Not sure if it’s just me but my grocery spending hasn’t changed in the last year. It’s definitely more expensive then say 2 years ago but seems like prices have stabilized.
I cook often so most of what I buy are produce and it’s generally cheaper than other stuff.
I agree. On one hand I look at prices of stuff and think “damn is it really this much now? Was half this price last year”. But on the other hand, my shopping receipts really haven’t doubled since a year ago, I don’t feel like they increased at all… But I also buy produce and cook for myself most of the time.
I haven’t changed my shopping habits, but I definitely notice the ripoffs of significantly higher prices on some of the same food items I’ve been buying for years. Overall it’s still much cheaper to buy groceries and make your own food than the vast majority of restaurants and such.
Fast food prices have gotten more noticeably higher than groceries have in my area. So I assume that most of the people I hear complaining the loudest about “Inflation” are the ones who eat fast food as a staple of their diet.
Nah, I remember when I could fill an entire cart with food and it’d be about $75 way back in the ancient days of 2019. Now I’d have to pay double to do that and even then I might end up with less food.
We are in Canada. I scratch cook everything and we grow the vast majority of our own food. Most grocery shopping is staple stuff like flour and sugar. Our grocery bill has trippled in the past 2 years and it’s still rising. Our gardens have gotten considerably bigger to make up for it.
Some things can be grown at home with relative ease and not much space. A lot depends on where you are, how much space you have, your soil, if you can invest money, what spare time you can give. So either research or experimentation is key.
I live in Florida (I’m sorry I’m voting as hard as I can) and have had success with these from seeds or cut-offs from store bought items: Kiwis, passion fruit, pineapple, tomatoes, garlic, turmeric, onion, ginger. These I have bought the plant or seeds from nurseries (or Korean supermarket): Brocoli, any peppers, any dark leafy greens.
There is so much information on youtube. I found the initial time to set up a small garden is about 10- 20 hours in the first 2 weeks, then about 10-20 mins every 2 to 3 days.
I haven’t reached the point yet where I’m personally dumpster diving, but I have a friend who has an inside connection at a major grocery store. They call when it’s time to take out the garbage, set it outside the compactor, and my friend swings by to snag it. It’s incredible how much gets thrown out. He preserves what can’t be used immediately and gives it away to those who don’t have a problem with the source. I’ve benefited from a 5 lb bag of jerky and a box full of dried fruits, veggies, and other items.
Otherwise, I’m always on the lookout for sales and deals. When I find one I stock up, like the one going on now at Amazon for Sweet Sue canned chicken that worked out to 78 cents for a 5oz can.
I’m fortunate enough to have a few acres and access to water at agricultural rates, so I grow enough produce to supply myself and a few other families that subscribe to my farm-to-home service. It’s enough to pay the costs and buy the grandkids some nice presents, but I ain’t getting rich off it.
i shop bulk as much as i can, eat oatmeal for breakfast daily, and after i had my gall bladder removed i got in the habit of eating 2-3oz portions of animal protein no more than 5 times a week. i spend a bunch of time in the kitchen every week but it definitely softens the blow. it also helps that i have a couple of cheap staple meals i can make for less than $5 per serving.
i also shop around for value. i live near 4 different grocery stores so i dont spend a lot of time doing it, but i do make a run to grocery outlet every month in order to get discounts on bigger items but it can be hit or miss.
I’ve been slipping over to Aldi or Costco for produce. Sure I have to buy more at Costco, but the price is there are still lower per pound than they were at my grocery store before inflation.
I make a lot of stuff from scratch I don’t rely on a lot of mixes. The price of bulk flour and the price of bulk rice hasn’t gone up nearly as much as Purdue chicken breast.
My prices have come down quite a bit over the past few months. It was a stretch to feed myself on $250 but now I’m ending the month with a few dollars left over
Were vegetarians and don’t buy any prepared foods or much processed food. Inflation hasn’t been uniform. Rice, beans, tofu, and a lot of vegetables are at or near the same price as pre pandemic.
My partner and I are mostly-vegetarian and it’s insane how much stuff still costs. Soy milk is constantly $2-3 a half gallon more than cow milk, veggies are expensive unless you’re only getting rice and beans, and don’t even get me started on meat substitutes
I put lentils in my vegetarian chili. Do chilli however you like - I prefer a bean blend over straight kidney beans- and just boil a pot of lentils and use them in place of the ground beef if your doing a quick chili. I would think you wouldn’t want them pre cooked if you’re doing a slow cook chili.
This recipe is so good. I’m a vegetarian, not vegan, but I’m always looking for really good no meat options and this is just delicious, basically it’s beef stew flavored.
Also you can replace the meat in tacos and gyros with lentils using the same seasoning, also delicious. Just use whatever recipe you normally like for those.
You should look into chickpeas. Personally I find that lentils work great where you might use red meat and chickpeas work great where you might use white meat/chicken so you don’t even need specific recipes because you can just omit the meat and add the legumes instead.
Thanks, that recipe looks delicious. I want to give lentils in pasta sauce but I’m afraid I won’t like it. I’ve tried chickpeas and I just can’t seem to like them.
I found this one on an old man’s Instagram account. It was really nice! I subbed some of the stock for a can of IPA.
Lentil Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 chopped onion
4 cloves of chopped garlic
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of salt
6 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of red lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup of yellow lentils, rinsed and drained
Instructions:
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add onions and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about five minutes.
Stir in the carrots and celery and cook until the vegetables are tender, about eight more minutes.
Stir in your tomato paste, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper (if you decide to use), salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, and chili powder.
Mix in your lentils and chicken stock.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 40 minutes.
I shop at Aldi, buy only basic ingredients (as little prepared foods as possible), and eat less. Snacks are basically out, though I may get peanuts from time to time.
I haven’t starved yet. I know from experience that if I get calorically restricted for too long, I will do anything to fill my stomach. So fortunately, it hasn’t got to the point where my morality starts to degrade yet.
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