Doing Whole Foods in about $30- Trip 1

Whole Foods in about $30- Trip 1

So... I shop at Whole Foods almost daily. Why? 

Because I can walk there from home, I love the friendly faces, and I like my ingredients super fresh. I like to think of my local Whole Foods as my nearby European outdoor market and I shop for my fresh ingredients for dinner each day.  Is this more time consuming than one big shop every week? I don't know, but I certainly enjoy it more and find I waste MUCH less food.  Usually, I schlep my kids with me, so they see us buying fresh ingredients that we eat daily.

I have found a lot of my shopping trips come to about $30.  Some days I may spend only $7!

I decided to start documenting my shops, because I feel I get a good deal for the price of organic, fresh, natural items. (I include toiletries in these shops).  It is important to me to "pay the farmer, not the doctor" so cheaper isn't usually better in my opinion.

I will also mention what I plan to do with the groceries, but because I keep a lot of staples around, I usually never have to shop for every ingredient.

Here is my blog post about staples to keep on hand-- buy them when Whole Foods has sales.  Disclaimer- I'm in Florida, but my two best friends live in Brooklyn and Los Angeles and the prices seem to be the same for the most part.  Other disclaimer- our family is vegetarian... I have no idea about shopping for meat or fish. (And that saves a lot!)

So... First shop... This was kind of a lunch shop.  I send 3 people off with packed lunches (one day a week it is 4 people).  They all love and ask for Luna bars for treats (they are very filling, too) but I don't like to spend more than $1 per bar. These were all on sale.  I also will make that pizza for my toddler's lunch and then might send a cold piece with the kids the next day.  That 365 pizza was $3.99.  

Tonight I'm making a huge crock of Mexican Dip for dinner.  Refried black beans, Greek yogurt, avocado, tomatoes, purple onion... And we eat it with tortilla chips.  We are always stuffed by the time dinner is over! Sounds like an appetizer but it makes a great easy Friday night meal.  Also... I needed deodorant.  ;) I like natural deodorant, and WF usually has the best bargains.

Whole Foods Trip #1 totaled $31