Combatting high food prices
Today I went to the grocery store because my sons wanted protein bars and they wanted me to make some sandwiches for their lunches for the upcoming weeks. $82 on what was supposed to be two or three items but as often happens a few more items got added to the list.
One thing did strike me as I was shopping today and that was most of the items on the list were proteins. Meat, Yogurt, and cheese were all on the list in addition to the protein bars. Of course the prices of individual items were all over the place with the cheapest being $1.99 for a protein bar to $25 for a four pack of garlic coil sausage.
Image: A bunch of items I bought today and a few I added for price comparison later.
Then I thought about how I purchased things and there were four different cost cutting measures that I utilized and thought Hmm... maybe I could write an article on that. Maybe I'll make it required reading for my sons "Any protein will help you bulk and if you are paying for it yourself there are way cheaper ways than protein powder". Although to be honest? The protein powder didn't do too badly and even the protein bars weren't awful if you use a sneaky trick or two to get the best price. More on that later :)
Four different strategies
The first strategy is to do the obvious thing:
- Buy items that are on sale
But the other things I did?
- Price comparison. Sometimes the sale isn't the best deal.
- Price matching. Some stores will match other stores sales
- Find less expensive alternatives.
Sale items
Today's example: Protein bars
Now last week I bought some "Pure Protein" Protein bars for $11.99 for a six pack. Today? Regular price: $16.99. Ugh. I hate paying full price. I looked at individual bars and at $3 ea or more they were even more expensive. I checked out all the other brands and everything was the same price or more.
However, I know they go on sale regularly. I just asked myself. Did the kids really need it today? Nope. They have regular protein powder so they aren't going to have to do without. Skip the protein bars for today.
Price comparison.
Everyone knows a sale when they see one. The grocery store is no different but here is a tip. Don't just grab the no-name brand that's on sale in the largest size and expect to get the best deal. Do the math sometimes the best deal is a small package of a brand name.
Today's example: Cheese
- 2kg (4lbs) Cheddar: Generic Brand -- $27.99
- 700g (1.5lb) Cheddar: Generic Brand -- $8.49 (sale)
- 400g (.9lb) Cheddar: Armstrong Brand -- $ 4.44 (sale)
Which is the better deal? If you don't do the math it is a little hard to decide. Nothing divides nicely and who wants to break out a cellphone to do the math when there are more groceries to get. However, notice the 400 = $4.44 that is a multiplier of 1.1 (or $1.10 per 100g)
If I were to pay that much for 700g? $7.77 so $8.49 is a bad deal.
If I were to pay that much for 2000g? $22.20 so $27.99 is a bad deal.
I bought 3 x 400g packages and smiled
Price Matching
Then I did a little more thinking about the kids protein bars. I really hate paying full price but I know that the store I was at will match competitor sale prices. I looked in the app "Flipp" and found that there was a different store that had single protein bars on sale for $1.99 and they had even more protein than the bars my sons usually eat. 6 bars at $1.99 is $11.94, even cheaper than the brand they usually get. Plus more protein per bar--A win for me.
Less expensive alternatives.
Sometimes it is better to just switch to a different protein source. Look for an alternative item that will work just as well.
I looked at a premium cut of beef today... I want to say beef tenderloin but I'll admit I looked more at the price tag than the type of meat. $92/kg for the beef. I shook my head in disbelief. Not something I'm going to buy when I know that I can get a T-Bone on sale for $10.88/lb. Or I can get lean ground beef on sale for $9.99/lb. Cut that ground beef with some egg and breadcrumbs and you have a very tasty meat loaf of hamburger. Then again... I could cut that beef with beans and have a very tasty chilli! Or with enough spice I could use ground chicken which is only $2.50/lb.
There are options if you look
Of course figuring out which options are more expensive and which are less expensive makes a difference. For example my mom swears by Quinoa as a good protein source which is plant based. I will agree it is an excellent protein source but it is not nearly as inexpensive as my mom thinks it is.
But how do you compare.
Just a few days my son asked me if his big container (2kg) of muscle gainer whey protein was a good deal. Honestly it is hard to figure out. But I showed him how to calculate the price per 100G and at his current weight that's the target he should be aiming for (roughly). Goal: 1.0 to 1.2g of protein per kg of bodyweight. At 90kg getting 100g of protein is about right every day (in addition to other vitamins minerals, and nutrients.
How about a list to prove it?
Now there is way more to a food budget than just protein. Protein does tend to be considerably more expensive than carbs and fat though so the protein choice has an outsized effect on the grocery bill. I just grabbed some high protein items around the house and did some math to compare them. It came out much as I expected.
| Rank | Protein Source | Cost / Package | Cost per 100g Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dried Soybeans | $0.32 / 100g | $0.89 |
| 2 | Black Turtle Beans | $3.49 / 900g | $1.70 |
| 3 | Lean Ground Chicken | $10 / 1.82kg | $3.05 |
| 4 | 2% Milk | $5.65 / 4L | $3.92 |
| 5 | Holiday Luncheon Meat | $2 / 340g | $4.62 |
| 6 | Medium Cheddar Cheese | $4.77 / 400g | $5.11 |
| 7 | Leanfit Whey Protein | $74 / 2kg | $5.40 |
| 8 | Vanilla Greek Yogurt | $6 / 750g | $8.36 |
| 9 | PC High Protein Bar | $1.99 / bar | $8.65 |
| 10 | Garlic Sausage | $25 / 2kg | $10.42 |
| 11 | Quinoa (white) | $1.50 / 100g | $10.71 |
| 12 | T-Bone Steak (sale) | $10.88 / lb | $11.43 |
| 13 | Smoked Chicken Slices | $3.75 / 175g | $12.85 |
| 14 | Smoked Ham | $3.75 / 175g | $12.85 |
| 15 | Roast Beef Slices | $3.75 / 175g | $13.09 |
| 16 | Quest Protein Bars | $13.49 / 4 bars | $16.06 |
| 17 | Beef Tenderloin | $90 / kg | $42.86 |
Takeaways?
- Beans won the challenge
I knew that vegetable sources of protein would be less expensive and soy beans led the way at only $0.89 for 100g of protein. Black beans were almost twice as expensive but they were still the second cheapest from the list. the amusing thing? Those aren't even sale prices. They are just so much cheaper than other sources.
- Ground chicken surprised me.
I didn't exactly expect lean ground chicken to come up where it did. 3rd place. I would have expected milk and dairy to dominate. I was wrong. Milk products, yogurt, whey protein took the middle ground. At this tier Holiday luncheon meat snuck in as it was on a deeply discounted sale.
- Ready to eat and beef.
No surprise that convenience food and beef came next. Beef prices have been making the news they are pretty bad. As for packaged convenience food? People have also been telling their children to learn to cook for a long time because packaged food is expensive. However, seeing Beef Tendrloin was just out of sight price wise. $90/kg means I'll save it for fancy dinners where someone else is doing the cooking.
Take home message?
A few little tricks can save money with little effort.
There are less expensive alternatives out there with a little looking.
Buying convenience foods or expensive cuts can break a budget very quickly. Learning to cook can absolutely save money with even a sale T-Bone steak being cheaper than plain sliced ham.
But if the budget is really tight? Soy beans are a tiny fraction of the cost of meat and can fill a stomach while giving a complete protein. I may not always choose soy beans but I like to know I can choose them and save money any time I want. Why? Because I've learned how to cook with them when I didn't need to so I can turn to them if I do.
Image: Today's Soy Milk..just finished cooking. Brown bits are from the brown sugar I use to sweeten it
Or maybe just switch up my chilli to have beans and chicken so its a fraction of the cost without sacrificing too much on taste.
Just my quick take from going to the grocery store today.