But holy cow, the price of food. Food and household items both, but mostly food.
I just got back from a trip to Target and the supermarket. I spent $292. I did not buy any meat or cheese or ANY prepared foods. No ice cream, either--no treats at all, actually. At Target I stocked up on diapers and tissues and bought paper goods for yom tov; I got milk, juice, batteries, garbage bags, rice cereal and oatmeal, soap, and so on. I did buy a new tabletop ironing board ($9.99) and two boxes of actual Pampers, at $20 each--I usually put generic diapers on Iyyar and Avtalyon but they just don't do it for overnight. At the supermarket I bought a lot of flour (for yom tov baking--25 lb of King Arthur) and five boxes of Cheeries (5/$10). Grape juice for kiddush, bread, sandwich bags, lots of yogurt, gefilte fish and fish sticks (okay, that probably counts as a prepared food item), granola, and a new parve knife ($5.49) to replace the one the tenants whatevered. Whole-wheat pretzels for lunches. I did not buy organic anything, except for rice cereal, yogurt and milk. I've given up on the organic whole wheat flour--at $9.99/5 lb, it's over my organic price threshold.
There were other things, but all along the same lines. Nothing fancy. Mostly generics. Our kids aren't even eating that much yet. No meat or cheese or produce--just my periodic trip to replenish supplies of the things that I can't buy, or that are very expensive, on our local shopping street. And it won't even last me the month.
It's not that we don't have money to buy food. B"H we absolutely do. It's just the sticker shock, and thinking about how much food and gas are eating into the budgets of people who don't have the wiggle room that, B"H, we currently have. I can't help feeling guilty walking out of the supermarket having dropped a couple hundred dollars, but it's not as though I did anything wrong buying Cheerios and milk. Cheerios on sale, even.
Dinner tonight: scallion-heavy salmon patties, which I made with canned salmon from Trader Joe's; brown rice with peanut butter and umeboshi vinegar, one of MHH's favorite concoctions; a caramelized onion on the side.
What did you have?
5 comments:
Tonight - cheese and avocado and basil and crackers, followed by milk and ginger snaps and chocolate.
Last night - whole wheat couscous and leftover cheesecake, followed by milk and ginger snaps and chocolate.
Though, to be fair, I'm staying at my in-laws'.
Last night: the very Gentile shepherd's pie followed by ANZAC biscuits.
Tonight: probably spaghetti. We're traveling tomorrow and can't have leftovers in the fridge over the weekend.
But with my new chest freezer, I suppose I could conceivably make the chicken-lemon-spinach-chickpea stew and freeze the leftovers. The possibilities!
Swiss cheese, spicy mustard and crackers. Husband started working nights so no need to cook.
I need to start making lunches to take to school. Eating out -- even at "lunchtime" prices -- is getting expensive. And it's only been 3 days.
Isn't it crazy, the price of food?! Last night, we had onion soup w. cheese, salad, and honeydew. Those of us who are nut-friendly finished up w. some homemade SCD "granola bars" (peanut butter mixed w. nuts, raisins and shredded coconut and then put in the fridge to firm up).
So glad to hear that Mr. Uberimma is okay. That was a very scary post to read (can't imagine how it was to LIVE!)
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