Adventures in the Grocery Aisles

[BakerAunt]

We went grocery shopping in the larger town north of us today, as we had errands to run, and it is never too early to get a jump on some items for Thanksgiving dinner. I was surprised that the Walmart did not have Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix, only the stove top stuff that I won't go near. I found it at Kroger (blue bag of course!) and discovered, yet again, that the price is the same but the contents have been reduced. It used to come in 16 oz. bags in my youth. I think it's been 14 oz. for a while. Now it is 12 oz.

Walmart also did not carry any reduced fat evaporated milk. They did have nonfat in their own brand. Oh, and there was only Pet, no Carnation. I did find 2% fat Pet evaporated milk at Kroger (no Carnation), so I bought two cans, as I want to attempt my turkey pot pie after Thanksgiving, and maybe my mother's turkey tetrazzini casserole. For the pot pie, I'd need to leave out the butter (or at least most of it). The tetrazzini is another matter, as it calls for heavy cream, and I know that making it with milk does not give the desired result. I also have a turkey and wild rice cream soup that I'd like to make friendly to my current approach to food.

I was pleased that Kroger had King Arthur unbleached flour on sale for $2.99 per bag, and I had a coupon from Sunday's paper for $1 off. Score! Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat flour was also on sale for $3.99, and since I'm running low, I bought a bag, even though I hope to do a big order to them soon.

I was able to buy a large tub of Land o' Lakes light butter canola spread. We were almost out. I hope that it will last until LOL gets its financial situation sorted out.

Walmart is changing what it carries, and I'm still learning about what grocery stores in this region stock and do not stock.

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• This topic was modified 5 years ago by BakerAunt.
• This topic was modified 5 years ago by BakerAunt.

[Mike Nolan]

WalMart evaluates what products it stocks almost continuously. Local store managers used to have more discretion as to what they could choose to carry or not, these days they're generally limited to deciding about items of local interest, and even that can get factored into the corporate model. (A WalMart in Nebraska WILL CARRY Husker merchandise!)

I'm having trouble finding Promise margarine. (Although I only use butter when cooking, we prefer a soft margarine for things like toast.) The Promise Activ (high omega-3) product seems to have vanished completely, and now 2 of the 3 stores we shop at regularly aren't carrying any Promise products at all. (WalMart still has it.)

Recently several of the stores we frequent have gone through a reorganization, so it is hard to find anything. In the process, a number of products seem to have disappeared.

I was at a WalMart on the other side of town the other day, and walked through the area for flour and other baking ingredients. It was depressingly small with very limited variety. (No KAF products at all.) On the other hand, there were plenty of box mixes. I guess folks on that side of town don't do much real baking.

[Joan Simpson]

I shop Publix and Target both places carry KAF flours and many other brands at a reasonable price.I only use butter and have a dish on the counter at all times,haven't used margarine in over 15 years.I use Publix brand of butter or Target's brand,Target just changed to one called Good & Gather I bought the cheese,eggs and butter and am satisfied with them.

[Mike Nolan]

The only butter I keep on hand is for cooking, so it is unsalted butter, which doesn't taste that great spread on bread.

[Italiancook]

Grocery stores are a source of irritation for me. I have easy access to 5. NONE of them ever have everything I need. Almost always, fulfilling a grocery list means going to more than one store. Sometimes, it means going to all 5. Frustrating! I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I think they do this intentionally in concert with one another. Just to make sure each store gets some business. Okay, maybe I have one conspiracy theory.

[Mike Nolan]

We have 2 grocery stores close to us, plus a WalMart and a Target superstore a bit further away. I tend to buy our meat at one of the stores and milk at the other (and neither at WalMart or Target.) But WallyWorld has the best price on KAF AP, though they don't always have KAF Bread flour (and Target usually has a better price anyway.)

So I probably hit the two grocery stores once a week each, sometimes twice, WalMart once every few weeks and Target infrequently. There's another grocery store a little further away, the same corporate ownership as one of the two we frequent, but it's their 'full service' store as opposed to more of a warehouse model. I would buy a few things there, including tea, but they apparently no longer carry the type of tea I was buying. (Stewarts, out of Chicago.) I doubt I visit it more than once or twice a year.

There used to be a 'gourmet' grocery store further away that had lots of interesting stuff and was a long-time Lincoln store, dating back to the 1920's. It got acquired by the other 'gourmet' store and IMHO went downhill, but that other store had also declined over the years, it once had the best meat department in the city. Then the acquired store burned down and they chose not to rebuild, due in part to code issues affecting the size of the parking lot. So now someone's building a bicycle shop on that lot.

The best meat market in town is now in the east part of town, a 20 minute drive but the quality is excellent and the prices are usually reasonable. They carry things I can't get anywhere else, like veal shanks, and they can special order a lot of things with a few days notice, like a 40 pound box of chicken backs for making stock.

[BakerAunt]

Moving to this small town was quite a change from where I lived before. There I had two grocery stores that I shopped often, and a Walmart. Occasionally, I'd go to Target.

Where I live now, there is one grocery store in town. It has the occasional deals, as well as 10% off for senior citizens on Tuesday, but there prices on most items are rather high and produce is limited. The farmers market has been helpful with the latter; while not less expensive than the grocery, the produce is usually superior. There is also a CVS, and that is where I buy my milk, as well as a few grocery items (canned chicken, Healthy Request Tomato soup) when they are on special.

We drive to a larger town about 30 minutes away for big grocery trips, usually about every two to three weeks. We always shop Aldi's, which usually has good produce with the better prices and carries ground turkey, at a good price, which we cannot get locally. My husband gets his quick cooking oats there, and I've found their canola oil to be a good price. They had excellent butter prices, but I rarely buy it anymore. They have good prices on nuts, usually, as well as chopped dates, although the latter is a seasonal offering.

Across the highway is the Walmart. It carries KAF flour at a reasonable price, and we usually pick up condiments. They have a good price on frozen salmon. However, we seem to be buying less food there than we once did.

A short distance away is a Kroger across the street from a Walgreens. Walgreens often has good prices on some foods when they have sales (nuts, tuna, sugar), although lately they seem to be out of advertised items when we are there. The Kroger carries the soba noodles we cannot do without, and it's where I found peanut butter and almond butter without additives (although the almond butter is expensive). They have great prices on the peanuts my husband likes as snacks. Their yogurt prices often beat out Walmart, and there are the occasional specials on flours. I can get Bob's Red Mill products there, although I find the prices a bit high. (Note: CVS, Walgreens, and Kroger require free membership cards to get most sale prices.)

I do more advance menu planning now, as I need to have items on hand for several weeks of possible meals, even if I don't always know exactly when I will be making a specific meal.

[Mike Nolan]

I grew up in a small town that had two grocery stores, both with a full-service meat counter plus a butcher shop. All have closed over the years. There are a few grocery items at the gas station/convenience store, but most people have to drive to a neighboring town to get most grocery items.

I've lived in Chicago and in Lincoln since the early 70's, I think it would be a major change to deal with small town issues like groceries and meal planning.

Even Lincoln was a bit of a shock after being able to find ANYTHING in Chicago, and a full-service butcher is practically unheard of out here, most things come in a box, if you're lucky they will cut it for you. We knew people who drove to Kansas City (150 miles) once or twice a month just because of the shopping limitations in Lincoln and Omaha.

And small-town medical care is rapidly disappearing, too.

[chocomouse]

I was wondering how far most of you have to drive to buy groceries. When I moved here, from the suburbs of Chicago, it was a real hardship to have to drive 30 minutes to a typical grocery store. I've adjusted, learned to plan ahead, now have an empty nest (a huge help!) and shop only about every 2-3 weeks. The receipt for a typical trip runs about $60-70. And, I shop at only one store, although there are two others choices of major grocery stores in that area. Of course, it helps a lot that I garden and have two freezers full at this time of the year. I do make an occasional trip to BJs, maybe once a month, for a few certain items. We have a gas station/quick shop to get my husband's gallon of milk when he runs out. There is a tiny so-called grocery store about 7 miles away, but I gave up on that long ago - the produce they have for sale would be in the compost pile at my house.

[Joan Simpson]

Chocomouse I only have to drive 5 miles to Publix or Target and I usually buy for 2 weeks and pick up milk and bread at my local Dollar General in between only a mile from our home.My grocery receipt runs around $150-200 between both stores. It's just my husband and myself here too.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by Joan Simpson.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Walmart by ne - and I have two within a five mile radius - are useless for baking, mostly. There are no KAF or Bob's Red Mill products although they do offer the powdered buttermilk I like for at least $.50 less than anyone else. The least expensive option appears to be order from Walmart. I can either pick it up with no delivery charge or if I order more than $50 the delivery is free. It's also faster if I do in-store pickup.

We have two Whole Foods, a Big Y, a Target, and a Stop&Shop all within a few miles so there are plenty of places to go but very little stocked. Kind of a shame.

BA, not sure if this will work for you but our stores only stock 3% evaporated milk. When I used it for pumpkin pies I never worried because we have those once a year. When I started using it to make macaroni and cheese I began cutting it with skim milk. I use about 50/50 skim to evaporated. My wife and daughter actually like the result better as it is "lighter".

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by aaronatthedoublef.

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