Anything you splurge on in your grocery bill...

[canuckgal]

I read that some of you buy organic food and the like. Are there any items you regularly purchase that even if you were to drastically cut back on your groceries (or already have) that you would continue to buy? If so, why?

I am trying to control my grocery bill, and am very good at not buying conveinience foods and try to make my own. ( not so far as my own ketchup or anything, ). I do buy the Omega 3 eggs, as they taste so much better, are healthier, and have brighter yolks and really here at least don't cost too much more, and my other weakness is nut butters like almond...I use them in a few recipies/smoothies and also mix it with p'butter to stretch it. I also buy some fairly specific "health food brands" of crackers as they are the only ones without hydrogenated oils and mostly whole grain that I can find. I do sometimes splurge on those large (read 1 1/2 ft long) salmon fillets : but bake them and also chunk the leftovers and put it in patties or quiche or chowder. My BIGGEST weakness is in the produce department where I have been known to buy things out of season and thus pay more...I can only go so long without eating grapes,

Just curious about what you all do, any splurges even though things may be tight? Tina

[vanilla]

liquid vanilla creamer (don't lynch me!!!) It's bad, bad, bad....organic is much more justifiable

[root*children]

I don't splurge on me, but I do on DH who would apparently DIE if he was to go without doritos, fritos, etc. for more than 12 hrs. The good news is that since he has come to this eat nacho chips or die revelation, I have convinced him that storebrand and on sale are equally as good as Doritos ($0.89 compared to $2.99 - hard to beat ) Not proud to be the crunchy mom with a cart full of knock-off doritos, but I love DH, so I'll do it

[DoubleOven]

:

[countrymom]

I'd have to say coffee----I buy whole bean--usually local roaster---or Starbucks....when I can getto trader joe's it saves me a bit---great coffee & priced better per pound......

And I try to buy organic--or at least hormone free milk---always.

[Rainbow]

avacados expensive, out of season, 3.00 eaxh- I always buy avacados.

organic coffee, but i drink so rarely it is a tiny expense.

organic chocolate bar. I get one dark chocolate bar a week [2.99] and cherish each bite, a little each day, until the following week.

[dvons]

We buy fair trade coffee and organic chocolate... Sometimes we also splurge on our Soy/Flaxseed/Corn tortilla chips too.

Deb

[Boobs]

Another wife of a Doritoes addict here. He also HAS to have the most expensive disposable razors. Quatro replacement blades are 4 for $9!! :
My splurge is on those Whole Fruit orange and vanilla cream popsicles. They're crack on a stick!

[Llyra]

Our big splurges mostly revolve around ice cream. We are big ice cream lovers here. And every once in a while, I buy some beef, like a steak or a roast. I have iron absorption problems, and the occasional piece of beef helps keep up my iron stores.

I cannot afford to buy as much organic produce as I'd like, but I try to make sure and buy all our dairy and eggs in organic, because it's in animal products that the pesticides and chemicals build up, plus there's the hormone and antibiotic factors. When I buy meat, which as I said is only rarely, I also buy that organic free range. We're fortunate in being able to get locally raised beef, which is nice because I can see with my own eyes how the animals are being cared for.

[leximom]

cherries! I love them, but they are so expensive when they are not in season.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by Boobs

My splurge is on those Whole Fruit orange and vanilla cream popsicles. They're crack on a stick!

I *Must* know more about these!

Where? How much? Are they like a creamsicle or like orange juice?

I'm drooling here.

[TiredX2]

Having about quadrupled our grocery budget (and added eating out money) in the last 5+ years makes me *know* that almost everything we buy is a luxury, but I *think* what I couldn't do without...

occasional chocolate for me
organic butter & cheese (cheese specficially for the kids, DP & I would eat non-organic if needs be)
fresh fruit year round

[Aeress]

we splurge on garden on eatin tortilla chips (very yummy). I prefer to buy only organic produce, especially things that can not be peeled. we are cutting our grocery bill from 100 every week to 50-75 so we are cutting out some organic things we used to buy to keep in the budget.

[Amys1st]

Organic milk, not really a splurge since we want dd drinking that only.

Only fair trade coffee beans which we roast on our own.

Only choice meats as well but they are all bought on sale.

the local store has a local bakery put their overstock donuts in the store- very yummy, all of us love them!! dd always says "Donuts for DAddy?" because he originally liked them but actaully all 3 of us do!!

[dachshundqueen]

Splurge

We also splurge on salmon once a week (it's $10.00) but I still only spend ~$240/month all told, including Bellie's $26/month med. The other is Fig Newmans, my nursling is allergic to wheat, dairy, soy & eggs so those keep me from feeling deprived,

Liz

[celestialdreamer]

We splurge by buying almost all organic foods (our veggies are all through a coop though so we save $). We can't afford much in the way of convience foods because of buying organic. We do have tortilla chips around always which aren't essential but DH loves them. Very rarely we buy a pint of ice cream or a frozen organic meal. Nut butters, salmon, etc are things I would consider normal grocery items to us, but if we are lower on $ we definitely don't buy as much. If I can make it myself for cheaper or its not healthy then we usually don't buy it.

[RosieTook]

It's not really a splurge, but we just switched to organic milk and cheese, and it's easily twice as expensive. It's really important to us though, and we already only eat organic produce.

We rarely eat meat around here, so that's one thing I don't have to worry about the expense of organic.

I do splurge on ice cream and ice cream bars though. :

[Belleweather]

Spices. :

We'll give up going organic so that I can have the appropriate, culturally correct spices to cook with. It's to the point now where I have three different blends of the specific moroccan spice I use to cook with, eight kinds of curry powder, and my own spice grinder for when I don't like the ones that come ready made. DH cringes every time the Penzey's catalouge comes to the house.

... on the other hand, it DOES save us eating out a lot.

[jentilla]

Organic meats. I try to get teh best deal and watch for sales and we eat a lot of organic hamburger and I really stretch the chicken, but I just can't compromise. Also, all our produce and grains are organic. I buy local eggs and dairy which are grassfed, etc.

[Free Thinker]

I think the most important things to eat organic are animal products. We are doing all organic milk, and meat. I do get some cheese, but not always. Produce is teh same way, sometimes I"ll get organic, othertimes not. OUr local store doesnt even carry organic anything, so I have to go to Wal-Mart an hour away. That happens like very 2 months or so. I do get our regluar stuff from a co-op, so everything but the veggies I can get organic from there I do buy the frozen veggies organic more often, though. Fresh stuff just isn't feasable right now. I'm hoping to put in a garden this summer to get some organic produce, though!