A lot of people buy low quality food because it is "cheaper"

a reply to: rickymouse

The one junk food I love my body can’t process…Chick-fil-A sandwiches! I can eat 1/2 a sandwich, one bite more I’m in pain! So I dont eat it very often.

It is definitely cheaper to make everything from scratch yourself, but it's the "start-up costs" that generally are The Wall that financially prevents progress beyond a sack of flour & sugar.

We make all our own breads, so I'm fairly used to having 20 lbs of reserves that I cycle into rotation. All total, I usually have around 40 lbs of flours on hand, half of which are in use -- all-purpose, bread flour, cake flour (new arena for me lately) whole wheat.

You do not realize just how much damn powdered, reconstituted, baked seed goo you actually eat, until you're going through 5 lbs a week baking what you used to buy.

That $3 is a bargain already by comparison, lol.

However, I also use liquid oils (olive & veg) solid shortening, and butter, recipe depending. Usually, a stick or two's equivalent of butter (to help visualize any of those) is my bread loaf fats content use baseline for the week. Not that much in the grand scheme of costs, but it is additional expenses to maintain in the grocery budget.

Not all breads I've been making call for eggs, but some do. I was actually a little surprised at how many simple white bread recipes call for it (whole lotta white bread varieties out there)
So considering current egg pricing (otherwise I'd not fret much) if one is partial to egg breads, it can get another one of those "Nickel & dime, over time" kind of grocery list upkeeps, too.


The rest of the ingredients & how fast you rip through them can surprise you, too. I blaze through salt, and since I also make quick breads (banana, etc) I also go through baking powder fast. Baking soda, not so much -- I already get the giant boxes, because multipurpose wonderkind.

Yeast is what killed me at first. Those damn indie packets are an overpriced rip-off, and the jarred stuff is STILL a rip-off-- go to a wholesale club (Costco for me) and drop $5 or $6 on the brick. I think it's 2 lbs, so it's a MUCH better deal than the jars for around the same cost, but for just maybe 6 or 8 ounces

I go through about 4 lbs of yeast in a year, but I also don't just make breads, we make doughs like pizza, too.

Oh, and the sugars... You go through a loooot of this, that or the other sugar, *especially* once you start dabbling in cakes & icings, and cookies, etc. I prefer to use honey over sugar for... anything. It just tastes better, damnit, but it's a cost. I bought a 96oz jar of honey after Christmas for about $50.

Uh, it's half-used already.

By comparison, that would have been a lot of refined sugar in it's place, so we have no problem coughing that cost up. For a lot of folks,, though that's a healthy sweetener expense they can't justify.

It's taken me over a year to get to this point of most stuff I make actually being edible (lol, some of those early doorstop loaves...) And I cheat with a bread machine

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: crayzeed

But if you think about it the supermarkets must be making a loss on this food so why don't they assuage this loss by dropping the prices across the board?

I don't know crayzeed but given the massive increase in the cost of food and living over the past few years, something has to give.

I do honestly think the government (it has to be the government because ordinary people have no power, if the government was trustworthy) should investigated and continuously monitor the cost and profits of the complete food chain from grower to shelf. And that starts with the poor farmers. You know the ones with their £80.000 Range Rovers, £100,000 tractors, OH whoops, and their heavy subsidies from ,firstly the EU and now the government. And the price hike the supermarkets load on. But the government likes to keep these costing hidden, like what is the mechanism for the high energy prices?

a reply to: crayzeed

what is the mechanism for the high energy prices?

As far as I'm aware there are several factors at play where energy costs here in the UK are concerned.

Like the fact that we still rely heavily on imported energy for a start.

Global energy prices have risen sharply in recent years due to a range of factors such as supply disruptions, geopolitical tensions, and increased demand from emerging economies.

Also, our power grid is antiquated and they are apparently in the process of upgrading said grid which can apprently affect distribution and transmission costs.

None of which changes the fact that these bastards are experiencing record profits whilst poor people and pensioners are afraid to heat their homes.

They are simply taking the piss and then some by my guesstimation.

a reply to: putnam6

I wonder how bad it would be for you if you ate wet cat food. Pate or minced lol

originally posted by: chris_stibrany
a reply to: JAGStorm

Cheap pasta makes you way fatter than cheap rice that's for sure.

Growing up in an Asian household we say Rice=Life.

BUT, the way a lot of Asians used to eat rice was very balanced. A cup or so of rice and a lot of vegetables.
Vegetable, and broth and very tiny amount of meat was the standard diet.

Now it is all twisted. Huge portions of Rice Meat and a little vegetables.

a reply to: JAGStorm

So much fast food in Asia now too that wasn't really there prior to the 2000's. So now you are seeing way more fat people there , whether in India, South Korea or China etc, when it used to just be a Western thing.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: rickymouse

The one junk food I love my body can’t process…Chick-fil-A sandwiches! I can eat 1/2 a sandwich, one bite more I’m in pain! So I dont eat it very often.

Never even tasted a Chick-fil-A sandwich. They do not have any up here in the U.P of Michigan that I have seen. Haven't been to Wisconsin for a couple of years now but we are due for a trip to Green Bay some day next summer.

Chick-fil-A sandwiches do it for me. I can only eat half before my stomach hurts, so I don’t have them often.

originally posted by: Huronyx
Chick-fil-A sandwiches do it for me. I can only eat half before my stomach hurts, so I don’t have them often.

Eating healthier and avoiding cheap, low-quality food is easier when you make stuff at home. It costs a bit upfront, but once you have the basics, it’s so worth it.
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