Weekly Shopping Trip Report - March 30, 2012

This week I took a late Friday shopping excursion to Whole Foods.  Good news, though: My new reusable produce and bulk bags I bought from Joyce1492 on Etsy arrived. They are fabulous!  I'm trying to incorporate the tips from Bea Johnson and using reusable bags and jars is one of them.

I gathered up my shopping bags, produce bags, glass jars and off I went.  The WF employee at the customer service counter weighed the tare of my containers and I hit the produce section first.  I don't have enough jars yet, but I should in the next few weeks as I have been making a conscious effort to buy items in glass jars where possible (as opposed to plastic).

The produce bags are awesome. I wished I had more, but I've ordered additional bags (including a bread bag!) from ThreadBareStitcher on Etsy and am anxiously awaiting their arrival. I should be good to go once they get here.

The Bulk Aisle Goods

Apples and Citrus

The Shrimp

I filled up mixed produce in two of the bags, which the cashier sorted without complaint.

Next up was the meat counter.  I needed shrimp and handed over the jar.  No problem!



When I got to the check-out counter, the cashier had a little difficulty with a couple of the jars I filled with items from the olive bar (jalapeño cilantro pesto and assorted olives and greek peppers).  When the price popped up I told him I didn't think it was quite right.  He quickly corrected the error and we were good to go.

The Whole She-Bang: Not a Great Picture

Whole Foods Summary

I used all of my own shopping bags, bought dog food and toilet paper.  The total was $152.14. 

There were several "out of the ordinary" purchases this week that increased my total.  First, my favorite pasta was on sale for $1.39 per package instead of $1.99 per package, so I got 4.  Second, I bought chocolate chips ($6.69) from the bulk bin and a box of 100 Stevia packets ($5.99) which are not weekly purchases.  Finally, the Bell & Evans chicken nuggets (a must have for nights when you just don't feel like cooking) were on sale buy one get one free ($7.49 for two).  I wasn't originally planning on buying them, but that's a great price so I got two boxes.  

Otherwise, here's how it broke down:

• Produce, $29.44 (oranges, apples, bananas, strawberries, watermelon, limes, tomatoes, mint, avacado, mixed field greens)
• Meat, $21.07 (shrimp, chicken nuggets, turkey breast, salami)
• Drinks, $18.74 (milk, goat milk, orange juice, apple juice, sparkling water, root beer)
• Dog Food, $14.99
• Toilet Paper, $3.99
• Other, $63.91 (salsa, refried beans, bulk items -- oats, cereal, chocolate chips, chocolate covered pretzels and veggie chips, pasta, ice cream, baguette, pop chips, harissa, olive bar stuff, bag of shredded cheese)

Texas Daily Harvest Summary (All Organic/Grass-Fed/Pastured/Free Range)

I bought a dozen eggs, one pound of roasted coffee, 8 ounces of colby cheese, bacon and a pound of ground beef from Texas Daily Harvest that will be delivered Tuesday.  This cost $41.48.  

Total

My total for the week was $193.62.

This included dog food and toiletries. We have two dogs: Toby is 13 and is a border collie/shepherd mix.  Eddie is a 10 month old miniature dachshund/chihuahua mix.  The dog food I bought is for Toby and should last her about a week.  Eddie still has food from a previous bag we bought for him. I plan on learning how to make dog food myself later this year. It's on the list of things to do, along with learning how to make my own cleaning supplies.

Because this was a late evening trip, my ravenous, whiny children were crawling all over me for dinner, so I had to make it. Stat!  We had sandwiches on part of the baguette, fresh fruit and pop chips. Nothing fancy, but delicious.

A little trivia about this post: I had half of it drafted. One bad move with the delete button and *poof* it disappeared. Gah!

Tomorrow I'll post what I plan on cooking this week.