What the hell just happened??!?
The recurring supermarket nightmare:
You stop at the end of the checkout lane, you and your half empty trolley, while you frantically go over the cashiers receipt looking for some gross mistake.
I mean, you want to find it right then and there – so the stupid cashier can fix it, right?
But….
There’s no mistake.
You slowly push your trolley towards your car, trying to figure out what you just spent all that money on.
I mean, you didn’t need anything; you didn’t buy much.
It was barely three bags!
How did the total become ever so much greater than the sum of the parts?
Then you start itemizing all the things you don’t ‘normally’ buy, trying to wrap your mind around the outrageous food costs.
Things like toothpaste; bathroom cleaner; laundry detergent.
Then you realize that you do normally buy it all, just not every week.
Sigh….
Sound familiar?
I was feeling so good about the shopping today.
I went to my favorite green grocer and came away with oodles of great veggies for a really good price.
I went to my favorite butcher and came away with some great cuts of meat for a really ‘not bad’ price.
When I left the supermarket, where I just needed a few odds and ends to round it all out, the tab was easily double what I was expecting.
I’m a careful shopper. I use a list. I don’t buy junk. I don’t buy prepared foods or packaged foods. I don’t buy treats. I rarely buy on impulse.
(Okay, okay, okay! Today I bought a sweet onion because I’ve never seen them here before…. and 2 rather than 1 box of strawberries…. Shame, shame!)
I’m an incredibly boring shopper.
Yet, this happens to me week after week.
My conclusion is that real inflation bypassed what my mind can grasp as reasonable inflation some months ago.
I may never catch up.
I do need to stop blocking the checkout lanes, though. Those darn trolleys hurt when they’re rammed into the back of the knees…..
I read once, that it’s much less expensive to eat crap prepackaged stuff full of additives than to eat fresh, real food that one actually prepares oneself.
Weeeellllll……
I may never buy another pair of shoes…. But I ain’t giving up my asparagus!
So there! Thpppt!
I’m not giving up my new potatoes, either….
There’s just something about these little darlin’s I can’t resist. New potatoes are early, tiny, immature potatoes of any color, usually 1″ (2.5cm) or less in diameter. They have a high moisture content, are very creamy and usually cooked whole.
The recipe, Roasted New Potatoes, has been updated, nutrition information added, and re-posted here: Roasted New Potatoes with Butter & Chives.
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The ever increasing grocer prices, even in France? I know what you mean about not buying junk or snacks, and it still is a shock each time. Love those new potatoes. Nothing better in the spring, escept–white asparagus. How I miss them in the states.
The new potatoes are sublime this time of year. And no need gilding the lily, so to speak. A bit of butter and chives, salt and pepper = perfection.
Totally agree with you about sticker shock. They raise the prices here every summer because of all the summer residents, but never drop them back down in the autumn when the summer folks go home.
I’m not giving up my asparagus either!
It really is true healthy is more expensive and that’s before you look at the organic stuff.
I’m so with you on the new potatoes but then I do just love potatoes.
Oh Katie!
I feel your pain! Asparagus is a west Michigan crop, so the markets are full of it right now. At .99cents per#, we have it for days on end!
But…the rest of the grocery bill brings tears to my eyes! We don’t buy much “junk” either,…usually a couple bags or tortilla chips to go with some homemade salsa and guacamole during the week. But it’s the everyday items that are adding up. The price of cheese makes me want to raise my own goats…I kid you not…4oz of chevre was $7.99….that’s $32 per#!!!! Now, it was local goats cheese…some of the best I’ve ever had..but for cryin’ out loud…I WAS PUTTING IT ON A PIZZA! (best pizza I ever tasted, tho!)
So…we cut back where we can. Not as much meat. Grow our own veggies. And, on occasion, have to shop at Costco!
Yup, it’s true, the prepackaged crap is significantly cheaper. You can buy a packet of seasoned ramen noodles–with oodles of sodium–for just 19 cents. You can’t make a serving of regular pasta with fresh veggies for that, never mind adding animal protein of any kind.
Sounds very familiar. Like your potatoes with the chives. My chives are blooming in my herb garden right now and this is a perfect way to use them.
Sam
I think fresh stuff is more expensive because it’s perishable and because it’s often imported from somewhere else. But, nothing beats fresh, local produce – worth every penny in marvelous flavor!
Canada is pretty pricy too.
I do love baby new potatoes and chives, just says springtime.
I definitely can relate. I’m even thinking of bringing a portable defibrulator with me when I go to the grocery store.
I just got back from a trip to Toronto (where we lived for 17 years…and yes, I did the same thing as you even when I lived there), and now I think that THEIR prices are reasonable…at least compared to Halifax.
Guess the grass is always greener (and cheaper) somewhere else.
Fresh foods may be pricey because they are perishable, but you would think the crap stuff would still be pricey because they have to pay advertising to market it. Oh, well, scrimp somewhere else. But that’s one reason poor people have such poor diets — how do you convince someone barely able to feed their family to buy some of the most expensive stuff available? (Teach them that it’s cheaper in the long run, healthier in the long run, etc., but that’s an unwinnable battle.)
With the higher and higher prices of food, maybe much of the population will get in the habit of eating less, which too many are in desperate need of. Supposedly, people are eating out less because of the economy. Good for the body, bad for the restaurants, lol.
And those are now going to be my side dish tonight… I’m practically drooling over here.
Susan, even in France – though I’m guessing not as much as the US.
Loulou, we’re in more of a tourist area now, also. That may be a part of it.
Tanna, new potatoes….like caviar!
Cindy, I’m done with the asparagus for the season, today it was 7.99 – a kilo, yes, but still after paying .99…
Amy Rea, it really is tragic, isn’t it? One can eat badly cheaply, but then not have the health insurance to pay for the results.
My Carolina Kitchen, chives are so easy, and add so much flavor….
Zoomie, more gardens! You can grow a lot in a small space… Of course, it takes effort.
Natashya, I think it’s everywhere… sigh…
Ruth, and I’m sure it has nothing to do with age.. (I remember when…)
azurienne, now, that’s putting a positive spin on it ;-))
Elizabeth, drool away…. then dig in!