Rising Cost of Groceries

With the price of groceries constantly increasing, it's been tough to continue my nightly home-cooked dinners. I usually have to shop at more than one grocery store to pick up the less common, but tasty foods I like, and to find the basic, frequent purchases at a reasonable price. In the past, I've spent about $400 a month on groceries for two, which includes lunch items, drinks, breakfast foods, and dinner ingredients. Lately, that price has shot up. I now shop twice a week, only buying the amount I'll use to ensure nothing goes to waste.

The first half of this week, we'll be having broiled chicken breast with corn chowder, braised pork chops with brown rice, and grilled flaxseed tempeh with jicama and carrot salad.

We already had chicken, rice, and most of the necessary spices. Additional spices were purchased from the bulk canisters for pennies per meal. My groceries for Sunday-Wednesday (we eat out 1-2 times a week) included:

One whole jicama
Whole nutmeg
Fine black pepper
Five-spice powder
Ginger root powder
One bunch of green onions
One Fuji apple
One russet potato
Three yellow onions
Ground gloves
Two green peppers
Five carrots
Two ears of organic sweet corn
Fresh, organic cilantro, italian parsley, rosemary, and thyme
Three natural boneless pork chops
Organic chicken broth
Organic silken tofu
Two organic candy bars for dessert
Five organic, vegetarian frozen dinners for lunch
Blue Sky Natural Cola (would prefer organic, but natural is cheaper)

All this for $70. Just three months ago, I could have bought these same items for about $50. I know I could shop cheaper. I could buy fewer organics, avoid the fresh spices (which, as soon as my garden is full, will be possible), skip the candy and cola, and choose to eat just chicken instead of more expensive meats. However, as long as I am able to afford it, I'll eat what I want. I'm just going to keep track at how the economy is doing. When groceries cost less, I'll put the difference in a savings account for a rainy day.