I've put this in the 'Looking Good During Menopause' because eating well certainly helps us look and feel better.

Since I realised that I was in perimenopause I have overhauled my diet. I eat more protein now than I did before peri, eat less refined products, less sugar. A couple of years ago I almost completely cut out caffeine. Along with the rest of the family I eat fresh veggies at most meals, plus I always try to keep the fruit bowl stocked up with fresh fruit.

I was at the supermarket this morning and looked at the cauliflowers. £1.56 each. They were called 'extra large' and yes they were large, but £1.56 for a cauliflower. The cabbages were 76p and they were so small. The other day I paid 44p for a peach.

I find myself heading for the 'reduced section' of the supermarket.

I was wondering how much you are all paying for your food and how much prices have gone up and what if anything can be done to still eat well but without paying so much.

I am off to a Saturday market tomorrow to stock up. Although this will be a special journey, I know the prices are much lower. Last week a very large cauliflower was 50p and a large cabbage was 50p.

If things carry on like this I'll be reinstating my veggie garden and cleaning out my greenhouse next year, only wish I'd done it this year.

Oh, I must add that these cauliflowers at £1.56 each were sold as 'LOCALLY grown' so it's not as if they had to be transported large distances.

I don't know what the value of the US dollar is holding to the pound, especially in our current recession/depression and government bail-out of Wall street and investment banks. But the price of fruits and vegetables here has skyrocketed.

Melons are 5 dollars each. Peaches, plums and nectarines are 2.79 per pound (yesterday at my local A&P Market). Red grapes were a bargain at 1.99 per pound. Broccoli was on sale for 1.99 per pound. Lettuce is 2.30 per head. If you buy a bag of lettuce, it was 2 bags for 5.00 dollars.

The USA is in financial ruins right now. And this is only the beginning. It will only get worse.

But look on the bright side. Since we'll all be poor and starving, we can finally lose the extra pounds we've been meaning to for the last few years!!

I live in Northeast USA and can't believe the prices lately! I usually go to a few different grocery stores during the week to get the specials. There's a popular organic chain I go to sometimes, but the milk there is $4.79/gallon (yes--not organic, just regular whole milk), and peppers were $6.99/pound. The prices were high there to begin with, but they've gone through the roof lately, and I notice it's not as busy there. And on top of the high prices I saw a woman smelling a peach and it was practically up her nose--it was so gross I complained and at least they wanted to know who exactly the woman was so they could talk to her, even though I felt guilty squealing on her. I have a local farm here that is ridiculously expensive and the people do the same thing--people put the food almost up there noses to see if it's "fresh" enough for THEM and then sometimes put it back (real fresh when we get if after they've handled it and had it up their noses). The customes also go around and "sample" the berries that are for sale (they don't cover the berries usually), and the berries can be $4.99 for half a pint. And when I mention how distasteful it is the workers just shrug and say "everone" does it. I don't! So I don't shop there as much now, even though everything is fresh.

In short, the prices are ridiculous here in some places. I do most of my shopping at one supermarket chain that has cheaper prices, but it's not always convenient to get there, so go to a variety of stores. Food shopping is really becoming like a game these days, where I try to find the best buys. There's a site I think it's called "couponmom" or something (hope it's OK to mention), and they have coupons you can print out. The Sunday paper has them, but it takes forever to go through it so I usually don't buy it, and it's a lot to recycle. I also have a membership to a food warehouse and I use that to buy stuff like sugar, flour, etc--they sell it in bulk.

I live in the suburbs north of Atlanta. Prices have gone up, but not as high as previous posters mention. Our cantelope has been $2.50 each. Strawberries have been on at $4.00 for the medium size container - probably a pint. We grew our own tomatoes and cucumbers this year. A quart of low-fat milk is $2.79.

Store brand of bread is about !.79 or $1.99 each. Store brands of yogurt with fruit are about 60 cents each.

Now gas around Atlanta, if you can find it, is outrageous. We are having to line up to get gas. I filled my tank last Sunday ($3.71/gal, not bad), and when it gets to half empty, I'll start looking for a gas station. The main cause is because several of the gas refineries that supply Atlanta are still off line from the hurricane. The other reason is people panicking and topping their tanks. But right now, only about 1 in 6 gas stations has gas. The others have none. It's hurting their other business, too, because people aren't stopping in to get coffee or snacks.

WriterMom

At the moment the dollar is about 1.85 to the £1.

We are now buying in kilograms. So 1 kilogram equals 2.2 pounds.

Oh and someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there are 2 pints in a quart.

We have doorstop delivery here and a pint is now 54p. But I do buy larger bottles at the supermarket. I don't really want to give up having milk delivered as it can be very useful.

Melons are $5.00? Yikes.

Canteloupes here have been on special offer at £1.00 each. I refuse to buy a melon at £1.99.

frisbee, I used to shop at the same supermarket all the time. Usually one large trolley shop a week. Nowadays I shop at different supermarkets in the area. I started doing it by accident, it just happened to be convenient to call in at a different supermarkets depending on where I was but I soon realised that by doing that I could compare prices.

Also, I live near a rural area and find that sometimes local people sell the surplus produce from their gardens. It is much cheaper too.

WriterMom, oh petrol is incredible here. I filled up this week and it was £48.00 and that was with a £2.00 discount voucher.

Armadillo, that's the question isn't it, where will it end? I hope whoever is making the decisions knows what they're doing.

I live in the northern midwest-MN. Ther price of apples has me surprised... anywhere from $1.79-$2.49 a pound!!!
The bread we buy is $2.79 a loaf
Hamburger-3.49/pd
Gas $3.49
Milk-half gallon $1.96
coffee-2lbs-$9.99
bananas-.69/pd
squash-.89/pd

I had a grocery receipt handy..lol

I did a conversion recently of what we pay for petrol (Gas) in the UK into dollars and US sized gallons. We pay $10 per US gallon in the UK. Horrendous!

Here In Central Indiana...20 lbs of potatoes $11.99 at Kroger (my jaw is still droped over that price) and I'm Irish...love my spuds

OPPPS- Have noticed lots of things have actually doubled in price over the summer (

I went grocery shopping this morning here in Montana. Here's some of the items I bought and the prices I paid.

Fiber One Cereal-----$4.12
Gallon of 2% milk-------$4.44
Ground Chuck 1lb.-------$3.23
Store brand hot dog buns-----$1.14
Weiners (Rath)--------$1.18
Sharp Cheddar (8 oz. block)----$3.34
Coke (8 oz. bottles)------$3.58
Fresh corn on the cob----2 for $1.00
Fresh Rasberries (pint)----$5.00
Romaine lettuce (3 hrts.)------$2.37
Beneful dog food (3.5 lb. bag)-----$6.47 Yes, dog food has gone way up also!
Country Crock (3 lb. tub)------$3.38

Even the cost of my "period supplies" have gone up. I always buy Kotex brand overnight pads and they're now over $5.00. Also pantyliners and Tampax have gone up. Between my daughter and I, I probably spend almost $20.00 a month on these things alone. Now that's just wrong!

Texasgirl hi,

Yes, I have two daughters and it is very expensive here too.

Although we don't have it as bad as women in Zimbabwe. I remember reading something a while back about women there. Tampons cost the equivalent of about 1 or 2 weeks wages so women were resorting to using all kinds of things instead of tampons and infections were common. That's wrong too isn't it?

I live in Michigan and just went shopping today. Here's what I paid:

Bag of mixed salad-$1.99
Melon-3 for $5.00
Cucumbers-2 for $1.00
Potatoes-5 lbs. for $2.00
Cherry tomatoes-$2.00 a pint
Milk-$3.29 a gallon

I also shop at three stores to get the best prices. I did notice a few weeks ago that almost every item I was buying had gone up exactly $0.50. At least gasoline is going down at the moment.

Central Kentucky...

Green Peppers .82 each
Cucumber .82 each
lettuce 1.39 head
Apples $2.49 lb
Quaker Oats 1 minute $4.19
Coke -12 pk 4.99

...Unbelievable...

In the UK....

at the supermarket today
40 pack of Tampax Super.....£3.78
Iceberg Lettuce................75p
Cucumber.................68p
Cauliflower...............still £1.56
Bag of mixed salad....£1.78


at the market yesterday
Cauliflower............60p

I'm so glad someone started this thread. Yesterday DH went shopping...we bought milk, zucchini (fresh), yellow squash, sweet potatoes, scallioins, carrots, nectarines, and toilet tissue. The bill was $54. I thought there must be some mistake, but when I looked over the receipt, it was all there. The cashier commented that a lot of customers were experiencing 'sticker shock' at the prices of food. I passed on the green bell peppers: $6.49/lb. My 1 lb bag of carrots (that's not really a whole lot of carrots) were labled 'organic' and cost $2.79.

Hi RR, I started this thread after a visit to the supermarket and thinking: 'Hang on a minute these prices are getting ridiculous.'

I used to dash round the supermarket once a week when I had younger children and I was working. Then I'd drive home and unpack everything and put it away as quickly as possible so that I could.......... well, do more jobs, clean the house, run around after the children, cook dinner etc etc. I really didn't pay too much attention to prices in the supermarket, not that I'm wealthy, just because it had become a habit to get the job done and get through the checkout and home asap.

Well, old habits die hard, but I have really noticed prices going up.

Yes I want to eat well, but I also want to keep some money in my pocket and there comes a point for me when, as the consumer, a product costs too much.

I can reallY understand people experiencing 'sticker shock'

I had what I would call a 'small trolley' of groceries at the beginning of the week and when the lady at the checkout said 'That'll be £72' I nearly fell over.

I plan to shop around and use markets for fruit and veggies where I can. I hate to think how people living in cities are getting on with fresh prduce prices.

Hi - I just love this thread and here goes for me. I went to Wal-Mart and a Farm Market. I go to Walmart because it is close to my home (I don't drive much) and the prices are reasonable - let's see what y'all think.

At Walmart, I bouth 39 items and the cost was $127.38. I will list it if I can understand the codes.

Jumbo Shrim (big and alot - at least a lb) $8.88; Ryvita Crackers $3.17; 900 g of a yummy chicken pie - $7.77; herbed liver sausage $2.96; chicken burgers $9.97; frozen dinners $1.47 each; Folgers coffee $4.98; Tropicana Orange juice $4.47; cottage cheese $3.58; bread multigrain/flax $4.37; Fruitopia tins of juice $.97; beans $.77; pink salmon in cans $1.97 each; tuna $1.97; Activia yoghurt - plain $3.47; Pears bars of soap (3) $2.56; one hoody $10.00; frozen lasagna (chicken) $7.96; Arrowroot cookies $2.37; Peak Freans $2.67 (multiples of some of thes items were bought).

at the Farm Market

Organic salad mix - $3.99
two avocados $1.29
celery $1.35 ($2.29 a lb)
organic bananas $2.40 ($2.42 a lb)
Abrosia Apples - four $3.20
total $13.52

this food will last us one week...I still have to get milk and others fruits/veggies.
I live in Canada and usually things are in metric but not at the Farm Market - interesting

Okay sure is interesting to write it down here.

Suzanne

I live in the SW...a lot of our produce comes up from Mexico. In addition we have a couple of new chain grocery stores that I probably shouldn't mention by name...not big stores. Anyway, we're still eating very well and for less than what some of you report. Our diet is heavy in veg., fruits, nuts, beans, whole grains...a bit of fish and chicken and dairy, little red meat.

Organic Milk $3.40/gal
zuc or yellow squash 89 cents/lb
avacados $1/each
Imported pasta $1/lb bag
Large beautiful tomatoes last week 49 cents/lb this week up to $1/lb
Melons have increased cants $1/each; watermelon 25 cents/lb
Boneless chicken breast or tenders around $2/lb
Longhorn cheese $4/lb
Simply Lemonaide $2
Nice size eggplant about $1/each
Large French Boule (sp?) $1.79
Plums/Peaches/Nectarines usually $1-$2/lb
Large clamshell tubs of fresh basil $2.19

Most of the produce I buy is in season or on sale. To get good quality, fresh fish I pay $10-$15/lb...we eat fish often, but not in large quanties. I also buy very nice quality frozen coldwater wild caught fish at the chain stores for around $8/pound. I don't buy a lot of red meat or pork, just for the husband, but I get it on sale, too.

Gas is around $3.42/gal

Where I've noticed the big increase in cost and lowering of quality/quantity is is dining out...man has it gotten expensive.

I went to Kroger on Friday and didn't buy potatoes.....they were $11.99 for 15 lbs......

she beast hi

yes, I feel the same way. These days we rarely eat out as a family but at the weekend it was a special occasion so 5 of us went to eat out. 5 adults I should add. I must admit for the first time to being a bit of an ostrich, you know stick your head in the sand, when it came to paying the bill. Hubby settled it and usually I would see or ask afterwards how much it was but I just knew that the average quality and quantity of food compared to the relatively high cost would have put a dampener on the evening. So I tried to focus on the fact that it was great to share a meal out with loved ones and not think too much about how much good quality food I could have bought with whatever it all cost.

robin

I know what you mean, moonlight! What the heck is up with potatoes? Very expensive here in Wisconsin, too.
I made the Hubs go shopping with me, so he could SEE the prices and understand why I'm concerned about the budget.
We too, shebeast and robin07, have curtailed our eating out to just a few special occasions. I make it a game to see how far I
can s_t_r_e_t_c_h the leftovers. Last week, did well. Made a roast, then roast beef sandwiches, then a pot of soup. Every bit of roast
used up.
Don't know what the answer is.

janeann

I've been trying to increase my protein intake. Looks like I'll be looking for meat alternatives in the future.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c245dc2c-5673-11...00779fd2ac.html

Whoops doesn't seem to have worked. Hope I didn't break any rules here.

Basically I was reading today's newpapers online with a cuppa and thought this would be of interest.

this is really interesting. I went shopping last Friday. I live in Wisconsin.

Milk $2.39 a gallon
yogurt .53 a piece
apples $1 a pound
bananas .50 cents a pound
cat food $8.00 (that went up alot)
Cereal $3.00 a box

I usually buy my veggies at the Farmer's Market and the prices are a little better. I will be mad when they are done as once winter hits, we are at the mercy of the grocery stores.

I think I paid 75 cents a pound for potatoes at the market. $2 for a pint of tomatoes and $3 for a head of leaf lettuce.

Mopsy

Toilet tissue (pack of 12 rolls).......£4.67

Diesel was £1.16 yesterday.

Is the price of gas comming down all over? My daughter said she paid $3.08 a gallon in Austin, Texas yesterday at a Walmart. She said the lines were very long, but it was worth the wait.

We're paying $3.54 here in Montana.

Our gas prices have come down dramatically. We were paying up to $1.41 a litre and it is down to $1.14. That works out to a reduction of almost $1.20 a gallon. How they justified that high price I don't know.

Hi from AUSTRALIA!

Our petrol has come down a little to $1.55 per litre

Milk for three litres is $5.50

Bananas are $3.00 a kilo, last year they were $15.00 a kilo due to a cyclone!!

Carrots are $2.49 a kilo

A load of bread is $3.80

A nice piece of steak will set you back $28.00 kilo not that i eat it.

A box of cereal on average is nearly $7.00

Food prices over here have gone through the roof!



Sanitary pads are $6.00 a pack

Some of the supermarkets cut the price of petrol to 99.9p a litre yesterday.

Hubby filled up with diesel at £1.14 a litre.

hi the elder, I had to check the exchange rate for Australian dollars....looks like 1 Australian dollar is 0.39 GB£ at the mo'