primitives responsible for high grocery bills

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x52651

Oh my.

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Tue Jan-06-09 01:41 PM
Original message
 
How much are we responsible for our higher grocery bills?

Yes, nearly all of us pay more for groceries than we did in the past. But look at how our shopping habits and tastes have changed.

The proliferation of the idea of food as entertainment and not just sustenance has led to tens of thousands of product choices that didn't exist previously for the average American.

Think just about frozen vegetables. Most grocers in the past offered green beans, corn, peas, carrots, peas, spinach, and a combination of those. Now look at the choice available at our supermarkets today. The old stuff is still there, and it's pretty reasonably priced on sale. But many Americans now CHOOSE a more expensive product for supper. It might be a pricey blend; it might be artichoke hearts or something to steam or with a sauce.

Look at bread. Many Americans grew up on Wonder bread. Then the whole grain trend drove people to mid-priced loaves. Then people started buying the "better" brands that now cost upwards of $4. Dozens of varieties to "entertain" your tongue. But the most nutritious 100% whole wheat loaf is still there, often as a store brand, for under $2.

My question is this: is the American family's higher food bill due to actual higher prices, or is it due to our expectation of wider choices?

Peek in an American pantry today and you'll see many ingredients that the home cook never heard of not too long ago. Balsamic vinegar? Sea salt? I have six kinds of vinegar in my cupboard. Five kinds of salt. Ten kinds of flours and meals. Six different pastas. Canned tomatoes with chilis, with italian seasoning, whole, diced, stewed, pureed. In the fridge are seven different fresh fruits: three kinds of apples, oranges, blood oranges, limes, lemons. Oh, and tangerines, too. And cheeses galore!

And so on. I'll wager that even those of us who cook frugally have many more items in our cupboards than people did in prior decades.

Last night we had a plain, old kind of supper. Hamburger steaks with catsup, baked potatoes with butter, and those frozen vegetables with carrots, peas, corn, beans and limas. It was that bag of veggies that made me ponder all this. I hadn't eaten that kind of mixed vegetable blend for many years. It was damned good. Fresh frozen from the field, full of nutrients. Bright and flavorful. A bargain.

I don't know what the future holds for our food choices as the economy dithers. But I know that part of my higher costs are due to an escalation in food choices.

Uh, isn't that supposed to change in the twinkling of an eye at 9:00:01 a.m. January 20?  The 0bamaites and the 0bamaite primitives promised us it would.

Crisco  (1000+ posts)        Tue Jan-06-09 02:18 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. I Think It's More Likely Due to Getting Off-Track in the First Place

If I have $20 to spend on groceries and buy a big bag of potato chips I now have $17 to spend on other things.

Due to the shelf space devoted to snacks, I think it's safe to say the typical US shopper is overspending in that area, leaving themselves less money for real food.

So instead of buying a box of macaroni (average 1.45 where I am) + various cheeses (average total cost, say, $6 for 8 ounces), and making two HUGE batches of mac & cheese for about $3.75-$4.75 each, they buy a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese deluxe for $2.25 and a $3 bag of Doritos.

The guy who bought the chips and Kraft spent less, but my dollars went further for more yummy goodness and less BHA, guar gum, MSG, etc.

Warpy  (1000+ posts)        Tue Jan-06-09 02:35 PM
Response to Original message
 
2. I live on those mixed veggies now in winter and yes, I even like the lima beans in them. I often eat a big bowl of them for a meal. There's a different brand without the limas. I get the one with the limas.

My own kitchen has quite a few "WTF was I thinking?" jars and bottles. I try to clean them out once a year. They're usually things I bought because one recipe intrigued me. Once the recipe was found wanting, the jar or bottle of stuff seemed to haunt the fridge forever.

My cooking is getting a lot simpler than it was when I cooked for a crowd. Instead of steaming fish with fermented black beans and Chinese aromatics, I throw it into the toaster oven with salt and pepper, just a squirt of lemon juice to finish. Instead of making an elaborate pasta sauce in a blender, I deconstruct it and just toss the ingredients with the hot pasta.

I find I'm getting easier to please as I get old.

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Tue Jan-06-09 03:07 PM
Response to Reply #2
 
3. guess what I'm having for lunch

A bowl of those mixed veggies with grated cheese on top. Mmmm.

Tesha  (1000+ posts)      Tue Jan-06-09 04:46 PM
Response to Original message
 
4. simplicity....

You are so right grasswire.

We've recently done 2 things... very important things.

We began a diet and began to eat more simply, these 2 things work perfectly together.

We no longer get stuff like trans fats, and tons of salt - we know what's in every bite.

No fake sugar, if we want sweet, we have real sugar.

No questionable, expensive bread, we make our own.

Lots of veggies, fresh and frozen.

and you know... even tho' we eat really well, our costs are way down. Prepared food was killing us figuratively and literally.

Husb2Sparkly  (1000+ posts)        Tue Jan-06-09 05:59 PM
Response to Original message
 
5. I think you actually answer your own question ..... sorta ......

...... all food prices are up, that's for sure. But some of us tend to make it even higher by our choices. We *choose* to buy the artisan bread over the store brand whole wheat. We *could* just as easily choose to not buy it and instead get that whole wheat (boring) loaf.

Out of season vegetables are another issue. We **choose** to buy them and pay the high prices. We *could* stick to what's in season.

So ..... I think prices are up in general but that we make the choices for ourselves how much worse we want to make it.

[Zeus]

A bunch of vegatables and fruits n nuts discussing grocery costs. Isn't that special.

I definately shop in defferent stores than they do because no matter what they got to offer I don't buy it unless I want to.

[jukin]

How do these people manage to wipe after getting rid of their food?

[LC EFA]

I'd wager that many of the primitives are the type that purchase a cart full of the Heat'n'Eat meals , and a pile of snacks. They'd fill the gaps with takeaway fast-food.

This is a choice they should be free to make of course, but they have no warrant to be bitching about the high prices they pay.

[USA4ME]

What are these nuts gonna do when real inflation hits the price of food in about 2 or 3 years?  I mean besides complaining that it's all Bushs' fault.

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