This Week's Groceries - $199.83?!?

Since we don't eat out much, I don't watch very closely what I pay for things at the grocery store.  I used to comparison shop like crazy, so it should be instinctual by now.  But gee, two hundred bucks!  There are only two of us in our household and I go about once a week to the store.  It's usually over $100, but this is a bit extreme.

Let's check this out (some of the following I bought multiple items of):

Del Monte tomatoes with green chiles - 75 cents. (nothing wrong with that)

Peanut oil - $3.66 (I hardly use any oil, so that will last a long time)

Arm & Hammer laundry detergent - $3.29 (from here on out if there's no comment, I think the price is reasonable - this is)

Natural Ovens Low-carb bread - $5.29 (too much, but I like a little bread and I'm picky about calories)

Frank's Sauerkraut - 75 cents.

All Bran cereal - 3.29 (I snack a lot after dinner, so I consider this cheap pharmaceuticals)

Unsweetened chocolate - 2.37 (we make our own chocolate at home since we don't eat sugar and American chocolate is gross)

Liters of Diet Coke and Fresca - 1.39 (cheap / junk)

Swad brand raw almonds - 6.34 per two-pound bag (for chocolate - what a deal)

Swad whole raw cashews - 5.13 lb. (I roast them with soy sauce, mmmmm)

Black walnuts - 1.83 for 2 ounces (spendy - but have you ever shelled black walnuts???)

Lakerol pastilles - 1.39 a box (did I just say we don't eat sugar?)

Chicken legs - 6.43 for 16 (chicken used to be cheap, and then wings became a delicacy. Still this is about 4 meals)

Frozen pollock - 2.89 lb.  (gotta have my spicy fish soup)

Salmon filets - 5.99 for 4 6 oz. (not bad)

Top loin steaks - $10.00 each for big ones (spendy but they were yummy)

Bottom round beef roast - $15.29 (already in stew - it was 3 or 4 pounds)

Limes - 2.00 lb. (too much, but fresh lime juice, man I need it)

Pears - 1.99 lb. (they're not tree-ripened, but I like them crunchy anyway)

Green onions - 50 cents; brussels sprouts - 1.39 lb; bean sprouts - 99 cents for 8 oz (with a pound of frozen turkey this makes a big, tasty stir fry).

A rutabaga - 1.39; 2 red sweet potatoes - 1.42 (for the stew - with the meat, about 4 cheap meals for two)

Romaine hearts - 2.29 (there was a time I'd never have bought lettuce with the outer leaves stripped off, but this way we just snack on it)

Oaxaca mexican cheese - 5.29 (never would have bought that in my lean days)

Sharp provolone - 5.30 (that's expensive)

Smart ones frozen dinners (didn't I just start a group for nonconformists??) - 3.09 each.  They're just too easy!

Frozen dark sweet cherries - 2.99 for 16 oz (great with tequila).

Frozen strawberries - 2.29 for 16 oz (not a bad price, and we like our daiquiris)

Frozen raspberries - 2.75 for 12 oz (good in rum or dark beer)

Low-carb ice cream - 3.00 (it's a whole lot better than it sounds, but it's not as healthy as it sounds either)

Butter - 3.67 (a pound lasts us about 5 months)

Medium cheddar cheese - 3.31 (cheap)

Crawfish meat - 9.79 for 12 oz. (I couldn't resist - I think this will make a killer soup).

Mint chutney - 3.79 (darn, I thought it was coriander chutney - this stuff tastes like weeds and salt. bleaeehhh.

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I came away with almost 10 pounds of nuts, and on balance it's all looking pretty healthy.  I guess it's not that much, but 23-year-old Ron would be appalled at the money 48-year-old Ron throws around.

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