rewrite this title Meal Plan Monday: Crystal’s $250 Grocery Shopping Trips + Menu Plan

Published: by Crystal Paine on November 3, 2025  |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

It’s been a long time since I’ve shown my grocery shopping trips. I stopped sharing them because I was honestly exhausted from constantly having people write in and critique what I bought and tell me what I was doing wrong or could be doing better.

So I took a break from it, but I’m ready to be back — and am hoping that it can be an inspiration to those who need the motivation for ideas for grocery shopping and menu planning! (And hoping that I’ll have freshly-thickened skin for those who want to email in and tell me what I’m doing wrong!)

We have raised our grocery budget quite a bit from what it used to be — mostly because we are in a season where we have more wiggle room, we are feeding more mouths than we used to, I want to be able to buy a lot of protein and some higher-priced items, and because this covers the majority of our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for our family of 7 (Kathrynne lives 45 minutes away and only occasionally eats with us).

Amazon Deal: First up, I bought this Larabar Deal from Amazon for $18.91 shipped! (the price has gone up some more)

Kroger Shopping Trip #1:

Yobaby Yogurt – marked down to $2.49

Greek Goddess Yogurt – $3.79

4 lbs. butter – $2.99/lb

3 bags Gala apples — $1.99/lb

Total with tax: $28.77

Dollar General Shopping Trip:

2 cans green beans (BOGO) and 2 cans Cream of Chicken (BOGO) = $2.14 (including tax)

I was so excited about all the markdowns I found at Kroger!!

Kroger Shopping Trip #2:

Steaks – $4.05 x 2 (marked down)

Turkey Breast – $3.20 x 2 (marked down)

Turkey sausage – $2.24 x 2 (marked down)

Sausage links – $2.27 (marked down)

Nutpods Creamer – $4.99

Pantene travel shampoo – $0.61 x 3 (marked down)

Travel lint roller – $0.38 (marked down)

Pert travel size – $0.35 (marked down)

Therabreath travel size – $0.73 (marked down)

Half gallon chocolate milk – $1.79

Oscar Mayer Bacon – $3.99 x 2 (marked down)

Marked down bananas – 5 lbs – $1.95

Blueberries – $3.49 x 2

Potatoes – $3.99

Gold Medal flour – $2.99 x 2

Simple Truth Eggs – $3.99 x 2

Milk – $3.29

Total with tax: $76.65

Kroger Shopping Trip #3:

Yoplait yogurt – $0.39 x 5 (marked down)

Kroger Eggs – $2.49

Cheese – $1.79

Yoplait Gogurt – $0.99 (marked down + coupon)

Covergirl lip color – $2.75 x 2 (marked down)

Covergirl mascara – $3 x4 (marked down)

Jimmy Dean Meal – $1.79 (marked down)

King’s Hawaiian Rolls – $2

Tip Roast – $20.57

Beef Strip Steak – $16.29 (marked down)

Steak – $14.96 (marked down)

2 bags of cuties – $1.50 x 2 (marked down)

Rib Tips – $6.30 (marked down)

Ground Lamb – $5.67 x 3 (marked down)

Zevia x 2 – $4.49

Total with tax: $113.28

Total with tax for all groceries = $239.75

Dinners this week:

Roast, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots

Steak, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts

Ground lamb meatballs, roasted carrots, green salad, sourdough

Turkey sausage, potatoes, carrots, and peppers in the crockpot

Turkey sandwiches on sourdough with fruit (grab & go meal)

Leftovers/fend for yourself

Dinner out