I went grocery shopping on Wednesday (the first day on my new budget). This is the first time in a very long time I was consciously trying to squeeze the most food out of my dollars and not get the fanciest local organic stuff available. I imagined trying to shop like my mom did when me and my brothers were little. Sale jelly, sale peanut butter, sale yogurt, sale bread, bulk cream of wheat, etc. Just the staples. And I did good; I got breakfast and lunch supplies for a couple weeks for $17.
But when I got home I looked a little closer at what I had gotten and was really frustrated. Everything I bought except for the cream of wheat has high fructose corn syrup as the second or third ingredient. This makes me even more angry at those creepy corn lobby sponsored HFCS commercials. They talk about "consumed in moderation" as if it's not used as filler in every single food thing you eat in one day if you can't afford the types of things that don't include it. I bet I would have easily spent closer to $30 on the same things if I had gotten the Stonybrook organic yogurt, the local traditionally produced jelly, and so on (not the natural peanut butter though, that stuff is gross). It's maddening.
I'm just glad I'm not raising kids on a budget like this. I would hate for my choices to be feed them crap or not at all. As for me, I think I'll just spend a little more next time.
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Hi, AD. Longtime fan; first-time commenter. Commentor. Commentater.
ReplyDeleteWe used to try, depending on the week, to maximize either (a) the mass of food we could get per dollar, or (b) the amount of (palatable*) calories we could get per dollar.
Keep fighting the good fight.
* This condition added because no one wants to eat suet.
I hear your song. I long ago sacrificed the idea that I could eat both cheaply and without lots of added chemicals. I try to make compromises each week but it's not always cheap.
ReplyDeleteFrankie speaks! On an awesome blog! Dude, you da woman.
ReplyDelete(I do confess a love for Teddie peanut butter -- it's local, natural, and actually delicious.)
ReplyDeleteOnce it warms up a little maybe you can go down to Haymarket on a Friday and buy yourself a flat of berries and make your own jam. That'll help cut costs, plus it's a fun activity.
I've got plans for strawberry baskets on my back porch for just that purpose :)
ReplyDeleteaw c'mon! remember wards p-nut butter, you didn't like that stuff???
ReplyDeletei agree with teddie's PB! and the haymarket. if you get up early to get down there around 8am or so, its not quite a zoo yet and you can get SO MUCH produce for so little. seriously, amazing.
ReplyDelete