Sample Grocery List

A few people have asked how I save money at the grocery store and what types of things I buy, so I thought I'd show you an example of a weekly grocery list for Lee and I.

Typical IGA Grocery List:  
             *all prices in EC dollars

• bananas - $4 (I buy bananas every single time I walk through IGA's doors)
• 5lb bag of potatoes - $8
• 4 Apples - $10
• lettuce - $9
• onion - $2
• cucumber - $3
• carrots - $5
• Hunt's pasta sauce - $6
• pasta - $3-7
• IGA macaroni and cheese - $4
• can of black beans - $3
• can tomato soup - $5 (I am recently obsessed with grilled cheese and tomato soup. in the caribbean? weird)
• Carlita salsa -  $8
• chicken breast - $10-15 (if I am making soup or something I will buy thighs b/c they are cheaper)
• hamburger - $7-10
• 2lb bag of rice - $3
• 2lb bag of sugar - $3
• IGA brand cereal - $10-12 (favorites include : honey oats and flakes, magic stars, and the cinnamon toast crunch knockoff)
• IGA frozen peas - $6
• IGA frozen corn - $6
• Toufayan bagels - $7
• local bread - $4
• Shoppers Value tortilla chips - $8
• NewZealand Cheddar cheese - $4-6
• cream cheese - $6
• dozen eggs - $9
• butter - $3
• Toufayan wraps - $6 (garlic pesto is our favorite!)
• 4 yogurts - $10 (black berry pomegranate is my favorite!)
• half gallon milk - $9

Total : $162EC  or  $60US  and usually it is less than this... rarely do I spend over $150EC, averaging out to about $225US a month)

Those are things that I might buy every week.. with the exception of the sugar and a few other things like salsa, rice, & 5lbs of potatoes that last a while.  

About once a month I buy other things like peanut butter, cooking oil, salad dressing, laundry detergent, dish soap, paper towels... etc.
And occasionally we buy pop, chips, ice cream, or some other junk.
Its fairly easy to maintain a shopping list like this once you have the basics: spices, condiments, baking essentials etc, and I just never buy the stuff I feel is too expensive. 

Typical meals for us are:

• spaghetti (I could eat it every single day)
• quesadillas 
• tacos 
• stir fry
• hamburgers
• grilled chicken
• soup of all kinds & always with grilled cheese
• breakfast for dinner (yum! omelets, french toast, pancakes)
• chicken and dumplings
• alfredo
• homemade pizza 
• mexican casserole (tortillas, black beans, corn, and cheese)
• salad
• whatever crazy recipe I find online and want to try :)

Basically we have learned to eat less (which is not only good for our budget but great for our health and waistlines) and to be creative with our meals within the range of foods we can afford at the grocery.   I like to bake a lot so I never feel deprived of snacks or if I am craving something I will just learn how to make it!

So there it is, no big secrets or tricks....
and I'm usually taking the bus so you can't buy more than you can carry! :)

foods I've only just discovered

I have become so adventurous in my eating!  My Dad is so proud. and so is Lee.

Last week I actually went to the fresh fish market in St. George's and bought fish.
straight from the ocean!
my friend Stephanie was along with me and took some pictures to document the experience b/c I didn't have my camera (which I am having serious issues with... :( the underwater one is done. broken, again.  we'll have to send it back again b/c it's still under warranty.  and my cannon is just old, probably 3 or 4 years old and it's slowing down and not focusing and the button sticks and blah blah blah)
anyway.  I'm borrowing Stephanie's pictures.

I got Mahi Mahi or Dolphin as they like the call it in Grenada.  I'm not sure how much weight it was, but it was enough for 2 dinners for Lee and I and it was only $11EC and I gave the guy who cleaned it for me a $3ec tip. 
It was delicious!  Lee cooked it for us... I have yet to cook fish.  For some reason Lee thinks this is his domain.  whatever.  I don't like the smell.

Other things I have discovered recently :

• Jamaican beef patties - where have I been?  why have I not know about these until now??  and suddenly they are everywhere. and cheap! and delicious! they even sell them at Texaco. who knew.
• Cheese rolls at IGA Bakery - ok remember my obsession with the Indian lady on campus' cheese rolls.  Her's have nothing on IGAs.  only $3 and big enough to fill me up for lunch.  It's like a cinnamon roll, but with cheese instead of cinnamon. heavenly.
• Pizza at IGA - they sell pizza by the slice at IGA.  I didn't realize this either.  I think the first year I was here I just avoided the bakery b/c it would get me in trouble... but they have great stuff!
  
  
  Is there anything else that I am missing out on??

crazy fruit.

yesterday I bought a ton of fruit and when I got home I started thinking about how weird it looked...

yellow watermelon.
it tastes just like regular red watermelon!


grapeftuit, lime, 2 lemons, 2 oranges, and a  tangerine.

The lemons, limes, and oranges usually all look alike to me here, but yesterday they had these super lumpy lemons and it made me crave lemonade! 
Will me making it soon :)

thank you Mom!

I feel like a real dummy.

I've been struggling with baking chocolate chip cookies for a while.
They kind of melt in the oven & stick to the sheet & don't stay in nice clumps.

I can make peanut butter & sugar cookies ok.
but the chocolate chip are always a disaster.

I had been blaming myself, the oven, the butter, the sugar, the everything...
and I found out it's the brown sugar.
I'm not actually using brown sugar.  Doh!

I was complaining about my recent failure of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
and I said it's weird... the brown sugar here is just like white sugar, it's grainy. it doesn't pack.
and my Mom says.... oohhh honey. you're probably not using brown sugar. it's probably regular sugar that isn't bleached.

No wonder it's different! no wonder there is different brown sugar on the bottom shelf that costs more... it's the REAL brown sugar...
apparently brown sugar is white sugar and molasses mixed.

am I the only one that this is a new realization to???

tomorrow I am off to IGA to either buy molassas or the bottom shelf brown sugar.

I'll let you know how my next attempt at cookies goes, wish me luck!

SPLURGE!

and by splurge I mean.... buying extra groceries :)

today Lee and I went to the grocery and he acted just like my Dad!! he said "its Christmas! get it!"
haha... I think I've told him how much fun we have at the grocery with my Dad enough times that he thinks its a great tradition to carry on :)
unfortunately we live in Grenada and our splurging capabilities are limited.

so we bought:
a 2l of pop, which we haven't bought in months. iga brand of mountain dew of course
chocolate chips for cookies (they're expensive...)
M&Ms to put in cookies
tons and tons of flour for baking
tons of butter (lots of baking going on around here)
parchment paper (b/c the gas oven is not my friend)
the jumbo log of cream cheese
2 packages of chicken and 2 pkgs of beef (!! lol)
2 different kinds of pitas for spinach dip for a party tomorrow night!
and whole gallon of milk!

not much of a splurge, huh?
I need to take better advantage of the "it's Christmas!" thing

we did get a smoothie on the way home though
banana peanut butter
deliciousness in a cup
it's more like a milk shake and less like a smoothie
the best smoothie by far is still watermelon or cantaloupe. 

and when we got home I baked two loaves of pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!!
the sugar cookie dough is made and in the fridge to roll out tomorrow!  I'm so excited to spend tomorrow night decorating cookies!  hopefully my homemade icing turns out :/
still on the docket are chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, and oatmeal cookies. 
and whatever else I think of.

Adventures in grocery shopping...

Yesterday I went to Foodfair, another grocery store in Grand Anse, but not as popular as the IGA.
It's actually a nice store & easy to get to & cheaper!
They don't have quite the same selection as IGA, especially not of American brands, but they do have a lot.
I think it is actually less hassle to get to than IGA because if you take the Mont Toute bus it drops you off right in the parking lot at the front door! No need to even push the buzzer to get the bus to stop :) and if you've heard that Mont Toute is a bad area, you will be totally fine on the bus, and the Foodfair is in Grand Anse right along the main road.
On weekdays the Mont Toute bus runs about every 40 minutes, so plenty of time to go grocery shopping! & in the same shopping center is Rick's pizza.  I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard its the best pizza here! and they have FOUNTAIN DRINKS! yeeesssssssss sugary syrupy soda
there are also other little stores in the shopping center... mostly tourist-y shops, a pharmacy, a home store, and a shoe store.
The bus comes back to Foodfair parking lot and you get on and head straight back to campus!
The Mont Toute bus also stops way less than the Grand Anse bus & is not as crowded typically. So it's a quicker ride to and from campus.

Things I suggest getting from Foodfair rather than IGA

• pasta - I got a bag of penne pasta for $5EC, and a few other bags of penne like pasta for $2EC!
• pasta sauce - (if you're going to buy canned or a jar of pasta sauce) I got a can of Hunt's 4 cheese spaghetti sauce for $5.25EC! I bought a can at IGA last week for $9EC
• spices and seasonings - they have huge selection of spices quite a bit cheaper than IGA. yesterday I bought cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and a bottle of vanilla for like $2EC each
• condiments and sauces - they have an entire isle of bbq sauce, hot sauces, chinese sauces (I got sweet and sour!) ketchup, mustard, mayo... and tons of other stuff
• plantains - they always have them & they're cheap
• tropical fruit skittles!  hahaha I love them :)

Things I sugggest buying at IGA instead 

• milk - duh- on Thursdays, I have never seen milk at Foodfair, but maybe I haven't been there the right day 
• dairy products in general - I've noticed cheese is cheaper at IGA
• cereal - IGA has a much better selection & some of it is cheaper (except rice crispies)
• meat - I don't know if it's cheaper really... but I trust IGA's freezer/cooler systems much more than foodfair's, it always kinda smells near the meat & it doesn't appear to be too cold.
• frozen foods - pizzas, bagels, burritos all that
• deli items - foodfair doesn't have a deli
• fresh vegetables and fruit - IGA has a really good selection, but go on thursday or friday or they will run out!
• muffins - IGA has the most incredible little muffins in the back left near the cold drinks. $1.78EC each & so delicious & easy to take with you places 

These are my purchases from Foodfair-

 Vanilla, sweet&sour sauce, mustard, pasta, spaghetti sauces, cereal (for rice crispy treats & only $6EC!) bread crumbs, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, penne pasta, plantains, and cucumbers

I also found these amazing breadsticks and buns. they are so good and only cost $3EC each!

Homade Bakery :)

A day in my life... in Grenada!

My sister & fellow blogger did "a day in my life" on her blog amanda-thriceblessed.blogspot.com recently & so I decided to also.... so here's a day in my life, in Grenada.

7:00am - wake up in a panic (like I do every morning) thinking it's late and Lee has missed classed.. to find out it's only 7 & the sun is just really bright by then
8:00am - Lee is up getting himself cereal very loudly like he does every morning... and I wake up & say "what time is it" and he says go back to sleep
8:30am - Lee is at his computer studying, I again ask 'what time is it'
8:50am - Lee is leaving for lab and kisses me goodbye, I wake up panicked again when he touches me...
9:00am - I'm laying in bed awake and decide to get out of bed
9:05am - do the bathroom routine
9:07am - get online, check facebook, email, and how many olympic medals the US has
9:45am - make myself a whole wheat bagel with strawberry cream cheese
9:46am - heat up water on the stove to make sweet tea
9:50am - have finished the bagel and LOVED IT
10:00am - fix my hair and start the routine of applying sunscreen to my entire body
10:15am - finish with the sunscreen and pick out a bathing suit
10:20am - back on facebook for a bit
10:30am - make a lunch to take with me to the beach and realize I forgot to finish the tea, so therefore it's not going to be cold enough to take the beach.... so I try to fit ice cubes in my water bottle, they are too big so I run hot water over them until they melt enough to go in the bottle.
10:40am - make 2 extra peanut butter sandwiches - one for Lee for lunch & one for my friend Adriana because she had never had peanut butter! She is from Columbia...
10:45am - start packing my beach bag with my towel, bottle of water, extra sunscreen, camera, cell phone, id card, room key, money, and lunch
10:50am - Lee comes home from lab as I'm leaving to meet Alfonso and Adriana... tell him there is a sandwich in the fridge & that I probably won't be home for dinner tonight so there is a frozen burrito in the freezer (FIRST time since we've been in Grenada that I wasn't home for dinner)
11:00am - walk to bus stop to meet friends & go to the SO bakesale
11:01am - find out that there is some really good stuff at the bakesale! buy Lee two litle loaves of chocolate chip cookie bars and myself carmel apple cake that Amber made (and was delicious!)
11:05am - ask Adriana if she wants to walk to my apartment with me to give Lee the cookies & see where I live (in very slow broken spanish & english) something like this.... "uuugh mi esposo is at la casa, take him cookie? you go with me.... see mi casa, come right back to autobus stop" she understands english pretty well it just takes time and you have to speak slow
11:10am - say Hello to Lee and give him cookies
11:15am - back at bus stop, talk with the SOs for a bit tell them we are going snorkeling... check out the produce & food they are also selling near by.
11:30am - finally get on a bus to go (I was getting restless...)
11:45am - arrive at Grand Anse Beach... help Adriana with her sunscreen because the day before she got the first sunburn of her life! and her back hurt...
11:55am - make it to the end of Grand Anse and start the hike up the hill to get to BBC Beach (b/c Alfonso and Adriana had never been and I wanted to show them...)
12:00 - are very tired from walking, but turn around and see the view and LOVE IT
12:05pm - are finally over the top of the hill and on our way downhill
12:10pm - get yelled at by a lady for trying to walk down the stairs of a hotel to take a short cut to the beach....
12:15pm - arrive on BBC Beach & walk a bit & take it in
12:20pm - find a nice tree to sit under and eat lunch
12:25pm - offer Adriana peanut butter sandwhich! she says it's good... but I couldn't tell if she loved it.

12:35pm - want to go swimming but Alfonso says we can't because we just ate..... roll my eyes and say Old Wives Tale! and then he continues to repeat it later in the day...

12:36pm - got in the water to go snorkeling, Alfonso and Adriana had never been! I only had one snorkel set, but two other pairs of goggles so they just held their breath..
12:37pm - see some fish in the seaweed!
12:40pm - Adriana doesn't swim very well so she wanted to go back and sit on the towel, so Alfonso and I went further down to explore...
12:41pm - got freaked out by a big school of fish
12:55pm - found a big conch shell, Alfonso picked it up
12:56pm - saw a snake! Alfonso got scared and dropped the shell and we swam away.....
1:05pm - switched goggles with him and he used the snorkel.
1:15pm - looked up from the water & realized Alfonso was really far out & yelled at him...
1:25pm - I got really tired and went back to our towels and the shade...
1:30pm - we were drying off and a Grenadian man walked by and said "yo you speaking a different language?" I said "yes, spanish she is from Columbia" he looks at Alfonso (who is Mexican) and says "yo man where are you from, you look like Italian or something..." Alfonso without even skipping a beat says "No, I'm from Pakistan"
1:31pm - I try to hold my laughter in....
1:32pm - the man is walking away and Adriana says "He is a little.. homosexual?" refering to the Grenadian man......... hahahahhaahaha I died laughing. I don't know what she meant really... but it was funny.
1:35pm - we start the walk back to Grand Anse
1:45pm - get to Grand Anse beach again and walk on the shore to Lady Finger's Restaurant, which is across the street from the IGA Grocery
1:55pm - get to IGA and we buy some stuff to take to the bonfire that night.
1:56pm - I convince Adriana to try Ting, a local soda... kinda like squirt
2:10pm - check out
2:15pm - go outside and wait for the bus and realize I don't have a bottle opener and can't open the Ting... Alfonso hits it off of a bench and pops the lid off!
2:16pm - I am sooooo relieved to have something so cold and wet to drink!

2:20pm - bus comes and takes us back to campus
2:40pm - get home
2:45pm - take a shower
3:00pm - find something to wear
3:10pm - get on facebook....
3:30pm - put on make up
3:45pm - back on facebook... Alfonso tells me bus is leaving at 5
4:00pm - fix my hair
4:10pm - 4:40pm - I have no clue what I did.... perhaps my times were off from before because I don't remember having this much of a gap. lol.
4:40pm - remember that Gabe (the guy I go grocery shopping for) is coming after class to get his groceries, so I set them all out on the table.
4:45pm  - get my marshmallows and cheetos to take the the barbq
4:50pm - walk to the bus stop and run into Lee on his way home from class & tell him about my day, and that Gabe is coming by soon & how much he owes me. quick kiss goodbye and then off the the bonfire... and Lee is going home to study for his exam on Monday.
5:00pm - bus comes and we meet Adriana
5:10pm - bus drops us off in Pt. Saline near the airport and we wait for Rebecca to come pick us up because we don't really know where we were going....
5:20pm - Rebecca comes! and takes us to the coolest beach ever... it's called Magazine Beach.

5:30pm - it was a party for 3rd term students mostly because they just finished term 3 & are starting term 4 Monday.... so they were celebrating it being over. but somehow through the links I got invited & I'm so happy I did, it was a lot of fun, and somewhere I had never been.  I introduced Adriana to everyone and she started speaking spanish with Rebecca
5:40pm - Liz offers me a hamburger.... grilled over an open fire :) mmmmmm and there was chips, pasta salad, veggies... a good little pot luck picnic.

5:45pm - Ed pours me an orange soda, one of my favorites
5:50pm - Ed sticks hid dog's leash on my arm and I am the dog keeper for the rest of the evening... :)
5:55pm - an awesome boat goes by

6:00pm - the sun starts to set & it is gorgeous!! we take tons of pictures

6:15-7:00pm - we just hung out..... I don't remember much... just talking with Rebecca, Ed, Alfonso, and trying to understand Adriana
7:00pm - realize I had never seen St. George's (the city) at night all lit up!

7:05pm - start roasting marshmallows!!

7:30pm - more pictures!

8:00pm - start debating when to leave because Adriana had to meet her boyfriend at 9
8:05pm - Rebecca invites us over for some puppy chow she made (the dessert) and it is so funny to explain to Adriana!
8:10pm - Me and Adriana leave with Rebecca and Ed and go to their apartment
8:20pm- arrive & eat the puppy chow & it is sooooo good! & decide I want to live in the same apartment complex as them!

8:30pm - leave to take Adriana home so she can make her boyfriend Jimmy a sandwich because he has been at the library studying alll night!
8:45pm - get a tour of Adriana's apartment
8:55pm - go to campus to drop Adriana off
9:00pm - convince her to let us meet Jimmy! haha... we promised we wouldn't take up their time together since she hadn't seen him all day!
9:10pm - meet Jimmy & explain to him that we're the people who had his girlfriend all day long & that she was in good hands.... lol.
9:20pm - Rebecca and I walk to my apartment so she can meet Lee
9:30-12am - Rebecca stayed and the 3 of us talked and talked :) She is about to be in her 4th term of med school so she and Lee talked about school and such....
12-something.am - Rebecca left and I realize how tired I was....
12:30pm - Lee and I crashed in bed and I slept completely through the night without ever waking up!