Food Shopping - Things I Buy Every Single Week

What an utterly random idea for a blog post. Are you really excited? 

Truth is, I'm a nosey parker and I love reading these types of posts. I thought it might be a good idea for taking part in the Link-A-List Linky too. My Little Babog and El And Baby A are hosting this great linky. I think it's a brilliant idea, especially when you (like me) might be reading a blog post in bed. Quick accessible blog posts in list form. A quick chuckle, recipe, craft idea or advice. I love me a list. 

We do our food shopping once a week and I have a bit of a strategy. First we get the "usuals", then I get a few bits that are on special offer that week, and the rest is based around meal planning and the odd impulse buy. So what are the the "usuals"? They are the items that we purchase every single week. The funny thing is that something really normal for me might sound bizarre to someone else. I just love hearing about other people's food shopping.

So here it is, a list of items we buy every single week, and a bit of information where needed. 

• Milk. Mostly for tea. The other half is also a fan of a late night bowl of Cornflakes. We usually buy a two litre jug each week and then end up buying milk at least twice during the week in between shopping days. 
• Soya Milk. A new addition. Cow's milk doesn't really agree with Billy, and yet he's fine with cheese and yoghurt's. We've discovered that soya milk is perfect for him. He has it most mornings in his wheetabix and I use it when baking him muffins. It's also our go-to milk if we are occasionally away from him and need to leave a bottle.
• Cheese. We are a cheese loving household. Standard would be to buy a bag of grated cheese and a packet of sliced cheese. Grated for Billy to nibble on and to sprinkle on pasta - slices for sandwiches. It could very easily end up being purchased at another point during the week too. Billy loves the stuff. Cheese just makes life better. 
• Bread. Usually wholemeal or "best of both" type of bread. For toast, sambos, you know yourself. Billy has recently started eating little sandwiches so that's another mouth to feed in the bread department. Again, bread will usually be purchased again at some stage during the week. 
• Yoghurts. For Billy and for the other half's lunch. I'm a fan of a yogurt too, but I like the fancy expensive ones so usually can't justify them every week. 
• Bananas. A popular food in our house. I use them for baking, snacks for Billy, and everything in between.
• Eggs. We generally use about 10 eggs a week. Some weeks a bit less. Scrambled egg for a quick lunch or savoury scones or muffins for Billy. Always handy to have a few eggs. 
• Courgettes. This one might sound odd to some people but it's a firm favourite in our house. I literally throw it in to everything - curries, pasta dishes, omelettes, noodles - everything. I get particularly excited when they are part of the Aldi super six. 'Tis the little things. 
• Toilet paper. Most weeks. 
• Some sort of cleany/toilettry thing. There's usually something that I have to buy in this department. This week it was shower gel and fabric softener. Next week it might be dishwasher tablets or toothpaste. A girls gotta have her toiletries. 
• Mince. I use it every week in some form or another. It has to be lean, less than 10% fat at least. Preferrably 5%. Most weeks I make Spaghetti Bolognese in the slow cooker, a chilli or homemade burgers. 
• Chicken of some sort. Could be a whole chicken or chicken fillets. Depends on the mood, menu plans and special offers. 
• Peppers and mushrooms. Every single week without fail. I throw them in to everything. 
• "Something Nice". It might be a little packet of bars or some biscuits. Unless I'm being really good. But even then I'll justify a little "something nice" with a cup of tea in the evenings. 
• 2 tins of Chopped tomatoes. Another firm favourite for us. I use them for casseroles, homemade soup, curry and bolognese/chilli. So handy to have and a healthy base for a lot of sauces. I find them great for batch cooking dishes for Billy's meals. 
• Crisps or popcorn. I'm a divil for crisps with a sandwich. I'll try to buy low fat or popcorn though. Big fan of the little packets of Aldi popcorn these days. They can be hit or miss, but when they're good they're amazing. 
• Baby "things". These are usually baby wipes, rice cakes and little pots of 100% fruit puree. I'll buy a packet of baby snacks too. Maybe Organix ones or own brand. Whatever is the best value. I make all of Billy's food myself so I don't buy jars or packets of baby food, but the yoghurts and snacky things do add up. 

And there we have it. A little glimpse in to my weekly shopping trolley. Our shopping is usually anywhere from €70-€90 per week. It's amazing what you can do when you're on a tight budget though. There's weeks I've made it happen on €50 a week for two adults and one toddler. It involves some creative thinking, hardcore meal planning and absolutely NO wasting of food, but it can be done. Usually we shop at Aldi because I find it better for fresh fruit/vegetables and baby items. We will also shop in Supervalu, Lidl or Dunnes/Tesco if certain offers are available (such as €10 off Lidl vouchers from the newspaper) or if we don't have time to do a big weekly shop (we live near a Supervalu and I'll get bits and bobs throughout the week). 

How much do you spend on your food shopping? What are your weekly staples? And where do you shop?