my mega grocery shopping trip

Kids will be out of school for the summer next week, so it was a good day for me to do some major stocking up on groceries.  The bagel shop, upscale supermarket and warehouse store are five miles from my house, but within a half mile of each other.  By visiting them one after the other, I saved time, money (less gas used) and the environment (less carbon monoxide produced by car).

My kids love bagels, and I love the whole grain bagels this particular bagel shop makes. Ideally, I would have gone tomorrow because the bagel shop discounts a baker's dozen bagels by $2 on Wednesdays.  But I really needed to shop today as I won't have time tomorrow.  And I had hoped to get my bagels from the half price bin, but there were only bagels we don't like.  I've heard that if they don't have a half price bin, many bagel shops will still sell you day-old bagels if you ask.  While the bagels taste good fresh, we also like them toasted.  I slice the bagels in half and put them in the freezer.  We can just pop the frozen bagels in the toaster as needed.

I'm very careful about what I buy at the upscale supermarket.  According to my price comparison list, I can get nearly everything there cheaper someplace else.  However, this store does double and sometimes triple coupons, so sometimes it's worthwhile to buy an item when using a coupon, especially if the item is on sale.  I buy beef and pork at this store because this is the nearest and least expensive place I know of to get these items without added hormones and antibiotics.  I generally wait for a sale.  There is a particular brand name cereal one son really likes which I was buying in bulk at the warehouse store, but today I bought it at the upscale supermarket because I could combine a sale with a coupon and beat the warehouse price. I had a coupon for $.55 off one 17 oz. box.  The store doubled it to $1 and the box was $2.50, so I was able to get it for $1.50, only $1.42 per pound! (yeah, I know homemade granola is cheaper).  There was also a Buy 2 Get 3 Free deal I took advantage of and a couple of other unbeatable sales.

At the warehouse store, among other things,  I purchased a jumbo pack of chicken breasts without added hormones or antibiotics, a five-lb. bag of shredded mozzarella (block was the same price, or I might have shredded it myself), frozen mixed fruit for fruit and juice smoothies, chewing gum and a bulk package of imitation crab meat.  When I got home, I broke up the mozzarella and imitation crab meat into approximately 1 lb. portions, put them in square reusable containers, and put them in the freezer.  Buying bulk also saves the environment when it cuts down on packaging waste.