Saturday, June 1, 2013

Week 1 Groceries, CSAs & Co-Ops

I've been trying different Co-Ops, CSAs, etc trying to find a good one around here for fresh, local and organic produce.  First I tried Full Circle.  While their food was fabulous and delivered to my door, it was way overpriced for what I got.  I was glad I had used a coupon code I found for 50% off.  They have several sizes to choose from, the one I got was $27.95 for 1 Bunch of Broccoli, .33lb Mixed Greens, 1 Cucumber, 4oz Mushrooms, 1 Green Leaf Lettuce, 1 Swiss Chard, 2 Fuji Apples, 3 Navel Oranges.  I forgot to take a picture, but that's not much food for almost $30.

Then I tried Olympia Local Foods and was much happier.  I got all this for just under $40, delivered to my door for $0.01.  Still a little high priced but I did get to pick and choose what I wanted.  It's set up like an online store and you pick what you want.


This week, I found a local CSA Blissfully Organic Co-Op and ordered a share from them.  *Happy Dance!* Much, much better!  $22.50 for everything seen here.  They're just a few minute drive away from me so it worked out pretty nice.


I wanted to see how this breaks down price wise.  As much as I like local, organic produce, I have a budget, too.

If I would have purchased all this from Winco (Not local, not organic) I would have paid $19!  So, for only an extra $3.50 I have much better quality, Organic produce!  That works for me!

Yesterday I also bought just under 6lbs of chicken breast from Safeway for $11.99 and a box of Green Tea for $2.50.  Green Tea is supposed to be really good for weight loss, so I am going to add it to my diet.  

I finished up my grocery shopping at Winco today for the week (hopefully, but not promising).  I bought Spinach, Kale, Cantaloupe, Ginger Root, Cauliflower, Sunflower Seeds and Dry Garbanzo Beans for $9.96.

So, here it is.  For the week (and I'll let you know if I buy anything else, I usually do):

Bananas
Strawberries
Apples
Mango
Grapes
Limes
Cantaloupe
Eggplant
Onions
Mushrooms
Red Leaf Lettuce
Kale
Spinach
Cauliflower

Chicken
Various Dried Beans

Of course I still have stuff around the house from previous weeks, but so far I've spent $46.95.  My goal budget is $75-$100.  This is to include breakfast/lunches for my husband and son, which you will not see, as I am only sharing my meals.  My husband is eating dinners with me, my son eats what he eats.  I use coupons to save money on what he needs.  

So, here we go!

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like you're off to a great start with all that fruit and veg! Other options for saving money on green tea is to buy it bulk at a co-op, and invest in a pour-over strainer like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Tea-Services-Paris-Tea-Cup-Strainer/dp/B004T8FDGA/ref=pd_sim_k_2
    You can probably find something similar for a more affordable price at a local kitchen store. I bought an 8 oz. bag of loose leaf gourmet tea at a farmer's market for $5 and with the strainer, I could use less tea per cup (just let it brew a bit longer... I don't like my tea scalding anyway). That bag of tea lasted me for months.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great info, thank you! I had not thought about buying bulk Green Tea. Fabulous idea :)

      Delete