Do you see your eating habits changing due to higher prices?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Are your eating habits changing due to the inflation of food prices? Either deliberately, or sorta unconsciously?

Ours have. I run into that “They want HOW MUCH for (whatever thing)?” feeling that used to be occasional and now is a multi time thing every single shopping trip. Sometimes I just goggle, sometimes I buy a smaller size of whatever than I used to, sometimes I flat out substitute something else – which may also (probably) have increased in price recently but because I haven’t been routinely buying it I don’t have a “that’s not what it should cost” price wired into my brain.

For one thing, it makes me much more likely to take a chance on unfamiliar or store brand versions, sometimes with good results, sometimes bad. For example, I’ve discovered that “Fruit Swirls” look and taste virtually the same as “Fruit Loops” at a price about 50% less. Win! (Don’t judge me, I use a scoop of some ‘kid’s cereal’ mixed into my standard adult bran flakes to keep me willing to chomp it down.)

But a real change that I only realized yesterday: We genuinely eat leftovers routinely now. That one serving worth of corn kernels? Well, add it to the can of vegetable soup I’m having for lunch. That single scoop of leftover stuffing will actually get warmed up and put on the table at another meal instead of just hanging around ignored until tossed.

I was brough up to save leftovers of significant value (like a left over chicken leg) or a sizeable amount (like that vegetable side dish where half of it wasn’t eaten.) It was a legacy from my mother, who grew up in a working class home during the depression era – you just don’t waste food. We had all sorts of tupperware and such to tuck them away in. This was in contrast to my father, whose family came from a better off sector. One of my paternal aunts never saved a leftover. She would toss a roast chicken even if one leg was completely untouched and a breast still mostly there. Trashed, without a thought.

My mother often told a ‘joke’ on herself. One time when her mother-in-law was staying with the newly married couple, and helping clear the table after a meal, she picked up a bowl of something and asked “Do you want to save this for a while, or shall I throw it away now?” And she wasn’t intending to be snarky or anything, she just knew that half the space in the fridge was filled with containers of leftover whatever that would live there until the standard ‘throw out the bodies’ the day before the weekly shopping. It was just the way my mother operated: good at saving food, not so good at remembering to actually re-use it.

I used to be the same. Now, the leftovers at least get re-offered as potential part of a following meal. Weird idea, huh?

My neighbor has told me she now buys those packets of flavorings to add to water in her travel mugs instead of buying the individual sized bottles of various energy type drinks the way she used to. Boasted about it saving her over a dollar a day!

How about you all? Are you making little changes to offset food inflation?

2

I’ve been living frugally with most things including food and drink for many years.

If I make something I eat it until it is gone.

Not sure how much more I can downsize other than not eating or drinking at all.

3

Restaurant prices are insane these days, fast food especially. We as a family are eating out a lot less (notably in the past three months). And my wife has already warned me to get ready for more beans on the table with beef prices going up so much.

4

Nope. I make a decent living and don’t spend much money on material things that I don’t really need, but I do enjoy eating well. I keep an eye out for what’s on sale when I’m grocery shopping, and if I see a sale on some type of meat or seafood it might influence what I make for diner that night, but I don’t stop buying a food item I want because it’s increased in price.

We have, as a family, decreased the amount of times we eat out somewhat. My wife and I went to lunch at an unassuming Jamaican restaurant with our two adult children the other day. The bill was over $70– for lunch! But then, I like to cook and we never did eat out too often anyway.

5

“Already changed” for me, when it comes to meat. Prices for beef and chicken skyrocketed during the pandemic, and haven’t come down. And I’m almost always just not willing to pay that much for a steak or some chicken wings. Even the traditional “cheap” steaks cost what a really good steak used to cost, and ground beef is the same. Chicken wings really kill me - I bought an air fryer, and for a few weeks, made some glorious wings in it. Within a month or two, though, the cost of wings just about doubled, so I haven’t made any since.

6

It’s hard to say about restaurants; our kids were younger pre-pandemic, and we didn’t go out to eat as much as before we had kids.

What I have noticed is that some foods are considerably less common in our rotation than they used to be. We used to get inexpensive beef- ground beef, roasts, flatiron steaks, skirt/flank steaks, and grill or cook them commonly, because all the meat options were more or less similar in cost.

Now beef’s through the roof, and we rarely have steaks or grilled beef anymore. Ground beef is something we closely watch store sales and promotions on, and buy a bunch to freeze for later. Instead, it’s a lot of chicken thighs these days, because they seem to be on sale the most often. Which I suppose is probably healthier overall vs. beef or pork. And more sausage, which doesn’t seem to have gone up in price vs. the other meat options.

We’ve also sort of informally introduced more meatless or low-meat dishes- stuff like pasta with just a little pancetta in the sauce or something like that, instead of a big pot of ragu Bolognese.

Part of the problem on packaged stuff like say… beer, is that our brains don’t do a great job of accounting for inflation. Right now, a six pack of 12 oz cans of Budweiser is like $10.50, which sounds exorbitant, but according to all the inflation/CPI type websites, equates to a 1995 price around $5.00, which is right where I remember that same six-pack being priced. Same thing for fast food- a #1 combo at Whataburger is $10.27 these days, which equates to around $5.00 30 years ago, which is spot-on.

What hasn’t changed is salaries. That’s the pinch factor these days. For example, I sort of doubt that entry level graduates are being paid $60k out of college these days, even if that’s right in line with where our salaries were 30 years ago.

7

That’s less than $20 per person which doesn’t seem that high, if that includes beverages and tax.

The price of coffee has risen so much within the last year. Regular Walmart brand was $4.47 a year ago, when I looked last week it was $6.99! That’s a 56% increase. Insane.

8

I’ve started shopping at Aldis and not eating out as much. Partially because I’ll be retiring soon, but mostly because I’m not happy with what I am getting for my money. Soon I’ll be moving out of country and will definitely readjust my spending and eating habits. Let’s just say I’ll be eating a lot more fresh seafood.

9

I rarely, if ever, eat out. Cost is one reason, but I also like knowing what is being put in my food before I eat it. I don’t mind cooking, and since I live alone, cooking for the week is relatively simple once I’ve decided what I want to cook. I only eat 1700 calories a day, and I don’t snack, so that helps keep my food costs down. When I was married, we would shop at a variety of grocery stores around town, looking for the freshest veggies and best-looking protein sources, including Costco. With two incomes, cost was no object.

These days, since I’m retired, I buy most of my food at Walmart, not because I like Walmart, but because I can save at least 20% compared to some other stores in town. Their protein selection isn’t as good, and their fruits and veggies are often marginal, so I sometimes have to stop at a grocery store on the way home to pick up a few fresh items I need. I will sometimes buy in bulk at Costco and freeze what I don’t immediately need for later.

We have a new Target that has a decent food section, although its prices are higher than Walmart’s. I wish I could afford to buy fresh food at my local farmer’s market. I can, though, purchase fresh farm eggs from a local neighbor that taste better and are cheaper than even Walmart!

10

I cut back on steak! Not only because of the price but the quality of beef and poultry has declined! And grass feed beef’s is not a thought….To me it has poor taste! Soylent Green is coming fast!

11

I eat a lot less beef. I go for ground pork in a lot of my recipes. I don’t need to be frugal, but it’s kind of my nature. I always looks at what meat is on sale; I check out Aldi in the mornings to see if any meat is 50% off.

12

I’ve always been a sale shopper; it’s rare that I ever buy things that aren’t on sale unless I really need them for a planned meal. Unfortunately, that means I no longer buy a number of things that I used to regularly get, like eggs, because they don’t go on sale as often. This does affect my meal planning.

I’m also making a bigger effort to use up food I already have. A number of years I bought an upright freezer so I could stock up on things when they were on sale and store leftovers of things like chili and beef stew which I make in big batched because it’s more cost-effective. I’m currently working on checking out the contents of the freezer to through out things that have been in there too long, and using things before they need to be thrown out.

13

I just ordered more tea from the place (rishi) I’ve been buying it from for years. Wow, the cost is higher!

I bought it anyway. I’m pretty well off, and eating what i want to eat is a high priority.

I’ve always been pretty good about eating leftovers, though. Food i chose that i don’t have to prepare! Win.

But we have different preferences for chicken. I like to roast chicken, and i often end up throwing out the legs. Or maybe tossing them into the stock pot. Yesterday, i picked over the chicken carcass as part of my lunch (I’d removed most of the meat and out it in a separate container) and i didn’t touch the legs. I’ll probably eat the leftover thigh and breast meat. I’ll probably end up tossing the legs.

14

Pretty much me. The only thing that I’ve started doing more of, is something I should have always been doing. Which is getting better at resisting impulse buys and being a little more on the nose about planning meals. Driving around thinking I should pick up that sandwich from that place, but deciding against it because “no, I have leftover chicken at home.” Or buying some stuff at the grocery store that grabs my attention and end up not cooking it before it goes bad. I used to just shrug when I did that, now I wince :slightly_smiling_face:.

I will in fact eat them (de-boned) if I roast a chicken, but yeah I never have cared for legs. I don’t do KFC anymore, but when I did and on the rare occasions I buy Popeye’s these days I always have them substituted out for thighs.

15

Don’t the SDMB demographics show that a lot of us were raised by Depression Babies? Eating on the cheap is the new normal is the old normal.

16

For everyday cooking, like stews, thighs are my favorite, but for eating roast or fried, legs win. Unfortunately, it’s my kids favorite part so unless I buy legs only (which I often do, but for making food for the dog because it’s so cheap), I never end up with legs. :frowning: (I mostly do whole roast chicken for the family, since my wife likes the breast. I’ll get the thighs. My kids the legs.)The meat is so good and the visceral feeling of eating meat off the bones is satisfying. Plus with fried chicken, it’s so much more convenient to eat with your hands. We all love wings, though, so that will get cooked up as an entire tray.

17

I’ve always been a thrifty eater, taking pleasure in getting good deals, but now I have no choice but to thrift away.

I eat a lot, having high energy expenditure and trying to keep muscle mass as I enter deep middle age. Luckily, I hunt, fish and grow a sizeable portion of my diet.

18

We don’t eat out nearly as often as we used to. Got used to it during the pandemic, and now between the prices and the deterioration of service, weeks and weeks can go by without going to a restaurant.

Throwing out food is not in my nature, so I do pretty tight inventory control and it’s a rare event to throw anything away.

All y’all that don’t like chicken legs? You can just send those right on over here - I love ‘em. It’s the thighs I can do without. Those get stripped and used for enchilada filling or in pasta dishes.

We definitely don’t have beef as often as we used to. Seafood is also alarmingly expensive, but since it’s healthier I still suck it up and buy it. Cheaper stuff like canned tuna shows up on the menu more often than it used to, though.

19

I eat cheaply to begin with, never having had much money. Getting much cheaper would probably lead to malnutrition and possibly death.

20

I stopped eating fast food so frequently because of the costs. Taco Bell is still one of the cheaper fast food options, but two soft tacos and a bean burrito is more that $6.00 now. A Mexican Pizza alone is $6.00 now. On the flip side I’ve lost almost 25 pounds since April, so who am I to complain? There’s a local pizza place near work where I can still get a drink and two slices for less than $10. So it’s not all bad. Okay, $12 because I tip.

I haven’t radically changed my diet so far as the grocery store goes. My overall consumption of soda has been curtailed because I think the prices are outrageous. There were a few times I felt like buying a box of Triscuits or Cheez-Its, but at more than $5.00 a box I decided not to.

I recently purchased a smoker, and I find myself eating leftovers during lunch a lot more frequently than I did in the past. My employer has recently decreed we return to the office for most of the week, so I’m going to see if I can keep up eating those leftovers instead of going out. I kind of like going out because it’s a nice way to get out of the office. That and I don’t like employees trying to talk to me at lunch.