Home > Feeding Frenzy > Archives > 2008 > May > 27 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USDid you experience barbecue sticker shock?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For me, it isn’t Memorial Day without a cookout…and from the smell of charcoal wafting through my neighborhood yesterday, I’m not the only one.
With the craziness that comes with the end of the school year, I hadn’t been doing large shopping trips for the last couple of weeks. There were so many last minute celebrations, our eating schedule was too erratic. To prevent wasting food (or continually transferring things to the freezer for later cooking), I had better luck picking up just what I needed that day or a day ahead after our schedule was set.
While I had noticed prices steadily climbing at the supermarket, it wasn’t until I did my blowout party shopping that the increases hit me over the head. I’ve never felt as pinched at the cash register as I did this past weekend.
I began looking at my holiday menu more closely to see where I could economize. Knowing I have the tendency to prepare enough food for an army, I took a closer look at serving sizes, scaling back from automatically cooking the whole box of pasta for macaroni salad, realizing I could halve the recipe and still have plenty. I also reduced the number of side dishes, keeping just as much as needed for variety. And, when people offered to bring something, this time I said “sure.”
I realize these were modest cutbacks since I didn’t want to sacrifice too much on a special occasion. I have to say, for my guests, they probably weren’t even noticeable. But, I know I am going to have to continue in this vein, going even further to keep costs down as the summer rolls on.
Did you experience sticker shock at the supermarket this weekend? How did you make adjustments this holiday because of rising prices?
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Comments
By FCM
May 27, 2008 11:43 AM | Link to this
We kept things low key and modest too. My brother provided the soda (currently on sale) and the burgers/dogs. My parents provided a side dish and an app (pork). I provided a side dish, another provided a salad. Nobody went away hungry…there were 11 of us. Sharing the load certainly helps.
My over all bill has increase about $25 /week. What is bugging me is buying fresh fruit and having my children decide they don’t like it all of a sudden.
OH! I shop the sale mostly….we got coleslaw, blueberries, etc because the sale was good. The key to most things is buy what you need and know your store…I know when the detergent will go on sale…if that means I have an extra bottle for a week but save the $3 then so be it.
I found I plan meals more now. I have worked the Trader Joe’s thing so that it is a once a month trip. I buy some things there and supplement with Publix or Walmart. I have learned to make favorites from restaurants too.
By VoiceOfReason
May 27, 2008 3:05 PM | Link to this
I’ve taken it a step further than making a list before going to the grocery store. First I plan dinners for the week (yes, sort of like writing out a week long menu) and of course throw in the weekly essentials. This really, REALLY helps me to stick to exactly we need. Also, on the fruit thing (yeah, it sucks) just simply ask your children what kind of fruit they want THAT week. Generally they’ll eat it because they’re happy enough to get something they asked for, but remember to ask each week cause most people, yes, even us adults, don’t want the same fruit after fruit. I must admit, there of course will still be leftover fruit. I just grab it before it becomes inedible and freeze it. When you’re feelin festive, make smoothies!!!
By Thrifty
May 27, 2008 5:04 PM | Link to this
Try making a left-over fruit salad with nuts. Cut into bite size pieces and squeeze a lime over the top of the left-over fruit and put it in the fridge. This works best with hard fruit, melon and citrus. NO strawberries or bananas unless you are serving it right away. That makes my fruit last longer and changes up the taste for everyone.
By FCM
May 28, 2008 6:52 AM | Link to this
Smoothies and a different fruit salad. I love the ideas thanks!
I do ask the kids which fruits they want, and even if not on sale if they are not to high priced, I get them. However, we got the 2 melons home and once cut they decided they do not like them. This was odd since they picked them! I guess I can make a cold melon soup too.