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Post by Mumsey on Nov 18, 2021 6:13:06 GMT -5
With all the hoopla about higher Thanksgiving meal prices, I noticed Butterball turkeys yesterday at Walmart for $.98/lb and hams for $1.49 at Aldi. That doesn't seem out of line compared to other years. We bought neither, but I'll tell Dad about the turkey.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Nov 18, 2021 11:28:10 GMT -5
I noticed that some prices at the local Meijer and Kroger have been drastically cut. My first thought was that they want to increase spending for a higher 4th quarter ending. But I'll take advantage of the price slashes anyway. (Butterballs are $.99/lb.; Honeysuckle $.79/lb. Kroger turkeys are only $.49/lb.) Freezer is getting emptied so I can stock up.
OTOH, blueberries are still quite high.
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Post by heirloomfan on Nov 22, 2021 11:21:10 GMT -5
On a side note, someone told me to watch the expiration dates on a lot of the products being sold now. Some stores have in their stock things that have expired or very close to expiration. Not sure if things that have been held up for months are finally getting to the stores but they said just read the labels for expirations.
We have two family members with serious gluten intolerances so we have to read all labels for things they will share with us and found the turkeys that are being sold cheaper now like the Butterball or Honeysuckle are the ones that have been injected with flavor enhancers which often means it has things like MSG that they can't have. Just something to watch for if you have family members with food allergies or sensitivities
We had checked a couple of weeks ago and few stores hadn't yet stocked the organic turkeys and when some did come in, the price many times higher than the standard Butterballs which wasn't surprising but it would be the only way we could have a turkey to avoid the additivies.
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Post by binnylou on Nov 22, 2021 11:27:53 GMT -5
heirloomfan , I faithfully watch the expiration date on food items…if the item makes it in to my cupboard, the burden is on me. Daughter didn’t snoop through my canned goods during her last visit. She is ruthless when it comes to the expiration date.
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Post by gardendmpls on Nov 22, 2021 19:21:31 GMT -5
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Post by emmsmommy on Nov 22, 2021 19:54:58 GMT -5
I'm constantly telling hubby to watch dates on the small grocery store nearby. He once bought home a box of cereal that was rancid and a month past sell by date. They've also been known to keep meat and milk past the sell by date as well and more than once I've taken spoiled food back. My inlaws were/are the worst about dates. My father-in-law refused to eat an egg or drink milk on the sell by date. I on the other hand, would do the float test on eggs if I were concerned or sniff the milk before using. My mother-in-law won't eat eggs but still pours out at least a half-gallon of perfectly good milk every week. I do remember an incident from my childhood when we were eating Sunday dinner with my great-grandparents. I'm not sure if it was Ranch dressing or another flavor, but Granny had poured a bit of milk in the bottle to get the last little bit of dressing out. Dad commented that the dressing tasted funny and turned the bottle to see it had expired in 1978. This was in 1981 or 82. Still the big thing I'm noticing is the shortage of toilet paper. Strawberries are through the roof at $8.99 a pound and other berries are about the same. Did notice Kroger had fresh ginger on sale for $1.99 but unfortunately it was moldy and should have been thrown out
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Nov 22, 2021 21:23:35 GMT -5
Expiration dates make a difference in some products, especially cans of sweetened condensed milk, which I used to use to make fudge. Fortunately, I forgot about fudge for more than a few years, and when I did open a can it was obviously not something I wanted to put in a favorite treat. That was a good way to decrease my fudge consumption.
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Post by Mumsey on Nov 23, 2021 6:27:35 GMT -5
pours out at least a half-gallon of perfectly good milk every week. That is the very reason I keep powdered milk on hand since we don't drink milk. Easy to use in a recipe calling for milk. And I am constantly checking Dad's fridge, they never take anything out and I've found some scary stuff. And the freezer, step mom puts things in there without sealing them. Ick.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Nov 23, 2021 11:38:27 GMT -5
heirloomfan , I'm also an expiration date checker, but not only for food. Some years ago I was bothered by consistent sinus problems, and used an OTC medicine when the pressure became too uncomfortable. Checking the expiration dates, I repeatedly found packages with expired dates still on the shelf. One time all the packages were expired. I became annoyed, took the dozen or so packages and went to the Customer Service Center and complained that medicines past expiration dates should not be on the shelves. The next time I went to that store, guess what? Expired packages were still on the shelf. I'll never know if they just restocked the expired packages, or brought out another set. That was inexcusable and irresponsible. I probably should have researched compliance and reporting requirements and reported them to the appropriate authorities, but that was a busy time with family issues and they were more important. I shuddered when I saw their ads for free COVID shots. Who knows if the shots were kept refrigerated or stored properly? I never even considered getting any meds from that store again.
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Post by pondgardener on Nov 23, 2021 20:34:42 GMT -5
SpringRain🕊️,my wife at the moment is battling a cold/sinus issue and had been taking an OTC pill that was advertised for those with high blood pressure. But she complained about it drying up her sinuses too much and dug out a liquid medication that she thought may work better. She went down for a nap and I looked at the bottle and the expiration date was 2017. Looking further in one of the drawers, I found over six bottles of different cold remedies that had expiration dates from 2014-2017. I threw them all out and will hit the store in the morning for a new product and will definitely look at the expiration dates.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Nov 23, 2021 21:10:59 GMT -5
pondgardener, were these outdated meds ones you bought recently? I do know that it's easy to have meds expire over the years that they're not being used. But if they're new purchases, that's scary that they could be so old. Over the years I found that inhaling the hunger inducing odor of very warm to hot chicken soup helped clear my sinuses and made them drain. I've also put a cough drop in a cup of hot water and inhaled it, and did the same with fresh or dried sage. If you try anything like this, just make sure your wife's face is far enough away, and positioned so that she inhales the heat but isn't close enough to become overheated or burnt. Sometimes I just peeled onions, and the induced tears helped relieve plugged sinuses. I've also learned from experimentation that sugary products such as cookies can contribute to blocked nasal passages. This was after I gave up sugary foods for several months, but eventually succumbed to the temptation. I certainly hope your wife feels better soon. Please let us know how this works out.
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Post by raphanus on Nov 27, 2021 8:27:14 GMT -5
I think a lot of people are surprised when they find out I spend all of my time planting and tending to vegetables and flowers and fruit trees. I don’t look like your typical gardener I guess. I didn’t ever take up gardening as a hobby intentionally. I started growing vegetables years ago when I was a competitive athlete because I wanted to eat all organic but couldn’t afford it and lived over an hour from the Whole Foods, which back then was the only place that really had organic. Now, my main reason for growing food is for survival prepper purposes. I have zero confidence in the unsustainable flawed globalized industrial agricultural system, and no confidence in the government’s ability to fix it. I don’t see food shortages per se in the next few years, but definitely massive increases in price and reduced quality and availability. I have absolutely grown to love, love plants in my almost 2 decades of growing and I can’t imagine doing anything with my life other than farming, but it definitely isn’t just some fun “hobby” for me, I grow for food security purposes and it’s just a bonus that I enjoy it. I wish I could learn to enjoy fishing and hunting, it’s just so boring to me and I’m not great at it, so my current survival plan is to just trade produce for meat. A lot of people in my area hunt and fish, probably more than garden. My neighbors always give me funny looks and makes jokes about me constantly spending all my time planting crops. I straight up told one of them “maybe you should plant some stuff, you want to be standing in a government bread line next year?. He wasn’t amused, but I wasn’t joking.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Nov 27, 2021 11:15:12 GMT -5
I have zero confidence in the unsustainable flawed globalized industrial agricultural system, and no confidence in the government’s ability to fix it. I don’t see food shortages per se in the next few years, but definitely massive increases in price and reduced quality and availability. I think your observations reflect facts that those in positions of "leadership" either don't understand or choose to ignore, particularly when politics and issues arising from nation status are in play. And, unfortunately, quality has already decreased and prices have increased. I think of Introductory Macro Econ theories when I think of global agricultural systems and interactions. Econ can put a different "spin" on global trade. I wish I could learn to enjoy fishing and hunting, it’s just so boring to me I went hunting only once, and knew it wasn't something I could ever want to do. But I think the male (and sometime female) get-togethers and interaction are just one of the factors that make this appeal to some people. They're not just food sourcing, but bonding events. Fishing was to me more relaxing, but that was when I was a child. I enjoyed the fresh air, the smell (or fragrance) of the river or in our case one of the Great Lakes. It was a nice change from city and suburban atmospheres. What I think would be a workable idea but probably never will be is greenhouses and root cellars becoming more popular with builders of individual homes. It's more of a closed cycle and less open to political and financial goals than commercial systems. I've written of this before, specifically, the greenhouse Henry Ford Hospital built in our area, and on which it relies to feed patients as well as provide a market source of organic food for residents in this area.
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Post by gianna on Nov 28, 2021 13:27:04 GMT -5
Now that TG has passed, I did not notice any food shortages. There were always turkeys and hams and beef in the stores. Though prices were higher, especially for beef. And there were no really good specials on hams. I was able to find a post holiday fresh turkey on a great sale which I'll stick in the freezer. It's 'best buy' date is not till the 4th of Dec.
As for 'best by' dates, other than meat, I don;'t pay exacting attention to them. I almost always look and buy the freshest, but let my eyes and nose and common sense tell me if something has gone bad. It's "best by" date, not "eat it past this date and it will kill you". That so many adhere to these dates religiously is a great boon to the food industry. From reading an article years ago, there is no uniform standard for putting them on packages. And they are generally geared to people who might stick their groceries in a warm car and when they get home, don't refrigerate things immediately, or store in the best circumstances. The lowest common denominator. Not all buyers treat food the same.
As for the government being responsible for our food supply, they really never have been. We are on our own, always have been, and always will be. But then I am the product of older parents who lived through the depression and were very self-reliant.
Goodness... I sound like an old, crotchety person. But then, I am. whoopee
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Post by breezygardener on Nov 28, 2021 14:45:19 GMT -5
As for 'best by' dates, other than meat, I don;'t pay exacting attention to them. I only pay attention to them if/when I see a "yellow sticker" which, in our local market, means the expiration date is in a day or two & the item has been discounted 50% or more. I plan to either eat these items in a day or two, or stick them in the freezer. I get some really wicked-good deals this way - lovely fresh duck breasts, duck legs confit, whole chickens or chicken parts, sausages, turkey meat, etc., etc. The savings are unbelievable, & I've yet to purchase something that was quality-compromised in any way.
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