Presliced cheese is typically more expensive than block. Alfredo is cheap to make from scratch. The instant Mac that comes in the microwavable bowls are like 2.5x the price per ounce of the ones that are just packets.

It’s a lot of processed bread / carb products and very little protein.

So, some points for consideration….

Canned vegetables will have around half their product weight in Canning Liquid. So keep that in mind when comparing prices on frozen ($0.082/ozverse canned ($.044/oz).

Frozen is also usually better in quality (texture, nutrient value) and lower in salt and other preservatives. Modern freezing centers are frequently able to get nearly as good as fresh; and might come out on top if you’re not buying from the farmers market.

Lentils and rice represent a whole protein, and are easily adapted to a variety of flavors; (For example); takes about 10 minutes of prep, 25-30 of reasonably hands off time and can be easily made in advance and augmented with fruits and vegetables. (For example, sautéed squash/zucchini plopped on top.) or basically any kind of stir fry mix.

Block cheeses are going to save you money, compared to sliced or shredded.

On that note, Alfredo (or rather pasta al burro) is super simple to make; albeit requiring some technique and experience : reserve some (hot) pasta water, in a large bowl, soft butter and the drained pasta. Stir until coated toss in the parmigano regianno; use the pasta water to help emulsify and melt the cheese. (Alfredo melts 3x butter with heavy cream, reduces that then adds the pasta and cheese, a bit more work, imo.)

You’re probably thinking I’m a snob for using the Italian name for Parmesan. Fun fact: in the US Parmesan is not in fact Parmigiano reggiano as it is in the EU- but if you stick to block cheese and away from that Kraft shaker Parmesan, you’ll be fine. (It’s cheese, mostly, but there’s stuff added to it that makes it… not good… for sauces.)

Also, in a similar vien, a mornay sauce can replace Mac and cheese tubs, and generally don’t require extra time compared to just cooking the pasta. (Equal parts melted butter and flour, whisk together until smooth, medium-low heat. Whisk in milk slowly until the consistency of heavy cream, then whisk in shredded or cubed cheese a bit at a time, letting it melt. When the pasta is mostly cooked, reserve some of the water and drain the rest, finish the pasta in the sauce, using the pasta water to control consistency and as an emulsifier.)(if you want to get fancy, before making the roux, sauté a minced clove of garlic and maybe some minced onion in the butter, then proceed. Black pepper to taste.)

Oh, and pro tip, heads of garlic cost less than the jars of minced grossness. Similarly, saving scraps like onions, carrots, celery, ginger, mushrooms, and stuff, can then be simmered in a lot of water to make stock, and can add flavor and nutrients to things like rice or stews (potatoes, mushrooms?)

Take it from someone who knows vegetarian eating, this is a dangerously low amount of protein, and no those cheese slices do not cover it. I'd wager your daily protein macro is a single digit percentage (most sources suggest around 15-35% depending on exercise and lifestyle and all that). If this haul is your entire diet for the week and you're not leaving out stuff you already have at home or something, I would strongly advise looking for more protein dense foods before protein deficiency starts to affect your well being. I've been there and it's really not good.

Idk I feel like buying a cat with your groceries was a bit too much. Should have just skipped the groceries and only bought the cat

This whole picture can be summed up in two words:

Can't cook

They sell cats at Walmart?

Lotsa carbs. At least you’ve got some veg in there.

Try adding beans or other veg with protein, more filling and less likely to snack. Nuts, quinoa, asparagus or avocado will help, too.

If you eat a lot of pasta I would recommend learning some simple sauce recipes. Tomato sauce is probably the cheapest, and it's basically a can of whole tomatoes, half an onion, some garlic, and some herbs. Cream sauces might be cheaper to buy canned, but you can make those with some cream, onions, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.

Other than that it looks like you're making good choices. The system just sucks ass. I hope your next trip is more fruitful.

Processed food is usually more expensive per portion than the ingredients alone. The farther you get from the raw ingredients the more expensive it gets. Plus, you're eating all sorts of junk ingredients.

I had about ten years of experience with a very tight food budget to learn what was good value for effort/ingredients.

Good:

Flour, sugar, canned tomatoes, spices, frozen veggies, fresh produce

Bad:

Presliced or pre-grated cheeses, at least in my experience, are marked up 1.5x to 2x the cost per pound of a block. Another commenter said that wasn't the case in their store, but check and see if that is true for you and if the cheeses you got are available in blocks. You can even go to a place with a deli counter and they will slice cheese for you for free, and you will get exactly how much you want with less waste (yes it's an interaction with another human, it'll be alright).

Uncrustables/swiss rolls/mac and cheese... it's not for me to judge what someone chooses for an indulgence, maybe those things are what get you through your day, but you can definitely do better value wise. Mac and cheese from a box is cheaper than those individual cups, and homemade mac and cheese from scratch is even better and extremely easy if you have any kitchen experience. Uncrustables will always be more expensive than just making the sandwich yourself. The swiss rolls... well you know they're a treat. In my opinion if you're going to treat yourself to something unhealthy spend the extra dollar and get something luxurious.

Breads and muffins, again if you could learn how to make them yourself you might be impressed with the results. Bread can be a tricky balance of time, effort and cost of ingredients, and homemade fresh baked bread is incredible, but if you're short on time there's nothing wrong with buying it. Muffins are a quick bread though that you could make at home in under an hour with a mixing bowl and a cupcake pan, and then you could control exactly how much sugar went into them and have hot, fresh muffins. It's worth making them yourself at least once to see if it's something you can add to your routine, you can get a cupcake pan for cheap from a thrift store if you don't have one.

Sauces and dips, as other people have said, they are a lot simpler than you might think to make yourself. In my experience they are one of those things you should challenge yourself to make at least once or twice and see how much effort and time it takes you, and then re-evaluate the jarred/canned stuff. Maybe after making it you realize it is worth the extra dollar or so to save yourself the effort, but maybe you realize it's not that hard and you're able to save money in the long run and have more control over the quality and ingredients.

All this stuff is incremental, and any one thing isn't going to magically fix food costs. Plus as the amount of time in your life to spend on meal prep fluctuates you might find it's worth it to spend the extra money on convenience. However it's important to at least get some experience with the alternatives so you understand what amount of time and effort you are buying by getting those processed foods. Good luck :)

Muffins spelled backwards is sniffum

Coulda bought 8 of these instead, just sayin'

$87 for grocery used to get you gourmet organic foods. In 2024 you get uncrustables. I hate this timeline.

It's fine that you don't eat meat, but where's the protein in your diet? Beans, tofu, peas?

People are out here choosing to eat canned green beans? When you could just as easily eat NOTHING and have roughly the same nutritional value and none of the slimy, masochistic horror show that is canned green beans. (I don't care for canned green beans).

How much did you pay for the cat and how would you cook it?

Not a bad haul, I might be biased as an Australian, but that looks like good value for money for food that's balanced and easy to cook.

As a fellow non-meat eater, I am deeply disturbed by the lack of legumes in this photo, but if you're not a fan of cooking from dried, then I get it, canned can get expensive for what you get out of it.

Some charred chickpeas with olive oil lightly smashed on that rosemary bread would end up being my breakfast for a week straight if this was my house.

You’re eating far too much healthy food. Try mixing in some junk to balance things out.

Not bad, not great. I buy my veggies from a grocery that specializes in that, it's much cheaper and less plastic. No yogurt? No solid/brick cheese? No nuts and dried fruit? No canned beans or dried beans? Peanut butter?

What you really need is a $/portion table to see what's actually expensive here.

I think the muffins tip you over the edge into junk food land. They are very empty and basically the same as the rolls, the kraft dinner, and whatever is in the red box. A fair bit of this stuff is basically sugar and bread.

My SO and I recently found out that Walmart (I see the Great Value brand) has actually become one of the more expensive places to buy goods from. We've done comparisons from Trader Joe's, Fry's, and Safeway. We've found that Walmart is the least value. Take what you will.

Needs more ray tracing.

You're doing a great job for a 5 year old (based on the Uncrustables)

Needs more cats

Needs butter, eggs, beans, garlic (i assume you already have salt & pepper), rice (get a bigger bag, it's cheap! Learn different rice recipes) and noodles...lose the uncrustables, the muffins, and the Swiss rolls. Get a big bag of cereal instead (good for snacking + breakfast) and a box of muffin mix (you get more for cheaper). Room for improvement, but good instincts with the veggies, just get some fruit too 🤙🤙

Edit- canned diced tomatoes and chicken broth really go a long way when making rice- I love using knorrs tomato/chicken bullion when making Mexican rice

Is the cat included? If yes, it's worth the price

6/10, 8/10 with rice

For the price of one 10 pack of uncrustables you can get 2 loaves of bread and a jar each of PB and J, and have sandwiches for 2 weeks!

You could've saved $3 on the pack of tortillas by spending $10 on a bag of masa and 6 hours making enough tortillas to feed a small battalion

I assume you are making the cat into tacos and for that you made some good choices

Needs more legumes, nuts and or seeds, maybe some starches and fruit.

More veggies, less Smuckers