I live in Houston. With Gustav approaching the gulf coast, everyone is trying to prepare for the unexpected. During my lunch hour, I went for some grocery shopping just to ensure that there will be sufficient water and food in case all commercial places will be closed or it will be flooding so much that I can not go out of the house at all.
The supermarket was not as packed as I expected. I guess because most people had gone to the mega store to stack up their supplies. Most of my coworkers have changed to shop in Sam's, Costco to save on per unit cost for their food, especially if they have a big family. I can not afford the higher-than-affordable price from Whole Food, so I usually shop at my nearby Kroger.
I have been surprised by the level of increment in food price. Skim milk has gone from $2 something to over $3 now. Vegetables have also followed the big trend. Romaine lettuce no longer sells below $1. So much so that I find the packed organic salad mix that sells at a discount of $4 something a great deal. I can never find whole chicken selling at $.99/lb anymore. Instead, I will have to wait for the chicken go on discount and hopefully can get it close to $1.19/lb.
I start to wonder: where are the cheaper health food?
With commodity price turns north without any sign of going back, I have since changed some of my food shopping / eating habits:-
1) Get the fish! With those 6oz frozen fish selling at over $5 a pack, I learn to get my fish in the perfectly price reasonable place - the Chinese buffet! You can get about 3 to 4 pounds of fish in the to go box for a price of less than $10 (when you get it at lunch hours). The fish are perfectly cooked - they are steamed with mild seasonings - so they have kept good nutrient value.
2) Drink water! When dining out at restaurant, I no longer order any beverage. Instead, I order water with lemons. When adding those sugar free sugar, it tastes perfectly like a lemonade. At the same time, it saves you $2 for the drink.
3) Find the right protein! I find that the store has its own brand of beef patties. It's 91% fat free. A 12-patty pack costs about $10. When eating too much chicken can bore you, those patties can be a great choice for a wheat bread burger.
4) Read the Sunday newspaper! Yes, I was introduced and taught by my friend to go through the Sunday newspaper for food coupons. I was not a believer before. However, when seeing the receipt of saying that I save over 30% per food shopping trip. I am in!
Food is one of the biggest pleasures! It's worth to take some effort to make it healthy, make it worthy, make it right!
