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Old 01-10-2009, 03:50 PM   #16  
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I wish I could make a decent salad dressing. I can make 1 from scratch. It is mixing some olive oil and seasoned rice vinegar.

I make some dressings from packages but it is easier to use the bottled ones.

We already grow quite a bit. We grow tomatoes, onions, peppers, sage and several other herbs. We have orange and lemon trees.

I hope they will look at more fruit and veggies instead of meat. While some produce is $5 (like those blueberries), they will go further than a $5 steak and be better for you.
Try olive oil with lemon juice, a tiny bit of salt, and fresh smooshed garlic, all to taste (if you like those flavors!) It's delicious. Also one I made which isn't on the healthy side or anything, little bit of mayo, lemon juice, and pickle juice. :P
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Old 01-10-2009, 03:52 PM   #17  
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it is a really tough debate.. although I do know of bad neighborhoods, they won't even invest in chain grocery stores there because of theft of food and/or shopping carts. They just can't stay in business. So folks are stuck having to buy stuff at smaller conveience stores where food is MUCH more expensive. Terrible all around.
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Old 01-10-2009, 04:27 PM   #18  
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because it's cheaper.

The pizzaria up the street has weekly specials. On Tuesday and Wednesdays you can get a large pie for 5.99. I budget that in. How else can I feed 4 people on 6 bucks? I only do it once a week but I know people who have pizza twice because of the price.

Many years ago I worked in a school. Parents would send their kids to school with a 50 cent honey bun for lunch. That honey bun was nothing but empty calories but was big enough to fill a childs stomach for a little while.

The store brands dont always offer a low fat alternative. I'm looking at a box of store brand wheat thins. It cost me 2.50 on sale for the box. Nabisco Low Fat Wheat Thins are almost 4.00 and not on sale. Sure it's only a 1.50difference but that 1.50 is another box of oatmeal (also on sale) or 3 cans of soup.

Sometimes, healthy or not the lowest price has to win.

I'm going to have to disagree since I've cut my food bill since eating healthier foods. Yes it requires more planning and more then opening a box but I could make that pizza cheaper then buying it at the restaurant and it would be nutritious. Now if we're talking time - of course cheap and easy is quicker then cheap and healthy.
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Old 01-10-2009, 05:02 PM   #19  
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I'm going to have to disagree since I've cut my food bill since eating healthier foods. Yes it requires more planning and more then opening a box but I could make that pizza cheaper then buying it at the restaurant and it would be nutritious. Now if we're talking time - of course cheap and easy is quicker then cheap and healthy.
You've got a really good point there. The more time you can invest in the preparation of foods, the healthier the dish.
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Old 01-10-2009, 05:43 PM   #20  
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Often the poorest folks aren't terribly well versed in either nutrition or cooking skills. I remember in graduate school, reading studies found that both the wealthiest and poorest were the most likely to buy brand names, and the least likely to use generics. The rationale was that both associated name brands with value, the fact that the poorest relied on convenience stores which only carried name brands, and the fact that the poorest were reluctant to take perceived "gambles" with the food budget. The poorest were also least likely to buy foods they'd never eaten or cooked before (not wanting to "waste" their money on foods they or their families might not like or which they might not know how to cook properly.

It's amazing how many people (of all classes, and for that matter, school boards) consider macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, and hot dogs "healthy foods," and count potatoes (even french fries) as a vegetable.

It is true that if you're fairly well-versed in nutrition, have a decent understanding of basic cooking skills, are not afraid of trying foods you've never eaten or cooked before, are creative and resourceful, and have relatively easy access to an affordable, well-stocked grocery store (that is you have transportation and/or live within walking distance) - eating healthy can usually be cheaper, or at least as cheap as eating junk - but those are a whole lot of "if's."

My husband and I have a very creative approach (and luckily the time to do it) in that we start out at the farmer's market (when they're open) and then to a store that is a closeout, overstock store (sort of like a Big Lots, but privately owned - we also would stop at Big Lots, but our local one is closing). Mostly the store's food is convencience foods, so we've got to be careful (of course it's tempting to by 10 cent snicker bars), but at least once a month, they get in stock from health food and gourmet shops. The overstock store has a very "bad" reputation in town, and many of our friends are shocked that we shop there, because they all think the stuff is outdated food, but it isn't it's stuff that perhaps was labeled incorrectly (the label might have been put on upside down for example) or that the stores had ordered too much of, or whatever. I've bought things like gourmet sea salts that would sell for $7 a jar, for about 50 or 60 cents. Artichoke hearts for ($4 in the grocery stores) for 50 cents. We buy some clothing there also ($5 sweat shirts) and yarn (I crochet, and love cheap yarn, especially when I can get skeins that sell at Michael's for $6 a skein for 69 cents).

Our next stop is an oriental grocery. Snacks are more expensive, and we avoid them, but there are some really great buys there. We buy bonito (tuna) flakes - great for making fish stock, but we buy them primarily as treats for our kitty (at PetCo, nearly $5 for a tiny jar). Gourmet soy sauces (mushroom soy is our favorite) for about the same price as 12 ounces of Walmart's brand. Fish sauce (great substitute for Worcesteshire sauce). Mushrooms (huge cans for the same price as a tiny can of mushroom pieces). Bean sprouts, bok choy and other cabbages, green onions, cilantro, mint, basil.... sometimes they're as expensive as in a regular grocery, but are often fresher and last longer in the fridge...

We go to health food stores in town for some things (like granulated tvp or spy protein).

We go to Aldi (a discount grocery store) for some things. Walmart for others, a bakery supply store for others (seasonings in bulk, mostly) and one of the "better" grocery stores for others.

We don't make a trip to every store, every week - or even every month, but we would have to spend at least three times as much as we do on groceries, if we didn't cook, weren't pretty brave and open-minded, or didn't have the transportation or time to bargain shop. We could probably save even more if we had a freezer or even just more space to store dry goods (as it is, our tiny extra bedroom - doubling as my craft room - has a set of shelves for what we didn't have room for in the kitchen - we've even considered creative storage options - like under the bed, but I think we'd forget was under there).

Last edited by kaplods; 01-10-2009 at 06:21 PM.
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Old 01-10-2009, 06:11 PM   #21  
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Kaploids

I do the same! I go to several different stores and take advantage of each one's speciality deals. It really does make a difference. I can make $90-$110 stretch to feed 4 people... by shopping around, couponing, and being creative!
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Old 01-10-2009, 07:28 PM   #22  
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Ibuy meats that are close to expiring and find uses for them right away or prep them for the freezer, etc.
Dairy too. I haven't bought yogurt that isn't expiring in several months. A 32-ounce container of fat-free yogurt that's expiring tomorrow for $1.50 compared to $2.50 normally? That adds up. I always check at the library for the local adds the stores all put out to compare which has the best price on what.

It really doesn't come down to healthy food vs. cheap food; it comes down to convenience and pre-packaged vs. time and effort cooking.

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Old 01-10-2009, 07:43 PM   #23  
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My experience is that preparing my family's food is less expensive than eating lesser healthy but more convenient options. It is though, still, quite expensive. I buy the cheapest meats and fowl, but I realize beans, soy products and veggies are the least expensive options out there. My body does best with animal proteins so as I enjoy the beans as protein, my body benefits less than my pocketbook.

I've tried looking for those bulk stores I read about on 3fc but have had no luck in northern NJ.
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Old 01-10-2009, 07:43 PM   #24  
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I don't spend as much as I used to, but a nice big pot of vegetable soup doesn't cost much either. It's a "use what you got" type of receipe.
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Old 01-10-2009, 10:49 PM   #25  
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I've tried looking for those bulk stores I read about on 3fc but have had no luck in northern NJ.

bulk stores? Like Costco and BJ's?
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Old 01-10-2009, 11:34 PM   #26  
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bulk stores? Like Costco and BJ's?
Or do you mean stores that sell foods and spices by the pound or ounce from bins. I buy a lot of food items this way, but I've not been to a store that was primarily bulk stuff (except candy and nut shops in malls).

Higher end grocery stores and many health food stores offer bin items. And even though their prices are generally higher than in other grocery stores, the bulk prices still tend to be lower, but you've got to search them out. I believe Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have large bulk sections (I'm nudging hubby about a field trip to Madison to shop at both).

We do have a "sort of" bulk shop in town, called U-Bake. It's a private chain of only a few stores, and they sell spices, flours, frozen doughs, pastas, candies, baking staples, soup mixes etc, but it's all been packaged so technically, it's not a bulk store (they buy in bulk and then repackage in the back, they also make some of their own cookie doughs, others they buy). The packaged spices come in little plastic tubs and are about 1/3 the cost of grocery store spices.

Last edited by kaplods; 01-10-2009 at 11:36 PM.
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Old 01-12-2009, 02:03 PM   #27  
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I believe Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have large bulk sections (I'm nudging hubby about a field trip to Madison to shop at both).
My TJ's doesn't have bulk bins. I wish they did. As it is, I get a bit discouraged by the fact that they have produce prepackaged.

One of my local Asian markets prewraps veggies. I don't buy very many veggies there unless it is something the American store doesn't carry. I don't like being forced to buy 4 heads of Romaine when I only want 1.

We have a Canned Food Outlet around here. I used to shop there. Maybe I should put them back into the loop. They are between my home and 1 of the farmer's markets we frequent.

Great thread. It's making me rethink some things. I buy a lot of frozen Lean Cuisine's for lunch at work. I can nuke it and eat. I wait until they are on sale. Perhaps I should look into freezing more of what I make at home for dinner and start bringing that for lunch.

We do make our own stock from chicken and beef bones. I've just about cut out beef so the beef bones in the freezer take longer to make a batch. We then freeze it in quart bags and have stock readily available all year round. We control the sodium that way, too.
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Old 01-12-2009, 03:06 PM   #28  
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Mare~I so agree about the prepackaged produce! Why do we HAVE to buy 4 when we only want/need 2 or 3? I much prefer picking out what one I want anyway! This is one reason I refuse to shop at Fresh & Easy--it's ALL prepackaged.
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Old 01-12-2009, 03:20 PM   #29  
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Many very small grocery stores prepackage for a very practical reason - the produce stays fresh longer, and there is less handling and manhandling by customers. Any store or produce manager will tell you that customers wreak havoc on bin produce, they often tear off leaves (to pay less per pound), squeeze, scrape, and taste the produce in bins for ripeness, etc. There is a large amount of waste and loss if you allow customers to choose their own produce. Large grocery stores can take the loss, but small stores either have to charge ridiculous prices to do so, or come up with anouther solution (like individual wrapping).

I've never had a problem with Mom & Pop stores breaking down packages - if I would want only one head of romaine in a package of three, I'd take it to the counter and ask if I could please buy only one. I've never had a problem with this. I've occasionally, but politely been told that no, they wouldn't repackage - but that's been pretty rare.

One of the stores I go to frequently is a hmong owned family grocery. All of their produce (except for fruit, which is displayed very close to the counter, so that staff can see that customers not abuse the privelege of choosing their own) is sold in packages. Sometimes the packages seem huge to me, because I'm not going through bean sprouts and bok choy as quickly as most of the shoppers (other asians, mostly). But a huge package of bean sprouts costs less than a tiny package in the chain grocery stores and lasts three times as long. I don't ask them to break down bean sprouts simply because the price is so cheap in comparison to what I would pay elsewhere. The owner watching me shopping among the rice (most in 20 lb bags, because that's how asian families buy it), even though I hadn't asked, offered to sell me a smaller quantity - even though that meant opening a bag, and possibly having to use the remainder herself, just to give me the option of trying some of the more exotic varieties of rice.

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Old 01-12-2009, 03:22 PM   #30  
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Mare~I so agree about the prepackaged produce! Why do we HAVE to buy 4 when we only want/need 2 or 3? I much prefer picking out what one I want anyway! This is one reason I refuse to shop at Fresh & Easy--it's ALL prepackaged.
I can understand that it keeps the place cleaner because there is less chance that a head of Romaine will be on the floor, or lemons will roll around on the floor. BUT - I don't like it & won't buy it that way.

We had a small family owned chain around here. It was Cosentino's. They originally started as a produce stand and eventually grew into a very nice grocery store. There were several locations. After the parents died, the kids started fighting. Same thing happened with Food Villa. We ended up losing the store near us. A Korean market owner bought it and turned it into Green Earth. It was very much like the old Cosentino's store. In fact, most of the same workers were there. He then decided to expand his Korean grocery store and closed Green Earth. He reopened it as a larger version of the store he has several blocks away. We lost the fresh meat market. It is all prepackaged. The seafood section isn't as good as I'd like. Most Asian markets have a nice seafood section since it is so big in their diet.

OK. I'll shut up and quit my barking because my grocery shopping life is no longer going my way.
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