like Safeway or Target but still put together and I could easily maneuver my way through the aisles to find my products. I was pleasantly surprised by quite a few items. A bag of onions for 99 cents? SCORE! 99 cents for a carton of Swanson's chicken broth? SCORE! They had the frozen chicken breasts I needed, they were Foster Farms (score for a good, trustworthy brand) and they were only $6.00 which is at least $2.00 off what I would have found at Safeway for the same product. But I was also a bit disappointed in some things. Like there was no pork tenderloin, which we really wanted and needed since we are having my father in law over on Saturday night for dinner. They had no ricotta cheese, which accounted for 2 meals I was making this week, including one that was going to be a freezer meal for us. I was totally unimpressed with the potatoes and fresh, whole garlic selection there. They had milk but the date wasn't great on it and I would rather have had milk from a place I trusted more then the sorta off brand that was there. The refrigerated meat didn't look bad, but I would have only bought the meat from a big name brand like Jennie-O or Foster Farms, and I really didn't need any of that, except frozen chicken breasts. Plus the biggest disappointment? They had almost no toilet paper. They had 2 choices, that was all and they were only 4 packs AND they were still 3 bucks! Really? Toilet paper? I was convinced that they would have a selection and a great deal on it. At that point, I felt defeated. So I decided to just buy what I could and what I liked and then go to Safeway for the rest.

Here's my receipts for both stores and the weekly total.

Grocery Outlet:
Frozen Chicken Breasts
Soft Tofu
3 lb bag of onions
1 Loaf of Wonder Bread
Green Giant fresh green beans (in that plastic steamer bag)
Dole Broccoli (int he plastic steamer bag in the fresh produce section)
Swanson's Chicken Broth (16oz)
Libby brand canned pineaple
Shredded Mozzarella 
Christopher Ranch peeled garlic (in a refrigerated bag in the fresh section, I bought this instead of a head of garlic, I was hoping it would last me longer)

Total: $21.20
I saved: 21.70 according to my receipt (I didn't end up getting to use my coupon though since I didn't spend $25.00)

Safeway:
4 Bottles of Refreshe Sparkling Fruit Water (Rob's favorite)
Toilet Paper (12 double rolls)
Ricotta cheese (32oz)
Milk
Pork Tenderloin
4.24 lbs of Red Potatoes
2 Lemons
2 bags of Pistachios
Total: $46.10
I saved $9.09 with my club card and sales

Weekly total: 67.80
 So I spent 40 cents more then last week. I will be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Yes, I did need toilet paper and frozen chicken. And yes pork tenderloin can be a bit pricey, but I also was using ground beef from the freezer and didn't go crazy with the extras.Plus last week I bought 3 kinds of meat, which is a lot for me to buy in one week, and those weren't all cheap meats! And I know that some of it was because I personally wasn't happy with the quality of some of the fresh products, but I won't buy off brands of certain things, and I won't skimp on produce. But, I did buy a lot of good stuff, stuff that isn't just a one week item, and we are entertaining this week which means a bit more food. And I did buy pistachios which totally weren't on the list, but they were on sale buy one get one free, and they are something that we like to snack on so I knew they wouldn't be a waste. So all in all, I'm still under budget, and got some good items. Will I go back there again? Probably, especially now that I have a better idea of what's there, but it won't be my weekly store.

So that was week 2! I'm looking forward to next week to see what the next store brings!

The Grocery Store Project. Week 1: Safeway

Ok so this was week 1 and so I started at my old standard. As I said, I did a typical weekly trip, where I bought some items just for the week, and some that were things that are more long term items, as in, I don't have to buy them each week and a few of my meals used ingredients I had already like chicken frozen and eggs. Here is how it went down:

My meal plan was:

Monday: Pork Milanese, Parsley Pasta Salad, and a veggie
Tuesday: Jambalaya and Rice
Wednesday: Pesto and cream cheese stuffed chicken with leftover pasta
Thursday: Turkey burgers with couscous
Friday: tortellini Alfredo
Saturday: Beef stir-fry
Sunday: Beef pitas with tzatziki sauce with veggie

So here's what I bought:
3 bottles of Refreshe sparkling fruit water (my husband loves these so I usually have to get them every few weeks)
Lemon juice
Cream Cheese
2 packages of frozen veggies (1 spinach, 1 stir fry veggies)
Greek Yogurt
Bagel Thins
Pita Pockets
2 containers of ground turkey
Think cut steaks
Think cut pork chops
1 bag of seedless grapes
2 Lemons
2 onions
Cole slaw mix (you know the chopped cabbage mix)
Parsley
Cilantro
Asparagus bunch
Tortellini (fresh)
Alfredo (also in the fresh section, not the jar)

In total, I spent 67.41

Not a bad deal for how much stuff I got, in my opinion. I always try to keep it under $70 but, I was nervous this week since I bought 3 kinds of meat, and good amount of fresh produce. With my club card and coupons, I saved 14.51. So, not horrid, but I probably could have saved more honestly.

My overall opinion of Safeway, is it's the old standard. I know where stuff is, I like the variety, and I like that I get the gas rewards by shopping there. I also like the Starbucks located right inside. I like the coupons, and the club card specials. And I think I got a pretty good deal this week.

We will have to see what the next weeks bring.

The Grocery Store Comparison Project

I have shopped at the same grocery store basically my entire life. Seriously. I have always been a Safeway kind of girl and no matter where we lived, I always shopped at the local Safeway. Recently I have been told that it's quite possible that I am overpaying for my groceries, which surprised me because we are pretty diligent about coupon use and club card savings. Not to mention I am usually on top of what is a less expensive alternative to an ingredient and can easily switch things out if something happens to be a great price.

With the amount of stores popping up all over, I became intrigued as to what other options were out there. As I visited the other stores, I realized that we could realistically cut Safeway out all together since these stores do have all the ingredients you could need, really with very few exceptions. But I wasn't about to transition right over without giving Safeway a fair shot. After all, it is known to have coupons and club card specials, which not all stores have. Plus it's a big chain so you can get on board with their products. But at the same time, we are the type of people who love to save a few bucks, so thus came the Grocery Store Project.

I started this project this week. I typically shop on Monday's so after this week, except the updates then, however since this week was the start, I wanted to do an intro post before I posted my first shopping trip adventure. So I will post my findings tomorrow from week 1 but first let's talk about how it works.

I am going to go to a different store each week, then the last week will be a combo of the stores, so I will see what I found for the best price and piece together stores and see how that adds up. Right now the stores I have on my list are Safeway, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, 99 Ranch Market, Target (they sell groceries now, ya know), Costco (although this may be tricky, I think it's worth a shot), Fresh and Easy, Grocery Outlet and Sprouts Yep, that many weeks, y'all. I am serious about my comparisons. If you happen to think of another store to add, I would love to hear your input and add it on my list.

Here's how the grocery lists will work...obviously we don't eat the same meals each week, and definitely won't want to do so for weeks on end, but you can assume that if I am doing a comparison that week it will have similar characteristics, as in it will include meals for 7 dinners per week, a couple of items that are stock up items that we only need to buy sometimes (cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc), and it will always be based off of some items that we have at home like frozen meat that we bought in a previous week, etc. But that will all balance out since we will always be taking from the freezer, and always buying something that goes in. Get what I mean? That may be hard to explain but I think you will see how it works as the weeks go by.

I will also include the items I bought, coupons I had, my basic meal plan for the week, store I went to, total amount spent and what my overall shopping experience was like. Feel free to ask any questions along the way.

Well I think that sums it up! Let's get started! Week 1 was Safeway (my old fav) so you will get to see that tomorrow!

A Few of My Favorite Things-child related section

I think one of the main things that I get asked both in general and for the business is "what products are your favorites for babies and children?" Well, the answer is usually, "well what sorts of items are you looking for?" Because, let's face it, there are more items out on the market then one person can really grasp and I have found more and more of them to not have a whole lot of uses. The stores are filled with products that you "must have" that you actually aren't really going to die without, right? I mean, even non-child related items, do you really need a slap chopper, magic bullet, mini food processor and knives? Uhh no, or at least I don't. (Although you will probably see my mini food processor in my other favorite things list, if we are being honest, I love that thing.) Ok, back to the point...I decided to post a few of my favorite, must have baby products here. These are ones that I have used and personally love and adore and find to be fantastic. But remember, different things work for different people and you should ALWAYS look around for reviews and recalls of products before making your decision. Everyone has different preferences and what works great for me today, may not tomorrow and may not work for you. Ok...on to the list...

1. The Baby Bjorn Original Classic (Link)

Why I love it:This is a product that has been around for a long time and is a favorite among many people that I know. It has some stiff competition, but in my opinion it is the easiest to use, especially when you are putting it on without assistance from another adult. It's easy to get on and off, comfortable for you and baby, and easy to just throw in the bottom of the stroller or keep in the trunk of the car in case. One thing that I loved is that it worked for me, despite my very petite frame. I was able to adjust it to fit my size and then leave it that way so every time I used it, I just had to strap it on and pop the baby in rather then going through the process of refitting it over and over. I also liked that you didn't have to be a contortionist to get it on yourself or to get baby into it. This was something I ran into with some similar carriers. I actually asked a few friends recently which one they liked, and they also agreed that this one was easy to use. I think I used it the most at the grocery store because it was great for before the kids were ready to sit in the cart, but were too old to stay in the infant seat the whole time. Since they can face in or out depending on size and age, it's great for those sorts of outings.

What I would change: This is one product that I actually think is great as is. I've never had a complaint except one time when I wore the baby in it far too long and was a little sore when I put her in the car, that was obviously my fault and not it's fault.

2. Dr Brown's Natural Flow Bottles (Link)

Why I love it: I love these bottles because they are a really well thought out product. They are BPA free which is big, they are natural flow, which means their flow resembles breast feeding, which is great for babies, they come in different shapes and sizes and have different levels of nipples depending on how old your baby is. The higher the level, the faster the flow of milk. It's a nice feature. I have always used the slim ones, which fit great in little containers or pockets rather then some bulkier bottles out there. They also do help with gas and colic with the way they are constructed. I think this is a great product from a company that seems to really have their stuff together. Their website has a good deal of information on their products and the benefits of them which I love because I am a research freak :)

What I would change: This is minor, and usually operator error, but the little stopper that goes in the straw part really has to be pushed in, or you will have leakage. I had a few leaks because of quickly pushing them in but not really ensuring they were tight. Yes, I know, it's totally a me thing, but still should mention it so you can benefit from my spills :)

3. Boppy Pillows (Link)

Why I love it: So Boppy pillows come in a few different ways, you can buy it and then buy a slip cover separate, buy it with slipcovers and their is the newborn lounger, which looks like the classic one, but is filled in in the middle so baby can lounge on it. These things rock for feedings, rock for when baby gets a bit older and can lounge, rocks for when your baby won't sleep and you have to hold it on your lap and rock it for hours until you arms feel like they may fall off...ok, well they help them not feel like they are going to fall off. This pillow offers support for baby or whoever is holding baby. The covers are also washable which, is a must with babies and children. One thing though, make sure you read the way it's supposed to be used first. I think it's tempting to just put baby on in there, but you have to make sure you are using it correctly and always in supervision, not in the crib, or in the other room, and not before baby is ready. The use instructions can be found on their webpage, right (here)

What I would change: Again, I don't think there's a thing I would change about this product. I think when used correctly, it's a great thing to have around, a necessity even, in my book, since it has a lot of uses.


So...that's at least a starter list! If you have any baby or kid products you love, let me know in the comments or in an email! I would love to hear your thoughts on these and other products!

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter

On weeknights we typically want a quick, but not boxed dinner. You know, something that makes us feel like we ate well, but not spend an hour doing so. And lately, I have been trying to watch our calorie intake, and get us in the habit of having more balanced meals. My boss got me started on Eatingwell.com and I'm hooked! She and I are both making recipes from there quite frequently, and I haven't been disappointed yet.

I came across this Gnocchi recipe and immediately bookmarked it (and Pinned it, in case you were wondering), and saved it for an occasion where we needed a quick meal.This week was it. I made one change to it...omitting the tomatoes since we aren't huge tomato fans. As a result, I added a touch more butter since it seemed to get a bit dry as it was cooking. I'm guessing this was because the tomatoes would have added some natural liquid, but that's okay. Who's going to complain about a little extra butter?

Overall this dish was amazingly delicious. It was filling but not overly so, rich but still light. It came together really quickly, which was a huge plus. I definitely suggest making sure you have all the veggies prepped, including the parsley all chopped and ready to go because otherwise it will be a mad dash and you may over cook your sauce which can also cause it to dry out a bit.
So here's the recipe, I highly recommend it. It would totally work for entertaining as well.

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter-From Eating Well (Link)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh or frozen gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium shallots, chopped
• 1 pound zucchini, (about 3 small), very thinly sliced lengthwise (I used the mandolin slicer for this)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook gnocchi until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add shallots and zucchini and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, nutmeg and pepper and continue cooking, stirring often, until the tomatoes are just starting to break down, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and parsley. Add the gnocchi and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

 And a picture of what ours looked like....it's not the best picture ever, but it'll give you the point.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Mac and Cheese

There are few things my husband and I love more in the world than Mac and Cheese. Seriously. You would think we were toddlers with how we just adore the stuff. We used to eat the Kraft boxed kind, which, I won't knock too much because let's face it, it's easy, quick, and not horribly gross. But, I will say, there are few things better then good homemade macaroni and cheese. And now that I have found an easy, delicious recipe, the blue box has been kicked out of our house!

I used to make a recipe that Rob found a few years ago when he lived with roommates. I sort of adapted it overtime and it was always "alright" but not perfect...but it was filling and relatively cheap and easy so it stuck around. Then, I found a new recipe. It was by Rachael Ray, who I usually love, although not always. But this time, she won me over. Now, note that this isn't just mac and cheese, it's a complete meal because she adds broccoli and chicken. But if you want to do it without, you can easily just not add those things in. So first, I will post her original recipe and the link...then we can go on to how to make this your own!

Rachael Ray's "Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli" (Link)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists
• 2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets, available packaged in produce department
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar
• 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard

Directions

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.

Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.
To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.
While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.
Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.
Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter and serve.

 Notes: I usually use a bit more cheese then her recipe calls for since I like mine extra creamy and cheesy. It also makes the sauce a bit thicker, which I like. We also mix up the cheeses according to what we have on hand, but our favs are the sharp cheddar with some colby jack. Oh and one last note, she says whole milk, but I have used 2% no problem. My only suggestion is to make sure you aren't using low fat cheese since the consistency is a little different and it doesn't melt as smoothly. If I happen to have low fat cheese, I will use mostly regular and then just supplement with a little low fat (like 2 cups regular, 1 cup low fat, or some similar fraction of cheese ratio).

Super easy peasy right? And do you want to know a trick to make it even easier? Either used leftover chicken from a previous night, or buy those precooked chicken pieces from your local grocery and just throw it in. It makes it even faster and easier.

Now...to change this up is super simple. You can use a variety of cheeses. You can basically take the chicken and replace it with a ground meat (or sliced/cubed but you will probably want to stick with white meat if you are going the sliced or diced route since the texture will match better) and any vegetable. Some of the combos I have made are with ground beef and broccoli and ground beef and frozen spinach. Both have been super simple and really yummy. I just browned the beef first and defrosted the spinach then added it in as the directions stated. This is one recipe that is fantastic for using up what's around! Try it out and tell me what your fav combos are! I would love to hear what worked for you!