how is the value proposition here? was this an adequate use of money?
(keeping in mind as well fwiw i don’t eat meat)
It looks like a reasonable buy for what you’re probably used to in terms of cooking, convenience and diet. As long as you get at least one cooked meal in you each day, you’re doing good. Don’t sweat it if you don’t want to, there’s plenty of other things to worry about.
If you are looking for some input, I would probably add more varied sources of protein (lentils, nuts, eggs, beans) and fiber (carrots, cabbage, kale, wholegrain), but I also live on another continent and have both other availability and tradition than you might.
If you’re worried that your food is too expensive, there’s plenty of suggestions in the other replies better geared toward US markets, but I’ll also add that you could make groceries last much longer by learning a bit more about cooking. A lot can be gained by using/substituting with local or seasonal ingredients, as well as re-using leftovers and scraps in creative ways.
If learning cooking is a steep lifestyle change, you could also find a group to share the burden with. Do weekly meal preps together, or for each other, or do batch cooking of condiments/pickles/sauces and swap with each other. It’s a fun way to learn from each other, keep to the habit, and might even be a nice way to get to know someone.
Cooking 3 dishes (to get enough variety) for the week’s meal prep is a big ask, but you could do one batch each and swap with a couple of friends.
Doing batch cooking and canning of sauces is also an excellent way to use up ingredients that are on their way out. Found cheap second assortment tomatoes on a farmer’s market? Pasta sauce for a week! Got too much milk? Make some cheese! Someone’s apple tree yielding too much fruit? Apple sauce, dried apple crisp/cubes/snacks, base for indian/far east curries/stews, in salads, drinks, snacks as fresh whole apples or wedges, made into jam/marmelade, used as substitute for potatoes or tomatoes, and/or as part of delicious pie or other dessert.
Also: leftovers can almost always be put into a pie crust (water, flour, butter/oil), covered with shredded cheese, and become a Quiche du semaine/pie of the week. With practice you’ll find how much of carbs, protein, fibers and flavouring you prefer in it, and you’ll make an actual great dish you look forward to.
On the topic of pie of the week.
You can make dishes with similarly upcycled leftovers in burritos, stir frys, pizza, pasty/pirog, and often in a pasta and/or au gratin (with melted cheese on top). Although I find none of them are quite as versatile as the quiche, they are excellent for variety.
Do people really fuck with uncrustables? I almost picked some up tonight
Uncrustables are ravioli.
You’re ravioli
Holy shit. Meat sealed in a skin pocket. They’re right! You ARE ravioli!!
Ravioli is a sandwich
True Neutral, I see.
Hell yeah, straight out the freezer into my fat face
Uncrustables fuck, bro. They’re fantastic. Try the hazelnut spread ones, too.
What does Mexico taste like?
I don’t see any beans, masa, or Gansitos. I’m guessing it’s more northern Mexican food in the picture though.
I feel like this is food for two different people
Muffins spelled backwards is sniffum
How many days worth of food is that?
Coulda bought 8 of these instead, just sayin’
Now that’s savvy spending!
Not a bad haul, I might be biased as an Australian, but that looks like good value for money for food that’s balanced and easy to cook.
As a fellow non-meat eater, I am deeply disturbed by the lack of legumes in this photo, but if you’re not a fan of cooking from dried, then I get it, canned can get expensive for what you get out of it.
Some charred chickpeas with olive oil lightly smashed on that rosemary bread would end up being my breakfast for a week straight if this was my house.
Don’t know how expensive is in Australia, but in Europe most of the time you can find the supermarket brands of legumes at about a euro for a can (medium sized). So it’s not that bad, and more practical unless you are cooking for several people.
Not too far off, $1AUD (0.60 euros) would be a cheap can of beans (which is often mostly water, even if it’s a 400g can, once you drain the beans, your millage varies by brand) $3 a can is average for name brands that fill the can to the brim.
But when you can buy 500g of dried beans for $3.99, and that will make the equivalent of 8-10 cans of beans, as someone who doesn’t eat meat (and has allergies so can’t eat commercial “mock meats”), I eat at least 2 serves of legumes every single day. Buying cans adds up at that scale even though I’m just one person. So I always buy dry legumes when I can.
I definitely have some cans in the pantry for emergencies though, because they are very convenient.
But I also have some pre-cooked, unseasoned beans and chick peas in the freezer, when I cook up a big pot I always throw a few portions in the freezer. They defrost in less than a minute in the microwave, so I’ll use them before I crack open a can of beans.
What do you mean no meat? The cat is right there!
(Kidding, I love my cat.)
Oh I assumed that was a cat for farming fur balls, not meat.
Lotsa carbs. At least you’ve got some veg in there.
Try adding beans or other veg with protein, more filling and less likely to snack. Nuts, quinoa, asparagus or avocado will help, too.
Agreed. Almonds and walnuts aren’t too expensive. Peanuts are still mostly just peanuts. And I heard my neighbor sold her mercedes for 5 cashews. Lots of options in the nut department.
That frozen broccoli is pretty good and useful, great choice
They sell cats at Walmart?
Why did you buy so much plastic and can packaging?
This is very typical looking for groceries in the US
In the US, those are pretty much the only option unless you know a local farmer or producer willing to sell in bulk directly to you
Probably living in the US
Not a critique, I first wanted to encourage you to try making your own tortillas, but kinda backtracked since it has a big downside which is that they are so much better that going back to store-bought is kinda a dilemma: they taste much worse, but you don’t have to spend hours kneading and rolling and cooking. On the other hand home-made can be frozen, so there is that… If you still might like to give it a go, I use a video from Jack Ovens in YT, which I recommend. Now I want to make tortillas…
Had to get to the very end to see you were talking about tortillas
It was the “hours kneading and rolling and cooking” that gave it away for me, then the end confirmed it.
My bad, I now edited it. I rewrote it multiple times and missed it.
Same, but we knew it was going to be about tortillas didn’t we.
i know the enchilada sauce is one of the cheapest items in this picture but i recently made some from scratch and can confirm that canned enchilada sauce is absolutely flavorless. alternatively, it is super simple, quick and inexpensive to make from scratch. broth, tomato paste and toasted spices (chili p., ground cumin, garlic p., onion p., pinch of oregano/cayanne/salt/pepper and optional dash of apple cider vinegar) made in a roux and simmered for 10m. that’s it! the difference is night and day. go forth in flavor.
I just use the can to get it started and throw all that in anyways.
Idk I feel like buying a cat with your groceries was a bit too much. Should have just skipped the groceries and only bought the cat
Good deal on the cat, tho. The food is basically free.
