It's not much fun beginning the new year with a post on the high and ever-higher (read: daily) increases in the cost of food, but the fact that Canadians are facing fifteen to twenty per cent increases to the most necessary of expenses means that every idea is worth sharing (and I encourage everyone to add their own ideas to this post and thank you in advance for what I know will be some wonderful suggestions).
Here is the beginning of what I hope will be a long list of helpful hints to take the sting out of that grocery bill:
1. SEEING IS BELIEVING
Don't presume organics or store prept produce are more expensive respectively. There was a time when this was generally true but lately I've noticed it is not always the rule. At Sobey's on the Avenue last week the organic peppers were less than the regular green peppers and a box of at least a bunch and a half of shallots/green onions, washed and chopped up in store, were $1.08 versus a skinny, loose bunch that was $1.49.
2. CALL A SPADE A SHOVEL
A rutabaga works where a turnip does and a yam where a sweet potato will. Trade a lemon for a lime and vice versa. Dandelion can stand in for swiss chard or any bitter (ish) greens. Combine your berries. You get the idea.
3. THE CON OF CANCON
Yes, it's great to buy Canadian and even better to buy local, but I am not willing (or able) to pay $4.99 lb for tomatoes when the same variety from Mexico is $2.99. Instead, it may be better for the wallet and the future to buy the Mexican tomato and to use the money saved to buy a stamp, support my local postal workers and let my MP know that it's not acceptable that local food is often more expensive.
4. MARRY ME
My fave Tiki Masala (recipe is on this blog) has a combination of nut milks because sometimes the coconut milk is just to rich for my purse (as well as the tummy and waistline) - so improvise. Last week low cal and super nutritious cashew milk was on sale here. It works wonderfully as a stand in for the other nuts. Mix and match (and dilute a little with water, too). I do this with everything.
5. DON'T BUY THE COW WHEN YOU'RE GETTING THE MILK FOR FREE
My grandmother, Clara Martin, used to say this. She wasn't talking about food, she was talking about...well, I'm sure you get it. The thing is that we routinely get sold a bill of goods in the supermarkets and larger grocers. Vegetable broth is a great example. I make veggie broth every day - naturally - when I cook my veggies so I save it up, bag it and mark on the zip-locks the type of veg and the number of cups therein. Then I lay the closed bags in the freezer and freeze them in the shape of books so that I have a section of my freezer devoted to bases for soups, stews, curries etc. Easy. Low Cal. No MSG. And free.
6. EAT/DRINK FROM THE NECTAR OF THE GODS
Likewise, re 5., save all those lovely juices from slicing fruits and fruit salads and so on. They are wonderful, natural, low cal and healthy sweeteners for baking and smoothies and all sorts of things.
7. SOUP FOR YOU!
Mom spooned it in our direction regularly for very good reason. Soups are easy, super economic, healthy and creative (which means "fun"). Plus they save/eliminate food waste and make delicious body warming soul foods (including in the summertime, when they cool your core temp, and at breakfast, when they fill your body with nutrients that start your day strong and satisfied). In short, there is never enough soup (and all of the above are why the "cool" people stand in ques in Toronto, Montreal etc on their lunch hours waiting for all they need to be powerful, healthy and beautiful in a single bowl - soup is the "hottest" lunch break food in North America now, for great reasons!)
8. CHEWING YOUR CUD
Cows do it and we should, too. It sounds a bit crazy but not only for your health and waistline but for the wallet we should be chewing every bite of food as close to thirty times as possible. Yup. Our teeth and saliva are there for very good reason. They work to trigger the digestive enzymes that get things moving through the body/digestive tract, allowing our bodies to really take what they need re nutrients and to get rid of what is not needed properly. And because taste is experienced toward the back of the tongue, proper chewing permits longer/sustained enjoyment of food without overeating, and naturally eating less and well saves money!
9. GROWLING NEVER MAKES LIFE BETTER. EVER.
We all know it but it bears repeating: never, I mean never, shop when your tummy is growling/you are hungry. It is a guarantee of spending more money than you mean to by purchasing impulsively. The eyes are indeed bigger than the tummy. Sort of.
10. TRAVEL WITH THE PROPER DOCUMENTS
Always take a list. (As well as your recycled bags.) Sometimes I take the actual recipe or even recipe book, too. The weight - literally and figuratively - causes me to re-think purchases that are really only indulgences and that I more than likely cannot afford and don't want to lug home.
11. NAUGHTY AND NICE
Write down, every day, what you buy. I do it for food and for everything else, too. It doesn't take long before the lists begin to highlight the naughty spends and the nice ones as well.
12. BUYING BULK MAY LEAVE YOU LIVING IN A BARN
Buying bulk can definitely be cheaper - sometimes! - but for starters and to the point that this is not always true, the local Bulk Barn in Charlottetown, PE puts its prices in pounds in large print and the metric pricing is much smaller, often not noticeable on the signs. What seems a deal for our neighbours to the south is not a deal in Canada, where we pay based on kilograms etc. The other danger of bulk stores are the colourful bins that seem more like a painting than a grocery supply. Yes, the rows and rows of bins of jelly beans and yummy cashews are enticing and conjur up the comforts of a snowy evening by a fire with a bottle of wine and unlimited snacks - but all that stuff adds up to pricy extras to your grocery bill. It is almost impossible to walk out of a bulk store with only the essentials and only the necessities of your grocery list. While none of us wants to support the plethora of extra packaging found in big stores, when I tested it over three months bulk buying added a whopping twenty per cent to my grocery bill! Venture there with caution!
13. THERE'S NO FREE LUNCH
Sobey's gives double airmiles on a lot of products if you buy two, five or even ten of the same item. That's often not a good thing. Sometimes the base price is higher, of course. But also these are not necessarily things I plan on buying multiples of. Better to put the loonies and toonies in a jar for that trip. Ditto for the Superstores and the BOGO promotions.
14. KIDS EAT FREE
They don't, really, but smaller portions are what we all need. My mom used to feed five kids sandwiches (plus soup, milk and a dessert/piece of fruit etc) with one tin of tuna back in the 1970's. She mixed it with mayo and celery etc and our sandwiches were not all four inches high but they were nutritious and delicious. While I am now a vegan, the principle still applies. Today we think of a tin of tuna as a single portion. It is not. Feed the child inside you. Save money. Be healthier.
15. LIFE IS A BOWL OF CHERRIES - IN SEASON
We all know this. But there are things that look so good and are so tempting, especially during a Canadian winter. The way to solve these cravings (and save money)? Put summer fruits up in jars, preserves, freer etc so that you have those sunny tastes when you need 'em most.
16. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
The big bucks products, the processed foods, the packaged foods, these are all in the middle of the big stores. Stay out of the middle. What we need most - all those gorgeous fruits and veggies are out the outer aisles of the stores.
17. TAKE A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD
Can't afford $4.49 for celery? Me, either. But my local Chinese grocer has fabulous, crunchy, fresh bok choy for $1.79 a bunch. It 's a great stand-in for celery and absolutely gourmet sauteed for just a minute or two and topped with a little umeboshi vinegar and fresh black pepper. Experiment with the culinary wonders of your neighbourhood (nb, I buy all my nut butters, beans, legumes and flatbreads at the Lebanese grocers in my PEI neighbourhood for truly a small fraction of what Sobey's and the Superstore charge).
18. THINK OUTSIDE THE LUNCH BOX
Your kids don't benefit from expensive processed foods and boring old sandwiches either. I'll write a blog soon on just this, but do be creative. And listen to your kids! They know new things!
19. ONE FOR THE BUDDHA
Almost everything I could, from soups to stews, curries to cupcakes, borscht to bean burgers - I always leave a little on my plate. Not as waste, but "for the Buddha". Eat a little less. Feel better. Save money.
20. IN A NUTSHELL
....and together with beans and legumes, these are the healthy fats and proteins that will save you a tonne of money in 2016. Plus, if you want to, you can easily lose weight eating these foods.
More to come....
These beautiful "jewel" beets were a couple of dollars
from my local/The Charlottetown Farmer's Market
and were absolutely delicious.
I took the photo as the basis of/for
a painting coming in 2016.
-30-
