Author Topic: Grocery shopping  (Read 45914 times)

forummm

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Grocery shopping
« on: June 21, 2015, 03:18:16 PM »
I am pretty good at getting good cheap food. I enjoy doing it. We eat really well and spend about $220/mo on average for groceries. Today's shopping is an example:

3 x 18oz blackberries $0.99 ea
2 x 2.5lb spinach $1.99 ea
3 x pint blueberries $0.99 ea
2 x 12oz raspberries $0.99 ea
5 lb carrots $2.99
2.5lb ground pork $4.45
2 gallons milk $5
20 oz soy sauce $2.78
26 oz salt $0.57

Total after tax: $28.52

G-dog

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2015, 03:41:38 PM »
Whoa! Where are you getting deals like these?
Are these all fresh fruits and veggies?

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2015, 04:44:07 PM »
Yep, everything is fresh. I just go to the stores that have the best prices and I buy what's on sale. Then we eat what that is. Sometimes I check out the ads online before going to plan a meal from what's available and what we have. In this case, I went to an Asian grocery store about 2-3 miles away and a big chain store on the way back. There was another great store where I used to get fantastic produce. But it's a couple miles farther away and this Asian grocery store is really showing some good stuff.

dudde_devaru

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2015, 08:22:42 PM »


18 items under $18 in my local farmers market
Good for 10days for two of us since we eat lot of curry and raw fresh veggies.

APowers

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2015, 09:47:57 AM »
Forummm-- those are some fantastic prices for blue/rasberries!

Dudde-- I wish our farmers' market had good prices, but it's invariably Seattle-yuppie fancy prices for everything. It'd be cheaper to buy certified organic at the grocery store. I wish we had a good produce market in my town, but we don't :(

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2015, 10:30:07 AM »
Forummm-- those are some fantastic prices for blue/rasberries!

Dudde-- I wish our farmers' market had good prices, but it's invariably Seattle-yuppie fancy prices for everything. It'd be cheaper to buy certified organic at the grocery store. I wish we had a good produce market in my town, but we don't :(

Maybe look around. I live in a non-trendy area.

expectopatronum

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2015, 10:44:54 AM »
Dang! I've never seen strawberries lower than $2/lb at our store, and blackberries are a whopping $4/12oz. I'll buy them once in awhile to make DH's favorite dessert (as of lately...) - blackberry cobbler. : )

I thought we were doing well. We're on track to spend $200/mo groceries this month - yay!! We live in a decent COL area, but we're in the center of town, so there's some jacked up pricing on produce due to all the young Paleo eaters in the area I think. Recently we both realized our diets have been way too fruit & veggie deficient, so the goal for next month is staying in budget AND upping our intake of produce.

Our latest grocery hack is to go by the salad bar for small servings of fresh spinach. Salad bar is sold by the pound, because they anticipate you'll load it down with stuff like cheese & olives. So we end up buying spinach or mixed greens for pennies compared to getting a whole box of greens.

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2015, 10:58:57 AM »
Dang! I've never seen strawberries lower than $2/lb at our store, and blackberries are a whopping $4/12oz. I'll buy them once in awhile to make DH's favorite dessert (as of lately...) - blackberry cobbler. : )

I thought we were doing well. We're on track to spend $200/mo groceries this month - yay!! We live in a decent COL area, but we're in the center of town, so there's some jacked up pricing on produce due to all the young Paleo eaters in the area I think. Recently we both realized our diets have been way too fruit & veggie deficient, so the goal for next month is staying in budget AND upping our intake of produce.

Our latest grocery hack is to go by the salad bar for small servings of fresh spinach. Salad bar is sold by the pound, because they anticipate you'll load it down with stuff like cheese & olives. So we end up buying spinach or mixed greens for pennies compared to getting a whole box of greens.

My spinach from that trip was 80 cents/pound. I'd be shocked if your salad bar wasn't way more expensive than that. If not, then you can buy cheese for under 80 cents a pound!!

expectopatronum

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2015, 11:02:45 AM »
DH is the one who's done the math. Apparently it's sometimes cheaper for us to buy the bulk quantity, but counter intuitively, sometimes cheaper to go the salad bar route!

FrugalZony

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2015, 12:07:42 PM »
This week was definitely a good week for produce. I got some great deals myself.

Strawberries 88 cents a pound minus 50 cents coupon  = 38 cents for those
Rasberries 97 cents for a small clamshell, minus 50 cents coupon = 47 cents for those
Watermelon and cantaloupe 99 cents each, minus 55 cents coupon = 44 cents each
Spinach 1.13 for an 8 oz bag minus coupons ($1 off 2) = 63 cents a bag
Mini Tomatoes 10.5 oz for 2.18 minus 55 cents coupon = 1.63 each
I also got a 5 pound bag of potatoes for 2.99 which I had a $1 coupon for and
plus a few odds and ends that were on sale, but I had no coupons for

I stocked the Fridge with produce for less than $20 and we have a BUNCH of stuff.
Just looking at it last night made me happy. I love it when I am stocked on healthy stuff ;)


forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2015, 12:16:46 PM »
Cool! Those were some great coupons!

FrugalZony

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2015, 01:28:21 PM »
Cool! Those were some great coupons!

Yeah, I love my produce coupons, I will be very sad when I run out, as they are so hard to come by.
Unfortunately my stores have stopped doubling, otherwise the berries and melons would have been free.
Sigh!! Still good deals!

CmFtns

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2015, 01:58:54 PM »
Where do you get milk so cheap? Cheapest place around here I've found around is Sam's club for like 3.25 a gallon.

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2015, 02:35:07 PM »
It was on sale. A half gallon for $1.25. Usually it's $3/gallon. Costco has good prices frequently as well.

dudde_devaru

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2015, 02:49:57 PM »
Kroger in MI is selling nonfat/reg/2% for $1.99 from almost 4months

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #15 on: June 23, 2015, 03:13:07 PM »
Cool! Those were some great coupons!

Yeah, I love my produce coupons, I will be very sad when I run out, as they are so hard to come by.
Unfortunately my stores have stopped doubling, otherwise the berries and melons would have been free.
Sigh!! Still good deals!

I've literally never seen a produce coupon. Share your secrets please! =D

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #16 on: June 23, 2015, 04:37:11 PM »
Cool! Those were some great coupons!

Yeah, I love my produce coupons, I will be very sad when I run out, as they are so hard to come by.
Unfortunately my stores have stopped doubling, otherwise the berries and melons would have been free.
Sigh!! Still good deals!

I've literally never seen a produce coupon. Share your secrets please! =D

Yes, how do you produce those coupons?

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #17 on: June 23, 2015, 04:41:47 PM »
Cool! Those were some great coupons!

Yeah, I love my produce coupons, I will be very sad when I run out, as they are so hard to come by.
Unfortunately my stores have stopped doubling, otherwise the berries and melons would have been free.
Sigh!! Still good deals!

I've literally never seen a produce coupon. Share your secrets please! =D

Yes, how do you produce those coupons?

Oh god forummm. You always have the best/worst puns. <3

Jeremy E.

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #18 on: June 23, 2015, 04:54:56 PM »
I have access to 3 great grocery stores and rotate between them,
Winco (cheap grocery store + a bulk foods section where you can buy by the pound)
Wal Mart
Costco
I'm able to get darn near everything cheap except fresh berries....
I pay
$2/gallon for whole milk,
$2/lb for boneless chicken breast,
$2 for a lot of spinach,
$0.70/lb for Quinoa,
$0.30/lb for Oats,
$0.80/lb for Almonds
but fresh BERRIES ARE SO EXPENSIVE, I can usually only find them in the little 8 oz plastic containers and they are like $4, I don't understand it. The only affordable berries are mixed frozen berries, but they are not nearly as good :(

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #19 on: June 23, 2015, 04:57:32 PM »
Cool! Those were some great coupons!

Yeah, I love my produce coupons, I will be very sad when I run out, as they are so hard to come by.
Unfortunately my stores have stopped doubling, otherwise the berries and melons would have been free.
Sigh!! Still good deals!

I've literally never seen a produce coupon. Share your secrets please! =D

Yes, how do you produce those coupons?

Oh god forummm. You always have the best/worst puns. <3

<tip of the top hat>

Jeremy E.

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #20 on: June 23, 2015, 05:26:46 PM »
I have access to 3 great grocery stores and rotate between them,
Winco (cheap grocery store + a bulk foods section where you can buy by the pound)
Wal Mart
Costco
I'm able to get darn near everything cheap except fresh berries....
I pay
$2/gallon for whole milk,
$2/lb for boneless chicken breast,
$2 for a lot of spinach,
$0.70/lb for Quinoa,
$0.30/lb for Oats,
$0.80/lb for Almonds
but fresh BERRIES ARE SO EXPENSIVE, I can usually only find them in the little 8 oz plastic containers and they are like $4, I don't understand it. The only affordable berries are mixed frozen berries, but they are not nearly as good :(
Where do you find quinoa for $0.70/lb and almonds for $0.80/lb?
Winco bulk section

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #21 on: June 23, 2015, 05:32:27 PM »
I have access to 3 great grocery stores and rotate between them,
Winco (cheap grocery store + a bulk foods section where you can buy by the pound)
Wal Mart
Costco
I'm able to get darn near everything cheap except fresh berries....
I pay
$2/gallon for whole milk,
$2/lb for boneless chicken breast,
$2 for a lot of spinach,
$0.70/lb for Quinoa,
$0.30/lb for Oats,
$0.80/lb for Almonds
but fresh BERRIES ARE SO EXPENSIVE, I can usually only find them in the little 8 oz plastic containers and they are like $4, I don't understand it. The only affordable berries are mixed frozen berries, but they are not nearly as good :(
Where do you find quinoa for $0.70/lb and almonds for $0.80/lb?
Winco bulk section

I do not believe the almonds number. No way. Your units are wrong or something. Or Winco made a huge mistake. That's far below the wholesale cost.

Jeremy E.

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #22 on: June 23, 2015, 05:48:53 PM »
I have access to 3 great grocery stores and rotate between them,
Winco (cheap grocery store + a bulk foods section where you can buy by the pound)
Wal Mart
Costco
I'm able to get darn near everything cheap except fresh berries....
I pay
$2/gallon for whole milk,
$2/lb for boneless chicken breast,
$2 for a lot of spinach,
$0.70/lb for Quinoa,
$0.30/lb for Oats,
$0.80/lb for Almonds
but fresh BERRIES ARE SO EXPENSIVE, I can usually only find them in the little 8 oz plastic containers and they are like $4, I don't understand it. The only affordable berries are mixed frozen berries, but they are not nearly as good :(
Where do you find quinoa for $0.70/lb and almonds for $0.80/lb?
Winco bulk section

I do not believe the almonds number. No way. Your units are wrong or something. Or Winco made a huge mistake. That's far below the wholesale cost.
I'm not 100% sure on the Quinoa Oats and Almonds numbers, but I'm fairly certain they were all less than $1/lb and that oats were less than $0.5/lb and quinoa was slightly less than almonds. I'll go there tomorrow probably and let you know for sure

FrugalZony

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #23 on: June 23, 2015, 06:12:21 PM »

... Share your secrets please! =D

Actually, I already did, kinda ;)
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/why-i-play-the-grocery-game/msg254252/#msg254252


As I was saying though, they are hard to come by and once the ones I have run out, some will be hard to replace.
The Spinach ones are from a Fresh Express Challenge earlier this year (where you had to input codes from the bags, but that was over June 1st, sorry http://www.saladswap.com/).
I have a few more to use up ;)
If your store has the salad kits on sale (don't care to much for those) there's a coupon for them here
https://www.saveinstore.com/brand/freshexpress

The berry ones are from Driscolls. When you buy berries, you can enter the codes from the back of them clamshells to receive the coupons.
So each time I buy new ones I have new codes. LOVE IT!
https://driscolls.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5towCJkmquraK9v&
Driscolls also gives you some when you sign up for their newsletter: www.driscolls.com
And they'll email you one on your birthday

The tomato ones are for Naturesweet, I lucked out and found them in store. But you can write to them and they send you some as well.
Often the Naturesweet packages will have coupons on top of them, once in a while, so I usually manage to maintain a nice little stash of them.

The melon ones are from Dulcinea. We got some in the paper at some time (long expired now), but once in a blue moon I find coupons for them in the stores.
Just keep your eyes open.

Here are some for mandarin oranges (fresh ones) from Halos
http://www.halosfun.com/savings/

Another good source are wine tags. The potato coupon came from a wine tag ($1 off a 5lb bag of potatoes no wine purchase necessary), some
will just say produce, some will be more specific.
A lot of the wine tags have meat coupons in them too. I currently have ground pork and regular pork coupons as well from the wine thingies.
Sometimes you can find beef or chicken as well. Just make sure they say no wine purchase necessary.

I also LOVE using the Just for You App at Safeway, where I get a lot of my produce. I get personalized prices for the stuff I buy, like the Spinach, Tomatoes etc.
And they often give you $2 off $10 in produce and such. LOVE IT!




expectopatronum

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #24 on: June 23, 2015, 08:19:35 PM »
Awesome tips, thanks!!

My very few produce coupons come from Kroger in the mail. I always shop with a loyalty card and they mail me coupons at least once a quarter on average - maybe 6 times a year? In the past there are about 3-5 good coupons out of 18 or so, ranging from $1.50 off $7 in produce dept, to free eggs, $2 off meat, and such. Those are awesome because they're not even brand specific! The rest of the coupons are usually crap...stuff I never even buy...like why send me a coupon for Depends? Does my shopping profile indicate that I have incontinence issues?

I also use Target's cartwheel and snag anywhere from 5-20% off things. Kroger's app has coupons, too, but they're usually for "inner aisle" stuff.

Jeremy E.

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #25 on: June 24, 2015, 08:27:03 AM »
I was off a little bit on my almonds and Quinoa price, $5.95/lb almonds $4.27/lb quinoa.

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #26 on: June 24, 2015, 09:01:52 AM »
I was off a little bit on my almonds and Quinoa price, $5.95/lb almonds $4.27/lb quinoa.

Otherwise I was going to move to your town and start an almond arbitrage business.

grantmeaname

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #27 on: June 24, 2015, 09:09:38 AM »
It works for textbooks and baby wipes, so it'd probably work for almonds. :)

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #28 on: June 27, 2015, 01:58:54 PM »
I was off a little bit on my almonds and Quinoa price, $5.95/lb almonds $4.27/lb quinoa.
Thanks for letting us know.  That's about what I pay at the farmers market for almonds.

Costco is about $15 for 3 pounds I think.

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #29 on: June 27, 2015, 02:03:32 PM »
I filled up my cart yesterday with a ton of stuff that was on sale. 50 cents for a pound of pasta (I probably grabbed 30 pounds--I left a handful of boxes for others). $2 per pound for cheese. $2.50/gallon for milk. Etc. I literally couldn't fit anything else in the cart. When I went through the checkout the lady couldn't figure out why I had so much food and thought I was putting on a big dinner. When I said it was for a bunch of my dinners because it was all on sale she said "I guess you did buy everything in the store that was on sale".

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #30 on: June 27, 2015, 04:29:20 PM »
Some of the findings from yesterday turned into chicken and black bean fajitas with sauteed onions and peppers and all the fixings. So tasty.

Monkey Uncle

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #31 on: June 28, 2015, 04:26:37 PM »
DW and I have a horrible grocery habit.  It's our most un-mustachian trait.  It doesn't help that our small town doesn't have any stores that have really good deals on meat and produce.  But we did have on big score the last couple of weeks.  I have certain sections of the yard that I don't mow, and in our part of the world, things grow where you don't mow.  We've gotten about 3 pints of free raspberries so far, with more to come.  The blackberries should be coming on in a couple of weeks, and it looks like a bumper crop.  We'll probably be freezing a few pints of those!

HoosierGirl

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #32 on: July 02, 2015, 11:22:07 AM »
" Our latest grocery hack is to go by the salad bar for small servings of fresh spinach. Salad bar is sold by the pound, because they anticipate you'll load it down with stuff like cheese & olives. So we end up buying spinach or mixed greens for pennies compared to getting a whole box of greens."
 
Thanks for the tip-I love salads with spinach so I will be doing this. I've often thought of doing a price comparison with some of the chopped veggies too-like chopped onions, peppers etc-compared to purchasing them whole on sale.
Theresa

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #33 on: July 02, 2015, 11:39:15 AM »
" Our latest grocery hack is to go by the salad bar for small servings of fresh spinach. Salad bar is sold by the pound, because they anticipate you'll load it down with stuff like cheese & olives. So we end up buying spinach or mixed greens for pennies compared to getting a whole box of greens."
 
Thanks for the tip-I love salads with spinach so I will be doing this. I've often thought of doing a price comparison with some of the chopped veggies too-like chopped onions, peppers etc-compared to purchasing them whole on sale.
Theresa

I still don't know how the store could afford to do this in a way that would save you money. Salad bars are generally more expensive than you can buy an ingredient for on its own. But report back with concrete numbers if you find a good counter-example.

expectopatronum

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #34 on: July 02, 2015, 11:42:06 AM »
Required disclosure:

Apparently, this works in our store for spring/mixed greens, but NOT for spinach. We can get store brand bagged spinach for $.25/oz, but the salad bar price is $.37/oz (so glad I pointed this out to DH last week! sigh. Maths.). I guess it just depends on the product. Definitely do your oz-to-oz comparison to make sure you come out ahead.

However, if you're in the position of only need a little bit versus the whole bag, then obviously it's worth the slightly higher oz price so that the rest of the bag doesn't go to waste. We tend to eat spinach right up, but forget about bags of mixed greens. Our fault, obviously, but if we can't use everything we buy it's better for us to just buy less.

Thanks to the Driscoll's tip, I have a $.50 off berries coupon! AND they were on sale last week for $1/lb strawberries and $2/pint(?) blackberries!

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #35 on: July 11, 2015, 02:50:21 PM »
Another badass shopping trip:

4x 5oz organic arugula @ $0.99ea
2x pint grape tomatoes @ $1.29ea
6 pounds strawberries $3.98
6.2lbs chicken thighs $4.29
3.5lbs b/l chicken thighs $4.52

Grand total: $19.91

wisermiser

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #36 on: July 11, 2015, 03:17:19 PM »
We are generally pretty frugal with the exception being groceries.  I spend about $750 per month for two adults and two small children.  However, that is for grass-fed-pastured-organic just about everything.  I used to buy industrial meat and whatever was cheapest and I thought organic was for suckers.  Then some chronic health problems caused me to re-examine my diet.  I'm sure I overspend now but I'm OK with that.  I would at least follow the "dirty dozen" and "clean fifteen" guidelines when choosing organic or not. 

"Highlights of Dirty Dozen™ 2015

EWG singles out produce with the highest pesticide loads for its Dirty Dozen™ list. This year, it is comprised of apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes.
Each of these foods tested positive a number of different pesticide residues and showed higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce items.
Key findings:
99 percent of apple samples, 98 percent of peaches, and 97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce.
A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides.
Single samples of cherry tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece."

Jeremy E.

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #37 on: July 11, 2015, 04:15:22 PM »
We are generally pretty frugal with the exception being groceries.  I spend about $750 per month for two adults and two small children.  However, that is for grass-fed-pastured-organic just about everything.  I used to buy industrial meat and whatever was cheapest and I thought organic was for suckers.  Then some chronic health problems caused me to re-examine my diet.  I'm sure I overspend now but I'm OK with that.  I would at least follow the "dirty dozen" and "clean fifteen" guidelines when choosing organic or not. 

"Highlights of Dirty Dozen™ 2015

EWG singles out produce with the highest pesticide loads for its Dirty Dozen™ list. This year, it is comprised of apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes.
Each of these foods tested positive a number of different pesticide residues and showed higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce items.
Key findings:
99 percent of apple samples, 98 percent of peaches, and 97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce.
A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides.
Single samples of cherry tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece."
Personally I say bring on the GMO's, bring on the pesticides, bring on the vaccinations. Just treat animals more fairly. I won't pay more for organic fruits and veggies, but I'll pay more for animals that I know were treated better than usual.

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #38 on: July 11, 2015, 04:44:00 PM »
We are generally pretty frugal with the exception being groceries.  I spend about $750 per month for two adults and two small children.  However, that is for grass-fed-pastured-organic just about everything.  I used to buy industrial meat and whatever was cheapest and I thought organic was for suckers.  Then some chronic health problems caused me to re-examine my diet.  I'm sure I overspend now but I'm OK with that.  I would at least follow the "dirty dozen" and "clean fifteen" guidelines when choosing organic or not. 

"Highlights of Dirty Dozen™ 2015

EWG singles out produce with the highest pesticide loads for its Dirty Dozen™ list. This year, it is comprised of apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes.
Each of these foods tested positive a number of different pesticide residues and showed higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce items.
Key findings:
99 percent of apple samples, 98 percent of peaches, and 97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce.
A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides.
Single samples of cherry tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece."

There are other opinions as to whether organic is worth the cost.
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/organic-food-worth-the-price/

I don't know what health problems you're talking about, but the typical American diet-related health problems are due to eating too much sugar in all its forms (processed food, soda, fruit juice, etc) refined carbohydrates in general, and processed foods, while not eating enough vegetables. I'm not aware of any that are solved by eating organic. Now, I do think organic is better for the environment, and there is probably a small health benefit, but it is hard to measure.

Johnez

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #39 on: July 11, 2015, 05:27:20 PM »
I don't see where organic is beneficial really. It uses pesticides, the land is worked with oil spewing machines, and sucks just as much water as regular produce
 What I'm really worried about is the hormones and antibiotics. We see evidence every day of hormones widespread use and antibiotics are being used as way to deal with unsanitary practices that meat factories have going on. Don't get me started on seafood....

Deals aren't as great right now, but just picked up cashews for $5 a lb. Crazy how the cost the same as New York steak these days, almonds almost double!

wisermiser

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #40 on: July 11, 2015, 05:31:30 PM »
We are generally pretty frugal with the exception being groceries.  I spend about $750 per month for two adults and two small children.  However, that is for grass-fed-pastured-organic just about everything.  I used to buy industrial meat and whatever was cheapest and I thought organic was for suckers.  Then some chronic health problems caused me to re-examine my diet.  I'm sure I overspend now but I'm OK with that.  I would at least follow the "dirty dozen" and "clean fifteen" guidelines when choosing organic or not. 

"Highlights of Dirty Dozen™ 2015

EWG singles out produce with the highest pesticide loads for its Dirty Dozen™ list. This year, it is comprised of apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes.
Each of these foods tested positive a number of different pesticide residues and showed higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce items.
Key findings:
99 percent of apple samples, 98 percent of peaches, and 97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce.
A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides.
Single samples of cherry tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece."

There are other opinions as to whether organic is worth the cost.
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/organic-food-worth-the-price/

I don't know what health problems you're talking about, but the typical American diet-related health problems are due to eating too much sugar in all its forms (processed food, soda, fruit juice, etc) refined carbohydrates in general, and processed foods, while not eating enough vegetables. I'm not aware of any that are solved by eating organic. Now, I do think organic is better for the environment, and there is probably a small health benefit, but it is hard to measure.

I couldn't agree more about sugar and processed food.  If we all ate more fruits and veggies (organic or not) we'd be a lot healthier in general.  I'm concerned about residual pesticides and antibiotics and the potential cumulative impact on gut bacteria.  I know it sounds crazy and its easy to lampoon the idea.  But, before immediately dismissing try googling "Microbiome and cancer" or any other chronic disease.  I know organic, non-GMO etc are not perfect but I'm glad we are at least talking about what is in our food. 

I didn't mean to hijack the spirit of the thread, just offering a different perspective.  The real bad asses are the ones growing their own vegetables. 

wisermiser

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #41 on: July 11, 2015, 05:35:55 PM »
We are generally pretty frugal with the exception being groceries.  I spend about $750 per month for two adults and two small children.  However, that is for grass-fed-pastured-organic just about everything.  I used to buy industrial meat and whatever was cheapest and I thought organic was for suckers.  Then some chronic health problems caused me to re-examine my diet.  I'm sure I overspend now but I'm OK with that.  I would at least follow the "dirty dozen" and "clean fifteen" guidelines when choosing organic or not. 

"Highlights of Dirty Dozen™ 2015

EWG singles out produce with the highest pesticide loads for its Dirty Dozen™ list. This year, it is comprised of apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes.
Each of these foods tested positive a number of different pesticide residues and showed higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce items.
Key findings:
99 percent of apple samples, 98 percent of peaches, and 97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce.
A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides.
Single samples of cherry tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece."
Personally I say bring on the GMO's, bring on the pesticides, bring on the vaccinations. Just treat animals more fairly. I won't pay more for organic fruits and veggies, but I'll pay more for animals that I know were treated better than usual.

You will pay more for all food in the long run if pesticides kill all the bees.

firewalker

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #42 on: July 11, 2015, 07:00:02 PM »
What a strange world we live in. The richest country in the world cant produce reasonably affordable food for its population without having abused animals, dead bees, and chemical soaked vegetation.

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #43 on: July 11, 2015, 07:05:12 PM »
What a strange world we live in. The richest country in the world cant produce reasonably affordable food for its population without having abused animals, dead bees, and chemical soaked vegetation.

And we throw away half the food we do produce. Coincidence?

Erica/NWEdible

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #44 on: July 11, 2015, 08:22:30 PM »
I'm concerned about residual pesticides and antibiotics and the potential cumulative impact on gut bacteria.  I know it sounds crazy and its easy to lampoon the idea.  But, before immediately dismissing try googling "Microbiome and cancer" or any other chronic disease.  I know organic, non-GMO etc are not perfect but I'm glad we are at least talking about what is in our food. 
For what it's worth, I don't think that's crazy at all. Dr. David Perlmutter is doing some great research into the gut microbiome and how a/n un/healthy gut influences many things, including neurodegenerative disease. "Brain Maker" is his latest book on this exact topic. The more we learn, the more it's looking like it's microbes, all the way down.

What a strange world we live in. The richest country in the world cant produce reasonably affordable food for its population without having abused animals, dead bees, and chemical soaked vegetation.

And we throw away half the food we do produce. Coincidence?

Nope. Calories are cheap. Therefore we don't value them. Therefore they are generally grown, cooked, eaten and wasted in a way that reflects that lack of value.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2015, 08:28:37 PM by Erica/NWEdible »

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #45 on: July 18, 2015, 02:36:28 PM »
Had another great week of buys:

5 pints of grape tomatoes @ $1.29 ea
2 lb strawberries $1.99
4x 2lb blueberries @ $1.50 ea
2x 10lb chicken leg quarters @ $2.99 ea
2x giant cauliflower heads @ $1.50 ea
Total: $24.12

Will get milk for $1.99 tomorrow or Monday.

Monkey Uncle

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #46 on: July 19, 2015, 04:08:24 AM »
Had another great week of buys:

5 pints of grape tomatoes @ $1.29 ea
2 lb strawberries $1.99
4x 2lb blueberries @ $1.50 ea
2x 10lb chicken leg quarters @ $2.99 ea
2x giant cauliflower heads @ $1.50 ea
Total: $24.12

Will get milk for $1.99 tomorrow or Monday.

I'm envious.  We never, ever see those kinds of deals in my area.  Well, maybe the grape tomatoes and the cauliflower, but not the other stuff.  And believe me, we do shop around and watch the sale papers.

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #47 on: July 19, 2015, 07:10:27 AM »
Had another great week of buys:

5 pints of grape tomatoes @ $1.29 ea
2 lb strawberries $1.99
4x 2lb blueberries @ $1.50 ea
2x 10lb chicken leg quarters @ $2.99 ea
2x giant cauliflower heads @ $1.50 ea
Total: $24.12

Will get milk for $1.99 tomorrow or Monday.

I'm envious.  We never, ever see those kinds of deals in my area.  Well, maybe the grape tomatoes and the cauliflower, but not the other stuff.  And believe me, we do shop around and watch the sale papers.

Yeah, I've almost completely switched over to this new store and just buy their good sales. Their produce deals are insane. Their non-sale items are fine, but I see no reason to buy them.

Our fridge is overflowing right now.

Gerard

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #48 on: July 21, 2015, 11:08:05 AM »
" Our latest grocery hack is to go by the salad bar for small servings of fresh spinach. Salad bar is sold by the pound, because they anticipate you'll load it down with stuff like cheese & olives. So we end up buying spinach or mixed greens for pennies compared to getting a whole box of greens."

I recently noticed that the precious grocery store that my sweetie likes has an olive/antipasto bar ($1.10 per 100 grams) that includes capers, so I might pop in there for a tubful of capers some day soon.

The original hack reminds me of something my ex used to do at the cafeteria at uni: she'd bring a package of instant noodles to school, buy a big handful of salad bar greens for 30 cents, and add them to her noodles.

forummm

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Re: Grocery shopping
« Reply #49 on: August 02, 2015, 09:13:20 AM »
Another great week of bargains. Everything is a full size or extra large size (and not a lower price due to being a smaller quantity). All the managers specials are at least 50% of regular price.
5 lbs raisins @$2.38/lb: $11.92
8 x 5 oz organic arugula or organic salad blend @ $0.99 ea: $7.92
4 x caramel chocolate bars on managers special @ $0.79 ea: $3.16
7 x giant chocolate bars on managers special @ $1 ea: $7
10 lbs peanuts @ $2.49/lb: $24.90
3 x 8oz parmesan cheese sprinkle on managers special @ $1.89 ea: $5.67
2 x bags kettle chips on managers special @ $0.99 ea: $1.98
5 x boxes Cheeze-it crackers @ $1.59 ea: $7.95
5 x boxes Ritz crackers @ $1.77 ea: $8.85
2 x gal milk @ $2.50 ea: $5
4 x 1 lb jars of artisanal jellies on managers special @ $1.39 ea: $5.56

Total with tax $92.61
A lot of the stuff will last for many months. And we also have previous bargain items at home to eat as well (like some remaining fruit from last week and the most of the fajita content.

I think I forgot to post last week all the cheese I bought for $3/lb and some other great deals like blueberries for 50 cents/lb.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!