Happy Friday, folks! I’ve been thinking and wondering a lot about how inflation is impacting home cooks. Because my job is in food, I already spend a good chunk of my income each month on groceries, and that chunk has gotten significantly…chunkier lately.
So I want to know how you’re coping with everything being more expensive. Are you doing just fine? Have you changed your buying, cooking, or eating habits? Let’s talk about it!
Food has gotten SO expensive. Some stores more than others and some foods more than others. I’ve started meal planning 2-3 meals a week that are cheap as well as fast and easy (and don’t involve any fighting with my kid about dinner). Bagels/cream cheese/tomato/cucumber is one; pasta with red sauce from a jar and salad is another. Chicken drumsticks at Trader Joe’s are still cheap and they’re my kid’s favorite. Roasted with well-seasoned potatoes and carrots, lightly dressed arugula on the side, that’s still a great budget dinner. I like chickpea salad with herbs (from the garden), celery, and carrots for lunch, another low-cost meal. But yeah, there are some foods I almost never eat anymore due to cost. And it seems more worth shopping at Winco since it’s 1/4 the cost of my nearest grocery store.
Always cooked a lot v. takeout but now takeout has become even more rare because of the increased prices, which I totally understand but it is hard to support. Eating much the same at home - we're vegetable-forward omnivores - but constantly shocked by prices. This is a small thing but one item that I find completely off the chart is crackers! The humble cracker can now be like $5 or more for a tiny box! It's insane and may lead to me making my own.
We've been very fortunate in that our buying habits haven't changed much. Probably the biggest thing that's changed -- and this feels goofy to talk about but is important to highlight for those who are in a position to do it -- is to give more/more often to our food banks, which are experiencing huge demand.
I work at a grocery store, so luckily I get a discount on items purchased there, but even with that, I’ve been refraining from purchasing more of the “fun” food in favor of what will get dinner on the table in the fewest ingredients. I’ve been more considerate about what I actually need, which isn’t necessarily exciting as someone who loves to cook, but is probably ultimately a good thing. Things like fresh berries, seafood, specialty pantry items etc. are now occasional treats, and I enjoy them lots when I get them!
I live solo and the temptation to eat out or get delivery is very high. I'm making a conscious effort to shop my fridge, freezer and pantry. I do try to take advantage of sales but sometimes the timing doesn't work (or maybe I need to plan better), especially if you don't have a lot of freezer and storage space. I'm also trying not the waste any food.
I have been making some small changes, like seeking out good deals at our local supermarket versus just shopping for whatever I want. This week they had large packages of bone-in chicken thighs buy-one-get-one-free so I snagged a couple of those and threw them in the freezer since we eat chicken a lot.
I've also been visiting our local Vietnamese grocery store more regularly. They have fantastic produce (especially fresh herbs) that is all usually very reasonably priced. For instance, I can get four bunches of green onions at the Vietnamese market for the same price as one bunch at our local supermarket.
…I stopped buying “the daily stuff” and now use my sourdough starter for flatbread/english muffins/crackers/focaccia (saving money on yeast, using discard, freezing triple batches)…also started making mylks/butter/mayo/nut butter/etc-basically saving $$ for the fresh condiments/farmers mkts/…I also grow herbs/teas on my condo balcony for infusions/oils/skin limiting what I buy pre packaged…super simple and quick if I plan a bit…every time I buy things, I ask myself if I can make it…it’s actually kinda fun…🌼
Food has gotten SO expensive. Some stores more than others and some foods more than others. I’ve started meal planning 2-3 meals a week that are cheap as well as fast and easy (and don’t involve any fighting with my kid about dinner). Bagels/cream cheese/tomato/cucumber is one; pasta with red sauce from a jar and salad is another. Chicken drumsticks at Trader Joe’s are still cheap and they’re my kid’s favorite. Roasted with well-seasoned potatoes and carrots, lightly dressed arugula on the side, that’s still a great budget dinner. I like chickpea salad with herbs (from the garden), celery, and carrots for lunch, another low-cost meal. But yeah, there are some foods I almost never eat anymore due to cost. And it seems more worth shopping at Winco since it’s 1/4 the cost of my nearest grocery store.
Always cooked a lot v. takeout but now takeout has become even more rare because of the increased prices, which I totally understand but it is hard to support. Eating much the same at home - we're vegetable-forward omnivores - but constantly shocked by prices. This is a small thing but one item that I find completely off the chart is crackers! The humble cracker can now be like $5 or more for a tiny box! It's insane and may lead to me making my own.
We've been very fortunate in that our buying habits haven't changed much. Probably the biggest thing that's changed -- and this feels goofy to talk about but is important to highlight for those who are in a position to do it -- is to give more/more often to our food banks, which are experiencing huge demand.
I work at a grocery store, so luckily I get a discount on items purchased there, but even with that, I’ve been refraining from purchasing more of the “fun” food in favor of what will get dinner on the table in the fewest ingredients. I’ve been more considerate about what I actually need, which isn’t necessarily exciting as someone who loves to cook, but is probably ultimately a good thing. Things like fresh berries, seafood, specialty pantry items etc. are now occasional treats, and I enjoy them lots when I get them!
I live solo and the temptation to eat out or get delivery is very high. I'm making a conscious effort to shop my fridge, freezer and pantry. I do try to take advantage of sales but sometimes the timing doesn't work (or maybe I need to plan better), especially if you don't have a lot of freezer and storage space. I'm also trying not the waste any food.
I have been making some small changes, like seeking out good deals at our local supermarket versus just shopping for whatever I want. This week they had large packages of bone-in chicken thighs buy-one-get-one-free so I snagged a couple of those and threw them in the freezer since we eat chicken a lot.
I've also been visiting our local Vietnamese grocery store more regularly. They have fantastic produce (especially fresh herbs) that is all usually very reasonably priced. For instance, I can get four bunches of green onions at the Vietnamese market for the same price as one bunch at our local supermarket.
…I stopped buying “the daily stuff” and now use my sourdough starter for flatbread/english muffins/crackers/focaccia (saving money on yeast, using discard, freezing triple batches)…also started making mylks/butter/mayo/nut butter/etc-basically saving $$ for the fresh condiments/farmers mkts/…I also grow herbs/teas on my condo balcony for infusions/oils/skin limiting what I buy pre packaged…super simple and quick if I plan a bit…every time I buy things, I ask myself if I can make it…it’s actually kinda fun…🌼