I love a deal! And, some "food politics"

There's some interesting discussions that have happened on various food/frugality blogs about "cheap food." Many of the writers are looking at the issue from the perspective of cheap food = often unhealthy food.  They say that food is something we should NOT skimp on. After all, it goes into our bodies and has a lasting impact on our health. Also, our "food dollars" are pretty powerful, and we make value statements buy what and how we purchase food.

I pretty much agree that too much emphasis has been placed on trying to get food costs as low as possible in a family. The media will run a story on someone who got two full carts of food for $4.00 becasue he/she used piles of coupons, and it's like OH WOW, ISN'T THIS GREAT?! The thing is, most (not all) coupons are for processed foods like Hamburger Helper, refrigerated biscuits, sugary cereals, and the like.

We've tried to change our eating habits so that we are eating more FRESH, WHOLE foods - organic when possible, but we're not militant about it. We don't buy commercial breads, or cookies (well, once in a while, if it's like Halloween Oreos!), or frozen pizza, or "dinner mixes/bases" because those are things that I can make much less expensively and and at least slightly more healthfully at home. We've chosen to try to avoid processed, chemical-laden "foods" to the extent that is reasonable, given various budget and time restraints.

Here's an example Mr. Mamie and I were discussing when we were out doing errands this morning. In the last couple years I have discovered the fun of making homemade ice cream.  GolfDad long-term loaned me his Cuisinart ice cream maker, and about once a month (probably less) I've made homemade ice cream using real cream, whole milk, sugar, and fruits or coffee or whatever sounded good. The ice cream is delicious, of course, but also not especially healthy, given the fat-laden dairy products and the white sugar that are involved. It's definitely something that's a once-in-a-while treat.

A few weeks ago we were in a grocery store, and they had Dreyer's brand ice cream "specialty flavors" on sale - 2 gallons for $6. Except, they're not gallons anymore, didja know? The grocery shrink ray has hit the ice cream! Nevertheless, it sounded appealing so we bought one each of the special flavors Pecan Praline and Apple Pie.  We tried each flavor once on two consecutive nights, and guess what? I thought they were pretty awful! They tasted so artificial, and just like they were full of fillers and chemicals and air. And this is supposed to be "premium" ice cream. Well, they've sat in the freezer ever since, and I guess at some point I'll end up tossing them because they'll be frost-bitten and totally inedible. So, did we get out $6 worth? No, I don;t think so, and I could have made two - maybe more - batches of homemade ice cream with REAL ingredients for the same price.

So anyway, I'm wandering, but the point is  we've been willing to spend a little more if needed to get better food. It's not all about getting the cheapest deal.  I have come to believe, though, that you CAN buy real food for a decent price, if you are willing to cook it yourself.

Today at Albertson's I think we did a pretty good job. Now mind you, we weren't buying organic (because Albertson's just doesn't have that many organic options), and when organic is available and in our budget, it's what we prefer, but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

For $19.50 we got:

• 10 pounds of russet potatoes
• 2 bags of salad mix (we typically by whole heads of lettuce, but these were on an extreme sale; they'll be mixed with whole romaine leaves and fresh spinach)
• 3 dozen eggs
• 2 pounds of frozen corn
• 3 pounds of chicken breasts
• A big bag of fish sticks - which was the only "processed" food, and probably not coincidentally, the most expensive item. But, Mr. Mamie had a craving, and who am I to deny a man is crunchy processed fish bits?

We left the store feeling like we had gotten a decent deal for some real food, and that makes me happy.

In other deal news, I usually buy printer ink for my HP printer that I use at here at home at OfficeMax. I have a teacher rewards card, and I always take the empty ink cartridges back to OfficeMax for the recycling credit. I go through a LOT of ink (when I need something in color, like various school items and recipes, and both these type things get printed frequently) so I buy a lot and have empty cartridges to take in every time. Yesterday in my email there was an OfficeMax rewards certificate for $46.  I took it in today and got an extra large black cartridge and one each of the regular size color cartridges, and only had to pay 47 cents - YAHOO!!!