Has the recession affected your food choices?

Norm Apter

I'm not talking about going out to eat less at restaurants (I think that trend would be true for most of us), what I'm asking about is your habits at the grocery store/market over the past 2 years -- the quality of the food you purchase for you and your family (if you have one) to consume at home.

Generally speaking, less healthy food tends to be cheaper (I know there are exceptions to this rule, especially for the particularly well-informed). But heavily processed foods with high fructose corn syrup and such tend to be cheaper than say fresh vegetables and fruits and leaner cuts of meat.

I was thinking about this after hearing a report on NPR this week about how people with financial challenges in the U.S. may actually tend to be heavier than people with less worries due to the types of food they take in, striking a stark contrast with the bloated bellies of those who are truly hungry in undeveloped countries.

But putting aside that story, I'm just wondering if you've made (or feel you've had to make) sacrifices in order to stretch your dollars further at the grocery store and, most important, if you feel you can see the (negative) affect in either yourself or your family numbers (i.e. health, mood, etc). We have a pretty broad demographic/geographical representation here at CP so I thought this was as good a place as any to explore this issue.

bigaudiofanatic

$1 menu and Roman noodels.

Ah the college life lol.

Mike Kozak

I just eat every 3 days or so

BlueFox

No. Not at all.

Willow

nope

hearingimpared

Yep, we buy most of our food from Dollar General to make it through the month with food. I gotta tell you most of their food is just awful and all processed but you gotta do what you gotta do.

This garbage is wrecking havoc on my diabetes and other physical problems and I have noticed that the moods in this house (not just because we are on the poor side of poor) is horrible and I tend to think it has to do with the garbage we have to eat.

I can't wait for things to get better . . . I miss fresh fruit, steak, fresh veggies, etc.

Lost

Road Kill Soup

nooshinjohn

I have gotten quite good at making Granny Klampet's Roadkill Stew...

It tastes best when made with 'possum or deer, and dag-nabit... nothin' tastes better-n-freeeeeehheheheheeeee:D

bobman1235

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

$1 menu and Roman noodels.

Ah the college life lol.

They don't teach you spelling in college anymore eh?

Ramen. Noodles.




My grocery habits have changed a little, but by no means for the worse. Definitely less meat, especially expensive things like steak, but I still buy fresh veggies every week. I really don't eat processed food anymore, unless, ironically, I'm out.

vc69

To me, eating right doesn't have to be more expensive. However, it will probably be the last thing I sacrifice should things go (further) south.

george daniel

growing veggies in pots,, hence lots of tomatoes,, country eggs(not Bens),lol,,fruits and melons.

madmax

I recently put together a 6 month emergency food supply (of stuff I actually eat) and find I eat more now because it is there. I have also changed the habit of getting the good brand name when the store brand is almost as good at half the price. I am in a better position right now than I've ever been but I can say this is due to the recession because who knows what will happen next month. I'm saving up for the bad times right now.

bobman1235

What kind of stuff is in your 6 month supply? I assume it has to be mostly nonperishables right?

AsSiMiLaTeD

We eat out almost every night, especially here lately. We don't do alot of fast food either, it's eating out at restaurants.

Out monthly food expense is about $1300 on average, and that's for just the 2 of us, how pathetic is THAT!!??

concealer404

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

We eat out almost every night, especially here lately. We don't do alot of fast food either, it's eating out at restaurants.

Out monthly food expense is about $1300 on average, and that's for just the 2 of us, how pathetic is THAT!!??

Ouch. Our monthly food expense is probably around $450-$500, and i eat CONSTANTLY.

Here's a small sampling of what i tend to eat on that budget.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89815

AsSiMiLaTeD

What the hell are you eating that you're able to feed 2 people a month for that much?

It's pretty sad to see how much I spend a month on eating, and at 165 pounds I don't even have much to show for it. Damn that Wells Fargo Spending Report, I was getting along so much better before I saw that...

bobman1235

What the hell are YOU eating that you're spending the GDP of a small island nation on food for two people? Stop eating out so much!

concealer404

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

What the hell are you eating that you're able to feed 2 people a month for that much?

It's pretty sad to see how much I spend a month on eating, and at 165 pounds I don't even have much to show for it. Damn that Wells Fargo Spending Report, I was getting along so much better before I saw that...

We don't eat out much anymore. I eat like a king, though, and often. I've gained about.... 40lbs + in the last 8 months.

Here's a sampling of what i usually eat.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89815

You've seen that thread, though.

AsSiMiLaTeD

We've talked about eating out much less. The biggest problem is that we don't like fast food or greasy food, so we tend to eat out at fairly expensive places that have healthy options. We're not eating at Del Frisco every night, but it's no Wendy's either, I'd say we spend on average about $40 a meal.

We've always eaten out, we've just moved from fast food to more healthy options.

Seriously though, since I have no experience with NOT eating out, you guys are saying taht you're able to feed 2 people for a full month, for $500? I'm curious how close we'd be able to get to that. There are certain levels that I'd need to maintain though, like I won't eat bologna or spam, things along those lines. I know they're cheap, but they're so gross I can't stomach it...

AsSiMiLaTeD

concealer404 wrote: »

We don't eat out much anymore. I eat like a king, though, and often. I've gained about.... 40lbs + in the last 8 months.

Here's a sampling of what i usually eat.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89815

You've seen that thread, though.

Actually I don't recall that thread, so I'll take a look through it

concealer404

If i took out some of the more expensive ingredients, i could probably feed us for $300 a month, and really not miss much.

It's surprising how cheap you can eat if you just take the time to make everything.

Jstas

Actually, no, I haven't. Then again, my food choices have been a bit different as of late what with working on and moving in to the house.

But my mom was always a penny pincher and coupon clipper when it came to shopping. She taught me how to find the deals and best prices. Especially since my dad was one of the troop leaders for my Boy Scout troop and I always got suckered in to to doing the food shopping for camping trips.

I can eat fairly well and feed two people for about $300 a month. The secrets are to learn how Unit Pricing works because a good deal seems like a good deal but often times the "economy size" is not the better buy. Also, when buying fresh vegetables and fruits, buy only what you are going to need for no more than a week at a time. Menu planning helps out with that. That way you only buy what you are going to use and the rest doesn't sit home rotting in the fridge.

When you are buying meat, get low fat levels. Muscle is heavier than fat and while the fatty stuff looks big when you get it, it shrinks anywhere from 30-50% when cooked. Muscle doesn't shrink nearly as much and honestly, the fat is where most of the bad stuff in meat is.

If you can, buy meat in bulk. I can eat filet mignon every night for two weeks for less than $6 a meal. I buy a whole tenderloin from a place like BJ's and I butcher it myself at home. I can get 8-10 steaks out of a $70 loin and the scraps end up being beef tips or a stir-fry for 2-3 more nights. Slice the entire loin up and Keep what you are eating that night out and wrap the rest in a wax paper. Then stuff it in all in a plastic bag. Write the date on the bag and stuff it in the freezer. It'll keep that way for as long as 6 months. I rarely have it go past two though. Granted, if you have a large family it doesn't go as far but the same principles still apply.

But plan a menu for the week and stick to it. You don't need a 16 ounce steak every night but a 6-8 oz steak with sides of frozen vegetables and a baked potato is a balanced meal that is healthy and good. It can cost as little as $5 for that meal too and it's not garbage at all.

That's another thing, frozen vegetables. They are flash frozen right off the farm so when defrosted, they are essentially fresh, cooked vegetables. You can doctor them up with butter or seasoning or salad dressing too if you like. They are much cheaper than fresh and far from junk. It's a good alternative and you can boil, steam, roast, make a soup...anything you normally do with a fresh veggy you can do with frozen veggies.

You don't have to eat crap, just get creative.

Oh and if you are eating out, take home leftovers. That meal you just bought was expensive but you can help combat the cost by stretching it out over two, maybe even three meals.

hearingimpared

Jstas wrote: »

I can eat fairly well and feed two people for about $300 a month.

You are soooooo hired!!!!;)

Willow

We make everything fresh, our salads and salad dressing, our fridge looks bare but it's not as we do not have prefab food in the house, besides PB, Jam crackers and such.

We have been buyiing most of our veggies and fruit from local farmers, much cheaper and much more fresh.

We have always shopped with coupons, why not?
We sit down every Friday night and meal plan for the week every dinner and what we will have for lunches. We use the weekely flyers to help decide what we will buy and where. We have always bought no name/ walmart brands when we see fit (I hate that word today ). For lunches in stead of buying processed meats, we cook up a chicken in the oven or BBQ every Sunday, cut it up and make sandwiches with it.

So again, no it has not affected the way we eat. We spend for two adults about 125-175 in groceries every week.

madmax

bobman1235 wrote: »

What kind of stuff is in your 6 month supply? I assume it has to be mostly nonperishables right?

I started with a 2 month supply, see the pic. After that I decided if there were a massive food scare I might need more so I loaded up the freezer and doubled the pantry. Mostly soups, pasta, sauces, boxed stuff, water, veggies etc. I date everything and rotate it. Never hurts to be prepared!

cfrizz

My monthly food bill is about $200-250. I buy all frozen veggies, I try to buy family size meats & seperate & freeze them. I take out only what I need. I only will buy a few fresh apples & bananas, once those are gone I will eat canned pears & mandarin orange slices.

I used to be able to do all of this with just $100-150 a month!

My food choices haven't really changed yet. I ALWAYS bring home leftovers on the rare occaision that I eat out!

But today I made the switch to Comcast for my phone, tv & internet. Instead of paying $200.89 a month for both Comcast & Verizon, my bill will drop down to $129.25 per month. By the 3rd year the bill will increase just up to $162.00 give or take, still a savings of almost $40.00 from what I'm paying now.

cfrizz

madmax wrote: »

I started with a 2 month supply, see the pic. After that I decided if there were a massive food scare I might need more so I loaded up the freezer and doubled the pantry. Mostly soups, pasta, sauces, boxed stuff, water, veggies etc. I date everything and rotate it. Never hurts to be prepared!

That is VERY impressive!

Willow

cfrizz wrote: »

That is VERY impressive!

It is big time. I found it funny that you have 2 liquid plumbers, do you go through that much?

Jstas

Willow wrote: »

It is big time. I found it funny that you have 2 liquid plumbers, do you go through that much?

Well, he is full of fecal matter all the time and that must produce several industrial sized bowel movements every month...you know, the kind that you pants fit better when you're done?

Jstas

cfrizz wrote: »

My monthly food bill is about $200-250. I buy all frozen veggies, I try to buy family size meats & seperate & freeze them. I take out only what I need. I only will buy a few fresh apples & bananas, once those are gone I will eat canned pears & mandarin orange slices.

I used to be able to do all of this with just $100-150 a month!

My food choices haven't really changed yet. I ALWAYS bring home leftovers on the rare occaision that I eat out!

But today I made the switch to Comcast for my phone, tv & internet. Instead of paying $200.89 a month for both Comcast & Verizon, my bill will drop down to $129.25 per month. By the 3rd year the bill will increase just up to $162.00 give or take, still a savings of almost $40.00 from what I'm paying now.

Yeah, I got my phone/internet bill dropped to $70 a month 'cause I wanted FiOS and it wasn't available in my area yet. It's a locked in price too so it can't go up for at least 3 years. They also upgraded the service from 1.6mbps to 3.2mbps.

The cable is about $30 a month right now but I'm going to get an HD/Digital TV package which should be around $60 a month. Saves some money. Every penny counts.

Demiurge

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

We've talked about eating out much less. The biggest problem is that we don't like fast food or greasy food, so we tend to eat out at fairly expensive places that have healthy options. We're not eating at Del Frisco every night, but it's no Wendy's either, I'd say we spend on average about $40 a meal.

We've always eaten out, we've just moved from fast food to more healthy options.

Seriously though, since I have no experience with NOT eating out, you guys are saying taht you're able to feed 2 people for a full month, for $500? I'm curious how close we'd be able to get to that. There are certain levels that I'd need to maintain though, like I won't eat bologna or spam, things along those lines. I know they're cheap, but they're so gross I can't stomach it...

You can eat like a king and queen for half of what you're spending now, easily, if you'd just be willing to go to the store and then prepare your own meals.

I'm guessing that's the problem, right? Try going to a cooking class together. You'll learn whether its something you can enjoy or not.

It sounds like you can afford to do what you're doing now, but that's just money straight down the crapper every month. Imagine what you could do with the savings after just a year of cooking for yourselves.