Love this!  I too try to do "pantry meals"  as well-sometimes they are the best kind!!!

Pamela- I need to know how you feed your family of 6 on $350 a month...please!!!!  That is awesome!!!  We are a fam of 6 and I spend approx $1000 per month.  If i can cut that in half, I would be so happy!!!

One word: crockpot. I resisted getting one for a long time because I thought it was mostly just good for meat, but I was so wrong! I have a few vegetarian/vegan crockpot cookbooks, and they're great! I also will soak dried beans overnight and then freeze them, just so I have some ready whenever I need them. Cheaper than canned, plus you don't have to worry about the scary chemicals in the can liner!

I live in the DC area, and things are expensive here too. I try to keep it to $650/month for groceries, but I'm hoping I'll be able to work it down to closer to $500/month eventually. We've been cloth diapering for almost 4 years, and we LOVE it! I've also made my own wipes (very easy to do), and I make my own baby food (use frozen organic produce instead of fresh, and it gets even cheaper!). And breastfeeding definitely cuts down a lot on the cost of having an infant!

Wegman's has a pretty good selection of natural and organic foods, but I do make special trips to Trader Joe's and Whole Food every so often to stock up on specific things. Maple syrup, organic, fair trade coffee, hummus, organic peanut butter, organic strawberry jam, pita, and soy milk are things I get at Costco.

CarolineGS, what are the names of your vegetarian/vegan crockpot cookbooks? I've been searching my local library for veg cookbooks but I haven't come across any crockpot one. Maybe if I knew the names I could request them! Thanks, Di =o)

Also, my daughter is totally hooked on Trader Joe's Unsweetened Almond milk! So we usually do all of our organic produce shopping there also, as it it waaaaay cheaper than the local grocery store, and since we're in Cleveland local farmers markets aren't an option this time of year.

I save a lot of money by grocery shopping for 2 full weeks of meals (14 dinners, lunches, breakfast, and snacks).  It definitely takes some extra work in planning, but the payoff is well worth it.  Not only do we save money, but I don't have the "whats for dinner?" question looming over me all the time.  Also, I hate small frequent trips to the store.  Getting it all done in one swoop puts less stress on me throughout the week.  I use the fruits & vegetables that tend to go bad quickly in week one's recipes, leaving long lasting items such as potatoes, kale , etc for week two's recipes.  I keep a notebook of my grocery lists with the corresponding meal plans, this way I always have a reference of what I plan to make and I can also look back on past meals and make them again.  SO much easier on my family and me!

I have a food blog with some great recipes and I even include a kid section ("Real Food Kid Style") with recipes tried and approved by my 2 year old.  http://ericainthecity.blogspot.com/

My boyfriend and I spend about $600/ month on groceries.  We normally shop at WF.  I would love to shop at our local Mexican market, but I don't really find any organics there, so I tend to stay away, (even though the price is a fraction of what I pay at WF.)  We have a Costco membership, but I'm a little weary of them because I don't know where everything comes from.  Farmer's market season is here, which is great, and I also signed up for a CSA.  Also, starting in June, I'm volunteering at a local farm 10 hours a month and in turn, get free veggies!  The more and more I read about everyone' s healthy lifestyle, the more inspired I become~ last week I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease that limits what I can eat A LOT... No dairy, wheat, soy, corn, white potatoes, sugar, white rice, citrus fruit and hardly any processed food at all, (can't have the food dyes, preservatives, MSG or other crazy ingredients.)  I'm still kind of in the 'Woe is Me' stage, but I know it's really a blessing in disguise because I shouldn't be eating that way anyway.  So thanks for the meal planning and buget ideas Ladies!  Every little bit helps!

I found a little mom and pop store by my mom's house and they package their own bulk spices. I can get a cup of sesame seeds for a little over a dollar! Like most of you I am in LOVE with the bulk bins at Whole foods! I try to make a monthly trip since it's not close. I keep my grains in a crisper drawer in my fridge to keep them good. Oh, and old bananas are awesome coated in chocolate and frozen. Way better than throwing them out! I try to make a great big batch of homemade pancakes or waffles and freeze them. I'm trying to do the same thing with loaves of italian bread, but I haven't gotten it quite right yet.