Groceries are going insane

[Anonymous]

I shop mostly at Aldi and Lidl and I consistently come out cheaper. I hate couponing and sale hunting across grocery stores so that is what works best for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's the traffic preventing people from driving to those different places to shop, that takes hours ---- drive, shop, checkout line, load bags, drive to another store or drive back home, unload from car, put away. Easily 3-5 hrs in certain areas of DMV.

it takes me no more time to go to Lotte than it takes me to go to Giant. I don’t even understand what you are talking about. Are you under some strange impression that it takes us Asians longer to grocery shop than Americans? Giant for me is more of a hassle because the produce selection is anemic and what they do have it is hit or miss if it’s fresh.

DP. For me there is a Giant within 5 minutes but any less expensive store requires driving 5 or 10 miles, which can be too difficult in traffic. Of course I could plan to go when there is less traffic, but not if I need to pick up something last minute.

[Anonymous]

The costs at non discount grocery stores are insane if you don’t coupon or watch sales. I live near a Safeway and a case of Diet Coke is 10 dollars, but it is 7 at Lidl.

[Anonymous]

I am able to buy organic whole raw chicken for less than $4 and butcher it as for my needs. I mostly get my produce from ethnic stores. Costco is pretty good for bulk produce as well. My grains and lentils are also bulk from ethnic stores. I am getting away from as much processed food as I can and that is helping to keep cost down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's the traffic preventing people from driving to those different places to shop, that takes hours ---- drive, shop, checkout line, load bags, drive to another store or drive back home, unload from car, put away. Easily 3-5 hrs in certain areas of DMV.

it takes me no more time to go to Lotte than it takes me to go to Giant. I don’t even understand what you are talking about. Are you under some strange impression that it takes us Asians longer to grocery shop than Americans? Giant for me is more of a hassle because the produce selection is anemic and what they do have it is hit or miss if it’s fresh.

DP. For me there is a Giant within 5 minutes but any less expensive store requires driving 5 or 10 miles, which can be too difficult in traffic. Of course I could plan to go when there is less traffic, but not if I need to pick up something last minute.

Giant does not work for people to eat a mostly plant diet. Their produce is AWFUL and horribly limited. I think its great if you are a cook that throws a bunch of canned soup and meat into a crockpot for dinner, but if you are really eaating a ton of fresh prodcuce and herbs not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shop in bulk and I shop from Costco and from ethnic markets.

The fact that I can cook from scratch, I can cook many different cuisines, and I am familiar with many different kinds of ingredients allows me a lot of flexibility. My friends comment on the veggies I buy from ethnic stores because they have never seen or tasted it, let alone cook it.

Shopping at various ethnic markets to save money is not realistic for working parents with kids.

That depends entirely on where you live.

Fairfax has an H-Mart, 99 Ranch, and India Bazaar all within like 5 minutes of each other. Wheaton has an H-Mart, a Vietnamese grocery, and countless smaller Hispanic stores all next to each other. Rockville and Gaithersburg both has many ethnic supermarkets.

In fact I'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful of neighborhoods in the area where you don't have at least one ethnic supermarket, mainly the whitest of white bread suburbs so I guess it's unsurprising that DCUM believes nobody lives near one.

Please tell me where the ethnic supermarkets are within DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The costs at non discount grocery stores are insane if you don’t coupon or watch sales. I live near a Safeway and a case of Diet Coke is 10 dollars, but it is 7 at Lidl.

But I can get a case of Diet Coke for $5 when they go on a buy 2 get 2 sale at Safeway or Giant, which is frequently. Just stock up and then wait for the next sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am able to buy organic whole raw chicken for less than $4 and butcher it as for my needs. I mostly get my produce from ethnic stores. Costco is pretty good for bulk produce as well. My grains and lentils are also bulk from ethnic stores. I am getting away from as much processed food as I can and that is helping to keep cost down.

Oh ethnic store product had pantry moths once so I am verrrry wary of that. I wish I could trust again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shop in bulk and I shop from Costco and from ethnic markets.

The fact that I can cook from scratch, I can cook many different cuisines, and I am familiar with many different kinds of ingredients allows me a lot of flexibility. My friends comment on the veggies I buy from ethnic stores because they have never seen or tasted it, let alone cook it.

Shopping at various ethnic markets to save money is not realistic for working parents with kids.

That depends entirely on where you live.

Fairfax has an H-Mart, 99 Ranch, and India Bazaar all within like 5 minutes of each other. Wheaton has an H-Mart, a Vietnamese grocery, and countless smaller Hispanic stores all next to each other. Rockville and Gaithersburg both has many ethnic supermarkets.

In fact I'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful of neighborhoods in the area where you don't have at least one ethnic supermarket, mainly the whitest of white bread suburbs so I guess it's unsurprising that DCUM believes nobody lives near one.

Please tell me where the ethnic supermarkets are within DC.

DC is a food desert when it comes to grocery stores or any sort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shop in bulk and I shop from Costco and from ethnic markets.

The fact that I can cook from scratch, I can cook many different cuisines, and I am familiar with many different kinds of ingredients allows me a lot of flexibility. My friends comment on the veggies I buy from ethnic stores because they have never seen or tasted it, let alone cook it.

Shopping at various ethnic markets to save money is not realistic for working parents with kids.

That depends entirely on where you live.

Fairfax has an H-Mart, 99 Ranch, and India Bazaar all within like 5 minutes of each other. Wheaton has an H-Mart, a Vietnamese grocery, and countless smaller Hispanic stores all next to each other. Rockville and Gaithersburg both has many ethnic supermarkets.

In fact I'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful of neighborhoods in the area where you don't have at least one ethnic supermarket, mainly the whitest of white bread suburbs so I guess it's unsurprising that DCUM believes nobody lives near one.

Please tell me where the ethnic supermarkets are within DC.

You’re not missing much. H-Mart and Lotte now cost as much if not more than regular grocery stores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The costs at non discount grocery stores are insane if you don’t coupon or watch sales. I live near a Safeway and a case of Diet Coke is 10 dollars, but it is 7 at Lidl.

But I can get a case of Diet Coke for $5 when they go on a buy 2 get 2 sale at Safeway or Giant, which is frequently. Just stock up and then wait for the next sale.

This -- you have to learn to shop the sales. I build my menus around what the best deals are for the week for produce and proteins. I then fill in with dishes that include lentils, beans, and rice. This takes a bit of kitchen knowledge and creativity to do easily, but it is a skill that can be learned. Admittedly, even the prices for things like beans and rice are double what they were pre-pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Love these coupon optimizers defending inflation, lol

[Anonymous]

I hear american soybeans are cheap though because of fearless leaders erratic trade wars.
Mandatory tofu should be the patriotic choice of all heritage Americans!

[Anonymous]

You can buy 'ethnic' foods in bulk from Amazon at good prices but they are rotating, certain things at certain times, also bulk rice/lentil/oil etc. It's like Costco but you don't need a car of Costco membership

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Onions aren’t in season unless they’re spring onions- buy in season and freeze or put in your root cellar in some sand. Also don’t buy 3 individual onions buy 5-10 lb.

If I don't use very many onions, that just means that I will end up throwing out rottens ones. Is that preferable?

Be like a normal person and plan your meals around the ingredients on sale, and plan to use up the cheaper options. Plus a bag of onions lasts like 2 months.

No one feels sorry for anyone complaining about the price of pomegranates and dragonfruit! Some of you are SO out of touch. Food prices for staples are the same as pre-Biden now. If you want expensive, out of season, organic stuff, you pay more and no one feels sorry for you.

That is simply not true.