The cost of food

[Anna N]

Looking at the nutritional value of iceberg lettuce that’s quite the price to pay for a bit of texture on your burger. 

[heidih]

4 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Looking at the nutritional value of iceberg lettuce that’s quite the price to pay for a bit of texture on your burger. 

 

Marion Cunningham would have begged to differ    https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A-Cooking-Kinship-Marion-Cunningham-and-Alice-2915480.php

[Anna N]

If you’re happy with the nutritional value of iceberg .lettuce (95% water) at a cost of $4.50 (~ conversion from Australian dollars) ….  Nothing in the link suggests that the nutritional value is in any way different than what I spoke of. I like iceberg lettuce and when it’s reasonably priced I’m happy to buy it but I don’t kid myself that it’s got a nutritional punch. 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Every year when we go north to visit friends and family in the US we are astonished/horrified/ultimately resigned about food prices. And restaurant prices? Forget it. When you pay over $40 for a decent breakfast it's almost insulting. Now, I understand that there are lots of other expenses in running a restaurant--food costs are only part of it. At the grocery store it's obvious that food costs more than it used to. We're heading to the US at the end of July and I'm almost afraid to see how much an avocado costs. For people with a finite income (that includes almost all of us) the price of food, which is a fundamental need, becomes a little problematic. Unfortunately I don't see this trend reversing anytime soon, if ever. Do prices ever go down? I don't think so.

 

Prices in Pátzcuaro have also gone up. As an example, a kilo of tortillas is now 21 pesos at the tortilleria on our block and I've seen prices as high as 24 pesos. Used to be 12 or 13 per kilo. Tortillas are a fundamental food for Mexicans, with some families buying 3-4 kilos a day. The government used to subsidize tortilla prices, but no longer, so perhaps this is the true cost.

[rotuts]

IBLettuce is almost all about the crunch 

 

and some ' fiber '  . but not very much

 

and  it used to be cheap compaired to other Shrubbrey 

[heidih]

28 minutes ago, Anna N said:

If you’re happy with the nutritional value of iceberg .lettuce (95% water) at a cost of $4.50 (~ conversion from Australian dollars) ….  Nothing in the link suggests that the nutritional value is in any way different than what I spoke of. I like iceberg lettuce and when it’s reasonably priced I’m happy to buy it but I don’t kid myself that it’s got a nutritional punch. 

Sense of humor is on sabbatical?

[Duvel]

 

17 minutes ago, heidih said:

Sense of humor is on sabbatical?

Got washed away by …

 

1 hour ago, haresfur said:

The floods in the northern East coast of Australia

Should have eaten more 

 

26 minutes ago, rotuts said:

' fiber '  . but not very much

 

🤗

[rotuts]

as prices go up 

 

for non-essentials at least 

 

and IBLetuce is one,

 

( unless you are TacoBell  or McD  )

 

less will be purchased , at some point

 

I hope the residual left on the shelves 

 

get to a food bank.

 

several stores in my area 

 

do this all the time .

 

probably not as efficient as it could be

 

but there is less waste 

 

and food waste , in areas 

 

similar to mine

 

is not something that puts a smile on

 

anyones face.

 

 

[rotuts]

of course

 

there is that mid '60's favorite   

 

a wedge of IBL  w thousand island dressing 

 

( bottled for the TID is best for this )

 

I had this on the first time I traveled by Air

 

First Class , United    SFO => Dulles 

 

my mother twisted my fathers arm

 

and he agreed to be fairly high up

 

on the NSF  to award grants 

 

he always politely declined 

 

but my mother opened that letter

 

and that was that 

 

they had table cloths on the pull down

 

and each course was individually served on

 

real plates .

 

don't remember what else se had 

 

my father and I .    the embossed ' name card '

 

on the United first class seat was ( stuck in the head rest )

 

Professor X  , and Mrs X    

 

I was Mrs. X 

[Anna N]

45 minutes ago, heidih said:

Sense of humor is on sabbatical?

I have some trouble finding humour in paying that kind of price for lettuce when food costs are so high. 

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

 

Got washed away by …

 

Should have eaten more 

 

🤗

 Yes I do not think the high food cost is funny, I've just always been amused by the Alice Waters hate of iceberg and Marion Cunningham's love of it.  I see plenty of iceberg around this forum - we pick our priorities.

 

In terms of food costs in general, I think the rises have made me more selective. Eating with delight but not picking up things just because I want them.  For Father's Day I was about to pick up some flap meat marketed here as "for Carne Asada". Half off, but half off a ridiculous sum to begin with. We adjusted dish to pork and wild shrimp stir-fry. The proteins very reasonable, and it was delicious.

[palo]

4 hours ago, heidih said:

 

Marion Cunningham would have begged to differ    https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A-Cooking-Kinship-Marion-Cunningham-and-Alice-2915480.php

Great story(s)

 

Lettuce not so much, but much more.🙂

 

p

[Shelby]

I don't go through a ton of sugar so it's been a while since I bought some.  I needed smelling salts in the middle of the isle.  $8.00 for a 10 lb bag of Domino brand.  Cheapest available.

 

These hummingbirds I'm feeding better appreciate me a little more 🤣

 

EDIT

 

I LIED.  The sugar is Best Choice brand.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Shelby (log)

[Anna N]

15 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I don't go through a ton of sugar so it's been a while since I bought some.  I needed smelling salts in the middle of the isle.  $8.00 for a 10 lb bag of Domino brand.  Cheapest available.

 

These hummingbirds I'm feeding better appreciate me a little more 🤣

 

EDIT

 

I LIED.  The sugar is Best Choice brand.

Yes but have you checked the price of smelling salts just lately? Use sparingly. 

[ElsieD]

I had a mental picture of @Shelbydoing one of those lady-like swoons in the grocery aisle.

[lindag]

here it's :'

green cabbage $4.44 head

spaghetti squash $4.49 ea.

granny smith apple $1.49

English cucumber $1.98

radish bunch $.98

green onion $.78

asparagus bunch $5.98

 

This stuff used to be dirt cheap!

 

[TdeV]

I was thinking I must be living a different life, or had been absent for a while; I couldn't remember things in the grocery store being so expensive!

[weinoo]

6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

But Shoprite is a franchise operation.  Unless things have changed different Shoprite stores have different prices, and they do not necessarily honor each other's sales and coupons.

 

Right, but the supply chain is held by and controlled by the parent corporation, and they set the prices they charge to Shoprite, I think.

[Annie_H]

On 6/21/2022 at 12:21 PM, heidih said:

Marion Cunningham would have begged to differ    https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A-Cooking-Kinship-Marion-Cunningham-and-Alice-2915480.php

I've always enjoyed their friendship and published interview exchanges in articles. Did not realize how often they traveled together. Nice article. 

"In a way, the women personify an essential truth about how America eats. We wish we shopped and cooked like Waters, but really we cook and shop like Cunningham - if we shop or cook at all..."

I'm much more like Waters about shopping but cook more like Cunningham. Good produce--farm stands, local farm markets, in season, and garden. I find no pleasure in shopping 'BigGrocery'. Smaller family run groceries without a chokehold on brands get my business. 

 

I purchased iceberg about 6 weeks ago for the first time in maybe ten years. Organic, 2.09$. Long crisper drawer life. Like those cellophane three pack of tomatoes my mother used to buy. IBerg, a quarter or two of tomato, a slice of red radish, maybe a bit of carrot. Or cucumber. Then Dads thick creamy bottled dressing smothered to make it palatable. Diner style. Mother could make two weeks worth of salads from a small amount of 'salad' ingredients. 

 

I used to stack the crisp leaves and press with a English muffin ring or smaller ring for sliders for burgers. Those 'carb fearing' folk. 🙄

Used instead of a traditional bun. We got tired of the burger/hot dog short-order-cooking required so our garden/bbq gatherings changed. 

(a father said his son only likes boiled hotdogs--turned me into a lunatic trying to please, 😂). 

 

So my recent iceberg purchase was juicy, crisp, and sweet. Made a first time ever 1/8th wedge and a good homemade dressing. A good Caesar salad, and just gave the last halved core to the pups for a snack. They prefer hearty kale stems and carrot snacks but loved it. 

Would not hesitate to buy again for 2 bucks organic. 

 

[MetsFan5]

I looked into Misfits. In order to view their products I had to sign up, credit card and all. 
 

Their prices are good. But I am a single person and $35 even a month with all of their offerings is my limit. So I’m off to attempt to deactivate my account. 

[rotuts]

went to MarketBasket this AM :

 

big Hellmn's display

 

at the first corner :

 

$ 5.00   ( OK : $ 4.99 ! )

 

Ill have to stop by Aldi and see what their version

 

is going for

 

 

[gfweb]

On 6/26/2022 at 9:32 PM, MetsFan5 said:

I looked into Misfits. In order to view their products I had to sign up, credit card and all. 
 

Their prices are good. But I am a single person and $35 even a month with all of their offerings is my limit. So I’m off to attempt to deactivate my account. 

 

I've had no good experiences with Misfits and the other one. Spoiled produce, comically dinky fruits.

 

Wherever the boxes are put together for the Phila area is no good.

 

[Annie_H]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

I've had no good experiences with Misfits and the other one. Spoiled produce, comically dinky fruits.

 

Wherever the boxes are put together for the Phila area is no good.

Most of my friends canceled but that was a while ago. Mid 2021. They have worked out all the kinks and growing pains since then. Lots of shipping issues out of their control. I never expected to hang on but some of us did. We used to joke and call it 'the one potato club'. I always roast a tray of mixed veg so nothing went to waste and have been happy to have it. Night and day now.

No order, no send. No need to even cancel that week. Pantry counts in the 30$ minimum. And most of the same brands I would purchase at WholeFoods. Fresher produce. I did have a big floppy kale bunch once but cutting the stem ends and setting in water it perked right up. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

went to MarketBasket this AM :

 

big Hellmn's display

 

at the first corner :

 

$ 5.00   ( OK : $ 4.99 ! )

 

Ill have to stop by Aldi and see what their version

 

is going for

 

 

 

My local Shoprite has Hellmann's for $3.49 this week.

 

[heidih]

Gotta factor in that some of these bargains are 4th of July loss leaders