shopping update: actual cost of groceries

We just returned from the store and I am pleased to report that we actually spent less on our groceries than predicted. The following table shows the estimated cost of each item (from my last post) next to the actual price. Note: We omitted the cherries since they now seem to be out of season and were cost prohibitive.

item	est. cost	actual cost
head of lettuce	$2.00	$2.00
Mushrooms	$2.00	$1.76
eggs (2 dozen)	$4.00	$3.20
limes (2)	$1.00	$0.60
garlic (1 head)	$0.50	$0.34
bananas (6)	$1.50	$1.20
shallots (5)	$2.00	$1.12
cilantro	$1.00	$1.29
celery	$1.50	$1.49
tortillas	$2.00	$2.69
milk (gallon)	$4.00	$3.89
sour cream	$2.00	$2.45
natural peanut butter	$4.00	$2.79
sandwich bread (2)	$4.00	$4.00
baguettes (2)	$4.00	$4.49
Total cost	$35.50	$33.31

We also purchased a few additional items:

tortilla chips		$3.00
greek olives		$5.49
melons		$5.86

This brings our adjusted total cost to $47.66, which is well below our allotted $60. This is good news, as I'd like to swing by the farmer's market for a few items this weekend.

Honestly, I was a bit worried about hitting our budget, but our experience today leaves me further convinced that you (whether a single-income family or not) can make wholesome, nutritious dinners on a tight budget.

That's all for now. I'm going to celebrate our sensible grocery run by making the corn chowder I mentioned last night. I'll post the recipe and some pictures later tonight.