The Foods I Am Not Buying Anymore

Food prices have gotten so high that there are many things that I am either not buying anymore or cutting back on the amount that we do buy. By posting about these, I hope it will help other people who may be struggling to buy food.

I no longer buy salmon. With all the regulations that the government has put on fishing, the price has escalated way too high. I refuse to pay it. We do have a few cans of salmon for patties but we have no frozen. If I can get haddock at a decent price we will buy that but it is rare that I do. For fish we are using canned tuna and clams. I find this Great Value Tuna that is pictured one of the best. When I purchased it, it was $ 1.58 each last March. It has only gone up to $ 1.67 which is still a great deal. Occasionally, I will buy shrimp but only if it is on sale and I can get at least two meals out of it for the two of us.

We mostly buy ground beef and chicken, but I will get a roast if they are on sale and I will cut it up into beef chunks for stew meat. Then I make it stretch using lots of vegetables. I will get an occasional chuck roast to make pot roast. But I also stretch that with lots of veggies and potatoes. I usually buy my organic 80% lean ground beef when Aldi’s has it on sale which is rare these days. I have purchased some regular ground beef on sale at Top’s to can but I won’t be doing that anymore after getting bad meat there. I can still smell how rancid it was! If I run out of ground beef, I will use ground turkey. It is much cheaper. We do have some in the freezer and occasionally I will use it to make taco salad. We buy more chicken legs, thighs and whole chickens these days rather than breasts. I will buy breasts when they are under $3.00 a lb.

I don’t buy cold cuts. I cut my own from a boneless on sale ham or a regular ham that I have cooked. I am hoping to get some of these on sale during the holidays at a good price. I also do the same with turkey either a breast or tenderloin. Now that turkeys are on sale, I will be getting a few. It is the cheapest meat you can get right now. Walmart and Aldi’s have Butterball Premium turkeys on sale for $1.28 and $ 1.27 a lb. Walmart also has Shady Brook and Honeysuckle White on sale for $ .98 a lb. The prices for store brand have not come out here yet. But after buying a store brand last year that had hardly any meat on the breasts, I am not doing that again. I will stick to the name brands. They are worth the little bit of extra money.

We do have some prepared foods in our pantry but I am trying to get away from those. We will use up what we have but buy no more. It is always cheaper to buy the ingredients and cook from scratch especially if you stick to basic foods.

I am still buying bacon if I can catch a sale or a good price at B.J.’s. I will be shopping there today after my doctor’s appointment. I plan on getting a few badly needed items so that I can get a free Butterball turkey. My membership expires next month and I will not be renewing it. I can do just as well for most things at the grocery stores.

I am not buying any more soda. It is wasted money. I told Hubby how high it has gotten. He has agreed to ration what we have until it is gone. He is happy with iced tea or flavored waters using the SF powders from the grocery store. I haven’t drunk soda in a very long time. I mostly drink coffee, tea, or water with a lemon or lime. Coffee is expensive but I just buy the cheaper brands when they go on sale.

I am no longer buying snacks. The prices are ridiculous and most of the snack foods are broken in the bags. They are either using pieces that they never did before for more profit or the stock boys are throwing them. We can make popcorn using our popper or do it in the microwave. I buy the popcorn at the Amish store in bulk. We eat carrot and celery sticks with homemade veggie dip or apple slices with peanut butter. For a sweet treat, I make homemade pumpkin muffins or breads, donuts, or an occasional cookie, brownies, cobbler or fruit crisp. We are having company soon for a week so I did break down and buy a Party Size bag of Lay’s potato chips on sale for $ 3.99 to go with some meals and as a treat for my granddaughter. Many times I just make SF puddings and jellos and those suffice for something sweet. When I make my own desserts I can substitute monk fruit for sugar.

We are making our own bread and rolls. We don’t eat a lot of bread so this is not a problem. When I make breads, I slice them and freeze them so that we can pull out one at a time when we want it. Otherwise, it would go bad. I do the same for rolls.

We are not buying any more steaks because the prices are horrid. We still have some filet mignon in the freezer but we will be buying no more for now.

We are using up our condiments and I will be making them as I need them. I have made Italian and Ranch salad dressings and will be trying others as we run out of them in our pantry. We make out own cocktail sauce for shrimp and our own tartar sauce.

I only buy cereal when it is on sale and that is a rare purchase. Hubby likes granola so I make it. I do buy some wheat and rice Chex and Cheerios during the holidays to make our party mix.

Nuts have gotten really expensive so we are rationing what we have. I keep pecans and walnuts in the freezer for salads and cookies. Usually, I pick up 3 lb. of mixed nuts to put in our party mix. This year I found a very large can at B.J.’s which will do my entire batch. So I saved a number of dollars on that.

We never buy take out pizza or frozen pizza anymore. It is so much cheaper to use Naan bread from Aldi’s to make our own.

We no longer purchase chicken, turkey or beef broth. I make and can my own. When I don’t have any on the shelf, I use bouillon cubes or powder because it is cheaper and takes up less room on the shelf.

We only buy Tillamook ice cream when it is on a great sale. It is also a rare purchase for holidays or when we have the grandchildren here.

When I buy fruit or vegetables, I price out the fresh, frozen, and canned and buy whatever is the best deal at the time. I do freeze/and or can some of each when they are in season.

There are many more things that we no longer buy but that is for another day. I have a hectic day today or should I say it has been a very hectic week.

But I do want to add that we do not buy fast food. McDonald’s just announced that they are raising their prices again. Their Big Mac meal will be as high as $18. Just ridiculous! We have not gotten take out at McDonald’s for years…at least 8-9. The last time it was because West wanted some. There isn’t any fast food that I can’t make a lot cheaper whether it is burgers, chicken, subs, pizza, or Chinese food.

We only go to restaurants for celebrations. It is way too expensive otherwise. Don’t waste your money when you could be buying a lot of ingredients for the same amount you would buy at a restaurant. I have never understood how people could go out once a week or even twice a week. We would much rather invest those savings or stock our pantry.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us what you are no longer buying.