How much are we responsible for our higher grocery bills?

[grasswire]

Yes, nearly all of us pay more for groceries than we did in the past. But look at how our shopping habits and tastes have changed.

The proliferation of the idea of food as entertainment and not just sustenance has led to tens of thousands of product choices that didn't exist previously for the average American.

Think just about frozen vegetables. Most grocers in the past offered green beans, corn, peas, carrots, peas, spinach, and a combination of those. Now look at the choice available at our supermarkets today. The old stuff is still there, and it's pretty reasonably priced on sale. But many Americans now CHOOSE a more expensive product for supper. It might be a pricey blend; it might be artichoke hearts or something to steam or with a sauce.

Look at bread. Many Americans grew up on Wonder bread. Then the whole grain trend drove people to mid-priced loaves. Then people started buying the "better" brands that now cost upwards of $4. Dozens of varieties to "entertain" your tongue. But the most nutritious 100% whole wheat loaf is still there, often as a store brand, for under $2.

My question is this: is the American family's higher food bill due to actual higher prices, or is it due to our expectation of wider choices?

Peek in an American pantry today and you'll see many ingredients that the home cook never heard of not too long ago. Balsamic vinegar? Sea salt? I have six kinds of vinegar in my cupboard. Five kinds of salt. Ten kinds of flours and meals. Six different pastas. Canned tomatoes with chilis, with italian seasoning, whole, diced, stewed, pureed. In the fridge are seven different fresh fruits: three kinds of apples, oranges, blood oranges, limes, lemons. Oh, and tangerines, too. And cheeses galore!

And so on. I'll wager that even those of us who cook frugally have many more items in our cupboards than people did in prior decades.

Last night we had a plain, old kind of supper. Hamburger steaks with catsup, baked potatoes with butter, and those frozen vegetables with carrots, peas, corn, beans and limas. It was that bag of veggies that made me ponder all this. I hadn't eaten that kind of mixed vegetable blend for many years. It was damned good. Fresh frozen from the field, full of nutrients. Bright and flavorful. A bargain.

I don't know what the future holds for our food choices as the economy dithers. But I know that part of my higher costs are due to an escalation in food choices.

[NashVegas]

1. I Think It's More Likely Due to Getting Off-Track in the First Place

If I have $20 to spend on groceries and buy a big bag of potato chips I now have $17 to spend on other things.

Due to the shelf space devoted to snacks, I think it's safe to say the typical US shopper is overspending in that area, leaving themselves less money for real food.

So instead of buying a box of macaroni (average 1.45 where I am) + various cheeses (average total cost, say, $6 for 8 ounces), and making two HUGE batches of mac & cheese for about $3.75-$4.75 each, they buy a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese deluxe for $2.25 and a $3 bag of Doritos.

The guy who bought the chips and Kraft spent less, but my dollars went further for more yummy goodness and less BHA, guar gum, MSG, etc.

[Warpy]

2. I live on those mixed veggies now in winter

and yes, I even like the lima beans in them. I often eat a big bowl of them for a meal. There's a different brand without the limas. I get the one with the limas.

My own kitchen has quite a few "WTF was I thinking?" jars and bottles. I try to clean them out once a year. They're usually things I bought because one recipe intrigued me. Once the recipe was found wanting, the jar or bottle of stuff seemed to haunt the fridge forever.

My cooking is getting a lot simpler than it was when I cooked for a crowd. Instead of steaming fish with fermented black beans and Chinese aromatics, I throw it into the toaster oven with salt and pepper, just a squirt of lemon juice to finish. Instead of making an elaborate pasta sauce in a blender, I deconstruct it and just toss the ingredients with the hot pasta.

I find I'm getting easier to please as I get old.

[grasswire]

3. guess what I'm having for lunch

A bowl of those mixed veggies with grated cheese on top. Mmmm.

[Tesha]

4. simplicity....

You are so right grasswire.

We've recently done 2 things... very important things.

We began a diet and began to eat more simply, these 2 things work perfectly together.

We no longer get stuff like trans fats, and tons of salt - we know what's in every bite.
No fake sugar, if we want sweet, we have real sugar.
No questionable, expensive bread, we make our own.
Lots of veggies, fresh and frozen.

and you know... even tho' we eat really well, our costs are way down. Prepared food was killing us figuratively and literally.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. I think you actually answer your own question ..... sorta ......

...... all food prices are up, that's for sure. But some of us tend to make it even higher by our choices. We *choose* to buy the artisan bread over the store brand whole wheat. We *could* just as easily choose to not buy it and instead get that whole wheat (boring) loaf.

Out of season vegetables are another issue. We **choose** to buy them and pay the high prices. We *could* stick to what's in season.

So ..... I think prices are up in general but that we make the choices for ourselves how much worse we want to make it.

[hippywife]

6. Our food costs are way up but

we don't mind for the most part. Since we've started making smarter choices for ourselves and the environment. We're happy to pay the real cost of food from the farmer rather than the government subsidized, pesticide/herbicide laden stuff in the grocery store.

And it's not because we want to as a matter of taste, that's a side benefit. It's because we are taking our grocery dollars and letting our government know where we would rather spend it.

I admit there are times when I have a hard time drawing the line between real, simple food and gourmet food but most of the time we do eat very simply but very well.

:hi:

[eleny]

7. I think we Americans discovered each other

Cheap gasoline and airfare opened travel to more of us. We Americans got to see and taste different cuisines from around the country. A taste for variety was inevitable.

When I was growing up, the family ate a Lithuanian/American diet. Some white bread, but mostly Lithuanian rye. If anything characterized the table it was variety. Mom would always be trying different veggies and soups as she could since she thought it was healthy. Then there was her Chinese phase (yay!). And then my Italian sister in law joined us with her family recipes.

Frankly, if I were to cook like mom did, we'd be eating more variety in my home. Kohlrabi anyone? :D

[sandnsea]

8. Since I buy both, food prices are up

Cheap-o bread used to be 69 cents, now it's 89. Don't even get me started on eggs, they're like $2.00 a dozen. Milk isn't too bad right now, for a while it was over $3.00 a gallon. Sometimes chicken goes on sale, but more often it's around $1.50 lb. Oatmeal is up at least $1 a container, the bulk is higher too. I shop sales, only have 4 kinds of vinegar including apple cider and plain old, and don't even want to think about where I'd cut if I really had to.

And the really bad part is once you stop eating cheap processed and boxed food, when you go back to it, it tastes horrible. So even if you did decide to go that way to try to save money, you likely wouldn't want to eat what you could afford anyway.

[Retrograde]

9. a combination, IMHO

yes, there's a lot more variety available now, but I think a lot of increased food costs are due to the rise in convenience foods.

Only six kinds of vinegar? I have regular old white, pear, cider, rice, and 3 different balsamics - and this isn't counting the herb vinegars I made from the basic white and cider ones and the plants I grew. OTOH, I don't buy prepared salad dressings, so I justify to myself the costs of good vinegars and oils. I'm gorging on tangerines now, because it's the season for them and they're cheap and available, but I'm not going to eat strawberries or peaches, or even many apples, this time of year since they're probably going to be imported.

Yes, we have more choices, and that can be good if you stick to the basics and buy seasonally. I'd rather pay extra for a loaf of good, crusty, local artesinal bread than Wonder "Bread" any day.