Food Rules

[robivi3]

[robivi3]

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

[Bandit]

Sounds like they will be learning the value of a dollar from the fridge here, real soon.

[One Half Full]

Maybe you can get them into a sport like horse racing or ballet where they need to learn to avoid food?

I don't know back in the olden days, we got no milk, no yogurt, no sodas. Snacks were carrots and saltine crackers. If we wanted extra food, we had to rummage in the garbage cans of restaurants, or get a job.

[cbass1017]

It definately sounds like you need to rearrange your grociery list. Pop everyday? Do you buy salad from a bag or do you buy heads of lettuce to cut or shred yourself? You could recycle your bottles, refill them with water, and put them back in the fridge... is bottled water necessary? If you are really drinking a pop, milk, juice, and orange juice everyday it sounds like you could use some more water in your diet... tap in mean not bottled. Just like One Half Full put it, most of us were limited as children to what we could eat each day. I only have two children and I couldn't imagine what my grociery bill would be like if I let them have so many choices!

[my4devils]

I have 4 boys- havent hit the the teenage years yet but the oldest two already can out eat me any day of the week. Do they have after school jobs? Maybe working part time at a restaraunt could teach them about the dollar and they could get fed there too. Maybe they would bring some extras home too. We also keep alot of fruit right out on the table so they reach for that before they open the fridge. I am also getting the kids involved in planting a garden this spring so maybe they will be interested in eating the foods they are growing.

[robivi3]

We usually do our own salads. No cookies, little sweets. The soda statement is for me, the youngest touches no sweets whatsoever. He has been in DEP since last May and does his 3 miles a day run with weights on his leg and a pack. Packaged Salads are because of School/Church/Marine related activities and late arrivals from work at home. My wife gets home around 6:30 pm now. The other has a soccer scholarship.

We stay extrememly well stocked. WE DO NOT EAT OUT, VERY RARE. I just had to establish some rules for the rest of the time that they are here. According to the Herald we are paying twice as much for certain foods as the rest of the Country, though I say that meat and fish are cheaper here than when I am in Tennessee. Tomatoes are up to $4.50 per pound for vine ripes. We make our own vinegrettes and such, use only olive oil and go through about eight heads of Romaine weekly plus a couple of pre-preps. On stock up last week groceries were $489.00 and then Fridaythis week were $160.00, except for sodas (on sale) no sweets. I hit Winn-Dixie ("The Beef People) for the Buy One Get One Free on the London Broil, New York Strip and Porterhouse, Shrimp, Tilapia, Grouper, Catfish. Covers nearly two weeks and that meat only totals about $110.00 (it would be $220.00 if full price) of the total. Then I hit Publix for their specials. we also use Sam's every week. Then hit CVS for milk, it is $4.00 bucks a gallon for McArthur (real milk, not white water $4 a gallon junk at Sam's) It is over $6 per gallon in the Supermarket, CVS takes a hit to use it as a comeon, God Bless them! That has been going at 5 gallons a week, we are trimming it to three.

We eat good, no white starch at all but we don't necessarily stuff. We just go through alot of stuff! Things ahve gone up so I am trimming my own habits plus those of my boys. Typically one will use a whole head of Romaine as a snack, it gets expensive. Yogurts, we go through about 30 per week. It just a little to much at times.

[robivi3]

Bottled water is necessary because where i work we do not always have water (I work in a Train Garage). In the pit the temp will run about 110 in the summer and the place faces North/South in a place where the ocean breeze is East/west. I am well compensated for the inconvenience, please no lectures about what we should force the County to do, it won't happen. After 25 years I know the system well and we have it amazingly good in 90 percent of all respects, well beyond the capacity of people whio have always been in private industry to comprehend. I'll take the small inconveniences. The County forgets to pay the bill so the bottled water is in short supply at times, you have to supply your own water. My wife works for the State in a fancy Office but water is not supplied. Things work different here, you DO NOT drink from the tap, if you serve tap water straight it is considered like you are drinking from the toilet. A fellow where i work damn near got crucified for putting tap in the Bottled water container, it was yellow!!!!!!!!!!! Neither her Office or my place has water fountains. They were never used and were ripped out in my place many years ago when the County deemed the local supply unsafe even witrh a filter.

There is no refilling bottles and letting it stand, to someone who drinks even the filtered water here it just sounds gross. In the rest of the Country you have areas with good quality water (like Cumberland County TN.), not here.

Appreciate the suggestion though, very much.

[Bandit]

Pop everyday?

Yes, pop every day. I drank 2 to 4 liters of diet soda every day all day long. That is a lot! aint it? I did that for about 25 years. Hard to believe anyone could drink that much pop every day & it is kind of gross when I look back now.

Over that last two weeks I stopped buying pop/soda all together & have been drinking different types of hot tea & a lot more water as well as buying cranberry with 100% juice. I will still drink pop, but it will be more like a 20oz glass once a week. I think I got into the bad habit of drinking so much soda from working in restaurants for many years where it was always free.

[epiphany]

Can't you fill the water bottles from the fridge water? A little work maybe but might save some money. I love bottled water too and am guilty of taking my bottles to work and filling them before I come home. I understand about the tap water, it is disgusting and yellow here too.

EP

[FLBK7]

We usually do our own salads. No cookies, little sweets. The soda statement is for me, the youngest touches no sweets whatsoever. He has been in DEP since last May and does his 3 miles a day run with weights on his leg and a pack. Packaged Salads are because of School/Church/Marine related activities and late arrivals from work at home. My wife gets home around 6:30 pm now. The other has a soccer scholarship.

We stay extrememly well stocked. WE DO NOT EAT OUT, VERY RARE. I just had to establish some rules for the rest of the time that they are here. According to the Herald we are paying twice as much for certain foods as the rest of the Country, though I say that meat and fish are cheaper here than when I am in Tennessee. Tomatoes are up to $4.50 per pound for vine ripes. We make our own vinegrettes and such, use only olive oil and go through about eight heads of Romaine weekly plus a couple of pre-preps. On stock up last week groceries were $489.00 and then Fridaythis week were $160.00, except for sodas (on sale) no sweets. I hit Winn-Dixie ("The Beef People) for the Buy One Get One Free on the London Broil, New York Strip and Porterhouse, Shrimp, Tilapia, Grouper, Catfish. Covers nearly two weeks and that meat only totals about $110.00 (it would be $220.00 if full price) of the total. Then I hit Publix for their specials. we also use Sam's every week. Then hit CVS for milk, it is $4.00 bucks a gallon for McArthur (real milk, not white water $4 a gallon junk at Sam's) It is over $6 per gallon in the Supermarket, CVS takes a hit to use it as a comeon, God Bless them! That has been going at 5 gallons a week, we are trimming it to three.

We eat good, no white starch at all but we don't necessarily stuff. We just go through alot of stuff! Things ahve gone up so I am trimming my own habits plus those of my boys. Typically one will use a whole head of Romaine as a snack, it gets expensive. Yogurts, we go through about 30 per week. It just a little to much at times.

We generally refill our water bottles from the fridge water, which always tastes great because I change the filter religiously!

We eat well, a healthy and well-balanced diet. However, I am fortunate in that our family isn't that picky about things such as which milk I get, so I generally buy the Publix milk or, if I'm pressed for time, the Farm Stores milk. I prefer Barilla pasta sauce over all others, but buy it only when it's BOGOF and then I stock up big time.

As for produce, I always buy whatever is in season and on sale. While vine-ripened tomato clusters may be delicious, to us it's a treat which I buy when on sale only. I have a bunch of gorgeous plum tomatoes in my fridge right now, which I purchased at Publix at $.99/lb. They, too, are delicious -- just a different taste from the cluster ones.

Another suggestion: Since you are in South Florida too, why not head for deep South Dade County on a Saturday and stock up on farmer's market produce? It's excellent in quality, fresher, and costs the same as the supermarket stuff if not less. We make this a fun family excursion at least once a month.

[Cali]

Most juices have way too much sugar in them. And pop is not good for you.

As for water, you can get a filter on your tap water and use that. I use filter at home and bottle when I am on the go.

Salads are great idea.

I have 1 teenage boy(Football/Lacrosse player) and he eats a lot. My daughter(cheerleader) doesn't eat as much.

I spend 800$ month on groceries for 4 people.

[robivi3]

Sorry FL, work Saturdays for the last 25 years. Love Homestead though, we are off of Oakland and Hiatus so it is a real drive. Wish we had a Robert Is Here Fruit Stand here, I love that place!!!!!!!!! We do camp at Flamingo once in awhile.

[Minnymouth]

When those boys hit the teenage years, they are like "endless pits" when it comes to food and snacks. And then you add all their friends too............ what a grocery bill it can create.

Sometimes you have to set limits, and its not because you want too, its out of necessity....

Groceries are going sky high again here also.... everybody wants a "bite" out of the rebate we're supposed to get come May.... They beleive in starting early!!!

I too have had to "cut back" in many areas in the grocery line....
I used to be a heavy Pepsi drinker..... now I allow myself 2 a day and thats it. One at work (over ice) and one at home. I buy NOTHING out of a snack machine. Take my lunch to work, and cook meals at home. Very rarely eat out unless its McDonalds $$$$ menu or Wendy's $$$$ menu.

I had a roommate that spent $80.00 a week on 2 cartons of cigs and 5-6 gallons of milk........ she drank milk instead of water.....

Me, I'm allergic to milk but do use it in cooking only........ guess I'm blessed in that repect, huh...

Someone that ISN'T paying for the groceries, really don't realize, or don't care, how much they cost.....

As I tell my roommates, "EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAS A PRICE TAG ATTACHED TOO IT, AND SOMEBODY PAYS THE FREIGHT TO USE IT!!"

I have a roommate that uses a roll of paper towels a day... till I quit buying them. I might use a roll in two weeks. He says "we're out of paper towels"..... and I say, gee, thought we still had some.....

Right now nothing is "cheap", even a package of gum is a $1.00 or more...

Doesn't take long for it to add up at the cash register. There's lots of things I used to buy, that I don't buy anymore food wise and cleaning supply wise. Soapy water and an old dish towel works great on cleaning windows and such. Bleach and old powdered comet still works great cleaning a bathroom. A string mop and Tide still cleans my floors.

When I see a product that says "condensed" or "concentrated", you can bet its designed to be used up quickly.... small container, half the product as before!

Where a lot of our grocery money goes is really not groceries....
Its candles, air freshners (what happened to open the windows and let some fresh air in), expensive shampoos and gels for the hair. Fancy mops that require their own bottled liquids, etc.

And one of the biggest most expensive things we waste the most of is "garbage bags"...... $6.00 a box for 50 garbage bags??? Not at my house. I get 250 on a roll for $4.50.... and I'm not too lazy to twist and tie them off.... And believe me, I reuse all used Walmart bags instead of buying special little scented bags for my small cans.

Another expensive thing is Kleenex and toilet paper...... You pay dearly for the scented, lotion, and extra thick toilet paper. You also pay dearly for the brand names.... The big "double rolls" are a joke, read how many sheets you are actually getting.....

A brand name does not make a product better, just makes it cost more. Many products are made by the SAME COMPANY, they just package it under store names, etc. Example.... bread. The same people that make the $1.99 brand name of white bread makes the $.99 store brand loaf of white bread also.. (the local bakery).

There's many ways to cut corners, buy in season, buy on sale, plan meals, only buy what you need, use coupons, buy store brands, and limit packaged and convenience foods.

Lots and lots of items we buy and call groceries, AREN'T EDIBLE!! They are extras such as cleaning supplies, misc items...

Everytime we get a pay increase or cost of living, the price on "everything" goes up and its costs us even more to survive...

A friend of mine screams because groceries are so high.... but yet she thinks nothing of spending $75.00 on a haircut or $125.00 for a pair of shoes for a growing kid.

One thing is for sure..... Money only goes so far, and then we can't stretch it any more!!! It runs out eventually!!!

So when I buy something I think.... do I really need this? Is it a I want item, or do I really need this? And "big ticket items", I wait at least 3 days before I go buy it.

By being cost effecient and eliminating items I really don't need, I keep my grocery bill at a reasonable amount, yet always have plenty of food in the house.

And YES, I do like the finer things in life, but I don't make them an everyday item in my life. Those are treats!!!

[epiphany]

When those boys hit the teenage years, they are like "endless pits" when it comes to food and snacks. And then you add all their friends too............ what a grocery bill it can create.

Sometimes you have to set limits, and its not because you want too, its out of necessity....

Groceries are going sky high again here also.... everybody wants a "bite" out of the rebate we're supposed to get come May.... They beleive in starting early!!!

I too have had to "cut back" in many areas in the grocery line....
I used to be a heavy Pepsi drinker..... now I allow myself 2 a day and thats it. One at work (over ice) and one at home. I buy NOTHING out of a snack machine. Take my lunch to work, and cook meals at home. Very rarely eat out unless its McDonalds $$$$ menu or Wendy's $$$$ menu.

I had a roommate that spent $80.00 a week on 2 cartons of cigs and 5-6 gallons of milk........ she drank milk instead of water.....

Me, I'm allergic to milk but do use it in cooking only........ guess I'm blessed in that repect, huh...

Someone that ISN'T paying for the groceries, really don't realize, or don't care, how much they cost.....

As I tell my roommates, "EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAS A PRICE TAG ATTACHED TOO IT, AND SOMEBODY PAYS THE FREIGHT TO USE IT!!"

I have a roommate that uses a roll of paper towels a day... till I quit buying them. I might use a roll in two weeks. He says "we're out of paper towels"..... and I say, gee, thought we still had some.....

Right now nothing is "cheap", even a package of gum is a $1.00 or more...

Doesn't take long for it to add up at the cash register. There's lots of things I used to buy, that I don't buy anymore food wise and cleaning supply wise. Soapy water and an old dish towel works great on cleaning windows and such. Bleach and old powdered comet still works great cleaning a bathroom. A string mop and Tide still cleans my floors.

When I see a product that says "condensed" or "concentrated", you can bet its designed to be used up quickly.... small container, half the product as before!

Where a lot of our grocery money goes is really not groceries....
Its candles, air freshners (what happened to open the windows and let some fresh air in), expensive shampoos and gels for the hair. Fancy mops that require their own bottled liquids, etc.

And one of the biggest most expensive things we waste the most of is "garbage bags"...... $6.00 a box for 50 garbage bags??? Not at my house. I get 250 on a roll for $4.50.... and I'm not too lazy to twist and tie them off.... And believe me, I reuse all used Walmart bags instead of buying special little scented bags for my small cans.

Another expensive thing is Kleenex and toilet paper...... You pay dearly for the scented, lotion, and extra thick toilet paper. You also pay dearly for the brand names.... The big "double rolls" are a joke, read how many sheets you are actually getting.....

A brand name does not make a product better, just makes it cost more. Many products are made by the SAME COMPANY, they just package it under store names, etc. Example.... bread. The same people that make the $1.99 brand name of white bread makes the $.99 store brand loaf of white bread also.. (the local bakery).

There's many ways to cut corners, buy in season, buy on sale, plan meals, only buy what you need, use coupons, buy store brands, and limit packaged and convenience foods.

Lots and lots of items we buy and call groceries, AREN'T EDIBLE!! They are extras such as cleaning supplies, misc items...

Everytime we get a pay increase or cost of living, the price on "everything" goes up and its costs us even more to survive...

A friend of mine screams because groceries are so high.... but yet she thinks nothing of spending $75.00 on a haircut or $125.00 for a pair of shoes for a growing kid.

One thing is for sure..... Money only goes so far, and then we can't stretch it any more!!! It runs out eventually!!!

So when I buy something I think.... do I really need this? Is it a I want item, or do I really need this? And "big ticket items", I wait at least 3 days before I go buy it.

By being cost effecient and eliminating items I really don't need, I keep my grocery bill at a reasonable amount, yet always have plenty of food in the house.

And YES, I do like the finer things in life, but I don't make them an everyday item in my life. Those are treats!!!

I agree.

As far as brand names go....check the ingredients in a bottle of Bayer Asprin at 4.99 on sale and compare it to a bottle of generic asprin for .99 cents at CVS or Target (same milligrams and quantity). Relieves your headache just as well. You are paying 4.00 extra just for the name! Same with foot powder, same with lot of things. There are exceptions but those are things you can learn with trial and error.

I've learned to live with cheap shampoo and hair gel is a thing of the past (thank god it's not the 80's). However, I do like the double roll toilet paper compared to the single cause they last longer (those singles are usually one ply and do not contain as much product) and I can't live without milk. I crave milk once or twice a day with meals but do not drink it like water.

And yes, I can schedule my rent increase by the time I get my cost of living increase...just about covers that but doesn't at all cover everything else that goes up.

I too cook at home and take leftovers to work. I will usually make chicken and noodles but will "spurge" on red meat when it is on sale only. If a really good deal, I will buy some to freeze...but I have to stop myself from going crazy. Just because it's on sale, does not mean that I can afford it. I consider every purchase and sometimes end up putting stuff back after walking around the store.

I was into eating salads for awhile but find I can't really afford them right now. Fresh veggies are expensive and, given their perishability, are too much of a commitment.

And Minnie, I loathe paying for trash bags too. Sucks. I do buy them but use as many plastic grocery bags as I can to avoid having to buy them again.

I really hate being broke...sigh.........

EP