At the grocery store are we being forced to make healthy choices?

chic

chic

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I do shop at health food type stores primarily so maybe this is just me, but in recent months I have noticed some alarming changes in the food available in my favorite stores. Are we being forced to chose veggie over meat due to the extremely high cost? Last week I bought some smoked turkey at the deli because it's been so hot here and it saves me from cooking. I chose smoked turkey because it was $2.00 per lb. cheaper than the regular stuff. The other day when I was back there the price of smoke turkey had risen up by $2.00 so all the meats are now $15.00 per lb except roast beef which is $20.
In the ice cream aisle which has always been 4 panels long with every ice cream imaginable, I noticed three of the panels were now NON DAIRY frozen products and only one small panel had actual ICE CREAM which I bought.
In produce I've been buying a lot of potatoes lately trying to cut my grocery expenses. But all the sweet potatoes are ORGANIC or nothing. And they are beginning to do the same with the white potatoes except for russets but they are forcing people to spend more money making healthy food choices deliberately during the worst inflation in decades and we don't have much choice about it except to leave and shop at another store.

Have you noticed this transition at your grocery stores? I'm curious. I prefer to make healthy food choices but money is extremely tight right now and it seems like they are taking unfair advantage of their customers.
 

Stores are carrying more and more mock meats, non-dairy ice creams, cheeses and other such items for one reason only: They sell. Purchases are driving this.

Years ago, if I wanted to get a "Field Roast" at Thanksgiving time, I had to go to the health food store. Now Safeway and other stores carry them. WINCO Foods changes their refrigerated plant based stuff but they still carry some Daiya frozen pizzas and other things. They started carrying the Sweet Earth wraps I like to have for breakfast on work days.

Probably plenty for everyone in the grocery stores. I'm not missing calories. šŸ¤£
 
Remy said:
Stores are carrying more and more mock meats, non-dairy ice creams, cheeses and other such items for one reason only: They sell. Purchases are driving this.

Years ago, if I wanted to get a "Field Roast" at Thanksgiving time, I had to go to the health food store. Now Safeway and other stores carry them. WINCO Foods changes their refrigerated plant based stuff but they still carry some Daiya frozen pizzas and other things. They started carrying the Sweet Earth wraps I like to have for breakfast on work days.

Probably plenty for everyone in the grocery stores. I'm not missing calories. šŸ¤£
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If I dare ask, what is a field roast???
 
Yes I think the health food craze is catching on more and the prices are higher. It is kind of like some health food stores that have local growers supply their store...or the farmer's market. The mass produced, mass shipped products are so competitive they will be lower in price but probably not as nutritious. We buy the most nutritious foods we can find at the local super markets. We do buy supplements from health food stores.
 
Alligatorob said:
I'd like to think so, but am not sure. I still see a lot of high sugar, high fat, cheap junk food at Walmart...
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When I still ate dairy and palm oil I used to love those Little Debbie swiss rolls. I didn't buy them all the time but I confess when I did, I hardly made it out of the parking lot without eating 2 or 3. Still think about them. Junk food deluxe!
 
For meat, I basically live on ground beef, which I buy on sale. I cook in batches, enough for 3 meals. I eat one portion, then one portion goes in the fridge and another in the freezer.

For precooked meats, I rely on whole or half hams, which go on sale (super cheap!) at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I buy several hams, cut them into 1-pound packages, and put them in the freezer. If you own a slicer you can enjoy nice sliced ham for cheap.

Occasionally I buy cooked hamburger patties at the fast food place and take them home. It is more expensive than cooking the ground beef myself, but it's cheaper than deli meats.

Good luck figuring it out.
 
Another thing, when I heard Hidden Valley Ranch was putting out a plant based salad dressing, I looked for it at WINCO and they carry it! I think it's $2.97 and appears to be selling. I'm sure buying it.
 
Meat prices are higher in part due to the Ukraine Russia war. A significant portion of fertilizer for grains and grass to feed animals comes from Russia and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed since the outbreak of the war.
 
Iā€™ve been using more lentils and beans. The basic 80/20 ground beef doesnā€™t seem like a good value at $5-$6/pound.

More local fresh vegetables from the flea market, bananas, pasta, peanut butter, frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes and skim milk from the grocery store, a few guilty pleasures from the dollar store.

Iā€™ve stopped buying many of the canned and frozen convenience foods mainly due to the higher prices.

Iā€™m still able to eat a reasonably healthy diet on a modest budget.

If there is a conspiracy I havenā€™t noticed it, but that is probably the hallmark of a great conspiracy. šŸ˜‰
 
Flarbalard said:
@chic You shop at a store that has oriented itself toward more "healthy" foods? Maybe they're just trying to change their inventory to better satisfy more customers?
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Or record profits for themselves during the worst recession in 80 years? It would fit the script of the past two years and all the future control they plan to strangle us with. I don't like not having a choice especially when I need to save money. So do many others. šŸ˜–
 
chic said:
Or record profits for themselves during the worst recession in 80 years? It would fit the script of the past two years and all the future control they plan to strangle us with. I don't like not having a choice especially when I need to save money. So do many others. šŸ˜–
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The lack of choice may be due to the fact that there is greater demand for lower priced options.

I see it at times in my local grocery stores. The shelves are full of the premium brands, but the value priced items are often picked over and in short supply.

I agree with @Remy that it is probably a simple case of supply and demand.
 
I quit buying meat. I simply can't afford it. Hamburger was $7 something a lb. here last I checked. I have a few already pressed patties in the freezer. I eat one occasionally. Not a big potato eater. Pasta meals or rice meals in a box with a side veggie or salad. I been buying popsicles over ice cream. Not a lot of frozen fish being purchased here so I get breaded frozen and bake it off and have something with it like tator tots or something. Since I don't eat much potatoes I sometimes get a refrigerated container of already prepared mashed potatoes. If I have to I will go back to PBJ sandwiches and Ramen.
 
I eat very well on a budget (self imposed) The trick for me is shopping loss leaders on everything. I stock up when things are at the cheapest price. The pantry and freezers stay full. Know your stores and the prices on things you use. Holidays for instance, I stock up on canned broths and soups used in recipes. As winter starts, I stock up on oatmeal, hot cereals. Every six to eight weeks certain meats are on sale. In the summer it is the fresh fruit and produce I buy and process for the freezer.
 
I only eat low carbs/keto so buying meat is what I do. Meats and chicken, eggs, cheese, cream, butter. Since I stopped buying all those high carb foods I can stock up on what I need. My Walmart has ground beef in 1 lb. packages for less than five bucks. Two meals for me. Eggs is what I see going up each week. But I have to buy them anyway. I also buy those frozen ground beef patties and they have gone up too but they are like a fast food for me.
 

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