Rose City Receipts: Milwaukie Mom Feeds Family of 4 on $200 Weekly Budget

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Hi, reader,

Welcome to Rose City Receipts by Stumptown Savings, a feature where Portlanders take us inside their grocery shopping and meal planning strategies. Portland's food scene is legendary, but figuring out how to enjoy it without breaking the bank can feel like an unsolvable mystery. With food costs on the rise, Rose City Receipts aims to inspire and motivate by showing you how one of your neighbors is making it work.

Today, we hear from Laurie from Milwaukie. She walks us through how she feeds a busy family of four on about $200 a week.

Meet Our Shopper

Who are you? Laurie
Where do you live? Milwaukie
What’s your weekly grocery budget (roughly)?: We tend to average between $150–$250 a week, with slight increases one or twice a month due to Costco trips
How many people are you shopping for?: 4
What are your favorite stores?: WinCo, Trader Joe’s, New Seasons, Costco (Safeway only because it is close)
What’s your top priority when it comes to grocery shopping?: Value and quality … and ease

Laurie's Shopping Philosophy

We try to have a range of healthy, affordable ingredients that can supplement some of the frozen premade dishes we get from, say, Trader Joe's or Costco. I try to balance cost, convenience and nutrition.

Laurie’s Grocery Diary

Weekly total: $342
Eating out total: $115
Groceries total: $227
Most-expensive meal or purchase: $80; dinner for four at a restaurant
Least-expensive meal or purchase: $7: 2 for $7 drinks at a convenience store
Number of grocery trips: 3
Number of meals out: 1.5
Stores visited: New Seasons, WinCo, Safeway

Monday

We didn’t get to grocery shopping over the weekend, so I went to Safeway Monday morning to grab mangoes, yogurt, milk, cheese, and cottage cheese. Kids ate breakfast and lunch at school, so our only meal was dinner. I forgot what we had!

Monday total: $50

Tuesday

Our sink was leaking, so we went out to dinner. All other meals were eaten at home or school.

Tuesday total: $80

Wednesday

Meals at home or at school. Dinner was frozen TJ’s quiche and roasted broccoli.

Wednesday total: $0

Thursday

Meals at home or at school. Dinner was air fried panko chicken breasts, sautéed kale, and rice.

Thursday total: $0

Friday

No school for the kids, so they ate breakfast at home (smoothies and English muffins), and then had lunch at a friends’. Dinner was tortellini with sauce and sautéed spinach. We did go grocery shopping at WinCo and spent $160.

Friday total: $160

Weekend

Saturday

We’re watching our wallets these days, so my partner and I got coffee, instead of lunch, while the kids were at an activity, and then we all went out for gelato (if you haven’t tried Pinolo Gelato, you are missing out. It is incredible). Total for those outings was $35. We ate all our other meals at home, including a dazzlin’ dinner of turkey burgers on English muffins, tater tots, and sautéed onions.

Sunday

We popped into New Seasons for ice cream sandwiches and a baguette ($10), with our only other purchase being Gatorade (it’s a bribe to get our kid to go to soccer 🙂) at a convenience store before practice: $7.

Like Saturday, we ate at home. Breakfast was smoothies; lunch was sandwiches; and our dinner was chicken curry with sliced fresh baguette (we wanted something other than rice).

Weekend total: $35 (eating out) + $17 (groceries)

🔍 Laurie’s Shopping Strategy

I can’t do prescriptive meal-planning, so what I aim for is a mix of protein + veggie + starch for every meal, with at least one of those elements being “convenient” so I’m not — especially on weeknights — cooking everything from scratch. On a recent trip to Costco, we sampled the frozen panko chicken breasts, and those are now a staple because they work on their own or as a component to say, fried rice, ramen, or tacos. They still need to be cooked in the air fryer, but their versatility is a big bonus.  

🍽️ From My Table

Adobo was the comfort food in my family growing up, making its appearance at the dinner table or big spreads at family gatherings. This recipe (which you can also make with pork butt but be sure to increase the cooking time) comes directly from my great-aunt. It hits all the notes: savory, satisfying and scales easily. It’s even better the next day (think filling for tacos or burritos).

Chicken Adobo

Ingredients 

• 3–4 lbs. boneless chicken thighs

• 5 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly crushed

• 1 tablespoon allspice, coarsely crushed (use paper towel and mallet)

• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

• 4 to 5 bay leaves, crumbled slightly

• 1/2 cup apple cider or sugar cane vinegar

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 two-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and slightly crushed

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients including meat in a heavy pot. 

2. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 45 minutes* or until the meat is tender.  Liquid should be evaporated to thick sauce consistency; if too dry, add 1/4 cup each of vinegar and water, continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes more.

3. Serve with lots of steamed rice!

I’ve also had great luck with braising: put all the ingredients in an oven-safe pot or baking dish and cook, covered, at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the meat is tender. Remove the lid, and bake for another 10–15 minutes to help thicken the liquid.

📓 Bryan’s Take

I envy Laurie’s ability to stick with a simple strategy to create a variety of meals. It seems like a huge time-saver for a busy family with two young children in the household. Those panko-crusted air-fried chicken breasts sound like a game changer. I love finding those staples you can rely on for easy meals, especially when they allow for versatility. My wife and I love the Trader Joe’s frozen rice medley, which produces two portions of steamed rice in a few minutes and works as a base for any number of meals. Having a simple, quick, and flexible ingredient allows for spontaneity in weeknight meals.

Want to be featured in Rose City Receipts? Email [email protected] and share your grocery shopping approach!

Happy saving!

Bryan M. Vance,
Founder/Publisher,
Stumptown Savings