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Monday, December 4, 2017

Small Economy: Two Ways to Eat More Cheaply

1) Thursday, I decided to eat a can of tuna for dinner. Well, there were vegetables/salad, I forget. I just reached for a can of tuna and was opening it when I realized it was not StarKist, the only brand I like. It was Food Club. grrrrrrrrr I made the tuna salad with a bit of Dill Relish and a bit of Sweet Relish and a generous portion of Miracle Whip. Chopped celery provided a great crunch. I did not want to wait for eggs to boil, so that was dinner.

The Food Club tuna must have been in the wrong space when I picked up two or three cans at the store and put it in my cart. Have you ever gotten home with a bottle of conditioner and could have sworn you picked up shampoo? Or, something of the sort?

Much to my surprise, this tuna was delicious. So, from now on, Food Club will be my choice at the grocery store. I know that Chicken of the Sea will never be purchased again. That stuff is nasty.

Food Club is cheaper! And, I am not sure which store it came from.

2) At Publix I previously purchased the reduced Tabatchnick brand of frozen Lentils and Mushroom soup, and exbf loved it with chicken added for a more hearty meal. So, hoping against hope, I went right back to see if there were more. There were! So, I purchased four more boxes with two pouches of soup in each box. Pepperidge Farm frozen raspberry turnovers were still there, also. I now have two packages more of turnovers.

I would have purchased all the soup packages and raspberry turnovers, but my freezer was too full for more. Six packages stuffed it to the gills.

Remember? The soup packages were reduced to  $1.25 for a two-pack, and the raspberry turnovers were reduced to  $1.75 for a four-pack of turnovers. If one package of soup is a meal along with chicken in it and vegetables, he eats that for $0.62. plus added chicken and something else. I might put kale in the next bowl after I microwave it. That would be a nutritious lunch for $1 or so. He likes kale.

I cannot feed him soup for lunch or dinner every time he comes here! Or, maybe I can. I can ask him if he wants pb sandwich for lunch or the soup. I am betting he goes for soup...lol. These small economies help tremendously.

I could make a pot of vegetable soup for less than $0.62/serving, but I am not for cooking as much as I was in the past. Shortcuts, especially healthy ones, are good to have available right now.

(Since I put 6 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast in the crock pot today, I will freeze 8 little packages just for his soup.) Okay, this is hours later and chicken is done. I am now wheezing a lot. And, my finger is swollen and red again, not infected, just painful as far as I can tell.

Today, I had a checkup doctor appointment in Decatur that I could not keep. My finger is one again inflamed to the first joint and throbs. Plus, my wheezing has gotten worse. I am trying to fix both without going to the doctor.

Your turn
Do you love it as much as I do when you discover small economies for groceries? What is your best find in a reduced/sale food? Did you ever discover after years of sticking to one brand that a cheaper brand was just as good? Is Food Club brand of tuna in your area?


11 comments:

  1. Hi Linda,

    I am laughing over your tuna. I have done the conditioner shampoo switch more times than I want to remember. Since I don't use conditioner. it means a return to the store.

    I sure hope you feel better soon.

    I haven't seen food club brand around here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AD,
      I don't use conditioner, either! One tine, I returned it and brought home conditioner as the exchange. That was embarrassing!

      If I am not better by Wednesday, I am going to the doctor before this turns into pneumonia.

      Delete
  2. That happens quite often around here. The stuff we never managed to exchange for what we had actually meant to get just went to the Boy Scout Food Drive a couple of weeks ago.

    Take care with that wheezing. This time of year my asthma always acts up off and on, depending on what the weather is doing. Sudden cold spells seem to aggravate my asthma. I don't know why, I'm not outside in the cold that much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susie,
      I had the tuna partly opened, so no taking it back or giving it away.

      I have an inhaler, guaifenisen, and singulair for it. Hopefully, it will get better. I got to hot with the heater on. Too much heat or too much cold and moist air does it for me. Sometimes, just a couple of breaths going to the car in heat or cold does me in. Thanks.

      Delete
  3. Our main grocery store here is Cub Foods. I always buy their store brand tuna since I discovered it is much better than the name brand tuna. And cheaper.

    Hope you get to feeling better soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vicki,
      That is often true. I had tried several national brands and didn't like them. I just figured a store brand would be no better. Mama always shopped at Kroger and bought their canned pumpkin and oj which we loved. When I married, I shopped there, too, and bought store brands. We always bought Hunt tomato products and not the Kroger brand.

      Thanks. If I am not well by Wednesday, I am going to the doctor. You take care.

      Delete
  4. I, too, have done the conditioner not shampoo and had to return it to the store. Recently bought HOT salsa instead of Mild salsa and had to return that as I find even the mild to be hot.

    Checked on Food Club products - been around since 1945 and supply smaller chains. In the Sough it's IGA, Foodland and Food Giant. We don't have any of those stores locally but I'd have to check Save-a-lot as deal in what is often considered off brands which usually means store brands or small producers.

    I often find store brands to be equal or better than name brands. I always check the manufacturer's address as it can indicate what company actually made it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bellen,
      The person at customer service said she had done the same thing, too. It must be a very common mistake.

      I think I got it from a local store that has three locations and carries that brand in lots of items. I ate a store brand whole kernel corn that was excellent, and now I cannot remember what it was.

      Delete
  5. Linda I like the tuna in the foil packets. They are more expensive I'm sure but don't need to be drained. I love to eat it plain right out of the packet. I think it's name brand but I have never gotten a store brand I did not like. Long ago one store sold generic canned line with a totally white label and very plain black letters. Very cheap but still good. Sometimes I think it's a mind thing but then I can't tell the difference between coke and Pepsi so who am I to judge?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. carol,
      If you cannot tell the difference between a
      Coke and Pepsi, well, I won't trust your taste buds...lol. Never had the foil pouches because it is expensive. I like tuna plain, too.

      Delete
  6. I work at a store that sells Food Club brand. This might not be correct but, someone in management told me years ago that Food Club buys food from name brand companies without labels on them, then puts their label on it and the grocery store is required to place the Food Club labeled item next to it's name brand counterpart. So the tuna you bought is most likely the same tuna you really ment to buy. I hope that made sense :-)

    ReplyDelete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.