July Grocery Budget Challenge

I consider July to be one of my best months for grocery shopping. I was able to get exactly what I wanted without any real hassle and that’s why I love this month’s challenge. It’s bad enough I have a strict food budget but being able to buy and eat the things I want is a plus in my book. This month like many others, I visited Walmart and Seasons Food Mart for my groceries. If I am going to be honest, June wasn’t a bad month either so let’s hope things get better rather than worse. Inflation and shrink-flation have been the bane of my existence honestly, and it bothers me a lot that these companies are playing in our faces as though we’re blind, but enough of my rant, and let’s get into the grocery trips for July.

My followers have been asking for some meat-free dinner options, so I decided to grab ingredients to make a vegetable galette. I am just going to say this now, I had NO idea what vegetables I would have been able to purchase but I was happy with the results, it was very filling and delicious. A galette is basically a free-formed pie, baked with a base and topping. The pastry is very delicious and flakey, and the vegetables complemented it well. I purchased flour, cream, sour cream, parmesan cheese, 1 sweet potato, 1 carrot, 1 zucchini, and a radish bunch. Since I know how to bake and make my own butter that is what I opted to do as butter itself is $8-9 here in Toronto and there goes my $20. If you want to make your own homemade butter, you can. The sour cream was used as a base with the parmesan cheese and the vegetables were the toppings. I was pleased with this outcome. The ingredients purchased to create this meal cost me $19.43.

_{^{Vegetable Galette}}

My second trip to Walmart was all about the fruits. I did not want to eat eggs or yogurt I just wanted fruits. So this trip is basically $20 worth of fruits and I was happy. I was able to get a blueberry and blackberry pint, 1 orange, 1 kiwi, 1 mango, 1 pineapple, a bunch of grapes, and 6 bananas. I normally can’t purchase grapes because the per-pound amount is just too rich for my pockets. I made a fruit salad and had fruit for a good duration of the month. The items for this grocery trip cost me $18.71.

_{^{Fruit Salad}}

My third trip to Walmart resulted in a shrimp and veggie mix with potatoes. You know I can get shrimp at Walmart for around $10 so this made it easier to pick up additional items. This month I just really wanted potatoes, it’s my thing for the moment LOL. I was able to get 1 corn, 1 zucchini, 1 little itty-bitty tomato lol, coconut oil (which is a plus), and, a bag of shrimp. That is all, 6 items, don’t sound like much, considering everything BUT the meal itself was so delicious and quick to make I know it can be my go-to if all fails. The ingredients for this trip cost me $19.22.

_{^{Shrimp with corn veggies & potatoes}}

My next store for the month is Seasons Food Mart, it’s my local Asian grocer where I can get salmon and other ingredients not commonly found in regular supermarkets. As with my other trips, I do not have a name for this meal but I was able to grab 2 broccoli crowns, a bag of sweet peppers, 4 sweet potatoes, 1 carrot, some salmon steaks, and green beans. Although I forgot to include the broccoli in this meal, this is a lot for $20 and it was a deliciously healthy meal. If I am going to eat on a budget might as well eat healthy. The trip cost me $19.61.

_{^{Salmon with veggies}}

My last trip of the month ended at Seasons, and it was the cheapest by far. I really had no idea what I wanted to make but when I got into the store, I just grabbed my basics, salmon, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrot, and a buttercup squash. Don’t ask me why I picked up the squash, but I did lol. I used everything but the squash to prepare the meal, I baked the salmon and steamed the broccoli, carrot, and potatoes. It was easy and delicious. This trip cost me $15.33

_{^{Baked salmon with steamed veggies}}

July was good food-wise as you can see but some trips were stressful, just because I was not really prepared, and trying to get ingredients I could afford to accompany my protein was very difficult. The prices are going up and I don’t understand how long this can go on. For the month of July, I spent $92.30 for my $20 grocery challenge.

Have your eating and shopping habits changed?

Check out my grocery challenge playlist for more videos