In partnership with Walmart

The weekly grocery bill… amiright?! If you do most of the grocery shopping in your family, you’ve likely noticed the impact of inflation on your weekly groceries. For some it might just be annoying but for most it’s downright stressful. I’ve found some ways to stretch the grocery budget that I wanted to share. I’ve been doing this for months and it’s made our grocery bill MUCH smaller.

1. Shop Walmart private labels. Organic options, high quality, getting more for less—what’s not to love? This is a game-changer that you have to check out for yourself. When I’ve compared Walmart private label groceries (e.g. Marketside, Sam’s Choice, Great Value) to other brands that cost more, I’ve noticed no difference. Take advantage of these savings

2. Walmart+ product substitutions are awesome. Another mom clued me in to this one! Example: I ordered an 18-pack of Walmart’s Marketside organic eggs (same price as 1 dozen from other brand) and they were out of stock so Walmart sent 2 dozen of the Marketside eggs, AT NO EXTRA COST. Another time, I ordered a regular size carton of apple juice for my girls and it because that particular size was out of stock, Walmart sent the next bigger size, at no extra cost. I ordered a small bag of chocolate chips that ended up not being available and they sent me a jumbo one, for the same price as the smaller one. Amazing customer service.

3. Meal plan, meal plan, meal plan. Seriously, never go into a grocery store hungry OR without a plan. Your plan should be focused on enough meal portions, noting what might be cooked in batches for a couple dinners or what can be repurposed for lunches. With my kids, I also plan for snacks and stuff I can bring on outings. It’s vital to think about a mix of proteins, veggies, and carbs, but you gotta keep it yummy too! Overall, it’s a mix of greatest hits (lol) and a new recipe I want to try. I usually get grocery delivery on Saturday mornings, which relates to #6 below. Also: a good meal plan will mean that you can be more intentional about dining out because Postmates and take-out both add up.

4. Frozen and pantry items are great, inexpensive ways to make healthier meals. My kids LOVE cheesy black bean-veggie tacos (canned beans), fruit smoothies (frozen fruit mix), or shepherd’s pie featuring a generous portion of veggie mixed in (from frozen.) I use canned chickpeas and frozen veggies to simmer in curries, another family favorite. I also bake a lot so I always have flour, baking powder, chocolate chips, etc. Basically, you have to maximize your freezer and pantry.

5. Freeze, repurpose, cut food waste: Get some freezer bags and get creative. I turned a pork roast into a meat-and-mashed-potatoes night, tacos, and a ragu. Freezing what I wouldn’t use the first night, in two big portions, worked out great. Cutting food waste is another great money- and time-saver. Honestly, food waste was probably one of the biggest mistakes I was making beforehand. Today, I had some leftover waffle batter and instead of tossing it, I spent a few more minutes with it and a couple more large waffles out of it—great for the kids on some other morning. (Waffles freeze nicely!) Remember to allow things to cool completely before freezing

6. Sunday is the first day of the week. This is more about mindset, but I stopped thinking of Monday as the first day of the week. I think about Sunday that way. That means I start my week with going to church, spending time with family, resting, and listening to podcasts and audiobooks while we cook. With fresh groceries on hand, the whole family helps in some way. I aim to make two dinners, prep something that can be lunch for a few days, and one baked treat. Here are some examples from real life!

Pick 2:
Tomato soup (freeze half)
Pizza dough (enough for 3 pies–freeze 2)
Meatballs (make pasta when needed)
Chicken noodle soup (freeze half)
Veggie enchiladas (bake when needed)

Pick 1:
Quinoa-chickpea-veggie salad
Tuna salad
Black bean, mushroom, cheese burritos (warm up when needed)

Pick 1:
Chocolate chip cookies
Oatmeal cherry cookies
Blueberry muffins
French toast (you can freeze extra)

Happy meal prepping!

In partnership with Walmart

When I wake up to rainy, cold days I think, “It’s soup weather!” This has been a rainy week in California so I wanted to make a big pot of chicken noodle soup.

Our Walmart+ membership continues to be a time-saver for our family and simplifies all my grocery shopping with free same-day delivery from our store ($35 minimum. Restrictions apply.) Our local store is excellent: lots of organic produce, all our fridge and pantry staples, and plenty of variety to fill in any gaps in my meal planning. I like to browse the different grocery departments on the Walmart app to get ideas… stuff like plant-based hotdogs, split pea soup, and kale salad, to name a few from this week. And the grocery prices? Excellent as always, especially for such high quality.

Back to this soup! It’s the perfect dinner at home on a cold night. Everyone in my family loves it; it’s sooo comforting and yummy. The kids know the secret ingredient to my soup is love but I’ll let you in on the another ace up my sleeve: a jar of Better Than Bouillon. There’s no need for homemade stock with this stuff.

I got this and all my other chicken soup ingredients in my Walmart+ order:

Here’s my Best Chicken Soup recipe:

Yield: 10 servings

Prep and cook time: 10 min, 45-50 min

You will need:

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 tbsp olive oil

32 oz water

2-3 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base

1 yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 medium carrots, chopped

4 celery ribs, chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme

8 oz egg noodles

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt/pepper to taste

1 tbsp flat leaf parsley

Instructions:

• In a 6-quart stockpot, heat the olive oil and cook the onions until soft (about 5 minutes.) Add your garlic and stir/cook for additional 1 minute.
• Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the Better than Bouillon and stir to dissolve.
• Add the chicken thighs, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to simmer and cook covered for about 25-30 minutes.
• Once chicken is cooked, use tongs to pull it out and set aside to cool.
• Remove pot from heat and add the egg noodles. Cover with lid and let stand for about 20 minutes.
• Once chicken cools down, shred it and add to pot once the egg noodles have cooked. 
• Adjust taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice, or any additional Better than Bouillon.
• Garnish with parsley and serve!

A bowl of this, a blanket throw, and watching the baseball playoffs sounds like a perfect evening to me. A day simplified is a day that is more restful and for that I am grateful. Wishing you warm evenings throughout the rest of this chilly season!

Start your own Walmart+ membership trial to see if you love it as much as I do.