January Review
Before we dig into February, let’s break down what we spent in January on food. We budgeted $600 and our actual spending came in at $602.17.
- Groceries $419.48: $370.32 was spent on our initial shopping trip (see January’s Meal Plan). The remaining $49.16 was for produce, milk and snacks purchased in the 3rd week of the month.
- Dining Out $137.13: We ordered takeout 4 times, grabbed a coffee to-go 4 times and Mr. Doughmaker enjoyed 1 dessert date with our daughter as a reward for her bravery during a doctor’s appointment.
- Libations $45.56: Adult beverages.
Now that we’ve got a good handle on where we landed for January, let’s move into February.
The Meals
A quick Google search can lead you to a recipe for any of these meals.
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (Paleo/Low Fodmap))
- Bacon Kale Sweet Potato Hash (double recipe)
- Basil Coconut Ground Beef Skillet with Vegetables and Rice (substitute Tamari for Coconut Aminos)
- Instant Pot Cuban Style Pork (Low Fodmap)
- Vegetable Soup (Low Fodmap)
- Salmon with Asparagus and Rice
- Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Stew (Gluten free)
- Shrimp Tacos (Low Fodmap)
- Homemade Pizza
- Roasted Chicken
- Spaghetti
- Tacos
- Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup
These meals comprise our dinners. We plan to eat each meal twice during the month so we have to buy twice as much ingredients as the recipe calls for. We also added fresh fruits, vegetables, breakfast and lunch items to our list below as well as any miscellaneous household items we needed.
This month, Mr. Doughmaker is testing out a Pumpernickel bread recipe as well as a Marbled Rye bread recipe and I’m baking a birthday cake for my sister-in-law so we’ve included ingredients for those below.
The Grocery List
| Dry Goods / Spices 2 cans Coconut Milk Canola Oil Sm. Avocado Oil Chili Powder Smoked Paprika Thyme Tamari BBQ Sauce Corn Starch Dark Molasses Rice Flour Rye Flour 6 lb Coffee Vanilla extract 2 bags Powdered sugar | Produce 2 bags Mini Sweet Peppers 1 bag Green Onions 4 Sweet Potatoes 4 small bundles Kale 2 pk Basil 1 bag Limes 1 pc Ginger 1 pk Carrots 2 Garlic 1 Small Green Cabbage 1 bunch Cilantro 1 bunch Parsley 1 pk Asparagus 2 lb Baby Red Potatoes 2 qt Strawberries 1 Lemon 10 Bananas Grapes |
| Bread 2 cups Orange Marmalade 2 loaves Bread 2 loaves Gluten-free Bread Corn tortillas | Pasta Jasmine Rice 4 cans San Marzano Whole Tomatoes 2 cups Quinoa 2 cans Tomato Soup |
| Meat 2 lb Chicken Breasts 1 1/2 lb Bacon 3 lb Ground Beef 6 lb Pork Butt 2 Roaster Chickens 4 lb Stew Meat (beef) 1 lb Deli Meat 1 1/2 lb Deli Cheese 1lb Shrimp | Snacks / Breakfast 1 can Diced Pineapples 6 boxes Oatmeal Popcorn Chips Gluten-free Oreos Gum 1/2 gal Orange Juice 1/2 gal Iced Tea 1/2 gal Lemonade |
| Miscellaneous Kids’ Toothpaste Paper Plates Diapers Gallon freezer bags | Frozen 1 bag Frozen Broccoli 2 bags Frozen Peas 3 bags Frozen Green Beans |
| Dairy 4 dozen Eggs 1 gal Milk 1/2 gal Almond Milk 1 Parmesan Wedge 2 Mozzarella Balls 4 lb Butter 2 pk String Cheese 1 cup Sour Cream |
Bottom Line
Mr. Doughmaker did the shopping at 7 stores for the month spending a total of $398.36. This was an unusually high number of stores for Mr. Doughmaker to visit, but since it was Super Bowl weekend, the stores were running low on inventory so in order to get all of the items, he made a few extra stops.
If you’re curious what those 7 stores were and how much was spent at each:
- Aldi $90.80 – This is always the first stop for shopping as the prices are less than the large grocery stores
- Redner’s $48.30
- Giant $73.44
- Target $66.71
- Farmer’s Market $24.77
- Specialty Baking Shop $10.20 – this was to find some special flours for the new bread recipes Mr. Doughmakers is trying this month
- Local Coffee Roaster $84.14
New to the Blog?
If you’re new to The Doughmakers, check out our posts here and here for more on why we prioritize meal planning and how it kicked off our budgeting success.
