Big (Food) Love

I went to the store the other day. I know I did. I bought food. I promise. Yet once again, we seem to be out of everything and are on the verge of starvation (that little added drama was for my husband. Love you honey!).

We are a family of 5. I could break that down and let you know that it's 2 adults, a kindergartener, a toddler and an infant. However, that doesn't really matter. That would imply that the children eat less - an assumption I had with my first child. On the contrary, as any parent will tell you, the kids eat the most in the house.

When we had one young child, we could spend $50 at the store a week and be perfectly fine. That bill is now up to about $120, something that is still pretty darn good in the grand scheme of things. What we spend money on has changed as well. Did you know that a gallon of 1% milk is about $3.50? Or a dozen eggs is about $1.80? These are things I consider necessities, and they hardly go on sale. Fruit is also expensive and rarely has sales.

And that's just food. Add in diapers ($20 for a box of about 100, not bad when you break it down), wipes ($5 for about 120, still, not bad), and clothing (a pair of jeans for my son, who is 5, can easily be $20), and well, you can see how watching finances with kids can lead to drinking (FYI, a 12-pack of beer is about $13).

But this article isn't to complain about the price of food or anything else. I'm not looking for nor offering advice on how to save some money. The prices are as they are and in the end we need these things so why worry about the price. My point is the sheer volume of what we need to sustain a family of 5.

Here's an example of a typical grocery list for our home:

Milk - 2 gallons - 1% and whole (which probably won't last until the end of the week)
Eggs - 2 dozen
Bagels - 2 (these always seem to be on sale)
Bread - 1 loaf (in case I don't feel like baking bread, which is a common feeling)
Yogurt - 1 tub of either vanilla or plain (may not last the week)
Applesauce - 1 large jar of natural (may not last the week either)
apples - 3 (won't last the week)
bananas - 1 bunch, about 5 (won't last the week)
oranges - 3
onion
green peppers - 3
tomato
asparagus, leafy vegetable, carrots, etc - if on sale. If not, maybe next time.
pineapple, watermelon, other melons, assorted berries - if on sale.
shredded cheese - 1 bag, more if on sale
butter - 1 lb. (if needed), more if on sale
sliced cheese - 1 pack, about 16 slices, more if on sale
tortilla shells - 1 large pack
assorted pasta - 2 boxes, more if on sale
pasta sauce - 2 jars, more if on sale
spaghetti noodles
ground beef - 2 lbs, more if on sale
chicken breast - 16 oz, more if on sale
steak - 1 lb, more if on sale
cereal - 1 box, ONLY if on sale
baby food - about 10 - 15 jars ($.89 a piece, not bad but it adds up)
diapers - 1 box size 5 and 1 box size 3 (a big box like listed above lasts about 2 weeks)
frozen corn - 1 bag
mixed frozen vegetables - 1 bag
misc. frozen vegetables - if on sale
chicken nuggets - 1 bag (won't last the week, favorite food)
frozen pizza - 1 (will be eaten that night)
frozen waffles - if on sale
snack crackers or pretzels or something similar for the kids - what's cheapest or on sale

This is just a basic list of things we get pretty much every time we go. There is more depending on what our menu is for that week or what we're out of (syrup, oatmeal, peanut butter, etc). I also look for sales and if I see something that looks good, I'll buy it (like Go-Gurt or items from the all-natural aisles).

That's a lot, right? I mean, I'm not just going a little crazy, right? We plant a garden every year and have been consistently refining our storing methods, so hopefully this fall we'll have tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers, onions and maybe peas for green beans or corn that we can keep and eat during the winter. We also have an apple tree so I can make applesauce. Still. You can't grow Cheerios and while I wouldn't mind have chickens, my neighbors would.

It's such a wonder to me that I come home from the store with a trunk full of groceries and struggle to find a place for everything, only to open the pantry door a  few days later and start a grocery list all over again. The worst part is that my kids are growing, meaning they'll be eating more. It will be interesting to see how many gallons of milk we have in the fridge in 10 years when our kids are 15, 12 and 11.

And then there's preparing all this food and worrying about healthy snacks and balanced meals for a growing family of 5. But that's another post for another day.

I guess, all in all, there is really only one conclusion to all of this: I need a bigger kitchen.