Asklemmy

It doesn't look like much, but this was probably like 20 pounds of groceries. This wasn't a full week of groceries because I was using some stuff I already had on hand in addition to this, but that's also why it's so much cheaper than the price range I said is typical. Some of this was ingredients for oatmeal or overnight oats, but I already had a big thing of oats at home. Some of this was supplies for my lunches I pack but I must have had enough bread at the time for my sandwiches, etc. Whatever sweet potato black bean thing I was cooking used two cans of black beans, a whole 3 pound bag of sweet potatoes, and probably 4-5 tomatoes. Maybe we had rice with it which we would've had on hand like the oats? But remember it's just feeding two people for us, so this easily makes us a few days worth of leftovers. OP said that they are only feeding themself, so shopping and cooking for two will be a closer approximation than your expectations while shopping and cooking for four.

I don't usually take pictures of my receipts, so I unfortunately don't have evidence of a typical weekly trip. It's almost always more expensive than this because I usually wouldn't choose a vegetarian option for a big batch to have lots of leftovers. For example, I am cooking a big batch of clam chowder right now, and because Aldi didn't have chopped clams, I had to go to Giant for that, so getting stuff for lunches and breakfasts and clam chowder all cost about $55 this time. And I don't expect to need to get groceries again until probably Friday or Saturday. 5 cans of clams aren't cheap, but they go a long way when you're stretching it with cream, carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes!

I don't really target a specific calorie goal. We eat until we are no longer hungry. Rest assured, we aren't starving lol. We just really like vegetables, and they're relatively cheap compared to meat and processed stuff. I think it would be clearer if you saw the sizes of some of the things you see on the receipt. Like "sweet potatoes" doesn't explain that it's 3 pounds of starch yet it's only $1.59 lol. "Vine tomatoes" for $2.89 was 4-5 medium size tomatoes. Idk why vine tomatoes are so cheap compared to tomatoes without the vine, but I'm not complaining. For comparison, if you shop at a typical store, you can get 6 pouches of gushers in a box for a similar price (usually more), and that's less than 1/3 pound of food. Cooking really saves a shitload of money at the cost of some time, but you also choose leaner portion sizes because the sooner you finish that food, the sooner you have to cook something else.

I know kids make this way harder, but that's not something OP has to worry about right now.

Yes, but I buy bigger packs, so I don't always need more. That's why this receipt was so much lower than the $35-50 I was talking about. A big pack of chicken thighs from Aldi is under $10, usually $7ish. But based on that receipt, I was probably doing a sweet potato black bean something or other. Hearty, satisfying vegetarian meals can be as delicious as they are cheap.