Grocery Diaries

I’m a Paralegal, and My Husband Is a Special Education Teacher — We Spent $118 on a Week’s Worth of Groceries and Came in $32 Under Budget

Mara Weinraub
Mara WeinraubSenior Editor of Groceries at The Kitchn
I cover the grocery news worth talking about. In my six years as a journalist, I worked at Hearst Magazines and freelanced for SAVEUR, Food52, TASTE, and Edible Long Island. I’m also a longtime volunteer with Minds Matter NYC and a first-time aunt to an objectively adorable nephew.
published Jul 18, 2024
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Graphic with family portrait and receipt with Nugget Market logo
Credit: Photo: Elizabeth; Logo: Nugget Markets
  • Name: Elizabeth and Evan
  • Location: Sacramento, CA
  • Number of people in household: 4; my husband Evan, me, our dog Daisy, and our soon-to-be born daughter
  • Age: 36 (Elizabeth) and 34 (Evan)
  • Occupation: I am a self-employed home baker and an independent contract paralegal; Evan is a varsity basketball coach and special education teacher.
  • Salary: About $93,000 currently (after maternity leaves starts, about $77,000)
  • Where you shopped: Nugget Markets, Davis Farmers Market, and our garden
  • Weekly grocery budget: $150
  • Amount spent: $118.09
Credit: Elizabeth

Where did you shop?

We typically shop at Nugget Markets, a family-owned grocery chain based in Northern California, for meat and specialty items, like nondairy cheeses and yogurts. The quality of the meat at Nugget is the best we have found in our area, and the availability of nondairy items are important for me, being lactose intolerant. 

We typically get our fruits and veggies from the farmers market I work at once a month. I’m a baker, and I barter with the farmers. It’s amazing, and we are very lucky to access the incredible produce they grow locally. Also, the farmers are extremely generous with their swapping, so one farmers market produce haul can last our family up to three weeks at a time. Once the produce runs out, anything we need comes from our garden or freezer. Our garden currently has slicing tomatoes, sungold and cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, zucchini for days, cucumbers, peaches, and blackberries. 

Pantry items are usually bought at Walmart or Winco (which has my favorite bulk foods sections). For this week, we didn’t need to restock any pantry items. 

Credit: Elizabeth

What’s your grocery strategy?

We keep a running list of items we run out of during the week before we shop on Sunday. We aim to go food shopping once a week, but sometimes we make a second trip to the store during the week if we forgot something. I am proud to say this week we planned well and didn’t need to do that! 

I HATE wasting food and make it my mission to use up everything in our fridge before it becomes inedible. This means I am very good at reusing items we already have in our kitchen. I also rely on our freezer to store surplus ingredients or leftovers (and label everything) to use when we are low on fresh items. It brings me joy to open a fully stocked freezer when a last-ditch, dead-tired dinner has to be made. (This is happening more often for me because I am almost eight months pregnant!)

This week, we only spent $118.09 of our $150 budget, so we took that surplus and used it for unplanned extras, like ordering breakfast on-the-go and dinner and brunch out.

How do you meal plan? 

On Sundays, Evan and I sit down and figure out what sounds good to each of us for dinner that week. We really only plan dinners, because luckily Evan and I love leftovers and we will eat dinner leftovers for breakfast and lunches. I also grew up in a family who always made large batch meals, so we always have leftovers! (My dream). 

I make a loose meal plan, based on cravings and what we already have in the freezer and pantry. Then we’ll review our schedules for the week and decide who’s cooking what on which days. Evan is really good at grilling and making stir-fries, so he will often cook those nights. Whenever he’s coaching a basketball game or on nights I have a lot of energy, I usually cook dinner. 

What did you buy?

Nugget Markets

  • Coconut yogurt, $8.49
  • Coconut water, $5.49
  • Olive oil, $10.99
  • Italian dressing, $4.99
  • Roasted garlic crackers, $4.99
  • Sliced olives, $2.99
  • Flour tortillas, $5.99
  • Top sirloin steak, $9.84
  • Roasted garlic and gruyere chicken sausage, $6.49
  • Sliced honey ham, $6.99
  • Canadian bacon, $4.99
  • Nondairy scallion cream cheese, $ 7.99
  • Shredded Parmesan, $5.99
  • Udon noodle packs, $4.98
  • Nondairy shredded mozzarella, $5.99
  • Supergreens lettuce mix, $6.99
  • Organic peaches, $8.18
  • five-year cheddar, $1.44
  • Grande Provolone, $1.12
  • Ossau-Iraty sheep milk cheese, $2.00
  • Red gouda, $1.17 

Total: $118.09

Davis Farmers Market

  • 2 fennel bulbs
  • 1 eggplant
  • 2 dozen eggs (not pictured)
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 1 slicing tomato
  • 1 bunch beets
  • 1 cantaloupe
  • 6 small heads of garlic
  • 1 bunch dinosaur kale
  • 1 huge zucchini
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • 2 pounds new baby potatoes
  • 1 bunch spring onion (not pictured)
  • 1 liter apple cider (not pictured)

Total: FREE (Bartered with my homemade baked goods: cookies, savory galettes, sourdough cinnamon rolls, and cake truffles!)

Grand Total: $118.09

Credit: Elizabeth

Sunday: Tea, Leftover Pizza, Electrolyte Drink, Clean Out the Fridge Lunch, Peach, Brownie, Tomato Sauced Bread, Nonalcoholic Wine, Pasta, and a Chocolate Chunk Cookie

I get up early to make a large batch of tomato sauce using last year’s frozen tomatoes from our garden, market spring onions and garlic, and our garden basil. I’m slowly starting the process of meal prepping for when I give birth, so most of this tomato sauce will go into the freezer for Future Me. I make Yorkshire Gold tea with creamer and local honey, and take Metamucil and prenatal vitamins (YUM!).

On Sundays before grocery shopping, Evan and I try to eat everything in the fridge that is going bad or old. This pizza is from earlier this week. Evan has pizza, too, when he wakes up.

Credit: Elizabeth

After we walk our dog Daisy, I have a LMNT electrolyte drink with half water and half coconut water. It’s been so hot in Sacramento and will continue to get hotter. This helps the leg cramps I’ve been getting during my pregnancy.

Credit: Elizabeth

For lunch, I make guacamole from an old avocado and some salsa, and eat it with stale chips. I also have a peach sprinkled with Tajín and half a leftover brownie I made for my farmers market with a glass of almond milk. Not the most nutritious meal, but it’s what’s left in the fridge! Evan has cheese cubes and olives. 

Credit: Elizabeth

After we grocery shop, I make myself a snack: bread with tomato sauce and a glass of 0% dealcoholized chardonnay wine. Now that I’m in my third trimester, I find that I have to eat smaller meals more often, which is fine with me because I love to eat!

Credit: Elizabeth

For dinner, we have angel hair pasta with homemade sauce, greens and non dairy cheese. I often combine a handful of greens (super-green mix, kale, arugula — whatever I have) with Italian dressing and nondairy cheese and microwave it. Then, I’ll add it to whatever we are eating for dinner. This helps me get extra greens and nutrition in my meal, but also it tastes good! Evan has angel hair with sauce, no greens. 

Credit: Elizabeth

I have some frozen brown butter chocolate chunk cookie dough leftover from my day at the market. I bake one cookie and eat it for dessert.

Credit: Elizabeth

Monday: Morning Tea, Peanut Butter Crackers, English Muffin, Yogurt with Peach Slices, Cheese, Apple, Leftover Pasta, Brownie, Chicken Burrito, Grilled Steak with Eggplant and Baby Potatoes, and a Chocolate Chunk Cookie 

I wake up and make myself Yorkshire Gold tea with creamer and local honey again, and take my Metamucil and prenatal vitamins (this is the routine). This morning I am hungrier, so I have two crackers with peanut butter.

Credit: Elizabeth

For breakfast, I have a homemade sourdough English muffin: one half with avocado toast and garden sungolds, the other half ham, (double yolk!) egg, and Kewpie mayo. I also have half a cup of Cocojune yogurt with one peach and protein powder sprinkled on top. I leave for work before Evan eats (he’s on summer break). So to be honest, I don’t know what he has; I’m 99% sure it’s leftovers, though! 

Credit: Elizabeth

I eat 2 ounces of Red Leicester cheese and half an apple for a snack. I take a Lactaid pill when I eat cheese. During my pregnancy, I have found I can eat more dairy cheese because my side effects (bloating, an uncomfortable stomach) are the same as pregnancy symptoms. So I don’t notice them as much! Also, cheese is my love language, and I have to live a little!

Credit: Elizabeth

Lunch is leftover angel hair pasta with greens and nutritional yeast on top. (That’s my breakfast peaches with yogurt in the picture, too). Evan says I eat too much nutritional yeast, but NUTRITIONAL is in the name so I think I eat just enough, thank you. I love that stuff. I finish lunch off with half of a homemade brownie and a cup of peppermint tea with coconut milk and honey. Evan, who is on summer break, gets a Chipotle Chicken burrito for lunch ($10). Lucky duck!

Credit: Elizabeth

Evan is the grill master in this house, so he makes a great juicy steak and I grill the veggies. I make little tinfoil packets of sliced baby potatoes and add oil, herbs, and salt and pepper. They go on the grill first. I slice the eggplant thin and just threw it in a bag with some miso salad dressing and soy sauce to give it extra flavor. I let that sit out while Evan grills the steak. Then, I grill the eggplant for 5 minutes l while the steak rests. Delicious! (Also, I eat steak with a mix of ketchup and A1 sauce. I have since I was a little kid, and I can’t break that habit.)

I have another homemade brown butter chocolate chunk cookie with almond milk for dessert.

Credit: Elizabeth

Tuesday: Tea, Vegan Chicken and Waffles, Yogurt with Peach Slices, Leftover Burrito, Lentil Flatbread, Brownie, Burrito, Snack Bar, and Grilled Chicken and Salad

I have my tea with creamer and local honey, followed by Metamucil and prenatal vitamins. I also eat a chunk of bread with tomato sauce because, again, I’m pregnant and hungry. I leave home really early to get my oil changed because it’s due, and also it’s going to be a high of 111 degrees Fahrenheit today. It takes way longer than I originally expect, so I don’t have time to make my own breakfast. 

On my way to work I stop at Plant Power, a vegan fast-food spot, and order a Vegan Chikn’ and waffles breakfast sandwich with an extra JUST egg, plant-based bacon, and honey mustard dipping sauce. It’s super filling and delicious. At $17.54, it’s expensive, but worth it. I also eat my usual yogurt with a whole peach. Evan eats his leftover chicken burrito for breakfast when he woke up. 

Credit: Elizabeth

For lunch, I have whole wheat lentil filled flatbread (made by Bolani, vendors at my farmers market). I joked to the lady who I get them from that her delicious vegan flatbreads and dips have single-handedly grown our daughter since she was conceived! These flatbread are so good I often have multiple in the freezer waiting for me. I top today’s with sun-dried tomato pesto, grilled eggplant (leftover), kale, garden tomatoes, and nondairy cheese. I finished off lunch with another half of a homemade brownie. For lunch, Evan makes a burrito with the leftover eggplant and potatoes. 

Later that afternoon, I have a Nutri-Grain bar at my prenatal class. I also get weighed at class and now vow to only eat one dessert a day instead of after every meal (we’ll see how this goes).

Credit: Elizabeth

We make a salad with romaine, garden tomatoes and cucumbers, chicken Evan marinated and grills, and French dressing, and serve it with a hunk of bread for dinner. IT’S SO HOT OUTSIDE (111 degrees!), that it’s a struggle to eat, but I do it because our daughter is probably hungry. 

Credit: Elizabeth

Wednesday: Tea, Breakfast Tacos, Yogurt with Peach Slices, Another Flatbread, Cheese, Apple, Iced Decaf Mocha, Leftover Chicken with Salad, Calzone, Soda, and Chocolate Covered Pretzels

I wake up and have my usual Yorkshire Gold tea with creamer and local honey, Metamucil, and prenatal vitamins. Creature of habit over here. Evan makes breakfast tacos this morning — another of his specialties. He uses leftover veggies from dinner (eggplant, potatoes), garden tomatoes, eggs, nondairy cheese, greens, avocado, and tortilla. So good. I also have my yogurt and a peach. 

Credit: Elizabeth

For lunch, I have a Bolani flatbread again with garden tomatoes, greens. I also eat 2 ounces of Red leicester cheese and half an apple. I treat myself with a small iced decaf almond mocha ($5) at the coffee shop near my work that I can walk to. That’s how I get my steps in on a hot day, with a treat at the end! Evan has leftover chicken salad for lunch. Leftovers are great!

Credit: Elizabeth

For dinner, I make one happy pig calzone from Molly Yeh’s cookbook (I use my frozen homemade pizza dough and nondairy cheeses). We cook the calzones on the grill because it was way too hot to turn the oven on in the house. I burn the bottoms, but overall the grill worked out okay to bake them!

Credit: Elizabeth

I also have a mini can of Coke and eight chocolate-covered pretzels.

Credit: Elizabeth

Thursday: Tea, English Muffin, Yogurt with Peach Slices, Egg Sandwich, Leftover Calzone, Snacks, Chicken Sausage Stir-Fry, and Birthday Cake Truffle

I have my Yorkshire Gold tea with creamer and local honey, and my Metamucil and prenatal vitamins. The day starts at 4 a.m. because Evan’s parents are going on an Icelandic cruise for three weeks, and we are babysitting their dog Gracie. I work from home today because I know I’ll be extremely tired and cranky.

I have an early breakfast at 5:30 a.m.: Homemade English muffins with peanut butter and apple slices. This is by far my favorite breakfast. Anything peanut butter and apples I will eat no matter what. Evan eats a leftover calzone from last night for breakfast.

Credit: Elizabeth

Lunch is at 10 a.m. (Wow, my eating schedule is messed up when I get up super early!) I have yogurt with a peach and protein powder, an egg sandwich Evan brings me from the cafe where he has his basketball coaches’ meeting ($10). It has bacon, tomato, spinach and two eggs all on whole wheat toast. Super good! 

This is a day of grazing. I have some leftover calzone for a snack because I was very hungry, and also so tired. Evan snacks on cheese cubes, olives, and crackers with cut-up plums.  After work, I take a much-needed nap and then make myself get up and go to the gym to swim in the pool. The outdoor temp was 113 degrees, and the pool temp was 91! Still felt good. 

Credit: Elizabeth

For dinner, we have chicken sausage stir-fry with garden tomatoes, greens, and caramelized onions. Evan’s specialty! 

Credit: Elizabeth

Later that evening, I have one homemade birthday cake truffle for dessert.

Credit: Elizabeth

Friday: Tea, English Muffin, Peach, Leftover Stir-Fry, Cheese, Apple, Brownie, Snacks, Dinner Out, and a Birthday Cake Truffle at Home

I have my usual tea, Metamucil, and prenatals. Breakfast is an English muffin sando with Canadian bacon, two eggs, garden tomatoes, and nondairy cheese. I’m out of yogurt, so I just have a peach with Tajín. Evan eats leftover chicken sausage stir-fry for breakfast. 

For lunch, I add beets, avocado, walnuts, and greens to the leftover chicken sausage stir-fry. I also have my Red Leicester cheese and apple, and half of a brownie as well. Evan snacks again for lunch, including cheese, olives, crackers, pickles, and fruit. 

Credit: Elizabeth

Come dinner, we decide it’s too hot to turn anything on or cook. We go to this bar and grille that serves incredibly yummy pho and other dishes that are just as great. I get the drunken noodles with tofu, and Evan orders the pho ($35). The chef says she likes it when people still order hot soup on such hot days and we say, “We can’t help it! It’s so tasty!” (We eat indoors, where there’s air conditioning.)

Back at home, I have another birthday cake truffle for dessert. 

Credit: Elizabeth

Saturday: Tea, Leftover Drunken Noodles and Pho, Brunch Out, and Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I actually slept in this morning! I have my usual tea and meds, and eat some of my leftover drunken noodles for a small breakfast. Evan eats his leftover pho for an lite breakfast. 

It’s so much cooler this morning, and Evan and I jump at the chance to walk the dogs without overheating. After we come back, we take a long walk downtown and enjoy the cooler temps and nice breeze. We end up stopping for brunch! 

I have huevos rancheros, which is good but spicy, and Evan has eggs benedict ($30). Even though we didn’t plan this meal, it’s nice to have a little savings to do these spur of the moment outings before our daughter gets here. Also, being pregnant, I’ll never say no to brunch!

Credit: Elizabeth

With the day being a much more pleasant temperature, I’m able to make chicken enchilada casserole for dinner. I use another Molly Yeh recipe, this time from a different cookbook (I really love her and her food!), for chicken cream cheese enchiladas. I didn’t have canned enchilada sauce, so I combine an onion, with half an orange pepper, garlic, garden tomatoes, homemade green salsa and beef birria broth I’d previously frozen. I cook everything down and blend it in the Vitamix, and wow! It is better than I even imagined. 

I also use frozen shredded chicken from a rotisserie we had bought earlier and leftover corn tortillas (also frozen), so the whole meal didn’t take very long. Plus, we didn’t have to buy any special ingredients. I swap in nondairy cream cheese and add corn and olives to the recipe (Evan loves olives in everything). They are a great addition. 

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