This is $87 worth of shopping. Please feel free to use the space below to critique my purchases
This is $87 worth of shopping. Please feel free to use the space below to critique my purchases
how is the value proposition here? was this an adequate use of money?
(keeping in mind as well fwiw i don't eat meat)
So, some points for consideration….
Canned vegetables will have around half their product weight in Canning Liquid. So keep that in mind when comparing prices on frozen ($0.082/ozverse canned ($.044/oz).
Frozen is also usually better in quality (texture, nutrient value) and lower in salt and other preservatives. Modern freezing centers are frequently able to get nearly as good as fresh; and might come out on top if you’re not buying from the farmers market.
Lentils and rice represent a whole protein, and are easily adapted to a variety of flavors; (For example); takes about 10 minutes of prep, 25-30 of reasonably hands off time and can be easily made in advance and augmented with fruits and vegetables. (For example, sautéed squash/zucchini plopped on top.) or basically any kind of stir fry mix.
Block cheeses are going to save you money, compared to sliced or shredded.
On that note, Alfredo (or rather pasta al burro) is super simple to make; albeit requiring some technique and experience : reserve some (hot) pasta water, in a large bowl, soft butter and the drained pasta. Stir until coated toss in the parmigano regianno; use the pasta water to help emulsify and melt the cheese. (Alfredo melts 3x butter with heavy cream, reduces that then adds the pasta and cheese, a bit more work, imo.)
You’re probably thinking I’m a snob for using the Italian name for Parmesan. Fun fact: in the US Parmesan is not in fact Parmigiano reggiano as it is in the EU- but if you stick to block cheese and away from that Kraft shaker Parmesan, you’ll be fine. (It’s cheese, mostly, but there’s stuff added to it that makes it… not good… for sauces.)
Also, in a similar vien, a mornay sauce can replace Mac and cheese tubs, and generally don’t require extra time compared to just cooking the pasta. (Equal parts melted butter and flour, whisk together until smooth, medium-low heat. Whisk in milk slowly until the consistency of heavy cream, then whisk in shredded or cubed cheese a bit at a time, letting it melt. When the pasta is mostly cooked, reserve some of the water and drain the rest, finish the pasta in the sauce, using the pasta water to control consistency and as an emulsifier.)(if you want to get fancy, before making the roux, sauté a minced clove of garlic and maybe some minced onion in the butter, then proceed. Black pepper to taste.)
Oh, and pro tip, heads of garlic cost less than the jars of minced grossness. Similarly, saving scraps like onions, carrots, celery, ginger, mushrooms, and stuff, can then be simmered in a lot of water to make stock, and can add flavor and nutrients to things like rice or stews (potatoes, mushrooms?)
Take it from someone who knows vegetarian eating, this is a dangerously low amount of protein, and no those cheese slices do not cover it. I'd wager your daily protein macro is a single digit percentage (most sources suggest around 15-35% depending on exercise and lifestyle and all that). If this haul is your entire diet for the week and you're not leaving out stuff you already have at home or something, I would strongly advise looking for more protein dense foods before protein deficiency starts to affect your well being. I've been there and it's really not good.
They sell cats at Walmart?
If you eat a lot of pasta I would recommend learning some simple sauce recipes. Tomato sauce is probably the cheapest, and it's basically a can of whole tomatoes, half an onion, some garlic, and some herbs. Cream sauces might be cheaper to buy canned, but you can make those with some cream, onions, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.
Other than that it looks like you're making good choices. The system just sucks ass. I hope your next trip is more fruitful.
Processed food is usually more expensive per portion than the ingredients alone. The farther you get from the raw ingredients the more expensive it gets. Plus, you're eating all sorts of junk ingredients.
I had about ten years of experience with a very tight food budget to learn what was good value for effort/ingredients.
Good:
Flour, sugar, canned tomatoes, spices, frozen veggies, fresh produce
Bad:
Presliced or pre-grated cheeses, at least in my experience, are marked up 1.5x to 2x the cost per pound of a block. Another commenter said that wasn't the case in their store, but check and see if that is true for you and if the cheeses you got are available in blocks. You can even go to a place with a deli counter and they will slice cheese for you for free, and you will get exactly how much you want with less waste (yes it's an interaction with another human, it'll be alright).
Uncrustables/swiss rolls/mac and cheese... it's not for me to judge what someone chooses for an indulgence, maybe those things are what get you through your day, but you can definitely do better value wise. Mac and cheese from a box is cheaper than those individual cups, and homemade mac and cheese from scratch is even better and extremely easy if you have any kitchen experience. Uncrustables will always be more expensive than just making the sandwich yourself. The swiss rolls... well you know they're a treat. In my opinion if you're going to treat yourself to something unhealthy spend the extra dollar and get something luxurious.
Breads and muffins, again if you could learn how to make them yourself you might be impressed with the results. Bread can be a tricky balance of time, effort and cost of ingredients, and homemade fresh baked bread is incredible, but if you're short on time there's nothing wrong with buying it. Muffins are a quick bread though that you could make at home in under an hour with a mixing bowl and a cupcake pan, and then you could control exactly how much sugar went into them and have hot, fresh muffins. It's worth making them yourself at least once to see if it's something you can add to your routine, you can get a cupcake pan for cheap from a thrift store if you don't have one.
Sauces and dips, as other people have said, they are a lot simpler than you might think to make yourself. In my experience they are one of those things you should challenge yourself to make at least once or twice and see how much effort and time it takes you, and then re-evaluate the jarred/canned stuff. Maybe after making it you realize it is worth the extra dollar or so to save yourself the effort, but maybe you realize it's not that hard and you're able to save money in the long run and have more control over the quality and ingredients.
All this stuff is incremental, and any one thing isn't going to magically fix food costs. Plus as the amount of time in your life to spend on meal prep fluctuates you might find it's worth it to spend the extra money on convenience. However it's important to at least get some experience with the alternatives so you understand what amount of time and effort you are buying by getting those processed foods. Good luck :)
Muffins spelled backwards is sniffum
How much did you pay for the cat and how would you cook it?
Not a bad haul, I might be biased as an Australian, but that looks like good value for money for food that's balanced and easy to cook.
As a fellow non-meat eater, I am deeply disturbed by the lack of legumes in this photo, but if you're not a fan of cooking from dried, then I get it, canned can get expensive for what you get out of it.
Some charred chickpeas with olive oil lightly smashed on that rosemary bread would end up being my breakfast for a week straight if this was my house.
You’re eating far too much healthy food. Try mixing in some junk to balance things out.
Not bad, not great. I buy my veggies from a grocery that specializes in that, it's much cheaper and less plastic. No yogurt? No solid/brick cheese? No nuts and dried fruit? No canned beans or dried beans? Peanut butter?
What you really need is a $/portion table to see what's actually expensive here.
I think the muffins tip you over the edge into junk food land. They are very empty and basically the same as the rolls, the kraft dinner, and whatever is in the red box. A fair bit of this stuff is basically sugar and bread.
Needs more ray tracing.
Needs butter, eggs, beans, garlic (i assume you already have salt & pepper), rice (get a bigger bag, it's cheap! Learn different rice recipes) and noodles...lose the uncrustables, the muffins, and the Swiss rolls. Get a big bag of cereal instead (good for snacking + breakfast) and a box of muffin mix (you get more for cheaper). Room for improvement, but good instincts with the veggies, just get some fruit too 🤙🤙
Edit- canned diced tomatoes and chicken broth really go a long way when making rice- I love using knorrs tomato/chicken bullion when making Mexican rice
Needs more cats
You're doing a great job for a 5 year old (based on the Uncrustables)
Is the cat included? If yes, it's worth the price
For the price of one 10 pack of uncrustables you can get 2 loaves of bread and a jar each of PB and J, and have sandwiches for 2 weeks!
I assume you are making the cat into tacos and for that you made some good choices
Needs more legumes, nuts and or seeds, maybe some starches and fruit.
I wish I could get this much food, I keep ending up buying candles instead
I'm so hungry
Am I missing the beans here? Or is this insane to have all these fixens and no beans?
The kitty seems impressed.
That is a lot of processed food.
- Muffins/Swiss rolls - depends on how much it is but I get it being a quick comfort food. However, check if there's a bakery of some kind (including
Chinese / Latino bakeries) near you. It's nearly as cheap or cheaper and much fresher. Good bread there too. - Pasta sauce: my wife actually just makes a Alfredo sauce from scratch and it seems to be just a bit more complicated than Mac and cheese sauce. Flour, milk, and cheese. Probably a lot more cost effective.
- Instead of a red tomato sauce I would buy diced tomatoes ( or those fire riasted ones) and dump them over noodles. It tastes better than the bottled red sauce.
- Mac and cheese: see above - but also, if you're going to get it, get the box. The single serve things are worse than the generic box Mac.
-froze spinach is great. Try throwing that in whatever you're cooking. Never goes bad. Already bite sized.
-Also, you gotta report that grocery store. Cats are friends not food.
- Muffins/Swiss rolls - depends on how much it is but I get it being a quick comfort food. However, check if there's a bakery of some kind (including
Try the app for your grocery. Chances are there are coupons for sone of this stuff on the app. Try fresh or frozen green beans next time. Canned green beans are awful.
Your colon is going to hate you.
It looks like a reasonable buy for what you're probably used to in terms of cooking, convenience and diet. As long as you get at least one cooked meal in you each day, you're doing good. Don't sweat it if you don't want to, there's plenty of other things to worry about.
If you are looking for some input, I would probably add more varied sources of protein (lentils, nuts, eggs, beans) and fiber (carrots, cabbage, kale, wholegrain), but I also live on another continent and have both other availability and tradition than you might.
If you're worried that your food is too expensive, there's plenty of suggestions in the other replies better geared toward US markets, but I'll also add that you could make groceries last much longer by learning a bit more about cooking. A lot can be gained by using/substituting with local or seasonal ingredients, as well as re-using leftovers and scraps in creative ways.
If learning cooking is a steep lifestyle change, you could also find a group to share the burden with. Do weekly meal preps together, or for each other, or do batch cooking of condiments/pickles/sauces and swap with each other. It's a fun way to learn from each other, keep to the habit, and might even be a nice way to get to know someone.
Cooking 3 dishes (to get enough variety) for the week's meal prep is a big ask, but you could do one batch each and swap with a couple of friends.
Doing batch cooking and canning of sauces is also an excellent way to use up ingredients that are on their way out. Found cheap second assortment tomatoes on a farmer's market? Pasta sauce for a week! Got too much milk? Make some cheese! Someone's apple tree yielding too much fruit? Apple sauce, dried apple crisp/cubes/snacks, base for indian/far east curries/stews, in salads, drinks, snacks as fresh whole apples or wedges, made into jam/marmelade, used as substitute for potatoes or tomatoes, and/or as part of delicious pie or other dessert.
Also: leftovers can almost always be put into a pie crust (water, flour, butter/oil), covered with shredded cheese, and become a Quiche du semaine/pie of the week. With practice you'll find how much of carbs, protein, fibers and flavouring you prefer in it, and you'll make an actual great dish you look forward to.
You can make fresh spinach last longer if you layer in some napkins/paper towels (something something moisture, I don’t really know the science).
Not a critique, I first wanted to encourage you to try making your own tortillas, but kinda backtracked since it has a big downside which is that they are so much better that going back to store-bought is kinda a dilemma: they taste much worse, but you don't have to spend hours kneading and rolling and cooking. On the other hand home-made can be frozen, so there is that... If you still might like to give it a go, I use a video from Jack Ovens in YT, which I recommend. Now I want to make tortillas...
You could have bought 16 packs of Oreos for that price!
I think buying a cat with your groceries was a great idea, what aisle was it in?
How many days worth of food is that?
Learn to cook/bake, you’ll save even more by not buying processed foods. You’ll get more micronutrients too. Less jars, more fresh produce. Look for protein rich vegetables to make up for the lack of meat, or toss in a few eggs into your diet.
I love that cats universally smell and rub their cheeks on groceries.
For fun, I tried to find similar or same items for a local grocery store to me to see the price difference… it’s roughly $160CAD. That’s a crazy difference.
Minus a few things on the left, cause it’s hard to tell what they are.
Oh god. Are we gonna do this? Is this gonna spawn a month of "This is how much I got for X in X" posts?
This looks like you did ok, I would check the prices on dried beans, those are usually cheap and a nutritional powerhouse. I strongly dislike the junk food you bought (personally) but don't think it's blowing up your budget. I make bread instead of buying it but that's because I like fancy bread.
Overall - if you are vegetarian not vegan, I think eggs, dry beans, brown rice, tomato paste would be good additions and I will add my voice to the chorus expressing dismay at your choice of canned green beans. If you are underweight, nuts too - expensive but so good and so many calories, healthy fat and protein.
If you are up north, it's a good time to start some seeds indoors, grow something you like to eat, if you are like me in a warm place, can start them outdoors now.
And I do think you did OK.
While the nosey kitty is priceless
i know the enchilada sauce is one of the cheapest items in this picture but i recently made some from scratch and can confirm that canned enchilada sauce is absolutely flavorless. alternatively, it is super simple, quick and inexpensive to make from scratch. broth, tomato paste and toasted spices (chili p., ground cumin, garlic p., onion p., pinch of oregano/cayanne/salt/pepper and optional dash of apple cider vinegar) made in a roux and simmered for 10m. that’s it! the difference is night and day. go forth in flavor.
That frozen broccoli is pretty good and useful, great choice
Not enough PS5 to balance the cost.
Did you really need to splurg on the Thomas bagel thins vs great value?!
/s
I'm joking that's mental
I love store brand little Debbie treats
Get better tortillas.
Stores should stock some from local mexican markets.
Do you actually need bakery muffins? You know you could make your own for half the price!
Those uncrustables,though delicious, cost way more than they're worth. You would spend as much, maybe even less, on peanut butter and jelly in jars, which would obviously last much longer.
Vegetarians can use chick peas to make a vegan chicken salad.... Same texture and close to the taste, just no actual chicken.
A bag of dried beans would Introduce more protein too.
Lastly, where are the apples and bananas? No fruit?
Your flour tortillas make Robert Rodriguez cry.
PURGE the muffins and Swiss rolls unless you're bodybuilding
I feel like this is food for two different people
You can't afford uncrustables or the Mac n cheese. No need for any of the 3 jars. $5 muffins??? Wtf.
Learn to fucking cook.
