Grocery shopping is about the only shopping I ever get to do, so I try to enjoy it to the hilt!
My food stamp benefits finally came through (honestly, I'm not a bum!) so I went to two different stores on the cost spectrum. One was the Healthy Grocer, which is pretty pricey. I stocked up on gluten free foods and baking items so we can try Catie out on the gluten free diet. I've wanted to do this for a while, but I had to wait until my benefits came through because all those gluten free items cost a lot more than their wheat-based counterparts. I kept it as low as I could by buying the individual ingredents by the pound whenever possible (I also bought liquid rennet so I can try making cheese!).
So after getting all the specialty things we headed over to my favorite store, Aldi. Best. Store. Ever. Yes, there are some things that they just don't carry, but for prices on staple goods like eggs, milk, bread, sugar, canned goods, etc., you can't go wrong. Everything is fresh, unlike Amelias Grocery Outlet, and the store is only 4 aisles wide. The Healthy Grocer isn't too much bigger, though I think they have about 18 aisles because they're laid out differently.
We actually have a Wegmans grocery nearby, where I could get everything I need at one stop and probably save some money on a few items. One problem. The damn place is the size of a Wal-mart, packed with every food imaginable - I can't handle the size, the level of choices, the inevitable whining from my offspring... It's better to hit two smaller stores that are close to each other and home. With Aldi especially, I know exactly what they carry, what the price is, and where it will be. I don't have to navigate with a guide map to find eggs - they're in the first refrigerator door, they only sell dozens of large eggs, and they cost .79 a dozen. It's nice to have the choice of free-range, brown or Omega-3 enhanced, but I never buy that kind anyway. When I need eggs, I just need eggs. (Though I must admit free range pastured eggs taste fantastic!)
Back to the shopping - we are totally stocked on every kind of baking item you could need, and our shelves are groaning. It's a comforting feeling to know that we have food.
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Corn Chex and Rice Chex are gluten-free now. You don't have to buy the $5 smallish box of cereal like Uncle Mike gets. Plus Wal-Mart carries spaghetti, etc. made out of rice in the regular pasta section, so I'm sure other non-fancy places will have that as well.
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