Food prices are crazy...

[bicentennial_baby]

We went grocery shopping today...The first place, for produce was great $24 for a ton of veggies. 5 lbs potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, spinach, onions, asparagus.

But then...the regular grocery store. Our cart was maybe 1/3 full. $86! :o

We didn't get anything that outlandish. Mozzarella, grated Parm, V8, pasta, M&C, sausage, cottage cheese, heavy cream, bread, OJ...etc.

The butcher shop was around $30 for 8 boneless pork chops, 3 lbs of Italian sausage, 1 lb of ground beef, 4 cornish game hens, 2 packages of shaved steak, and sour cream.

Point being, shopping at the regular grocery store is nuts. I suppose if we never eat cheese, drink juice, or buy dairy products and dried pasta again, we'll be fine.

:crazy:

Still, $140 for two people is kinda crazy, when it will last us (other than the meat, which is in the freezer) all of a week.

[onehandle]

1. A lot of staples we shop for have gone up 15% or more in the last few weeks.

Heckuva job, Bushie.

[bicentennial_baby]

7. Yeah, like eggs?

Damn, I really miss living in the country right now. x(

[Radio_Lady]

2. Let's hope the next administration can put the economy at the top of the list...

for fixing! Health care, price of gas, two wars going on, earthquakes, tornadoes, flood warnings (Cascades are melting too rapidly). It's enough to cut anyone down to size mentally.

We're backing off on driving, entertainment, meals out, -- and no one has offered to buy our beautiful home. We don't know how long we can afford to live here.

Peace, and enjoy the week. I've found that valerian tablets help for sleep, when I'm doing the addition in my head all night long.

Radio Lady Ellen in Oregon

[bicentennial_baby]

5. Just don't move back to Boston!

Our rent went up $60 with the new lease, and I don't drive unless I have to. Thank god for living within spitting distance of the Red Line.

[Radio_Lady]

26. Well, I won't be riding the MBTA anytime soon...

We pulled the plug on our visit to Boston. Too many complications, people not there, nobody wanted to set up anything for my birthday, May 31, everybody is busy, tired, having chemotherapy (my daughter-in-law).

We would have added to the economy from May 22 to June 1; but that's not to be.


Oh, goodie! I'll be taking my two grandkids to see Kung Fu Panda, which screens at 10 AM on Saturday the 31st!

Now, that's a good way to spend my birthday!

Have a good week, BB -- and let's not tangle anymore... PLEASE! My old heart can't stand it!

Best,

RL Ellen

[Zhade]

27. We must remember to push Obama to do so once he's in office.

We can't make the same mistake we made in '92!

(My own tip for sleep: 3mg of melatonin an hour before bed always knocks me right out.)

[Rosemary2205]

3. I'm still managing to feed 2 on $50 a week

but it's getting harder. Much harder. -- that amount of meat in your post would do us for a month at least (though cornish game hens would never be in my cart in the first place. :) )

[bicentennial_baby]

4. I got them b/c the price was unbeatable...

$1.79 for one 2-pack, and $2.50 for the other. :o

This meat will go into freezer bound pasta sauce, and will last quite a while.

Good luck...It's rough out there.

Mind you, we don't shop like this all the time, trust me. :)

[PDJane]

6. Sigh.........

I spent $52.00 on cheese, $36.00 on fresh produce and fruit, skipped the meat so far....I haven't gone to the grocery store, only the farmer's market. The cheese will last about 3 weeks or so, will have to buy veggies and fruit in 7 days. The supermarket tab will be another 100.00 for two or three weeks. Cheese has gone up astronomically, but life's like that....and I do buy the good stuff, so I can't really complain that loudly.

[bicentennial_baby]

8. Yeah, I'm the same way with cheese

D'oh!

And, our city's farmer's market doesn't open until the end of June! Wtf?

[hisownpetard]

17. I've been thinking that, with global warming, it's time for outdoors markets to start opening up

earlier in the year than they have in the past.

It was 70 degrees today on the Cape, in the middle of May!

[flyingfysh]

9. Haven't you heard?

The government says there is no inflation problem.

[hendo]

10. food prices like that

are why I am glad that I belong to Sam's Club and Costco.

[Beregond2]

11. I know.

My brother and his wife were just complaing that they just spent $200 on one cart of groceries - at Winco!

[Trajan]

12. Im seeing some prices double what they were 6 months ago ...

And yet; the White House's financial illuminati say that inflation is REALLY low, and under control ....

Yeah ... right ....

[bicentennial_baby]

13. To be fair, the CPI doesn't include food or fuel...

Which it should. I'm an Econ major. That, along with a lot of other economic measures need to be re-tooled to match up with reality. :)

[elizfeelinggreat]

18. To be fair they would!

Like you I hope they do match up with reality someday ... I'm sure they will when a Democrat takes over (and the Dem will get all the blame .. it never ends, does it?)

[Zhade]

28. And that failing is absolute INSANITY.

NT!

[Zynx]

36. The total CPI does, the Core-CPI does not.

I am also an Economics major. :-)

[bicentennial_baby]

47. Thank you for the correction, indeed. I forgot that

Econometrics class has my brain fried, I guess :P


:toast:

[knitter4democracy]

23. Me too. Many staples have doubled.

Flour and others. Silk's prices have gone way up, and we drink that instead of milk. Ugh.

[Warpy]

14. You can knock that bill down

by grating your own cheese, plus that cheese is going to taste ten times better off the block. When you get down to the inedible rind, use it to flavor a chicken vegetable soup. You do throw that carcass into the crock pot to make soup, don't you? Game hens will work, too, especially if you're throwing in a lot of veggies.

Instead of the juices, try the whole veggies or fruits. You get much better nutrition when you're eating the whole fruit. Your colon will thank you.

You didn't mention milk, but the dodge there is to buy one gallon of whole milk and divide it into two gallon jugs, then top up with reconstituted powdered milk. Yes, it sounds weird, but shelf stable processed, dried milk is usually cheaper than perishable whole milk with an expiration date. You're also cutting that whole milk saturated fat in half, another good thing for your health. Unless you're whipping that cream, consider switching to half and half.

Even when you factor in escalating gas/electricity prices, unless you're getting the cheapest Walmart balloon bread, it's cheaper to make that at home. Check out the NYT bread recipe online for a no knead bread that really works. Most health food stores sell flour in bulk and their commercial grade is usually a little cheaper than the stuff in the bags.

If you have kids and they insist on cold cereal in the morning, buy the stuff in the bags and pour it into the brand name box. I guarantee you they will never catch on. You will have to buy the brand name stuff once in a blue moon when the box gets shredded, though.

When I was poor I had a very healthful diet on the bottom of the food chain for under twenty bucks a week, probably twenty five or thirty now. I'm not nuts enough to suggest people try to turn vegan overnight or even over the next six months, but the cuisine is well worth exploring for two or three ultra cheap meals a week.

The funny part is that I still pretty much stick to the poor folks' food diet. I just got used to eating that way and processed food tastes like salted house paint now.

[Iris]

19. chicken carcasses

do you boil those first and then make soup out of the broth? Or put them in some kind of cheescloth to get the flavor but not the bones?

[Warpy]

20. I whack them apart with my cleaver so they'll fit in the crock pot

Add an onion, a couple cloves of garlic, a couple of ribs of celerey cut into 3 pieces each, and a carrot cut into 2 inch pieces. I cover the whole business with water and ignore it for 8 hours at simmer, not high.

At the end of that time, I strain the broth through a couple of layers of cheesecloth in a strainer, and there's my soup stock.

[knitter4democracy]

25. You can then freeze or can it, too.

If you aren't making soup right away, you can put it up for later. Works great.

[knitter4democracy]

24. The cereal's even cheaper at Big Lots.

I only buy ours there for $1.50-2.00 a box. There are a couple of Meijer store brand ones I get for Chex Mix (half the cost of brand name), but that's it. Big Lots doesn't always have the same, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper there. Many things are, so when I find something we like, I stock up.

For meat, I've found buying in bulk from a local farmer is a lot cheaper. We bought a lamb for Easter, and it was much cheaper than it would've been at the store and much better, too. Same with bison that we get from a local ranch. About a third of the cost compared to the store.

I just canned up some bison stock last week, and it was a lot easier than I'd expected. It tasted a lot better and was a lot lower in salt, too. That new pressure canner's going to pay for itself.

[shanti]

35. i love my pressure cooker

mom used it in the 50's, and i just took to using it too. you can buy cheaper (usually more flavorful too) cuts of meat and they cook in about an hour or so. mom's background is french, and they are known for their liberal use of the pressure cooker.

[knitter4democracy]

38. I lucked out and found one at Tuesday Morning.

Non-stick pressure cooker/canner. I love that darn thing.

[SammyWinstonJack]

46. Try Mom's best naturals cereal. It's environmentally friendly and the price hasn't gone up.

http://www.momsbestnaturals.com

[Hippo_Tron]

43. I never liked milk so I drink orange juice with the added calcium

I do eat whole fruits as well, although not oranges since I drink the juice quiet frequently. Out of curiosity do you have any other alternatives you might suggest for calcium if I don't like milk?

[Warpy]

48. Supplements are cheaper than either milk or fortified orange juice

and some of the supplements also contain vitamin D, something that helps you absorb and use the calcium.

The price per bottle looks steep until you break it down and compare it to the servings of milk or fortified orange juice.

Generic Tums is the cheapest way of all to get calcium.

Food sources are:

Broccoli, kale, spinach

Oranges

Tofu, peanuts, peas, black beans, baked beans

Salmon, sardines

Sesame seeds, blackstrap molasses, corn tortillas, almonds, brown sugar

[arcadian]

15. Hit the farmers markets for your fresh stuff

tis the season

[bicentennial_baby]

16. Ours doesn't open until the end of June

x(

I'll be there then though. :)

[Fireweed247]

21. Cali started a thread with some great ideas...

Yes you can! (eat well on a limited budget)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3304789

[kestrel91316]

22. I'm crockpot-ing some chicken thighs today - to go with a jar

of mole sauce I bought. I will probably make homemade corn tortillas to go with, and then saute some chard that I need to use up. If I am lucky this will be dinner all week, or dinner part of the week and lunch to take to work later in the week. Then I think I will crockpot some pinto beans and make some rice. My grocery list for the week is: eggs (TJ's brown free-range), fresh fruit (probably just more oranges as they are on sale and still good quality), and maybe another couple veggies.

I have to shop and eat VERY carefully now - no waste, no processed foods. Meat is a treat - I make about two main dishes a month with some sort of meat, usually 4-6 servings' worth.

I baked a batch of oatmeal molasses cookies with pecans and raisins today. If I am gonna eat junk, better it's junk I made myself with a LITTLE nutrition - these have whole wheat flour and the brown sugar was my homemade (made with molasses) and the molasses was blackstrap (has lots of minerals). Oh, and most of the cookies went into REUSED ziploc bags and into the freezer so I am not tempted to eat all of them at once!

I have a fairly well-stocked pantry with plenty of flour and rolled oats and cornmeal, beans and rice, homemade preserves, canning jars/lids. I need to get busy making some homemade pickles since we can get those nice Kirby cukes so easily here. Pickles are too expensive for me to justify the purchase anymore, and mine are BETTER anyway, lol.

[lonestarnot]

30. What is mole sauce?

[kestrel91316]

31. It's Mexican, pronounced "MO-LAY".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(sauce)

Turkey Mole is a classic Mexican dish. To make the sauce from scratch is VERY tedious and the recipes typically have about a million ingredients, so I am going the simple, easy route. Mine is out of a jar.

[lonestarnot]

34. Thanks kestrel91316.

Now if I can just figure out what a zuke is. :P

[fed-up]

45. when we make oatmeal-raisin, almond, coconut cookies we quadruple (sp) the recipe and roll into logs

and freeze the extras

then for the next few months all we have to do is take a cookie dough log out of the freezer, let it thaw a little, slice and bake


usually we divide the mix into two bowls as it is very hard to stir such a huge batch

BF stirs and I have the job of rolling dough into logs and covering w/saran wrap and freezing

[AlCzervik]

29. $143 today for 2 people, even if you back out the spiffy $16 plant stand i bought

it was really high. I don't even know what the hell i bought and this week that bill included no laundry detergent or tp, the price of toilet paper is just stupid now.

[On the Road]

32. Your Profile Isn't Clear on Where You Live,

but one way to cut prices is to find a full-sized Asian grocery store in your city. H-Mart is a Korean chain in Baltimore and DC, and the DC area has other options, too. Some stores are mostly packaged and frozen goods, but it's worth exploring.

In H-Mart, produce is often half price or less and is usually much fresher and better quality. Some interesting vegetables you won't find in Safeway, too. Meat is also a better deal, and there are large fresh fish sections.

Since Asians don't eat as much packaged food, you see people with full shopping carts which cost incredibly little.

Some Hispanic markets are full-sized and have similar characteristics -- there's a place called LA Mart in South Baltimore.

I love these stores, not just for saving money on produce, but for exploring. I have never visited one without finding something new.

[slinkerwink]

33. It's cheaper at Trader Joe's

[cali]

42. I love Trader Joe's but driving hundreds of miles isn't an option for

me. Hell, I live a half hour drive to the nearest chain supermarket.

[slinkerwink]

37. I always stock up on pasta. I usually spend about $8 dollars on pasta that'll last me

for about two months. Rice is another staple to stock up on. If there's nothing in the fridge except for rice, frozen corn kernels, and TJ's salsa verde, then I make salsa verde rice and it ends up being pretty fulfilling.

Tonight I made chicken curry, enough to last me for lunch tomorrow and the day after that. Then tomorrow night, I'll be making my lemon pasta, which is with lemon juice, crushed red pepper flakes, olive oil, and tons of garlic. That's about $4 dollars for a meal that will last me for three days.

[FedUpWithIt All]

39. Feeding a family of six for two weeks for about $250

It is not typical for us to spend so little on groceries but out vehicle just lost it's tran a few weeks ago. Even so the $200 went pretty far.

Can i just say, anyone who lives near an ALDI store should look into picking some things up there. I swear most of the time the food is BETTER than the brand names and it is ridiculously cheaper. We stocked up on canned good and frozen items there and then headed over to BJ's (I bought a membership this year for the first time)to pick up meat, veggies and misc.

We supplemented our groceries with some lettuce, herbs and green onion from out container garden (we handmade some 2ft. by 4ft. wooden planters). None of the other veggies are up yet but they are {knock on wood} looking pretty healthy.

[Eurobabe]

40. I noticed that when I was home a couple of weeks ago

(in the US) 4 staple items: coffee, bread, creamer and organic yogurt cost me $21.

Thud. :wow:

[deacon]

41. Still rising :/ Part of it may be they are after those 'stimulus checks' n/t

[boilerbabe]

44. The price of gas has driven the cost of everything up!

The cost of electricity goes up, shipping goods to stores goes up...etc! I can't give any good advice regarding food, though. I am a fussy eater and I will eat what I like because I have to! It's mostly cheap shit anyways!

Good luck in keeping up with the cost of living, we all need a break nowadays, for sure!

[OneBlueSky]

49. and as the prices go up, the quantities go down . . .

looking for a pound of coffee? . . . good luck . . . best you might find is 13.5 ounces, more likely 11.5 ounces . . . need a half gallon of ice cream? . . . no such thing anymore . . . and on, and on, and on . . .