When I was asked to write a blog post about our groceries it seemed like something quick and easy I could whip together, but then I started thinking about it, and groceries are so intricate LOL. We don't purchase the same items from week to week, and typically the amount we spend on groceries varies. With that said, I broke it down below into categories to hopefully help simplify.
WHERE WE TYPICALLY SHOP (mostly local)
- Mama Earth Organic
- Costco
- Sweet Potato
- Valley Farm Produce
- BlossomPure Organic
- Brunos Fine Foods
- Well.ca
- Amazon
BUDGET
The bulk of our groceries come from Mama Earth Organic and my goodness do I love them! We order the produce basket for a family of 4, for $60 weekly. Each week they will send an email of what's included in the basket and you can modify it to suit your family's needs. You can also add other items to your order, such as additional produce, dairy/ non dairy products, meat, fish, bakery items, ready made food, frozen foods etc.
As I mentioned earlier, our budget varies weekly. Sometimes I buy next to nothing because I want to purge and use up what we have. Other weeks I'm stocking up on all of our essentials, taking a trip to Costco (and we all know how that goes LOL), and/ or another grocery store to pick up things that Mama Earth Organic doesn't offer. Assuming neither of the above scenarios, our "regular" weekly groceries range between $150 - $200, for our family of 4. Keep in mind that our kids have a big appetite, especially Chloe! I also do my best to buy organic, and non-GMO. Eating as "clean" as possible is very important to me, however I'm definitely not perfect! ...and don't get me wrong, the occasional jar of Nutella does find it's way into my cart.
STAPLES
Below is a list of all the item that we almost always have on hand. The items that are italicized are things that we buy weekly, because we go through them so quickly.
PRODUCE STAPLES (MAMA EARTH ORGANIC)
*Mama Earth Organic often has different/ unusual fruits and veggies that they offer in their weekly produce basket which we order to mix things up
Celery (for juicing)
Avocado
Kale, Spinach, Arugula and/or Lettuce
Microgreens
Cucumber (recipe)
Tomato (recipe)
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Carrots
Mushroom
Green Onion
Garlic
Lemon
Ginger
Apples
Bananas
Grapes
Berries (and lots of them, my kids are obsessed)
DAIRY/ NON DAIRY STAPLES
Free-range eggs (Mama Earth Organic)
Parmesan cheese
Organic Meadow cheddar cheese
Organic Meadow mozzarella cheese
Nut cheese (typically we have this brand on hand)
Earth Balance buttery spread (this is our fav!)
Organic Meadow yogurt
Maison Riviera dairy-free yogurt
So Nice organic almond milk
Ripple pea milk
Earth's Own Oat milk (or we make our own)
Earth Balance vegan mayo (lately we've been on a Caesar salad tip)
SAUCE, BUTTER, DIP, & OIL STAPLES
Sunflower Kitchen hummus
Nuts to You Nut Butter peanut butter
Nuts to You Nut Butter cashew butter
Jam
Maple syrup
Tabasco sauce
Tamari
Worcestershire sauce
Apple cider vinegar
White wine vinegar
Olive oil
Avocado oil
Coconut oil
PANTRY STAPLES
Pasta, pasta and more pasta (We buy so many different varieties! Comment below if you're interested and I can share a few)
Quinoa
Honey
Bob's Red Mill rolled oats
Nature's Path Organic corn puff cereal
Granola
Chia seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Hemp hearts
Nuts (any and all)
SNACK STAPLES
*I typically do a big snack haul every few weeks
*I switch things up in this category quite often, but these are some of our favs
Sensible Portions veggie straws
Made Good granola balls
Freeyumm cookies or bars (HomeSense often has these)
Skinnypop popcorn
Snack Factory pretzel chips
barkTHINS dark chocolate
Annie's Homegrown cheddar squares
Annie's Homegrown bunnies
Love Child Organic pouches
Love Child Organic Love Ducks
EXTRAS
Bread
Garlic naan bread (Costco)
Ready made salad- family size (Mama Earth Organic)
Frozen homemade pasta (Mama Earth Organic)
Frozen cookies/dessert (Mama Earth Organic)
Frozen individual pizzas (Costco) - not "clean" but delish
Frozen peas
Frozen sausage (Mama Earth Organic)
Frozen chicken, turkey and/ or beef (BlossomPure Organic or Brunos Fine Foods)
Function Natural Foods quinoa bites
Brandt fine liver sausage (my kids LOVE this)
Ice Cream
Deebee's Organics Freezies/ Popsicles
Perrier Grapefruit (cans)
Mama Earth Organic also carries a ton of great ready made and frozen foods that I will order weekly to make dinnertime a little easier. To top it all off (as if the list isn't long enough!) there's a long list of spices, supplements, adaptogens, teas, wine, beer and so on, however this isn't something we buy weekly.
I think I've included it all, but if I missed anything, or if you think of anything, please let me know and I'll be sure to add it to the list. I hope this helps!
XO
Caroline
