Groceries are one of those things I find oddly fascinating. Probably because everyone needs to eat, grocery prices vary so much around the world, and food is one of the most flexible categories when it comes to saving money. I genuinely love seeing what other people buy, choose to prioritize, and tricks they use to stretch their budget.

For our family, some items are totally worth spending extra on (helloooo good coffee!), while others are easy places to save. We don’t meal plan, clip coupons, or have any revolutionary strategies, but over the years we’ve slowly found a rhythm that works for our family.

Today, I thought I’d share a recent grocery haul, a few items we happily spend a little more on, and some of the ways we try to keep our grocery spending in check.

A Recent Grocery Haul from Walmart 🍅

We have a Walmart+ Membership, which is one of those things I will gladly spend extra on because it saves us so much time and money in the long run. With Walmart+, we get free shipping and grocery delivery. I can order a random pantry staple, like a bottle of ketchup, and not have to pay shipping. It typically arrives the same day or the next day!

I can also order fresh groceries like milk, chicken nuggets, and bread and have it delivered for free as long as it’s over $35. Not having to lug our kids in the car, spend the time shopping, and then unloading everything is a huge time saver for me. I also find that I don’t make impulse purchases when I order groceries online because I’m only buying what’s on my list instead of seeing everything in the store.

Here’s our recent grocery delivery order from Walmart:

Produce
Red Seedless Grapes – $3.36
2 Sweet Potatoes – $1.34
2 Roma Tomatoes – $0.61
1 Eggplant – $2.61
Ginger Root – $0.99
1 Zucchini – $0.71
1 Bunch Asparagus $3.57
2 Bags Frozen Zucchini – $3.84
Arugula (5 oz) – $2.96
Romaine Lettuce (3 Pack) – $3.83
Grape Tomatoes (10 oz) – $2.78
Brown Mushrooms (8 oz) – $2.14
Rosemary (5 oz) – $1.78

Dairy and Refrigerated
Great Value Yogurt Tubes (8 Pack) – $1.87
Tropicana Pineapple Mango Juice – $2.88
Salmon Fillets – $7.54
Chicken Thighs (Bulk Tray) – $14.88
Imitation Crab – $4.97
Ribeye Steak – $14.13

Pantry Items
Rao’s Marinara Sauce (32 oz jar) – $8.97
Great Value Chewy Granola Bars – $4.42
Great Value Berry Crunch Cereal (21 oz) – $2.82
Great Value Veggie Straws (7 oz) – $2.84
Brianna’s Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing – $3.83
Great Value Applesauce Pouches (24 pack) – $10.27

Subtotal: $109.94
Driver tip $5.56
Total: $115.50

Thoughts on this grocery haul: We definitely go through a lot of produce! The kids love fruit, I make ratatouille all the time, and I prep homemade ginger shots and salads for Jimmy each week, so fresh produce disappears quickly around here.

As for dairy and refrigerated items, yogurt tubes are one of our favorite grab-and-go pool snacks. We also tend to be “meat and potatoes” people, so you’ll almost always find proteins like chicken, steak, or salmon in our cart.

This grocery haul was definitely a snack restock, too! We saved a decent amount by choosing Great Value versions of things like cereal, granola bars, veggie straws, and applesauce pouches instead of the name brands.

---

Things we’ll gladly spend extra on:

• Quality pasta sauce –> I can’t believe how good this sauce is compared to other brands.
• Salad dressing –> Jimmy eats a salad every day and loves this brand.
• Peanut butter –> My favorite food! I’m a Skippy girl. I also love Nuts N’ More.
• Coffee beans –> Starbucks has our hearts. 💚
• Dish soap –> I use less dish soap when I use Dawn because it works so well.
• Ketchup –> Nothing beats Heinz!
• Trash bags –> I’ll happily spend a little extra on Hefty or Glad to avoid leakage or tearing from a generic brand. Speaking from experience. 😅

Where we save instead:

• Non-organic and generic produce, meat, eggs, and dairy. I probably should be buying organic… but I don’t. And we’re all still relatively healthy over here. 😉
• Generic pantry items like pretzels, tortillas, cereal, bread crumbs, and applesauce pouches.

Other ways we save money on food:

• We very rarely go out to eat. This is a huge saver and makes it extra special when we do go out.
• Sometimes I do shop in store because when I do this, I don’t have to pay a tip for a delivery order.
• We shop at affordable stores like Walmart, Aldi, and Sam’s Club.
• We buy in bulk, but only when it makes sense. For example, our kids like applesauce pouches, and it’s cheaper per pouch to buy a 50 pack than a 12 pack.
• Not buying individual bags of snacks. For example, I buy a big bag of pretzels, and then portion them into ziplock snack bags for outings.
• Shopping seasonally! You won’t see me buying cherries in January. They don’t taste good and they’re usually overpriced.
• Keep things simple. Just buying basic ingredients instead of prepackaged meals and then prepping and cooking everything myself saves a lot.
• Shopping our pantry/freezer/fridge before running to the store.
• Making homemade waffles instead of buying individually packaged breakfasts.

---

A few home cooked recipes we love:

• Easy Baked Donut Holes
• Four Ingredient Energy Bites
• Cranberry Orange Granola
• Chickpea Soup
• Sloppy Joes
• Stuffed Peppers
• Twice Baked Potatoes
• Rosemary Chicken
• Oven-Baked Spicy Chicken Thighs
• Stuffed Cabbage
• Simple Lasagna 
• Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Apple Pie

---

At the end of the day, groceries aren’t just groceries. They’re Saturday morning waffles, lunches packed with care, chaotic family dinners around the table, and snacks grabbed before heading to the pool. Every family has different priorities, different budgets, and different foods they love. There’s no “right” way to grocery shop—just whatever helps feed your family well while staying within your budget!

---

What’s one grocery item you’ll always splurge on?

What’s something you’ll happily buy the generic version of?