My Top Ten Grocery Items to Buy at Dollar Tree

Now that The 99/ 99 Cents Only has closed, and inflation continues to cause the price of groceries to skyrocket,  more of us frugal shoppers will be headed to Dollar Tree. I’ve been doing more shopping at Dollar Tree since The 99 changed over from 99 Cents Only a few years ago.

One thing I love about Dollar Tree is that you can buy items from their website in bulk. That means if you love, for example, Powered Drink Mixes, you can buy a whole case (12 packages) for the same price as in-store. This is one of my Top Ten items, in case you were wondering.

Here are my top ten must-buys at Dollar Tree and their price that other nationwide retailers:

1. Belvita dupes These come in a couple different flavors. Brand name Belvita biscuits and store brand varieties can cost between $2.99-$4.99 depending on the retailer.

2. Frozen onions and peppers, sometimes called stir fry blend. Dollar Tree sells them in 12 oz bags for only $1.25 each.  The same items can cost between$1.99-$2.72 depending on the retailer and brand.

3. Prime, Monster, and other energy drinks. This is a big savings strategy if you like energy drinks. You can buy Monster, Prime, Rockstar, and other brands online by the case! At Dollar Tree, they are only $1.25 (plus any CVR), and other retailers sell energy drinks $2.99-$4.00 depending on the retailer and beverage.

4. Boost Protein drinks. Dollar Tree sells them individually, but most stores sell multi-packs that break down to $2.50-$2.75/each drink.

5. Instant beverage powders, as mentioned above, you can buy an entire case of one flavor online, or go to the store and see all the varieties. They retail in stores for $2.00-$3.99 per box depending on flavor and retailer.

6. Hungry Jack Pancake Mix. This is a favorite in my house. It’s great for pancakes, and waffles, or you can make baked pancakes. Our favorites are from Dollar Tree Dinners on TikTok.  a 16 ounce box is only 41.25 at Dollar Tree vs. $2.72 at Walmart.

7. Spices- This is one where you need to go into your local Dollar Tree. Brands like Kingsford, Tajin, Mortons, Fresh Success, Kraft, and more. There are single spices, spice blends, and seasoning kits like Taco Seasoning and Chili seasoning. These are all available for $1.25 each, whereas other stores charge $1.50-$5.00 depending on blend and retailer for the same items. 

8. C&H brown sugar, 16 oz. This is a pretty good value at just $1.25, my local Target has it for $2.99. 

9. Pillsbury frosting. I usually make my own frosting, but sometimes, in a pinch, you need a can of frosting. Most Dollar Tree locations have a selection of flavors for $1.25 a can. Other retailers sell the same size can for $1.99-$2.49 depending on the retailer.

10. Full-size boxes of cereal. This is one where you need to go into your local Dollar Tree. Varieties and availability differ by location. Recently our local Dollar Tree had Family sized Cheerios varieties for just $1.25 a box! Meanwhile, full-size boxes of cereal can cost upwards of  $7.99 depending on variety and retailer.

 

Talk Back: I’d love to hear about your favs and must-haves from Dollar Tree!

 

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This Week’s Meal Plan!

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI forgot to hit Publish on this post on Sunday night and just discovered it in my drafts. Oops.

We are back in the kitchen, and I will be posting pics of it on Instagram this week. I absolutely love my new kitchen. It has tons of counter space, and cabinets, and my new dishwasher is 1000 times better than the old one.

I picked up a bunch of stuff that was stashed in my mom’s chest freezer that I was unable to make without a kitchen, so the only grocery shopping I did this week was for some milk and plain bagels for the girl child.

Thanks to the great freebies from Social Nature, we’ve been trying new foods lately. It’s fun to try new foods.

If you are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101-style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same.

Breakfast: I’ve been really into protein coffee lately. It helps me hit my protein goals and keeps me full until lunch. I use premade protein shakes like these and these. The kids request bagels and fruit most mornings. Lately, the big kid has been digging protein shakes in the morning. This is his favorite kind. 

Lunch: I have a plastic tote full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. We eat lunch at home most of the time over the summer. Sometimes we take advantage of the kid’s free summer lunches (info here).

Dinner: I’m back in the kitchen again and the CSA boxes are coming weekly. I’ve got all kinds of plans for batch-cooking soups and stews over the coming weeks.

  • Sunday:  Dream Dinners (Chicken Tarragon with roasted potatoes)
  • Monday: Smoothies or Protein shakes and snack trays
  • Tuesday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches (cheese of your choice), fruit, chips

  • Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, chips, fruit, and veggies with hummus

  • Thursday: Chicken nuggets or a veggie burger, fruit, and chips

  • Friday: Takeout night!
  • Saturday: Leftover Palooza

Family Recipe: Chow Mein Hotdish

My mom made some recently and sent some home with me!

OK, so growing up we used to have this like once every few weeks. It’s quick, it’s easy, and I swore that it was a family recipe.

When researching this recipe, I then found out that apparently, this is a hot dish that’s made all over the Midwest. And according to my mom, it’s in tons of church cookbooks.

This recipe is pretty simple, and it’s delicious, and it is kind of weird. And definitely not at all Asian.

Chow mein hot dish 

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon of dehydrated toasted onions, or 1/4 diced white onion
  • one can of cream of mushroom soup
  • half a can of cream of mushroom soup filled with water
  • One cup of uncooked rice
  • Two ribs of celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 small can of water chestnuts slices, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can of chow mein noodles

Directions

  1. In an electric skillet over medium heat, cook and crumble ground beef and onion.
  2. Add all remaining ingredients except chow mein noodles.
  3. Cook on medium stirring often until rice is tender.
  4. Remove from heat, top with chow mein noodles, and serve immediately.

Serves 6.

If you want to add extra veggies, add 1 cup sliced mushrooms when cooking the meat and onion.

You can cook this on the stove, but I’ve always cooked the majority of my hot dishes in an electric skillet. I’m not sure why. Probably because my entire family does.

Some people like this served with a little bit of soy sauce, but I find that the condensed cream of mushroom soup is salty enough as it is.

Two Opportunities from Advanced Opinions!

Advanced Opinions (A market research firm located in New York) is recruiting for two upcoming projects to take place online.

I don’t get a lot of emails from Advanced Opinions, but they are a legitimate company and pay quickly.

Open to: Schizophrenia Patients or Caregivers

  • Open Board: Friday, July 26th at 12pm ET – Tuesday, July 30th by 12pm ET – approximately 30 minutes at your convenience.
  • Compensation: $50 (if chosen)
  • To be considered for this project, please complete the screener questionnaire here.

 

Open to: Upcoming College Students (18-29 year olds)

  • Part 1 (if chosen $50): Open Board: Thursday, July 25th at 12pm ET – Sunday, July 28th by 10pm ET approximately 45-mins at your convenience.
  • Part 2 (if chosen – MUST be available if chosen $150):
  • Must join 15 minutes early – please adjust for your specific time zone.
  • Tuesday, July 30th: 1:00-2:30pm ET, 3:00-4:30pm ET, 5:00-6:30pm ET
  • Compensation: $50-$200 (if chosen)
  • To be considered for this project, please complete the screener questionnaire here.