Well, not only did my body go on a diet, but my wallet did too. I've always been a bargain shopper so I'm not unfamiliar with stores such as Dollar Tree and the 99¢ Store, or let me correctly say it, the 99¢ ONLY store. I would only go there to pick up party items and maybe some paper goods, but never did I start grocery shopping there until I got here in Ventura.
The first time we came to visit, we tried to save some money on food and Glenn found the 99¢ Store and bought fruit there. A box of strawberries, bags of oranges, pears, were only 99¢. So was juice and fresh bags of salads. The vegetables don't look as pretty as the ones at Von's but I'm not paying double for something my stomach can't tell the difference with. Plus, it makes it seem more organic since the fields are nearby and they sometimes look like they just came out of the ground. I also don't have as much room from downsizing and I tend to waste less food now and purchase in quantities that I need.
So that started my love affair with the 99¢ Store. Needless to say, it's been a lot more crowded nowadays as the economy has people looking for ways to save money on their groceries. I used to not go if the location is what I call "ghetto" but I don't let it stop me now. It is now also my "prize" store that I take Kalista to, not Toys R' Us. She gets to pick out a prize once a week if she wakes up on time for school the whole week. She loves looking at everything and always finds more than one prize she wants, but she only gets one...
I am fortunate to have access to two in Ventura and one in Oxnard. I'm listing my top 10 favorite things that I now buy there.
1. San Luis Bakery-Sourdough Bread
Right next door at Trader Joe's they sell the same bread for $2.69
They also carry Sarah Lee Bagels and bread...normally over $3.00
Gorditos-again, $3.69 at Trader Joe's
2. Fresh Express Salads-Yes, sometimes you can get them on sale but I don't have to wait for a sale
3. Vegetables- Broccoli, Cauliflower, carrots, fresh whole mushrooms, red, green, yellow and orange peppers, green onions, potatoes etc.
4. Butterball Deli Turkey Meat-this even comes with a plastic container that you can re-use to store your leftovers!
5. Lean Cuisine Entrees
6. Yoplait Yogurt- You can buy a 6 pak kid's or two regular and Light versions...
7. Seasonal Fruits- I am beginning to love those tiny plantation bananas!
8. Disney items and stationery stuff (I know these aren't food items, but I lumped all the vegetables and fruit in two categories)
9. Hair accessories- can never have enough bands and clips
10. Twin Dragon Almond Cookies (Although I recently stopped due to my healthier eating habits) They did carry Weight Watchers muffins this week!
2 comments:
Wow! These $ and 99 cents have come a long way. Fresh foods?! that's great:) Here in italy, there's 2 chains of German based stores called, Lidl and Penny market. Most Italians are too snobby to shop there. Us foreigners, stranieri, shop there because they sell int'l types of food at reasonable prices. Why pay double when you don't have to. Good or bad economic times, we love shopping there.
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