Welcome to Thrifted Table
Real family dinners, real grocery totals
A family food blog from North Dallas, Texas
Hi, I'm Lauren. I live in North Dallas, Texas, in a brick ranch house with my husband Matt, our boys Wyatt and Eli, our youngest, Rosie, and Biscuit, a red heeler mix who has never once missed a dropped tortilla.
Before kids I spent six years cooking for a living, first on the line at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Denton and then for a catering company in Dallas. These days I work part-time as the bookkeeper for our church's preschool, which explains the other habit you'll notice here: I've tracked every grocery receipt in a spreadsheet since 2022.
No jargon, no lectures — just what actually worked.
I'm Lauren
I spent six years cooking in restaurant and catering kitchens before I had kids, and I still make dinner the way the line taught me: set up the station, use everything, clean as you go.
Now I feed a family of five in North Dallas on a weekly grocery budget, and I share the meal plans, recipes and real receipt totals that keep us fed without blowing it.
More about me
Articles
Nine Freezer Dinners in Four Hours Before October Gets Busy
One Sunday, four hours and nine freezer dinners before fall ball and football get busy. My shopping list, …
Kitchen Tools I'd Buy Again and the Ones I Donated
Ten years of cooking for a family has sorted out our kitchen. The tools I'd buy again tomorrow, …
Late September Dinners, $262, and Chili Weather That Never Came
Late September still felt like summer, so the chili waited. Our week of dinners, a $262 grocery total …
Football Friday Nachos That Travel in a Cooler
Nachos that survive a cooler and a high school stadium: chips, queso in a thermos and a toppings …
Grocery Prices This Fall Versus Last: Twelve Items I Track
Twelve grocery items I've tracked since last fall, from eggs to ground beef. What went up, what came …
Labor Day Brisket on the Pellet Grill for Eleven
A 14-pound brisket on the pellet grill fed eleven on Labor Day. How Matt trimmed and smoked it, …
“Now I feed a family of five in North Dallas on a weekly grocery budget, and I share the meal plans, recipes and real receipt totals that keep us fed without blowing it.”— Lauren
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