Tinned Vegetables Cheaper?

[DeadPoolX 9]

I don't mind eating canned food, so long as it's not fruit or vegetables. However, your fiance is a bit ignorant (ignorance does not equal stupidity!) about finding fresh and organic food in the United States. Whole Foods Market, for instance, is a huge supplier of such items and they've spread out all over the U.S. and even a couple of places in Canada. The largest store, I believe, is their home base in Austin, TX. Another Texas store with food from all over the world is Central Market (also created in Austin), but I believe that store is limited to Texas and has not branched out beyond the state.

I'm sure there are similar stores available elsewhere. I don't know of them, but there should be if you look hard enough. Most of these stores have "deals" on fresh and organic food, especially produce. Not always, of course, since some items can be very difficult to get, but most of the time the costs involved are less than what you'd find of similar value in Canada.

For instance, I'm from Texas and there are least two Whole Foods grocery stores in Houston alone. I've seen the prices there (my wife really liked the place so we stopped in a couple of times) and most of the items cost quite a bit less than the Whole Foods Market in Vancouver. I should note that the Whole Foods in Houston and Vancouver are owned by the same company and merely in different locations.

If you're on a severe budget, however, you might want to limit how many fresh and organic items you purchase. While I wouldn't recommend getting all canned food, some food items can be bought frozen and are still quite good. Frozen vegetables are usually less expensive than the fresh ones.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Another thing that helps is buying veggies and fruits that are in season, they are usually also cheaper. I mean we don't eat certain veggies or fruits all year round, just when they are in season...

My fiance puts me to shame at the grocery store. He is like the most efficient shopper and only buys the basics and what we need. It's actually really good. I would say that I'm always wanting to buy junk food or things we don't really need to have and he always makes me put stuff back!

I will for sure have to put more veggies into our meals though. His family eats a lot of filipino food and that usually consists of just meat/fish and rice. I like to add in a salad or steamed veggies too. He usually eats the veggies too.

[trailmix 77]

I think it's entirely possible. You seem committed to this so you should have no problem. We live in Florida and while food is not generally all that much cheaper than it was in Calgary - sales here are pretty good and quite frequent - so since you are committed to this you will no doubt make the effort to follow the sales and you will have no problem

[jhunjhun 7]

Another thing that helps is buying veggies and fruits that are in season, they are usually also cheaper. I mean we don't eat certain veggies or fruits all year round, just when they are in season...

My fiance puts me to shame at the grocery store. He is like the most efficient shopper and only buys the basics and what we need. It's actually really good. I would say that I'm always wanting to buy junk food or things we don't really need to have and he always makes me put stuff back!

I will for sure have to put more veggies into our meals though. His family eats a lot of filipino food and that usually consists of just meat/fish and rice. I like to add in a salad or steamed veggies too. He usually eats the veggies too.

Oh, your fiance is a filipino? I llike filipino food as well.

[TayL 0]

I don't mind eating canned food, so long as it's not fruit or vegetables. However, your fiance is a bit ignorant (ignorance does not equal stupidity!) about finding fresh and organic food in the United States. Whole Foods Market, for instance, is a huge supplier of such items and they've spread out all over the U.S. and even a couple of places in Canada. The largest store, I believe, is their home base in Austin, TX. Another Texas store with food from all over the world is Central Market (also created in Austin), but I believe that store is limited to Texas and has not branched out beyond the state.

I'm sure there are similar stores available elsewhere. I don't know of them, but there should be if you look hard enough. Most of these stores have "deals" on fresh and organic food, especially produce. Not always, of course, since some items can be very difficult to get, but most of the time the costs involved are less than what you'd find of similar value in Canada.

For instance, I'm from Texas and there are least two Whole Foods grocery stores in Houston alone. I've seen the prices there (my wife really liked the place so we stopped in a couple of times) and most of the items cost quite a bit less than the Whole Foods Market in Vancouver. I should note that the Whole Foods in Houston and Vancouver are owned by the same company and merely in different locations.

If you're on a severe budget, however, you might want to limit how many fresh and organic items you purchase. While I wouldn't recommend getting all canned food, some food items can be bought frozen and are still quite good. Frozen vegetables are usually less expensive than the fresh ones.

This is AWESOME information--he's from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area of TX and we're planning on moving to Austin in a few years, after I can work and stuff. Whole Foods should be a useful name to keep in mind. I agree with you that he's ignorant. I don't think anyone's ever fed him healthy foods or anything. Like I said--I think he's only been exposed to tinned veggies and stuff.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Another thing that helps is buying veggies and fruits that are in season, they are usually also cheaper. I mean we don't eat certain veggies or fruits all year round, just when they are in season...

My fiance puts me to shame at the grocery store. He is like the most efficient shopper and only buys the basics and what we need. It's actually really good. I would say that I'm always wanting to buy junk food or things we don't really need to have and he always makes me put stuff back!

I will for sure have to put more veggies into our meals though. His family eats a lot of filipino food and that usually consists of just meat/fish and rice. I like to add in a salad or steamed veggies too. He usually eats the veggies too.

Oh, your fiance is a filipino? I llike filipino food as well.

Yes he is filipino!

[Reba 2]

There are all sorts of ways to keep your grocery bills down and eat healthfully. My husband is a junk food carb junky, and I have not been able to change that, however, I still put fresh veggies in front of him when I cook and he'll bother to eat (his new arthritis medication has his stomach in knots and he says the only thing that'll settle it is crackers and anything else makes him sick right now. He managed to eat almost the entire apple pie himself at thanksgiving though ). He'll at least eat a banana every day though.

I don't have a Whole Foods anywhere near me, (closest is over an hour away) so I shop around town for the best deals. My grocery trips usually take well over an hour, and I go to probably 3 stores most every week. Ingles has the most selection of organics, but that can be expensive, so I usually just get a few items there. They have an AWESOME organic cheddar cheese that is cheaper than the imported English and Irish cheddar I had been buying! Sometimes they'll have sales on the organics and they end up cheaper than the "traditionally" grown. Aldi's is *very* cheap for veggies and salad stuff. A bag of romaine lettuce is about $1.50 or less than Ingles, a bag of "American Mix" salad greens (iceburg lettuce, shredded carrot etc ) is only .99, and at other stores it's at least $1 more. Green and coloured peppers are at minimum $1 less at Aldi than Ingles, and cucumbers are also less than half price. The only thing that bugs me about buying veggies at Aldi is that for some reason they shrink wrap and use those horrible styrofoam plate things. Why do they need to shrink wrap broccoli or squash? Bugs me...but its more than a $1 cheaper for broccoli there than elsewhere in town. We also have a BiLo that is good for a few sale items at least every other week.

Just check the weeklies (they'll be put in your mailbox every Tuesday, there's no getting away from them!) and plan your shopping trips accordingly.

[Perseverance 1]

This thread reminds me of a funny story that happened shortly after my husband arrived here.

We went to the store to get some things so he could prepare some Nigerian dishes. He said ( I thought) that he needed 10 tomatoes to I went and counted out 10 nice Romas for him to use. (his phone has wrung he is talking and I am thinking to myself this is alot of tomatoes!!!! ) When he is finally done with his conversation, I am ready to go to the check out. He says to me, "where are the 10 tomatoes"...huh? So I hold up the huge bag of Romas quite proud of myself and say right here he says no.... I repeat...huh? " You said 10 tomatoes they are here, again holding up my Romas." He chuckles taps a can of nearby soda and says "tinned... tinned... not 10" OOOOHHHHHH I say!! Take him over to what I refer to as "canned tomatoes" where he happily gets some tomato paste.... so...uh....we dont need 10 tomatoes then I ask sheepishly??

I thought this story was hilarious when it happened to us....he however did not think it was nearly as funny as I did.

That ladies and gents is my 10 tomatoes story *bows*

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Great story!

I buy fruits and vegetables fresh when they are in season but also stock a lot of frozen veggies as they taste good and much more accessible. We freeze the excess produce from the garden as well so we can have garden tomatoes or zucchini or eggplant even in the middle of winter.

I am an Aldi's and Ingles fan as well and generally will shop at different stores for different things. Aldi's is cheaper all around and I generally do my major shopping there, then go to Krogers for items that aren't available at Aldi's. Since Joe is retired military we also are able to go to the nearby Army base and shop at the PX and Commissary which is cheaper because we don't pay tax. Generally, trips to the Commissary and Ingles are once a month or every 6 weeks since they are a further drive so I tend to stock up and freeze things.

Sure wish the local Whole Foods was closer - it is on the North side of Atlanta so I generally only get there when we have to go through the city for another reason. It is about an hour's drive when the traffic isn't bad - and the traffic is seldom 'not bad' through the City.

I do find that the produce here is generally more expensive than back in Canada and there is a lot less variety available, which surprised me. Plus, most stuff here is pre-packaged so you can't really buy the volume you want, unless it is the ordinary things like apples, bananas, tomatoes, etc. which are in bins.

We use very few tinned things except perhaps for tinned beans which I can throw into a soup or other dish I am making.

No reason why you can't eat much more healthfully and deliciously and nearly as inexpensively by using fresh and frozen items rather than canned. Time to educate your man's palate!

[Sprailenes 47]

This thread reminds me of a funny story that happened shortly after my husband arrived here.

We went to the store to get some things so he could prepare some Nigerian dishes. He said ( I thought) that he needed 10 tomatoes to I went and counted out 10 nice Romas for him to use. (his phone has wrung he is talking and I am thinking to myself this is alot of tomatoes!!!! ) When he is finally done with his conversation, I am ready to go to the check out. He says to me, "where are the 10 tomatoes"...huh? So I hold up the huge bag of Romas quite proud of myself and say right here he says no.... I repeat...huh? " You said 10 tomatoes they are here, again holding up my Romas." He chuckles taps a can of nearby soda and says "tinned... tinned... not 10" OOOOHHHHHH I say!! Take him over to what I refer to as "canned tomatoes" where he happily gets some tomato paste.... so...uh....we dont need 10 tomatoes then I ask sheepishly??

I thought this story was hilarious when it happened to us....he however did not think it was nearly as funny as I did.

That ladies and gents is my 10 tomatoes story *bows*

That is an adorable story!

[Marilyn. 340]

the only vegies I get in cans are corn and tomatoes..

canned peas are soo gross .. ugh...

[MsZ 6]

Fresh veggies are some of the most inexpensive things around. Meat OTOH, that'll bankrupt you.

You have to consider the season -- seasonal veggies will be less expensive than those that are grown elsewhere and flown in. They'll also be fresher and tastier.

Past that, if you consider the issues that have been seen with veggies in the past couple of years, you'll also understand that there is also a risk with fresh foods.

You can have a decent garden even if you don't have a lot of space by using pots on the deck or whatever. And if you learn that you can plant say, spinach and lettuce both early and late in the season, you can see that you can have mulitple opportunities for some veggies. (Love them collards!)

Asparagus is expensive, but worth it. Avacodos, too. (But they're fruit, right?)

I honestly haven't noticed much that's cheaper in Canada than the US. And with the strength of the USD right now, that's even more true.

As for the choices people make, they are choices (same with gaining weight on a trip traveling through anywhere). A lot of Americans want to spend time doing other things and will go for convenience over just about eveything else. But they are decisions usually based on convenience. There is some argument that inner city people have a more difficult time eating healthy food because of lack of opportunity (grocery stores tend to leave, small stores show up and have a high overhead cost which they have to pass along to the consumer, and fast food begins to look like a real but unhealthy bargain.)

But overall, I'd wager that you can eat healthier and cheaper here than just about anywhere on the planet if you care to take the time to do so.

[PlatyPius 5]

the only vegies I get in cans are corn and tomatoes..

canned peas are soo gross .. ugh...

I usually buy frozen corn, but (as you saw) I use canned for some recipes. Tomatoes....yes, I buy stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste in cans. As for the canned peas.....every once in a while I just HAVE to have canned peas. I don't know why.

Aldi is the budget paradise, as long as you don't buy the canned ####### such as corned beef hash or ravioli. I looked at the fat content, and the actual ingredients one time and swore I never would touch a can there again. lol

[*Snowdrop* 604]

This thread reminds me of a funny story that happened shortly after my husband arrived here.

We went to the store to get some things so he could prepare some Nigerian dishes. He said ( I thought) that he needed 10 tomatoes to I went and counted out 10 nice Romas for him to use. (his phone has wrung he is talking and I am thinking to myself this is alot of tomatoes!!!! ) When he is finally done with his conversation, I am ready to go to the check out. He says to me, "where are the 10 tomatoes"...huh? So I hold up the huge bag of Romas quite proud of myself and say right here he says no.... I repeat...huh? " You said 10 tomatoes they are here, again holding up my Romas." He chuckles taps a can of nearby soda and says "tinned... tinned... not 10" OOOOHHHHHH I say!! Take him over to what I refer to as "canned tomatoes" where he happily gets some tomato paste.... so...uh....we dont need 10 tomatoes then I ask sheepishly??

I thought this story was hilarious when it happened to us....he however did not think it was nearly as funny as I did.

That ladies and gents is my 10 tomatoes story *bows*

This story reminds me of the famous UK comedy sketch Four Candles

[Marilyn. 340]

the only vegies I get in cans are corn and tomatoes..

canned peas are soo gross .. ugh...

I usually buy frozen corn, but (as you saw) I use canned for some recipes. Tomatoes....yes, I buy stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste in cans. As for the canned peas.....every once in a while I just HAVE to have canned peas. I don't know why.

Aldi is the budget paradise, as long as you don't buy the canned ####### such as corned beef hash or ravioli. I looked at the fat content, and the actual ingredients one time and swore I never would touch a can there again. lol

for some strange reason, I actually prefer the taste of canned corn over frozen corn... ugh, how can you eat canned peas though??..