April Review
A quick review of April’s meal spending before we begin on May. We budgeted $600 and our actual spending came in at $839.78.
- Groceries $567.25: $321.53 was spent on our initial shopping trip (see April’s Meal Plan). The remaining $245.72 was for produce, milk, bulk coffee and snacks purchased in the 3rd week of the month.
- Dining Out $200.20: We ordered takeout 4 times and took 4 trips for Italian ice and ice cream.
- Libations $72.33: Adult beverages.
Now let’s jump into May.
The Meals
A quick Google search can lead you to a recipe for any of these meals.
- Steak and Quinoa Salad
- Slow-Cooker Chicken Tacos
- Oven-Baked Chicken Kebabs
- BBQ Apple Sweet Potato Burgers
- Brothy Pasta with Chick Peas
- Stir-fry Rice with Pork
- Seared Pork Chops with Citrus Dressing
- Homemade Pizza
- Roast Chicken with Vegetables
- Breakfast for Dinner
- Spaghetti
- BLTs
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. Mr. Doughmaker also bought ingredients to make me a Mother’s Day feast.
The Grocery List
| Snacks / Breakfast 2 bags Corn Chips 3 boxes Pop Tarts 5 boxes Cereal 2 bags Pretzels 1 box Oreos | Dairy 1 pint Sour Cream 1 gal Milk 6 slices Cheddar Cheese 2 dozen Eggs 2 bags Shredded Cheddar Cheese 1 bag Mexican Cheese 3 balls Mozzarella 1/2 gal Almond Milk 10 Noosa yogurts |
| Pasta 8 cans San Marzano Tomatoes 4 cans Whole Tomatoes 2 boxes Spaghetti 2 boxes Orecchiette 2 cans Chick Peas | Dry Goods / Spices Olive Oil 2 sm jars Salsa Mustard Ketchup Maple Syrup Curry Powder 24 oz bag Chocolate Chips |
| Bread Corn Tortillas Flour Tortillas 1 pkg Hamburger Buns 2 loaves Bread | Meat 2 lb Flank Steak (2 portions) 6 lb Chicken Breasts 2 lb Ground Turkey 1 1/2 lb Ground Pork 2 Roaster Chickens 2 lb Bacon 10 thick cut Pork Chops |
| Produce 1 pkg Spinach 1 bag Carrots 2 Jalapeños 3 Tomatoes (on the vine) 1 Avocado 1 Zucchini 1 Red Pepper 6 Sweet Potatoes 6 Lemons 2 small Onions 1 Cabbage 1 pkg White Mushrooms 1 pkg Cherry Tomatoes 1 Red Onion 1 Cucumber 2 pkg Romaine Lettuce Fresh Rosemary Fresh Parsley Fresh Cilantro 1 pc Ginger Green Onions Bananas Blueberries Pineapple | Miscellaneous Diapers |
Bottom Line
Mr. Doughmaker did the shopping at 3 stores for the month spending a total of $433.48.
If you’re curious here are those stores and how much was spent at each:
- Aldi $134.17– This is always the first stop for shopping as the prices are less than the large grocery stores
- Giant $259.05
- Target $40.26
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.
