So my computer broke, and my husband's computer doesn't seem to have any good picture software (or anything else other than video game garbage,) so figuring out this new picture business was a trip. UGH.

I didn't do very well at capturing everything in this picture anyway, so here is a list --

1 Pumpkin Spice cake
1 6 ct Lenders blueberry bagels
4 half gallons of OJ
1 Swiss Miss pudding
1 lb bag of frozen blueberries
1 box of Bagelfuls
1 Philadelphia whipped cream cheese
2 CA Pizza Kitchen Flatbreads (boy was my husband stoked to see these!)
2 Barilla boxes of pasta
4 Tuna Helpers
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 boxes of Oreo Stix
3 Old El Paso Heat and Eat Black Beans
2 Ragu spaghetti sauces
1 12 pack of Moutain Dew Code Red (not pictured because I'm hiding it)
1 Breyers Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
1 half gallon of skim milk
5 lbs of potatos
4 Mexican cheese blends
2.64 lbs of Anjou Pears
1 lb of baby carrots
1 package of celery
1 green bell pepper (Not pictured. I actually DIDN'T pay for this last time, so I asked them to charge me for it today.)
2 lbs of strawberries
Pampers baby wipe refill (Hello, budget breaker)

My total after tax was $42.65. So, our total out of pocket was VERY close to $50.00 this week. As close as I cold be without REALLY counting! I had $4.00 in coupons and a coupon for 10% off my entire purchase. I ALSO had a $20.00 gift card that I got for filling a prescription at the pharmacy. I debated on whether or not to use it, or save it for an emergency. I ended up deciding that it would best be put to use on top of our regular grocery budget with the 10% off our total purchase. So, it was a nice little bonus. Those prescription transfer deals are MONEY. With our low pre-tax co-pays, we really do make money on those deals. It almost makes me wish we had more prescriptions. : )

Another thing that I think is worth mentioning again is that shopping this way really makes eating healthfully affordable. This week, Hy Vee had movie theatre boxes of candy on sale for $1.00 a box (approx 4-6 oz of candy.) I know people say that empty calories are cheapest, but I beg to differ. This week at Hy Vee, you could get LOTS of healthy things for $1.00 or less/lb -- 1 lb of whole wheat pasta, organic apples, Disney oranges, baby carrots, Anjou pears, strawberries, generic cottage cheese, brand name pasta sauce, natural whole chicken, 100% OJ, Russett potatos. Still think sugar, carbs and fat are cheaper? Have you looked at the regular price of a bag of chips or box of kid's cereal lately??? Just sayin'...

AND, another thing I haven't done in awhile is meal ideas. Here's some ideas with what we've got already around the house and what we bought today --

Cavatini (pasta and cheese bake)
Smoothies
Bagels and cream cheese
Chicken noodle soup (with lots of leftovers for lunch!)
Pancakes with homemade hashbrowns
Nachos with black beans and cheese
Cheese pizzas on whole wheat bagels
Tuna noodle salad

That's all I can think of right now, but that will certainly carry us over for another 7 days!