Gross..."recession diet"
Posted by closeyoureyestosee on Feb 12, 2009 · Member since Jan 2007 · 1218 posts
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7885312.stm
(Sorry, I tried to insert the video but I couldn't figure it out...)
The World's Largest Collection of Vegetarian Recipes
What do each of you spend on groceries a month?
Estimated and tracked (if you want to participate)
2 adults and 2 kids under 3 yo.... at least 800$ a month for sure. Makes me sick to my stomac to think about it. But I think it's closer to 900-1000$ monthly.
What do each of you spend on groceries a month?
Estimated and tracked (if you want to participate)
If you're interested in looking at them, there are a couple of threads that I remember on this (and one I made):
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=12141.0
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=15404.0
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=22303.0
We buy a lot (for 2), and all organic (including all other extras-toilet paper, etc.), so we spend $300-500/month.
Did you see those tings? Anyway, I think the diet is really sad. Me for one live with a fam that would rather die than buy a Big Mac. Trader Joes is an awesome place to eat healthy on a budget as is, you'll be shocked, Whole Foods. Though Whole Foods has earned the nickname Whole Paycheck, they are a lot of economical items there such as their big ol' jug of organic apple juice, it's $6.99 for 128 oz., where I live normal supermarkets sell organic apple juice at $3.99 for 32 ounces. When it comes to protein organic tofu at TJ's is $1.19 and you could eat organic beans (canned or bagged) for around $1.00. TJ's the organic lettuce is $2.99 FOR 3 large stalks. Organic pasta is pretty cheap anywhere around $2.00. I also love TJ's organic mixed veggies $1.69 a bag. I also buy ganic brown rice in bulk. See, it's easy to live organic and economical.
It's affordable depending where you live I think. We dont have Whole Foods here (Canada) :'( But I just bought organic brown rice, 900g and it cost me $5.19. As for organic produce, it's not as cheap here as it is in the States I beleive. A large container of organic spinach (312g) is $5.99. But there is 2 grocery stores in my town and I always shop at both places to get the best prices and produce. Still, my monthly grocery bill is WAY more than I've ever heard anyone on this site mention. I NEED to bring my grocery bill down.
Whoa and I thought my organic spinach was expensive, it's $3.99, so I stick with my lettuce. Some tips would be to buy in bulk, coupon! and search around for the cheapest deals. I read on the Whole Foods site that there's a Whole Foods in Ontario and somewhere else there.
What do each of you spend on groceries a month?
Estimated and tracked (if you want to participate)
If you're interested in looking at them, there are a couple of threads that I remember on this (and one I made):
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=12141.0
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=15404.0
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=22303.0
We buy a lot (for 2), and all organic (including all other extras-toilet paper, etc.), so we spend $300-500/month.
interesting...
i signed up for http://mint.com
It's affordable depending where you live I think. We dont have Whole Foods here (Canada) :'( But I just bought organic brown rice, 900g and it cost me $5.19. As for organic produce, it's not as cheap here as it is in the States I beleive. A large container of organic spinach (312g) is $5.99. But there is 2 grocery stores in my town and I always shop at both places to get the best prices and produce. Still, my monthly grocery bill is WAY more than I've ever heard anyone on this site mention. I NEED to bring my grocery bill down.
There are 6 Whole Foods Markets in Canada. Just none near you. Four are in BC and two in Ontario. I am about a 25 minute drive away from one of them. Maybe you will get one in the future.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/canada/index.php
I went dumpster diving with friends last night at Trader Joe's and we got:
Bananas
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Avocados
Mangos
Papaya
Carrots
Lettuce
Dried fruits (too many to list!)
Nuts
Cereal
Crackers
Cookies
Pop corn
Sweet potatoes
Apples
A few canned items
Lemons
Limes
Peaches
Nectarines
Pasta
Bottles of soap
Packages of lip balm
Sponges
Kiwi
Rose bouquets (I have two dozen red and yellow roses in my room right now! They are beautiful!!!)
I know we got more--I just can't remember it all right now--and there were 5 other hippie divers there too (so 9 all together) everyone took home HUGE hauls of food--FOR FREE!!! We also took massive amounts of fruit for the animal sanctuary we volunteer at--and again--it was all FREE!!!
I'm sure some of you are thinking "Ewww gross! Dumpster food!" But it was all bagged together for the most part and it is all good--it's not like I have bags of rotting food sitting in my kitchen--this is fresh, completely edible food! We estimated that just us girls took home about $400 worth of food and we spilt it up all equally so everyone got a little of everything! Not to mention we had a good time together!!
I had a freelicious breakfast of cereal and nanners this morning and it was GOOD! Thank you Trader Joe's!!
So there ya go people--the answer to your recession problems! All you need to do is find out what day your local store tosses out their food each week, grab a flash light and a buddy and enjoy your FREE groceries!
Capture, you rock! ;)b
That is a huge variety of food for free, cant beat that!
of course fast food isnt going to suffer in these times...
americans cant live without it these days! (not to bash america, but other countries dont have as severe a problem with fast food, though they have their other issues)
and people who say healthy food is expensive are the people who never let a fruit or vegetable get past their lips
things like lean meat are really expensive,so theres another reason to go without
so get your protein from cheaper sources-beans, nuts, etc
now i'm not perfect by any means-not completely vegan
but i just wish people would focus more on their health-i see the toll junk food takes on my family and others i care about
as for getting food from dumpsters
my first reaction to hearing others here say they did that, i was like "oh gross!" (i have to admit :-[ )
but then someone mentioned "freegan" and i looked up a bunch of videos and interviews on it, and i'm completely inspired!
i knew good food got wasted everyday, but i didnt know how much, or that lots of the food is practically new, and even unopened-such a waste
i'm in new york and so it should be pretty easy to do, though i'm too scared to do it by myself
hopefully i can find a group of people to go with
keep it up!
Capture, you rock! ;)b
That is a huge variety of food for free, cant beat that!
Yeah! We got a HUGE variety--and there was a lot of stuff we didn't take that some of the hippie guys did like jerky, cheese, meat stuff, etc., personally, even if I ate meat I don't think I would take that kind of stuff but they take it regularly and have no problems with it--but yes, we definitey got a ton of vegan goodies--I just made up a pot of boiled potatoes with uncheesey sauce--FREE, and last night I made a carmel apple pie--FREE!! The food is totally good and usable and all of the packaged stuff was unopened.
as for getting food from dumpsters
my first reaction to hearing others here say they did that, i was like "oh gross!" (i have to admit :-[ )
but then someone mentioned "freegan" and i looked up a bunch of videos and interviews on it, and i'm completely inspired!
i knew good food got wasted everyday, but i didnt know how much, or that lots of the food is practically new, and even unopened-such a waste
i'm in new york and so it should be pretty easy to do, though i'm too scared to do it by myself
hopefully i can find a group of people to go with
keep it up!
A fe years ago I would hav been like "Oh barf you gross, nasty hippies!!" But now--well, now I am a dirty hippie and I loooove it! I hate seeing all this food get wasted--it is so stupid! I almost feel bad about taking it--all this food could go to a food shelter and feed a LOT of people--I'm telling you, there was 9 of us there to raid last nights dumpster and we all walked away with HUGE quantities of GOOD food and there was still a lot left (especially bagged apples and bananas!) it's a damn dirty shame that this food is literally put in the trash--I am so happy that people do go in and get it!
You should definitely try out a few dumpster dives in NY--I hear it is really good up there--I think there may even be some freegan groups too! You will absolutely want a buddy--you have to go late at night (at least we do) and it's just safer to have someone with you--besides, you'll get so much you'll want someone to share with!
What do each of you spend on groceries a month?
Estimated and tracked (if you want to participate)
If you're interested in looking at them, there are a couple of threads that I remember on this (and one I made):
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=12141.0
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=15404.0
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=22303.0
We buy a lot (for 2), and all organic (including all other extras-toilet paper, etc.), so we spend $300-500/month.
interesting...
i signed up for http://mint.com
thanks for the link! that looks awesome.
i wonder if there is an omnivore forum like ours that we could do a test with. which forum spends less on food, vegweb vs. some omnivore forum.
OMG Cap, that's fantastic... I'm not thinking "oh gross" at all. I'm thinking "I SO wish I could come along with you!" or "I wish there were places to dumpster dive around here!" ::) :(
Capture, you rock! ;)b
That is a huge variety of food for free, cant beat that!
Yeah! We got a HUGE variety--and there was a lot of stuff we didn't take that some of the hippie guys did like jerky, cheese, meat stuff, etc., personally, even if I ate meat I don't think I would take that kind of stuff but they take it regularly and have no problems with it--but yes, we definitey got a ton of vegan goodies--I just made up a pot of boiled potatoes with uncheesey sauce--FREE, and last night I made a carmel apple pie--FREE!! The food is totally good and usable and all of the packaged stuff was unopened.
as for getting food from dumpsters
my first reaction to hearing others here say they did that, i was like "oh gross!" (i have to admit :-[ )
but then someone mentioned "freegan" and i looked up a bunch of videos and interviews on it, and i'm completely inspired!
i knew good food got wasted everyday, but i didnt know how much, or that lots of the food is practically new, and even unopened-such a waste
i'm in new york and so it should be pretty easy to do, though i'm too scared to do it by myself
hopefully i can find a group of people to go with
keep it up!
A fe years ago I would hav been like "Oh barf you gross, nasty hippies!!" But now--well, now I am a dirty hippie and I loooove it! I hate seeing all this food get wasted--it is so stupid! I almost feel bad about taking it--all this food could go to a food shelter and feed a LOT of people--I'm telling you, there was 9 of us there to raid last nights dumpster and we all walked away with HUGE quantities of GOOD food and there was still a lot left (especially bagged apples and bananas!) it's a damn dirty shame that this food is literally put in the trash--I am so happy that people do go in and get it!
You should definitely try out a few dumpster dives in NY--I hear it is really good up there--I think there may even be some freegan groups too! You will absolutely want a buddy--you have to go late at night (at least we do) and it's just safer to have someone with you--besides, you'll get so much you'll want someone to share with!
wait, um, is the bagged food piled in grocery carts out by their loading zone (I know it's in the clear trash bags, not actual grocery bags)? I ask because I used to work at TJs, and this is where we put our spoils/mark outs for the people from the mission/homeless shelter the following morning (I guess not all TJs have this arrangement, but at least all the SoCal ones do).
Admittedly, though, sometimes the mission people would never show.
At Starbucks we also bagged all the old pastries and waited for a mission to pick it up, and they almost NEVER showed. Hence us taking home ridiculous amounts of pastries.
wait, um, is the bagged food piled in grocery carts out by their loading zone (I know it's in the clear trash bags, not actual grocery bags)? I ask because I used to work at TJs, and this is where we put our spoils/mark outs for the people from the mission/homeless shelter the following morning (I guess not all TJs have this arrangement, but at least all the SoCal ones do).
Admittedly, though, sometimes the mission people would never show.
At Starbucks we also bagged all the old pastries and waited for a mission to pick it up, and they almost NEVER showed. Hence us taking home ridiculous amounts of pastries.
Everything is bagged in clear plastic garbage bags and is physically in the dumpster--we have to jump in and haul out bags and then rip them open and sort out what is good and what is not--there are some bags that are stright up trash--that would be sweet if they set it out all nice like for us--but no...we go around midnight and wait for the employees to leave and then there is a car race to the dumpsters in the back--we all pile out and hopefully don't get into any hippie food fights with the others showing up to scavenge--it's usually pretty kosher though--people definitely obey they first come first serve rule.
I think I'm going to start snooping around and find out other places to scavenge at--I so wish there was a vegan bakery around here *lol* I would loooove to have pastries!
I so want to do that Capture. You make it sound so cool and profitable instead of dark, scary and dirty. hahaha
I so want to do that Capture. You make it sound so cool and profitable instead of dark, scary and dirty. hahaha
I agree, the more you talk about it, the more I want to do it. There is this big grocery store in my town and I think this would be THE place to go around where I live. And it only closes at 9pm, so I wouldnt have to go too late, but I cant leave the kids home alone while I go check out the dumpsters. I'd have to wait until my hubby is home from work (every 2 weeks), but I'm pretty sure he would be grossed out by it. Oh well!
Yeah! It wasn't scary at all--dark, yes..because it was at midnight--and it was a bit on the dirty side, especially for my friend who was in the dumpster--you will get dirty and you might ven smell like garbage--but that is fixed by a shower! Yeah, it was definitely profitiable! I have so much produce that I am giving it away to friends!! It's always good to share :) You guys should check to see if there is a freegan meetup in your area--they might know the spots, days, times to hit!!
Good luck to you all!
Capture! That is fantastic! FYI I am definitely going dumpster diving tonight! I found an article online about dumpster diving and one of the bagel places they mention is right down the street!
Capture! That is fantastic! FYI I am definitely going dumpster diving tonight! I found an article online about dumpster diving and one of the bagel places they mention is right down the street!
Yeah!!! That's awesome Foofie!!! Let me know how it goes!! I want to try and find other palces around here that I can do this at too, all the other grocery stores compact their "trash" so they are out but I bet there might be some bakeries that put out stuff--trouble is figureing out if it is vegan or not--I guess bagles are always pretty safe...hmmm...what else? I'll have to think on it!
I was with my mom today, who I have not seen in a looong while, and she asked me how I was managing to get food and stuff (she usually helps me out) and I told her about dumpster diving and I think she was both proud of the fact that I was taking advantage of a free souce of food, but also really sad that I have to do this to suppliment my food supples as well--she was EXTRA generous during our shopping trip today and would insit on me getting more then what I needed--it was an odd sort of day with her.
I made rice and beans for dinner tonight (I know it sounds bland but its actually extremely tasty)
It made enough to feed me for about 3 more days and this is what it cost me
bag of dried red beans and bag dried black beans -- $1.25 each (these will make this recipe 3 or 4 times)
some rice from my 3lb package of rice that cost me $4.00
a packet of sofrito -- $.50
a can of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce -- about a dollar each
some garlic, an onion and a bell pepper -- maybe $2.00
so for maybe 5 or 6 bucks I can feed myself for 3 days (lunch and dinner)
that's about $2.00 a day for lunch and dinner, or a dollar a meal
there is no excuse for people to be eating all this junk. it is cheaper to buy your own stuff
Pages