Post by charlielove on Jun 28, 2013 14:58:52 GMT -5
Aw, bummer. What kind of stuff do you get? If I'm being good, I try to plan meals around vegetables that are on sale and usually buy whatever fruit is on sale.
It really is; that's why I don't make a lot of the recipes people post on here because we can't buy pretty much anything normally sold at Whole Foods. Rice and past a are cheaper than quinoa.
If there's an Aldi near you, their veggies are often much cheaper than regular stores. Not always the best quality, but if you store it well, it doesn't matter as much. I make things healthier by adding spinach and peppers to casseroles and using spices over salt. For example, when we eat enchiladas or tacos, I make my own sauce rather than buy the packages.
Aw, bummer. What kind of stuff do you get? If I'm being good, I try to plan meals around vegetables that are on sale and usually buy whatever fruit is on sale.
We got lots of fruit and veggies of course, cereals, bread, bagels, lots of cheeses, sandwich makings, salad makings, sobe waters, ground beef, chicken, shrimp, dry pasta, frozen tortellini, pasta sauces, yogurt, eggs, pretzels, nuts, peanut butter, tuna, and other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting.
I don't know, just came out as such a higher total than normal. Haha.
Also katfco I don't bother shopping anywhere but target because between home brands, team member discount (10%) and red card savings (additional 5%) everywhere else just ends up more expensive!
I don't shop at Target for groceries, so I don't know what they cost, but Aldi prices are often a third to half of what other store prices are, depending on what you're buying. We don't buy everything there, but for us, it's often worth the effort to do price comparisons and do multiple stores.
I don't shop at Target for groceries, so I don't know what they cost, but Aldi prices are often a third to half of what other store prices are, depending on what you're buying. We don't buy everything there, but for us, it's often worth the effort to do price comparisons and do multiple stores.
We've shopped at aldi and were not impressed. They did have knock offs of a lot of what we usually buy but it was either the same price as store brand a target OR it was cheaper BUT it was also smaller portions. So it wasn't a good deal.
I don't shop at Target for groceries, so I don't know what they cost, but Aldi prices are often a third to half of what other store prices are, depending on what you're buying. We don't buy everything there, but for us, it's often worth the effort to do price comparisons and do multiple stores.
We've shopped at aldi and were not impressed. They did have knock offs of a lot of what we usually buy but it was either the same price as store brand a target OR it was cheaper BUT it was also smaller portions. So it wasn't a good deal.
I've found that aldi is great for everything but meats. Fruit and veggies are hit or miss but you can get them cheaper at a produce market for the most part anyway. Aldi occasionally has some name brand stuff randomly too.
Do you meal plan? That has really cut down my grocery bill.
Also, it sounds like you did a lot of stock up shopping like cereal, pasta, peanut butter, etc. You won't need to buy that again next week, so that will already be cheaper
Do you meal plan? That has really cut down my grocery bill.
Also, it sounds like you did a lot of stock up shopping like cereal, pasta, peanut butter, etc. You won't need to buy that again next week, so that will already be cheaper
We don't shop every week. So that's normal. We do a huge trip like today and then in two weeks we get more milk, bread, eggs, and fruit.
We sort of meal plan. We only eat together once a week so everything else is snacky/one serving "meals".
If you can make dishes that refrigerate well and eat that over a few days instead of buying snacky stuff, I find snacks really add up.
This. Most weeks we cook 3-4 meals and eat leftovers the rest of the time. Or a different rendition of the leftovers (sandwiches/burritos/omelettes/etc.). It's about as fast as a snacky type meal, but for us, cheaper.
Even though you guys don't eat together, you could make a casserole and that could be meals for you both for a few days.
True. I guess I'm just lazy and avoid cooking at all costs. We did plan our 3 dinners this month to be bigger portions that will create leftovers though. Step in the right direction!
I went grocery shopping at a small town wal-mart recently and was shocked that a) there was almost nothing organic or not-mega-processed, and b) the prices for organics were on par with Manhattan, while everything else was 1/3 to 1/2 the price. I had to eat my (non-organic) words that it's not that difficult or expensive to eat well.
I wonder if the really high demand for and availability of those products around here decreases the price.
I went grocery shopping at a small town wal-mart recently and was shocked that a) there was almost nothing organic or not-mega-processed, and b) the prices for organics were on par with Manhattan, while everything else was 1/3 to 1/2 the price. I had to eat my (non-organic) words that it's not that difficult or expensive to eat well.
I wonder if the really high demand for and availability of those products around here decreases the price.
Organic isn't a huge amount more expensive here, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the vast majority of our produce comes from our state or, is we don't grow it, the neighboring states.
I went grocery shopping at a small town wal-mart recently and was shocked that a) there was almost nothing organic or not-mega-processed, and b) the prices for organics were on par with Manhattan, while everything else was 1/3 to 1/2 the price. I had to eat my (non-organic) words that it's not that difficult or expensive to eat well.
I wonder if the really high demand for and availability of those products around here decreases the price.
It does actually. Studies show that organic and healthy food is actually cheaper in places like NYC bc of the higher demand for it.
I went grocery shopping at a small town wal-mart recently and was shocked that a) there was almost nothing organic or not-mega-processed, and b) the prices for organics were on par with Manhattan, while everything else was 1/3 to 1/2 the price. I had to eat my (non-organic) words that it's not that difficult or expensive to eat well.
I wonder if the really high demand for and availability of those products around here decreases the price.
We just move states but stayed in the same size city. Organic food in Kansas was a lot more expensive and normal groceries were cheaper. In Colorado organic food is cheaper but normal food is more expensive than Kansas. It baffles me but I guess it is because there is a much higher demand here.
I went grocery shopping at a small town wal-mart recently and was shocked that a) there was almost nothing organic or not-mega-processed, and b) the prices for organics were on par with Manhattan, while everything else was 1/3 to 1/2 the price. I had to eat my (non-organic) words that it's not that difficult or expensive to eat well.
I wonder if the really high demand for and availability of those products around here decreases the price.
We just move states but stayed in the same size city. Organic food in Kansas was a lot more expensive and normal groceries were cheaper. In Colorado organic food is cheaper but normal food is more expensive than Kansas. It baffles me but I guess it is because there is a much higher demand here.
Very strange!
Buying organic is usually a $1-$1.50 more per item. Sugar free, fat free, etc items are usually about 50ยข-$1 more expensive per item. It's ridiculous and really adds up.
I went grocery shopping at a small town wal-mart recently and was shocked that a) there was almost nothing organic or not-mega-processed, and b) the prices for organics were on par with Manhattan, while everything else was 1/3 to 1/2 the price. I had to eat my (non-organic) words that it's not that difficult or expensive to eat well.
I wonder if the really high demand for and availability of those products around here decreases the price.
We just move states but stayed in the same size city. Organic food in Kansas was a lot more expensive and normal groceries were cheaper. In Colorado organic food is cheaper but normal food is more expensive than Kansas. It baffles me but I guess it is because there is a much higher demand here.
And likewise, I find Colorado organics to be insanely expensive compared to Oregon. Monkeybabe is right- proximity is everything. (90% of our produce is trucked in over the continental divide from California- it's too high altitude to grow much in mass quantities here)
Organic here can be only slightly more expensive or can be twice the price! Like bananas, 79c per pound or 99cper pound for fair trade organic so that's a no brainer. Carrots are slightly more expensive. But then zucchini and bell peppers I've been noticing are twice the price organic!
I usually just buy whatever is on sale that week.
Also I spend so much money on food and every week I think, oh it will be less next week because I bought all that pasta/sauces etc. but IT NEVER IS!!!
Farmers markets around here are not cheap at all! More expensive than the store
Does anyone have stands on the side of the road??? We have many farmers that have SPOTS randomly along the side of the road where they set the back of their truck up with fruits and veggies and they are cheap and some of the best tasting produce around!