Fuck Inflation....Advanced Level Grocery Shopping

[Mrtenant]

Good morning everyone. I hope you are all doing well. New year. New challenges. How I miss normal and boring.

This thread, isn't sexy. Maybe it will be useful to some of us.

Share ideas and questions about how to really provision your people economically with good nutrition and sustainability.

If you grow stuff....great. Not everyone can. This thread is not about that.

This is more about shopping. What kind of shopping you do for food? Where? Why is that a good option? What kind of economy is that to you.

In the days of $8.00 or more for a dozen eggs, people need solutions.

Share those here, be it Co-ops, farmers markets, savings clubs, special online ordering. Let's help each other out with some things that are working for you.

 

[SirTasksAlot]

I've re-discovered the carnivore diet (yeah, that *Fad" where humans ate mostly exclusively meat for 2-4 million years)...
Long and short: it took me many months, but I've finally sourced a local meat-processing store where they sell grass-fed/finished steers at fabulous prices! If one buys half of a steer, they'll section it into the cuts you like and it costs just (on average) $4 a pound!

 

[Tedfkats]

I live right across the street from my grocery store, and i go at least every second day. I hate hate hate throwing away produce, especially in these times. But more importantly, their BOGO's are constantly changing. I take advantage of that as much as i can.

 

[Mrtenant]

I've re-discovered the carnivore diet (yeah, that *Fad" where humans ate mostly exclusively meat for 2-4 million years)...
Long and short: it took me many months, but I've finally sourced a local meat-processing store where they sell grass-fed/finished steers at fabulous prices! If one buys half of a steer, they'll section it into the cuts you like and it costs just (on average) $4 a pound!

That's pretty good. Really. I'd love to find a place like that.

 

[Mrtenant]

I live right across the street from my grocery store, and i go at least every second day. I hate hate hate throwing away produce, especially in these times. But more importantly, their BOGO's are constantly changing. I take advantage of that as much as i can.

We will sometimes, while we are having dinner, break down the cost per meal that we just cooked.

One dinner with everyone there plus leftovers comes out to $3.00 per plate...$4.00 per plate, something like that.

So keeping a sharp eye out for deals and managing leftovers helps. We compost what we don't eat.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

We take advantage of lower prices for larger amounts/containers and make extra-large dishes, much of which goes into the freezer. It saves money and is convenient when time is short later.

Find a grocer who gives discounts on lower-grades of fruit and vegetables. In my area, for instance, apples which are just slightly hail-damaged are much cheaper than 'fancy' grade ones. They're as nutritious and just as tasty, just not as visually appealing. Major canning firms use those for applesauce and such and there's no reason for a consumer not to save money and do the same.

There's nothing to stop you and a few friends or neighbours from starting an informal co-operative to take advantage of wholesale prices. A bit of coordination and planning can save $.

Buy whole fruit and veggies vice pre-sliced mushrooms, peeled carrots, etc. The same goes for, say, cheese. Pre-grated cheese for pizzas or whatever costs a fair bit more. Poultry is another; boneless-skinless chicken breasts are 'way more expensive than a whole chicken. Yes, they're more convenient, but pricier.

Mom was right. Make a shopping list and stick to it and never shop when you are hungry.

Pay attention to unit prices (eg. price per ounce or per gram).

 

[lovecraft68]

The answer is for everyone to contact the disgraceful people they voted for and tell them to stop spending all their time on party agendas and witch hunts and start investigating Gates for owning half our farmland and address the mysterious fires in food plants, and the gouging of food and anything else that affects people's day to day lives.

 

[Mrtenant]

The answer is for everyone to contact the disgraceful people they voted for and tell them to stop spending all their time on party agendas and witch hunts and start investigating Gates for owning half our farmland and address the mysterious fires in food plants, and the gouging of food and anything else that affects people's day to day lives.

Yea, that's more of a politics thing rather than the op of this thread. There is a whole other forum for that. Please take it over there.

 

[IrisAlthea]

I can’t say that food prices are quite as bad as that here, but they have gone up.

Food is not generally something we tend to be frugal about, but we are really structured with meal plans and collaborative shopping list for the family, going shopping when there are less people (less stress) and not too often etc. If you haven’t before, those things make a difference.
We also shop at a store where you get loyalty points, which gives you a discount.

Lately we have talked to teenagers about only putting things on the list that you are certain you will use and oldest teen has been given a talk about not going home to eat when there is pre-paid food at school, unless it’s an extreme case.
We make more of an effort to plan to minimize waste, by planning ahead so leftovers can be used etc. We do have an older generation that is happy to be gifted a freezer meal or two once in a while though, so we are not that serious about it.
None of that is bad really.

What does feel sad is that we now sometimes buy prefab or semi-finshed things that we would normally make from scratch, because it saves money. That is both annoying and says a bit about quality and the way production is organized, grumble, grumble…

It does amuse me though, that my widely ridiculed gourmet, whole bean, eco-friendly, fairtrade coffee hasn’t gone up in price nearly as much as the cheaper stuff that those who made fun of my admittedly extra coffee tend to buy.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Other thoughts.

Ever sit down to a meal very hungry and throw everything down your throat as fast as possible, only to realize you’re actually eaten too much? It’s natural. Avoid this by serving meals by course – eg. a soup first, then the main dish, then a dessert. Space them out just a little; people’s hunger will ease a little with each course and you’ll wind up eating less overall, with no feeling of loss.

Half our appetite is vanity and expectation, so serve smaller portions. Serve seconds, but only when asked for and only after waiting for everybody else at the table to finish.

Serve leftovers.

Make brown-bag lunches for schoolchildren and working adults vice paying for cafeteria or restaurant meals.

Consider using a slow-cooker or a pressure cooker.

The arrangement of items on store shelves is not random. The more expensive items are deliberately put at eye level, so look up and down; compare brands.

Similarly, consider switching to no-name brands. The savings can be substantial and the quality is often as good.

Shop in different stores. Subscribe to store flyers and apps. Each chain is different - some sell produce for less, others are good for meats, some have specials for seniors on given days.

If there’s one near you, check out the farmers’ market, especially just before closing time. Bargains can often be found. Be prepared to dicker.

Garden if you can – even a pot on your apartment balcony can provide herbs, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, etc. (Consider how you might need to store your harvest – canning, drying, etc – if your expected harvest is high.)

Avoid pre-made and pre-processed foods when you can. While it takes longer, made-at-home pizza or soup or whatever is generally more nutritious, healthier (less salt and fat) and is almost always cheaper.

I myself am a no-shame omnivore. That said, consider alternative sources of protein. Meatless meals need not be penances.

Do some research and decide if you really need daily multiple vitamins and other supplements. Sometimes you will and that’s fine, but most are simply unnecessary.

Often the most nutritious part of a fruit or vegetable is the peel or skin. You’re paying for it, so why not get full value? As well, if you must peel, consider that, all other things being equal, a large potato (for instance) will provide more peeled ‘potato’ than half a dozen small ones weighing the same.

Ask your butcher to trim excess fat from meats.

Mood and morale are important. When you’re making up your shopping list, be sure to start it off with a treat of some sort.

The average person can make perfectly good beer and wine at home. Wine for instance can be made at home for $4 or $5 a bottle which tastes as good as store-bought selling for $20. Avoid the dreadful supermarket ‘wine in three weeks’ kits and talk to a store specializing in wine-making. Spend a little more to get a lot better, then let it sit for up to a year for best results.

 

[OrdinaryPerson]

Do more meatless meals. They are cheaper, healthier, and more environmentally friendly. We do soups and chilis with beans or lentils for protein with a lot of vegetables. Shop at ethnic stores if you have them for vegetables. The difference is huge. $40 could fill my cart with fruits and veggies at Hmart that would be like $100+ at kroger. We eat a lot of tofu but ok thats not going to be everyones jam.

Notice prices and subtitute things that get outrageous. My kids love eggs and avacados... normally they have a hardboiled egg for breakfast but avacados here are cheaper than eggs now so they get avacado toast some days instead. I usually get the organic ground turkey at costco. Last time i went, it was more expensive than the grass fed ground beef so i got the ground beef instead...

 

[Mrtenant]

Do more meatless meals. They are cheaper, healthier, and more environmentally friendly. We do soups and chilis with beans or lentils for protein with a lot of vegetables. Shop at ethnic stores if you have them for vegetables. The difference is huge. $40 could fill my cart with fruits and veggies at Hmart that would be like $100+ at kroger. We eat a lot of tofu but ok thats not going to be everyones jam.

Notice prices and subtitute things that get outrageous. My kids love eggs and avacados... normally they have a hardboiled egg for breakfast but avacados here are cheaper than eggs now so they get avacado toast some days instead. I usually get the organic ground turkey at costco. Last time i went, it was more expensive than the grass fed ground beef so i got the ground beef instead...

Meatless is a hard switchover for me, but I hear you. Thank you for posting!

 

[OrdinaryPerson]

Meatless is a hard switchover for me, but I hear you. Thank you for posting!

Are your meals based on a piece of meat and then some sides or is it more something that incorporates meat as an ingredient? For meals that just use meat as an ingredient, try putting less of it and see if you even notice a difference. No body at my house complains if i cut the meat in half and add more beans to chillis and soups etc. Copycat chiptole bowls are pretty cheap to make and we do it a lot on weekends as food prep for the week. You can add a little meat or a lot of meat on top and it all tastes good.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Meatless is a hard switchover for me, but I hear you. Thank you for posting!

I’m not fond of switching to some substitute in dishes that normally have meat.
I usually like food that is supposed to be without meat from the start, like black bean enchiladas, corn soup, mushroom soup, feta and spinach burek, broccoli quiche etc.

 

[twister947]

Meatless is a hard switchover for me, but I hear you. Thank you for posting!

I'm a meat and potatoes guy, and probably always will be. That said, I learned to like tofu. It can be done. Mostly, those dishes that call for meat that has no particular taste to it like turkey or chicken (white meat) I'd just as soon have tofu.

 

[jaF0]

Like the lady said in the song ... ya gotta shop around.

Sales, discounts, sales, discounts, closeouts, markdowns ........

I have a few stores that specialize in clearance lots. I've been getting coffee and a lot of other dry/canned goods for less than half store prices. Got a whole case (24) cans of canned pasta for $5 instead of $1.50 a can. Not the best food, but good for a quick lunch after coming in from yard work.

Watching closeout/markdown sections in grocery stores, I find gallons of milk for 99 cents on the last day before marked on the jug. I use it fast enough that there is no problem. I get cheese that way too, often 99 cents instead of $3 or more.

Found eggs on an unadvertised sale for $2/dozen last week. Got three dozen.

Also, check your credit card bonuses. There are several now giving a 5% rebate in bonus points on grocery stores.

 

[OrdinaryPerson]

I'm a meat and potatoes guy, and probably always will be. That said, I learned to like tofu. It can be done. Mostly, those dishes that call for meat that has no particular taste to it like turkey or chicken (white meat) I'd just as soon have tofu.

I have a pretty good tofu recipe if anyone wants it. It does involve an egg or two though.

 

[Wonderer67]

Love to see that.

I tend to be pretty frugal and seek out deals. I absolutely hate wasting food. It’s a major deal for me.

We do grow alotta stuff ourselves, but we live in a rural area, and also own a farm. Chickens have come in handy. I’ve had to buy eggs a few weeks ago bcz we sold too many and chickens don’t lay much in the winter.

Not everyone can do this either, but we grow lettuce year-round and have a little lettuce grow lihht thing. I think it was 200 bucks, but I haven’t bought lettuce from the store in years. Our neighbors probably think we’re growing pot.

I can a lot of vegetables, so tomatoes and tomato sauce, corn off the cob, beans, and pickled anything abound.

I no longer hunt, but my neighbor hunts on our property and gives us a lot of venison. I’m not a paranoid survivalist, but it’s nice to be as self sufficient as possible.

We buy other types of meat and veggies that we don’t/can’t grow.
I am always making/using leftovers. Left over veggies go in an omelette, or a stir fry. I eat a lot of veggies.

And we compost all veggies and fruit waste.

We freeze blueberries from our garden and eat them all the time in our oatmeal.

I hate eating processed food and try to avoid (but sometimes crave a cookie or cereal or junk food).

I also do the intermittent fasting thing, and eat two meals, a day, one in late morning or lunchtime, and one right about now, at 6:30.

I feel pretty good about our food bills… it could be less I’m sure, esp when my daughter is home from school. And I feel like we don’t waste too much food at all.

 

[twister947]

We used to compost just about everything we didn’t eat. The night that feral hogs got into that and made a mess put a stop to it.

 

[OrdinaryPerson]

Love to see that.

I tend to be pretty frugal and seek out deals. I absolutely hate wasting food. It’s a major deal for me.

We do grow alotta stuff ourselves, but we live in a rural area, and also own a farm. Chickens have come in handy. I’ve had to buy eggs a few weeks ago bcz we sold too many and chickens don’t lay much in the winter.

Not everyone can do this either, but we grow lettuce year-round and have a little lettuce grow lihht thing. I think it was 200 bucks, but I haven’t bought lettuce from the store in years. Our neighbors probably think we’re growing pot.

I can a lot of vegetables, so tomatoes and tomato sauce, corn off the cob, beans, and pickled anything abound.

I no longer hunt, but my neighbor hunts on our property and gives us a lot of venison. I’m not a paranoid survivalist, but it’s nice to be as self sufficient as possible.

We buy other types of meat and veggies that we don’t/can’t grow.
I am always making/using leftovers. Left over veggies go in an omelette, or a stir fry. I eat a lot of veggies.

And we compost all veggies and fruit waste.

We freeze blueberries from our garden and eat them all the time in our oatme

I hate eating processed food and try to avoid (but sometimes crave a cookie or cereal or junk food).

I also do the intermittent fasting thing, and eat two meals, a day, one in late morning or lunchtime, and one right about now, at 6:30.

I feel pretty good about our food bills… it could be less I’m sure, esp when my daughter is home from school. And I feel like we don’t waste too much food at all.

I used to waste a lot of food, prepandemic cause id buy enough veggies for the whole week. Then we would end up eating out with friends or on the go somewhere. Now i only buy for like 5 days and have so much less waste. I just keep some frozen vegetables in the freezer or i go grocery shopping more often if we dont end up going out.

Btw, i sent you my tofu "recipe". Sorry its not a real recipe.

 

[twister947]

Only topic of wasting food, I just cleaned out the refrigerator. It's just a shame. Anyway, it made me think of my favorite charity, so I'll make a pitch right here: food banks. I just can't stand the thought of hungry people and animals.

 

[Mrtenant]

Only topic of wasting food, I just cleaned out the refrigerator. It's just a shame. Anyway, it made me think of my favorite charity, so I'll make a pitch right here: food banks. I just can't stand the thought of hungry people and animals.

I agree. Be aware of the place your donate to.
I operate a food pantry on weekends.Not all places can take perishables....and

Food Bank- usually a large operation, run as a nonprofit, involved with government, has lots of rules and regulations, the person at the top often makes a good six figure salary, good at gathering huge amounts of resources

Food Pantry- usually highly localized, boots on the ground, meets the recipients on an ongoing basis, often run by unpaid volunteers

 

[Wonderer67]

I volunteer fairly regularly at a local farm that donates all of its produce to food banks, food pantries and free farmers markets. It’s a cool operation. Last year I think that they harvested almost 3,000,000 pounds of produce.

There is also moving a foot in urban areas, urban farming.

Access to healthy fresh food is unattainable for many.

 

[Mrtenant]

I volunteer fairly regularly at a local farm that donates all of its produce to food banks, food pantries and free farmers markets. It’s a cool operation. Last year I think that they harvested almost 3,000,000 pounds of produce.

There is also moving a foot in urban areas, urban farming.

Access to healthy fresh food is unattainable for many.

That's pretty amazing. How could one get in contact with this operation or one like it?

 

[Wonderer67]

There are a few near here. I am in NJ, the garden state!

Americas Grow a Row
https://www.americasgrowarow.org/

Garden state agrihood
https://thegsap.org/

Gravity Hill Farm
https://www.gravityhillfarm.com/

Penny pack farm and education center
https://pennypackfarm.org/