On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:55:03 -0400, Lisa Ann wrote:
>
>
>"Lesmond" <lesmond@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>news:yrfzbaqirevmbaarg.jzc6y55.pminews@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> On 14 Apr 2008 22:35:49 GMT, Opus the Penguin wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Food prices are increasing sharply, according to this article:
>>>
>>><http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080414/inflation_squeeze.html?.v=4>
>>>
>>>
>>>The antepenultimate paragraph interested me in particular: "But for the
>>>poorest U.S. families, the higher costs may mean going hungry. A family
>>>of four is eligible for a maximum $542 a month in food stamps, which
>>>never lasted the whole month before, Food Bank of New Jersey's DiChiara
>>>said."
>>>
>>>Is there something about food stamps I'm not understanding? I can
>>>understand that you won't be living in luxury on roughly $17.50 per day
>>>to feed a family of four. But does it really mean going without?
>>
>> A lot of people don't know how to buy food. They buy ready made meals
>> instead of food staples. They microwave dinner instead of cooking it.
>>
>> I feed a family of three on less than $200 a month. And we eat well.
>> We've
>> having beef teryaki stir fry tonight.
>
>Well, Scott and I spend a lot more than $200 a month for just the two of
>us...but we also tend to splurge on good steaks when they go on sale.
And
>we drink a lot of milk and juice.
>
>But you're right, a lot of people don't know how to cook. When I was
>working as a security guard at Aldi and Sav-a-lot, it used to make me
nuts
>seeing all these people on food stamps buying frozen dinners and packaged
>dinners. (Contrary to the stereotype, I rarely saw them buying expensive
>cuts of meat and seafood. Then again, I was working at freaking Aldi and
>Sav-a-lot.)
>
>Right now in my pantry, I've got rice, several types of pasta, barley and
>lentils.
I thought lentils were only good for filling up bean bags.
But yeah, we've got all the pasta, the kidney beans, the rice...you know.
I found ****k roast on sale last week for $1.98/lb and chicken leg
>quarters for $.88/lb. We still have a lot of beef, mostly cut up for
stew
>meat or stirfry from the last sale.
Exactly. Some very nice bonelss ****k chops were on sale a couple of months
ago for $1.79/lb, so I bought like 20 pounds. The ones we have left have
been frozen so long they're best for stew, but we can still get by just
slathering some mozzeralla and tomato sauce on them. Yes, it's ****k parm!
And we'll buy the whole beef tenderloins on sale for $4.99/lb and grill
filet
mignon for a few weeks. It helps to have an extra freezer, which is a
luxury
for poor people, I realize.
We've also got almost every kind of
>frozen vegetable you can imagine.
Oh, yeah. I even buy canned veggies on sale, even if I'm the only one
who'll eat them.
About the only thing we buy that's
>packaged is Kraft Mac & Cheese, because Scott can't get enough of that
crap.
We bought a case of mac 'n cheese about 5 years ago. We still have some.
>Oh, and I buy jarred spaghetti sauce when it's on sale, because I've
never
>been able to make a good spaghetti sauce. So I guess I do buy packaged
>food. :)
I'll buy jarred sauce for something quick like mozzarella sticks, but I've
got about 50 cans of whole, crushed, diced and pureed tomatoes here. (All
bought on sale for 50 cents a can or less.) People rave about my sauce.
I
make it like my grandma did. Lots of garlic, lots of basil and fresh
onions.
And dump a buttload of parmesan cheese in it, too. Oh...and a ton or two
of
ground beef or ****k. And it has to simmer for a few hours. I make a
couple
of gallons at a time and freeze it.
I'm not saying I never buy prepared food. I think my little one would die
without frozen pizza and fish sticks and once in awhile I absolutely
*require" a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli. But we don't make it a
lifestyle.
And we still just don't spend $542 a month.
--
If there's a nuclear winter, at least it'll snow.
|
