When hasn't there been starvation in Africa and atrocities against women in India? I doubt a pandemic had much to do with it.
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When hasn't there been starvation in Africa and atrocities against women in India? I doubt a pandemic had much to do with it.
Oh but it did make things much worse.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
Do you think that droughts don't worsen starvation because there is always starvation? Of course circumstances affect these things.
I think the effect of droughts is much more dire than the effect of brief lockdowns or masks. And of course the effect of mass pandemic deaths even more so.
Broke down and got eggs which came down 50 cents a dozen. Found items for two of the four recipes I want to try.
I aim to go two weeks before going back - though possibly with a stop in between to a local cheese shop I have been wanting to check out - or a local winery. Both have lifted their mask mandates now.
Masks are now optional for the staff at my local MB. Probably about 70% choose to wear them.
It is. I wouldn't mind so much, but the selection of goods and quality of them keeps getting less and less. The stuff they sell has always been cheap crap, but it's getting crappier. I don't get much there. There's a few things I pick up there, but it's less and less each time.Quote:
Originally Posted by happystuff
Naming your business by it’s price is generally a bad plan, at least long term. Inflation will inevitably force you to increase what you charge. When was the last time anyone paid $6 at a Motel 6?
Just finished up the big stock of canned soup (Progresso and such) I had since March 2020. I had kept adding to it, but I just ate the last cans. Have to go get more. I love soup. Probably will order from Amazon so I don’t have to lug heavy stuff.
In the winter we make perpetual soups, and we keep the leftover portions frozen out in the garage... in 2 sealed plastic containers. One soup series is based on roast beef, with the congealed fat skimmed off each time it is brought into the house. The other series is based on chicken, with the bones (even the smallest bones) pulled out whenever it is re-heated. There is an endless variety of vegetables and legumes/whole grains added to these soups. They just keep getting better and better. Once we are into frost-free days, our soup series will have to pause until next winter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tradd
Haven't been shopping in about two weeks, so this was a little bit of stock up and hitting sales. Not too bad as bill was about $76. Potatoes on sale - two -5lbs red potatoes for $3, so now I need to find some good potato recipes. Shocking things was that butter was up to $3.50 a pound ON SALE!!!! (I didn't get any. lol)
Went for groceries last night and refused to buy some things due to price. Got a big bag of rice that can serve as a base for lots of different things. They were out of some things as well.
Probably 90% of the people were maskfree. I felt so at home amongst my tribe.
Grocery shopping today for the week. Not so many empty shelves, at least for the things on my list. My store is having a canned good sale. Not as good a sale price as years past, but I picked up a couple of cans to get to pantry stock level. Lots of fresh veggies and fruit! That was nice to see.
Stopped at my local Kroger (Dillon's) last night after work. The only thing I noticed missing was ramen noodles.
Second week in a row shopping at Aldi. I even found eggplant! They had Campbell’s Chunky Soup for cheap. Tide liquid was $12 for a big jug. A lot less than Amazon or Target. Found nice strawberries for $2. Will have sliced with plain whole milk yogurt. Got a lot of stuff. Even milk chocolate.
I like what I've heard about Aldi, but the closest one is in California. It would make a good addition to Grocery Outlet, a discounter here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tradd
Fewer categories of items sold out, but for some (for example soy sauce) all the generics are gone.
Some prices that had dipped a little (such as eggs) are back up to their record high.
Everything is up in price except chewing gum.
No relief at the pump either despite releases from the strategic oil reserves.
Everything is noticeably higher now. I have to think a lot of fresh produce and meat is going to waste due to prices that deter shoppers from buying. One wonders how much corporate greed is playing into all these high prices.
Read in the paper yesterday that there is -at least here in WA--a butter shortage. https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/...ice-of-butter/
Butter prices are based on trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and suppliers use that as a basis for sales cost. A fire at a Darigold plant in Caldwell, Idaho, on Oct. 12 caused a four-month shutdown. The company’s website describes this plant as “one of the largest butter churns in the U.S., producing bulk and specialty retail butter.”
Anyone notice this?
On another note, there is a really simple but tasty Asian recipe I like to make on occasion and asked DH to grab a pound of ground beef when he was out. Now, he is a really astute shopper (why he does it and not I). He said he was lucky to get the 1-pound package he brought home which he'd found in the sale slot, marked down to $5.99.
I went to them like once or twice, I was disappointed. It's owned by the owners of Trader Joe. So I was expecting some variation on the theme of Trader Joe (but maybe more things in bulk, more produce, I don't know). It was not really like Trader Joe at all though. I'm the Trader Joe demographic, totally :~) (but honestly I go to bigger groceries for most of my shopping, as you really hard to do all you shopping at TJ (though I tried it a few times in the worst of the pandemic when I was avoiding stores), and no I don't get ultra-processed food there, more like nuts and beans and smoked salmon etc.)Quote:
I like what I've heard about Aldi, but the closest one is in California. It would make a good addition to Grocery Outlet, a discounter here.
I get the impression it's mostly staples. Time will tell , I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore
I went to an Aldi's once, and after carefully perusing the entire store, bought a package of kalamata olives. The olives were good, and the price was good, but the store did not wow me by any means.
I go to Aldi every couple of weeks, their prices on eggs, milk, butter, cheese and olive oil are far superior to my local Kroger. I'm not impressed with their selection of canned goods, meats, produce or bakery items but I somehow always seem able to find something new to try that I haven't seen elsewhere.
I keep an Aldi quarter in my console.
LOL - I do, too!Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
Am actually going to try Aldi's sometime this weekend, as I haven't been to the grocery store in over a week and need some staples. I'm hoping to do better there than the grocery store this time around.
Went to Aldi's today and did what will probably be my shopping trip for the week. Dollar amount came in under what I believe I would have spent at the regular grocery store. I think that is due to the fact that Aldi's doesn't really carry "everything" and the fact that I won't buy some of their stuff that is more expensive to begin with. Will see how things go moving forward.
I used to shop Grocery Outlet about once a month, generally saving about $100 per trip. They have an eclectic mix of staples like turkey breast and grass-fed beef, and quirky one time only finds like canned kombucha and spendy chocolate.
I just had a moment---I miss Steve's input on this type of topic.
I shop at Sprouts which usually has some very good sales. What I've noticed lately the sale items are often sold out and the shelf empty. I'm vegetarian and non-meat items not had the same big increases in price, but just recently fruits and vegetables have started to catch up. I'm re-evaluating my garden plans for more production. I watch a lot of the new meat alternatives like Beyond Meat for price. The newer ones tend to go on sale to get people to try them, and the failures go on sale to clear inventory. At least from what I've seen. But a lot of the meat alternatives are highly processed and have a lot of salt. The big supermarket chains are not the best places to shop for some meat alternatives around here. I bake most of my bread through the winter and my standard flour choice, Bob's Red Mill organic has gotten a lot more expensive and is often sold out.
Aldi is very good for the basics. Canned and frozen veggies and fruit, too. I will buy frozen chicken, but the ground beef was just weird. Produce is hit or miss.
The $3 Brie is excellent. Half the price of the regular grocery.
Plus they have excellent cheap European chocolate.
I’m told by folks who have lived in Europe that Aldi is representative of European grocery stores.
Aldi’s stores, at least in the Chicago area, used to be dirty. Really dirty.
They’re now remodeling all their US stores. Much cleaner. Wide aisles.
I too keep a quarter in my car for Aldi.
I guess because we are retired we have the time now to comparison shop. One thing we have noticed along with rising prices is that items can be considerably cheaper from one store to the next. We tend to shop 3-4 stores a month to get the best prices. This makes me recall the Frugal Tightwad advice for keeping price books. I have started lots of salad greens since I'm not going to pay nearly $4 for a head of organic lettuce.
I noticed the 'different stores have different prices' thing big time Saturday. Since I'm house sitting in San Diego I needed food for the week so I went to Vons and got an assortment of stuff I regularly get at home. The cream cheese was literally half the price that it is when on sale in the bay area, and it wasn't even on sale here.
As I posted previously, I went to Aldi's this past weekend and was pleased with the total bill. Went to my regular grocery store to fill in the gaps and it was MORE than the Aldi's bill!!! I shouldn't be surprised, but was. :(
That's been my experience on occasion, also.Quote:
Originally Posted by happystuff
Went to regular grocery store at lunch as I had to get something from the pharmacy. I always get store brand cheez its and choc chip cookies. None to be had. Got brand name cheez its and store brand Oreos. First time I’ve been to Jewel in a while for more than a few things. Was doing Amazon Fresh and then Aldi. So I was surprised by the gaps and lack of certain things even though I knew such lack of stock existed.
Went to Costco yesterday to get eggs and chicken. The eggs were the same price but the chicken thighs have doubled. Eeeeeek..... Salmon was also much higher. We eat chicken and salmon in heavy rotation.
Regular grocery store today. Still higher bill than I would have liked. Tried to stick to items we needed and a couple stock up of sale items, but I'm limited myself on even those. Didn't buy butter or frozen veggies as they were way too high. Will make due with what we currently have.
I was in a thrift store which had a box of seed packets from 2021 "free".
I picked out 8 packets of Sunflower seeds, Mammoth variety. I do not know what conditions the seeds have been stored under, in terms of humidity and temperature, so planting them will be a gamble on germination.
I intend to presoak the seed in cold water for 6-8 hours then plant them in small peat pots. With luck, I hope to harvest them as micro-greens to incorporate into salads or to use as a garnish.
You are going to eat sunflower stems?Quote:
Originally Posted by dado potato
Sunflower stems are delicious! I intentionally grow them with radish and pea shoots for winter salad.
I wish there were some (and I might try it) who go out and plant sunflowers all over town. Last year there was a volunteer one in a tiny patch of soil downtown and we all watched it grow all summer. They also appear in a triangle patch of soil next to a church and it is lovely.