Welcome back to another installment of What We Ate This Week, How I Prepped, and What I Spent — part nine!
I think after part ten (maybe this summer?), I’ll officially retire this series. It’s been a good run. But before we close it out, I wanted to document a very full February week — what we ate, how I prepped, and what we spent as a family of six.
One quick note: we had just returned from a trip, and I love coming home to a completely bare fridge. No food waste. No mystery leftovers. Just a clean slate. That means the first grocery week back is always higher than normal — but it’s worth it.
Grocery Totals 💸
- Trader Joe’s (Monday): $171
- Trader Joe’s (Midweek Restock): $75.94
- Costco (Grocery items only): $61.76
- Airport Lunch (Travel Day): $63.77
Total Grocery Spend: $309
Dining Out (besides airport): $0
I aim to keep our grocery budget under $1,200/month. For a family of six, I feel okay about that — especially with how much we cook from scratch.
Listen Here
Weekly Meal Prep 🥣
Because we had nothing in the fridge after travel, I dove right in.
Here’s what I prepped:
- Hard-boiled eggs
- A full batch of sourdough pancakes (about 24 pancakes)
- Homemade sandwich bread
- Packed four bento lunches per child
- Washed, chopped, and organized fruits and vegetables
- A large after-school snack platter, every week day
- One loaf of sourdough
- Blueberry scones for school snacks
- Two dozen frozen cookie dough balls
- Homemade sourdough tortillas
- Roasted chickpeas
- Fresh challah for Shabbat
Keeping my sourdough starter alive absolutely counts as meal prep.
Breakfast Rhythm 🍳
On school mornings, I usually:
- Scramble four eggs
- Reheat sourdough pancakes in the toaster oven
If we’re not doing pancakes, the kids have toast from my homemade sandwich bread. I prefer making it myself — five or six ingredients, no mystery additives.
After-School Snack System 🥕🍓
Kids come home starving.
Whenever possible, I prep a large melamine platter before pickup with:
- Bell peppers
- Baby carrots
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Grapes, strawberries, blueberries
- Apples or pears
- Cashews or almonds
- Crackers or popcorn
If dinner is light, I don’t stress — I know they had something solid and nourishing earlier.
The Frozen Cookie Dough Situation 🍪
This deserves its own section. I double my favorite cookie recipe, scoop the dough into perfect balls, and freeze them unbaked. If we need dessert, I bake a few straight from frozen.
But more often? My husband, myself, and now the kids grab frozen cookie dough balls directly from the freezer.
Yes, I know. Salmonella. I am living on the edge. It’s become a regular prep item because five people eating frozen cookie dough adds up quickly.
Sunday (Travel Day)
We flew home from Arizona and grabbed airport sandwiches from Peet’s for $63.77.
Dinner was survival-mode: rice, a large Costco can of tuna, crackers. Everyone was exhausted.
Monday
President’s Day — kids home.
Lunch: sandwiches and a large shared snack plate.
Dinner: chicken noodle soup with sourdough bread (my husband wasn’t feeling great). Early dinner before ice skating.
Tuesday
Lunch: thawed lentil soup from the freezer (baby approved).
Three-year-old: mostly snacks.
Dinner:
- Meatloaf
- 3 lbs mashed potatoes
- Roasted Brussels sprouts
I intentionally make large batches of mashed potatoes to reuse or freeze for future weeks. It’s like a small gift to my future self.
Wednesday 🌮
Lunch: leftover chicken noodle soup.
Dinner: slow cooker chicken taco bowls:
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Black beans
- Rice (from Sunday prep)
- Homemade guacamole
- Salsa
- “Sour cream” (Greek yogurt)
- Homemade sourdough tortillas
The tortillas only need a 30-minute rest and come together so quickly. My daughter loves helping roll them.
Thursday 🐟
Lunch: big salad with roasted chickpeas.
Dinner:
- Sheet pan salmon
- Costco frozen vegetable mix
- Leftover mashed potatoes from Tuesday
Salmon night = automatic bath for the one-year-old.
Friday (Shabbat) ✨
Friday mornings are for challah.
The dough rises most of the day, and the kids help braid it after school. Around 4:30pm, I open a bottle of red wine and ease into Shabbat — one of my favorite weekly rhythms.
Dinner:
- Sautéed steak
- Simple salad (carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes)
- Roasted chickpeas
- Balsamic dressing
- Fresh challah
We had my cousin over, which made it even sweeter.
Saturday
Leftovers for both lunch and dinner.
I’ve officially decided I’m done cooking on Shabbat. Bulk cooking during the week allows Saturday to be simple, restful, and fridge-clearing before Monday’s grocery reset.
Final Thoughts 🤍
This was a higher grocery week than usual because we came home to an empty fridge — but we ate every meal at home (minus airport food), prepped well, and avoided food waste.
Total grocery spend: $309
Monthly goal: Under $1,200
For a family of six, cooking almost everything from scratch, I feel proud of that.
If you’ve been following this series from the beginning — thank you. Maybe we have one more installment left before retirement.