Oh pshaw, on Sun 02 Jul 2006 05:32:02a, OmManiPadmeOmelet meant to say...

> My budget is getting squeezed tighter and tighter due to the rising cost
> of living. I chalk most of it up to the price of oil/fuel. Everything
> has to be transported so fuel prices affect _everything_!
>
> Now that we've gotten used to eating a healthier diet, I'm refusing to
> go back to eating crap just because it's cheaper! Our main diet consists
> of fresh meats and fresh produce. I don't like frozen veggies, I've
> tried. I know they are cheaper. The "No salt added" canned" however are
> not bad, but I still don't even use a lot of those.
>
> I think the biggest area I've had to cut back on has been red meat. We
> eat more chicken than anything else but fortunately, there are a million
> and one ways to cook it.
>
> As far as greens go, I won't compromise! Salads for instance. Our
> preferred green is fresh pre-cleaned baby spinach leaves followed
> closely by boston butter lettuce. After that it's red or green leaf
> lettuce, then romaine. We really don't care for iceberg. Good texture
> but no flavor.
>
> We do eat a lot of brocolli and some cauliflower as well as a lot of
> carrots and squash, but we only eat asparagus when it drops below $3.00
> per lb. We do not eat potatoes. Period. No pasta either and limited
> amounts of bread. The only beans we eat are black soybeans. Tomatoes and
> avocados are included depending on current prices.
>
> Has anyone else had to make any compromises due to rising prices?
> I've just had to cut back on other items but I'm reluctant to "cheapen"
> our diets. It's too important.
>
> I mostly just shop sales. ;-)

Yes, our food budget has been meager and the only way we've managed is to
constantly seek out the best sale prices. When we find them, we stock up
as much as we can, putting good meat buys in the freezer. The farmer's
markets here seem to have the best buys on produce, but with several major
supermarket chains in the area, there is good competitive pricing most of
the time. We make a list of items from each store and methodically shop
from place to place. All the stores are within a 3-mile radius from home,
so there's little lost in driving cost making a trip to as many as we need
to.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
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