Fry's & Wal Mart Weekly Grocery Haul #3 + Menu Plan

Evening ladies and gents! I am hopping on here to share last week's grocery haul and menu plan. I went to Fry's grocery store and to Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market to get everything I needed for a full week of meals for my family of five (our fifth family member is only five months). We spent $160 at both stores. Check out the video to see what we bought and what we ate this past week. Enjoy!!

XO Danielle

14 Bizarre Ingredients Hidden in Your Food Labels...

Afternoon lovelies...or I guess evening for all those in a time zone other than Pacific. I came across this graphic this afternoon and had to share it. I've read some stories about some of the facts listed below and how they are in our food. It always blow my mind. Have you guys read these before or heard of them? I am very interested and kind of nauseous at the same time. I mean beaver flavored ice cream? Yuckfest right?!  Excuse me while I go raid my pantry. I have some label reading to be done :)

foodpackaginglabelslabels.net

                    

XO Danielle

VIDEO- Chex Mix Waffle Cone Christmas Trees

Today the littles and I picked up the camera and decided to create a fun little food craft video you can make this weekend with the little ones. This was a fun project to make and oh so simple to do.  This video has been cracking me up!  Be sure to watch it all the way through. You will see a dance party, a bit of interpretive dancing from the boy, and a little singing from both of my red heads. Those kids of mine sure know how to make a video is all I can say. Enjoy lovelies! Oh and you're welcome....trust me your kids will think my little nutty munchkins are a ball of laughs :)

Watch The Video HERE  :)

XO Danielle

VIDEO TUTORIAL: Making a Thanksgiving Turkey

Today I am in the kitchen, showing you how I make our Thanksgiving turkey. You can find the recipes in the video description as well! Happy cooking lovelies!

XO Danielle

How to Save $$$ at Vons + Vons $50 Giftcard Giveaway

 

I receive emails every day asking me the same question..."How do I save if I don't have a Winco, Wal-Mart, or Costco near me?" Everyone wants to save money and keep their family on budget, but sometimes that can be hard. Depending on where you live, you will have different groceries stores within a reasonable driving distance. I love showing you lovelies how to shop on a budget. I love sharing the thrifty tips and tricks I have used over the years to help my family save $$ and stay on track. Today I am showing you how to shop at Vons and save.

Vons is one of those stores where I love the adds, but when I get to the store the prices are a little steep for my liking. This can be discouraging when trying to keep your groceries on budget. Don't get frustrated lovelies.... I have a secret. You can save at any store with careful planning and shopping. I was able to try this out recently at a Vons grocery store. I snagged one of their mailer adds, a pen, some paper, my coupons, and calculator. I wanted to have a plan going into the store. I do this no matter where I shop. You wouldn't build a house, make a dress, or bake a cake without a plan right? So why shop without a plan? It just doesn't make sense. Having a plan puts you exactly where you need to be when shopping. You are prepared and ready to save your family $$$.

I geared up for my shopping trip, by browsing the Vons mailer add and planning, planning, planning...oh wait did I say planning? I took note of what was in my pantry and food storage. I made a list of items that needed to be restocked. If you look at the Vons add, you will see they have in-store coupons that you can clip and bring into the store. These coupons allow you to receive a lower price for select items. I used these little gems to stock up on some food storage staples. Margarine (I know you hate it, but I love it. Lets agree to disagree on this one), trash bags, pasta, deli meat, crackers, and a few canned biscuits. The biscuits were 99 cents and are perfect for busy nights, when Hubby is in charge of dinner.

These coupons for Vons give you the listed price for each item you buy. For example, above I was able to use a coupon for King's Hawaiian rolls and buy 2 packs. We love these rolls, since we use them in my Mini Hawaiian Ham Sliders, but they can be pricey. I only buy them at rock bottom prices. If a coupon doesn't specify a limit, then you can use it over and over again. I loved the fact that with the Vons coupon, I didn't need multiple copies. The one coupon applied to each item I bought, which matched it. The less time you spend cutting coupons, means more time with that family of yours. You can also combine those in-store coupons with manufactured coupons. Double the savings!

I wrote out my list, only allowing myself to buy what was on sale. Buying these items at rock bottom prices is a great way to stock up on food storage. A well stocked pantry means you will have a lesser chance of running to the store for the one thing you forgot. Keep your staples stocked and you will be golden!

For this particular trip I knew I was really low on pasta. Vons had it on sale for under $1.00. I bought 26 bags of pasta. I now have a lot of pasta, which will last us for many months. I also stocked up on margarine. It was under 78 cents, which is a rock bottom price in my area. I stocked up on crackers and chips. We only buy these items when they are at their lowest price, which means I only buy them every 4 months or so. I stocked up and these snacks will last us for the summer.

When making my purchases in the store, I try to think about how long it will last my family. I ask myself if this purchase is something that will help my family and I be happy and healthy. Although chips are not the healthiest...well not at all actually...we do enjoy them in the summer during picnics. I buy them because it is something my family looks forward too. Buying them at their lowest price, means I won't be tempted to buy them later when the cravings hit and the prices are high. Make sense?

Once I had my list ready to go, I made sure I had my 4 basic grocery shopping must haves.

1- my grocery list (with prices listed and how much I plan to spend) 

2- store add + coupons 

3- cell phone, which I use as my calculator

4- reusable grocery bags - save a tree please:)

I then put my plan in motion. There were some items I wasn't able to get on my list, which allowed me to get a few other things that weren't. My budget was $120, which meant that was all I brought with me. I add everything into my calculator, so I don't go over budget. If you do not bring a calculator into the grocery and USE it, then you are bananas. I never have the vomit feeling in my stomach...wondering what my total will be at the check out...I know my total because I added all my items into my calculator. This also helps me in catching any mistakes the check out person makes. It has happened and I have been able to save precious pennies correcting those minor mistakes.

One cool thing about Vons, is that now they have a gas rewards program. For every dollar you spend, you earn a gas reward. These gas reward points add up and you are able to use them when purchasing gas. You can save up to 20 cents per gallon on gas. With raising gas prices, this is definitely a bonus to smart shopping.

My total money spent, for my fully loaded cart was $117. Well within my budget and I earned some gas reward points as well :) It turned out to be a successful shopping trip. Aren't those the best! Use my tips and I promise your next trip will be just that. Successful!

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Are you ready to try out some smart shopping now? Von's Grocery Store is giving away a $50 gift card to one lucky Blissful and Domestic reader.

Here's what you have to do to enter....

Follow Blissful and Domestic via facebook, bloglovin', or twitter

Leave a comment on the Vons Twitter page with the #FueledbyVons hash tag. 

Tell them one thing you like about their stores.

Follow Vons on Twitter

Many ways to enter lovelies. Leave me a comment for each thing you do. The giveaway will close next Wednesday, May 1, 2013 @ 6am.The winner will be announced later that day.

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Good Luck!

XO Danielle