Welcome to the third week of August’s LWD Grocery Haul series in which I share our weekly grocery purchases, including prices. I’m always curious to see what others purchase and what food prices are in different countries or regions. I hope you are finding this series interesting and helpful.
LWD GROCERY HAUL
August 2025 ~ Week Three
Pantry/Freezer Challenge Month Update
Before making this week’s menu I poked around in my extended pantry to see what I had on hand. That is how I ended up with Tuesday night’s dinner. I usually make tacos but I had 4 packages of yellow rice, several cans of red enchilada sauce and a couple of cans of black beans. I used one of each for this meal. It made plenty for dinner and lunch.
Tonight’s baked spaghetti used some fresh veggies I had in the fridge which needed to be used (yellow squash, half a green bell pepper and red bell pepper). I still have part of the yellow squash (it was fairly large) and over half of the red bell pepper, along with half of the onion I used in the sauce. I haven’t decided what to do with those yet…maybe some sort of vegetable soup for lunch?
This week’s groceries consisted largely of fresh veggies, dairy and a few pantry items I was out of. I used the last jar of spaghetti sauce for tonight’s dinner so I replaced that.
I also used the last bit of salsa in the enchiladas Tuesday night so that went on the list, as well. Fortunately both were on sale. We needed cheese so I was happy to find that on sale, along with butter, crackers, pasta and pickles.
How do my prices compare with what you are seeing? Keep in mind that I’m shopping at a regional store which tends to be a bit more expensive than Walmart and Aldi. I haven’t shopped at Walmart for about 20 years now and Aldi doesn’t carry a lot of the items my mom wants. It’s just easier for me to shop at one store for both of us so I willingly pay a little more.
I try to make up part of the difference by shopping the sale items as much as possible. That’s why keeping a full pantry pays off. I can usually wait for a sale on most of the non-perishable items.
Fresh produce is a big chunk of our weekly grocery costs. Wholesale vegetable prices rose 38.9% in July compared to a year ago. And many fruits seem to have risen in price, as well. I try to stick to produce in season.
I chose not to buy asparagus at $5.99 a pound this week. I have, however, been splurging on cherries the past several weeks. Their season is fairly short and it’s one of our family’s favorite fruits.
I’d rather skip sweets and snacks in favor of fresh fruit. But honestly, when I look at the prices it’s no wonder many families aren’t eating much in the way of fresh fruits and veggies.
PRUETT’S (REGIONAL GROCERY STORE):
- sweet potatoes (3 – 2.83 lb.) $3.65
- bananas (3) $1.03
- cherries (2 lb.) $9.98
- strawberries (2 lb.) $6.99
- lemons (2) $1.00
- green onions $.99
- iceberg lettuce $2.49
- Dole Spring Mix (10 oz) $4.99
- blueberry bagels (6) $3.69
- Sara Lee Sandwich White Bread (24 oz) $3.39
- Pillsbury Southern Homestyle Butter Tastin’ Biscuits $2.69 (on sale)
- Best Choice butter (1 lb) $4.19 (on sale)
- large brown eggs (1 doz) $3.49
- Oui coconut yogurt (5 oz) $2.29
- Best Choice Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese (8 oz) $2.29 (on sale)
- Best Choice Mozzarella Chunk (8 oz) $2.29 (on sale)
- Best Choice Half & Half (32 oz) $3.79
- Best Choice Heavy Whipping Cream (16 oz.) $3.49
- Bigelow Tea Bags Earl Grey Black Tea (20 ea) $3.79
- Mt Olive Pickles, Bread & Butter Chips, Simply (24 fl oz) $2.99 (on sale)
- Barilla Spaghetti Pasta (16 oz) $1.59 (on sale)
- Classico Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce (24 oz) $3.99 (on sale)
- Town House Oven Baked Crackers (13.8oz) $3.59 (on sale)
- Pace chunky salsa (16 oz) $3.29 (on sale)
I had my daughter order me a fresh pineapple from Aldi: $2.09 (on sale)
Total: $84.05 (plus tax, shopper fee and tip)
Our weekly menu…
This is Wednesday evening and we are on track according to my menu. The only thing a bit different is that I didn’t cook the yellow squash as a side dish tonight. Instead, I diced it up along with onion, red and green bell pepper then sautéed the veggies along with the ground beef before adding the spaghetti sauce.
FEATURED RECIPE…
Split Pea Soup ~ An Instant Pot Recipe
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