Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Ha! Will Whole Foods give a refund if you get sick despite buying health food?

Bulk bins are more expensive than the cheapest bagged stuff around here. I usually go with goya because the prices are relatively comparable. I have some confidence that there's a relatively decent turnover because I go to a very cheap grocery store that has a lot of people from a lot of different places and there are always people in the rice & beans aisle. That being said, I get my chickpeas & red lentils next door at the indian grocers. I can also get a 5lb bag of raw cashew pieces for $25 which I'm fairly sure is a really good deal.

I really appreciate the co-ops in my area that have a bulk spice section. Instead of buying a whole bottle at $5 a pop in the supermarket or buying gigantic bags at Asian & Indian markets, I can buy spices & herbs in only the quantity I need.

I do dumb things. Like: I've been finding recipes wanting saffron to make, so when I went to TJ on Friday (good Lard, are they ever disabled hostile! Will think twice before returning) I got a $6 jar of saffron.

I found another jar of TJ saffron buried in the spice rack (it's big scary full wire rack on inside pantry door). Still unopened, with a use by of 2009. Aargh. $6.

I assume the old saffron, still sealed is usable. It does look kind of pale, but I'll try it.

It depends on what you are buying too, things like millet/quinoa/non-rice grains are generally cheaper in bulk and it is true for some legumes as well. If you are buying white rice and pinto beans, generally you can find that cheaper bagged than in bulk.

When I was young, places like Albertson's and what not used to have bulk barrels which were really cheap. It is a shame they don't do that anymore.

So jealous of the $5/lb cashews. I pay about $11/lb for bulk here....

Oh that's a good point. I'll double check the quinoa prices (I get 2lb organic quinoa in a bag for.. $4?) Brown rice (crappy) I can get a 5lb bag that'll last me 6 months (maybe less) for $4.50.

I bought like a kilogram of them each - but I really should have went to Bulk Barn, buying in bulk is so much more economical!

I do live in a really expensive area. Luckily, I shop at a store that has bulk bins (including spices!)

I just wish that we had decent farmers markets where I live. The ones around here are EXPENSIVE and small. And I am not driving all the way to LA or San Diego for groceries!

Around these parts, grocery stores are small so there are usually no bulk bins and only a couple brands of bagged beans, with Goya being one of them. I've actually found Goya to be the most reliable in terms of quality. "Jack Rabbit" brand is also sold around here, usually 10-20c cheaper per bag than Goya, but they seem to have fewer varieties of different beans than Goya. I feel like I get slightly more busted beans in the Jack Rabbit bags, but not so many I'd be put off from buying them. Once they're cooked both brands are comparable. I recently moved and my new local supermarket sells giant 4lb bags of Goya lentils for a couple bucks, score!

Somebody mentioned concerns about the bagged beans not having high turnover if you're shopping at a big supermarket... I don't know how true that is, but I just looked at one of my bags of Goya beans and it definitely has an expiry date printed on it, so if you're worried then rummage through the pile and select one with a far-off date.

Yeah $65 a week for two people is amazing! I aim for around $50 a week just for myself, and I'm doing pretty good. Good job Chicki!

if anyone is boycotting brands that supported the defeat of GMO labeling, GOYA is one of them. (just FYI.)

+ 1

You mean the California proposed law that had a lot of overall issues from what I understand or just GMO labeling in general? I wouldn't blame any company for trying to defeat the recent California law.

i'm willing to make the leap that any food producing company that spent money to defeat even a flawed law is a company that would have spent money to defeat a perfect law, and is likely to put GMOs in their food, and we're not debating the safety of GMOs in this thread. they terrify me not only on the health potentials, but on the botanical genetic diversity/purity potentials. (we've had this debate elsewhere, and neither of us are changing the minds of the other.)

Jesus Christ, how can I possibly be spending so much right now??

I just made my menu and shopping list for the week - it's looking like ~$99 for one adult (plus one visiting for the weekend) plus two cats. I don't understand; back when I was more broke I would manage just fine on less than $50/week... sometimes less than $25/week, when I had to (although those were hungry, vegetable-light weeks!). I guess I was just in that "broke" mindset and didn't expect much produce or anything?

I just spent $151 at WF yesterday. Who spends their tax refund on groceries? I only went in for yogurt. I did get some vitamins, stocked up on half price flax milk, and expensive smoothie ingredients, but still. Hopefully a lot of what I bought lasts through March too.

I spend more on groceries when I'm trying to lose weight. I need to budget very carefully for the rest of the month, which means no produce. I've had a lot of ulcer pain lately, so if I go buy $8 in produce then end up in pain the next day, it all gets thrown out since I can't eat it.

There was a groupon today for $20 worth of stuff for only $10 from the new local bulk bin place!

I bought 2 of them. So $40 worth of bulk items for $20. I am stoked!

That's a sweet deal!

I feel like the market in our new neighborhood is more expensive than the old one. Not in a major way, like 15c more here and there on certain items, but that adds up I guess? They have a few different flavors of Tofurky slices though, so that's nice.

Since I've been off of foodstamps the past few months, it's abundantly clear just how nearly all of my spending outside of rent and some more budget-friendly bar and restaurant visits (and so many less than this time last year) are for I-want-to-make-that-recipe and that's-on-sale groceries. I've tried to be very aware of this and when I cook, aim to make my meals focus on 2/3 cabinet and 1/3 fresh produce or tofu/tempeh (when I can swing both), if I can be that rational, and hopefully, I'm being even more so.

Yeah, recipe lust drives up my grocery bill. One of my projects is going to be taking a complete pantry inventory. We have so much stuff, but it's hard to find and things get forgotten.

I looked at my WF bill, and it's actually not so awful (I was feeling guilty at breaking my budget so badly already). $85 was for vitamins, so it was actually a pretty practical trip. Too bad that doesn't count my iron tablets. Because of my specific health and food absorption issues, I need a lot of supplements for the rest of my life. I stopped buying them all when I was broke over the summer, but I'm caught up with them again.

I also spent almost $20 on yogurt to help get me in the habit of a healthy snack every day. I'm going to plain on making my own yogurt from now on. I was able to get plain yogurt, yay! Then I also got some frozen meals for my 16 hr days so I don't eat potato chips for dinner.

My other project is to go through WW materials and cookbooks and try to strictly plan out meals for all of next month so I can stick to my weight loss, make sure I'm eating healthy, and keep my budget.

Part of my problem is that I find grocery shopping FUN. It's like an endless array of things I *could* make. Even if I go in with a list, I'll see stuff like baby artichokes and start planning lovely stuffed artichokes in lemon sauce. So then I'll need lemons and mushrooms, and, oh look. What lovely grapefruits. I could make ice box cookies. Ooh. Spinach is on sale. I better get that. But now I need more sun-dried tomatoes so I can make spinach tomato pesto. And then I need pasta. Then I'll turn the leftover pesto into pizza, so I need more yeast and a can of crushed tomatoes. And all I needed was a damn apple for Molly. And then, I eat boring food the last week or two of the month because I'm running low on funds.

oh cool. can you send me the link so i can put it on my twitter tomorrow? (i'll use your referral link if you send one.)

I checked out Aldi's organic offerings. They didn't have very many products, but I think it would be good for basics. For $11.75, I got a 3 lb bag of organic potatoes, 1/2 gallon organic soymilk, 3 pack of organic romaine, organic spinach and a big bag of white beans.

Not a bad deal

Okay so it's March 4th, and I've already spent half of my March grocery budget.... whoops!