TTC

[hapamama]

I'm a busy mom of 5 and we survive on a shoestring budget. Making white sauce from scratch is A LOT cheaper than cream of crap soup and maybe takes 2-3 minutes longer than it takes to use the cream of crap soup... and it doesn't always require dirtying another pan.

I'll admit to occasionally using cream of crap soup... it's just not something I want to feed my family all the time. Not to mention that it's not cheap. For the price of the 2 cans of soup that most casserole recipes call for, I can buy a pound of ground beef or chicken... vs using staples that I already have in my pantry.

[BlondeAgent007]

The "no cows milk" for a year thing comes from studies that are linking lactose intolerance to young exposure to cow's milk. I don't think a bit of milk for processing will hurt anybody. If you're worried, could you mash up the baby's portion using the milk/formula the baby drinks?

[FJismyheadship]

The "no cows milk" for a year thing comes from studies that are linking lactose intolerance to young exposure to cow's milk. I don't think a bit of milk for processing will hurt anybody. If you're worried, could you mash up the baby's portion using the milk/formula the baby drinks?

I doubt it would hurt her either. I was thinking about chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner and wanted to feed her some too. I make them from scratch cause I can't stand instant.

[Coconut Flan]

Still fascinated by this thread, it has debunked quite a few misconceptions I have had. I was always very jealous thinking that the US supermarket would be bursting full of all this beautiful produce I have to pay more for. There are very few fresh ingredients I cannot get for anything, granted for speciality I may need to travel.

This is from a few pages back, but the US varies so much that one can't really stereotype the country. I grew up in an area where a fresh mushroom of any kind was exotic, but there were a lot of home gardens and family farms and fresh produce was everywhere. It tended to the more common vegies, but it was extremely plentiful. Where I live now, I can get 99% of the fresh ingredients I want within a mile and half of my house and they are normally of high quality. Going five miles and I can get 99.9% and by combining stores everything would be very high quality.

[August]

Precisely.

Choice.

Somebody who is not aware of the nutritional value of some convenience food when presented with facts or skills to make it cheaper or more nutritious may still prefer to use it. That is their choice. It is not food snobbery to try and eat a healthy nutritious diet no more than taking exercise or choosing not to drink or smoke is snobbery or shaming those who do.

Seems like you can't point that out without being a snob, what chance trying to educate and give people choices if that is the attitude.

They're not, though. That's about $5-6 of food vs about $1-2 for the can of congealed vomit. Lentils are way more expensive than any other pulse, which just shows the out of touchness of the suggestion. But they're not equivalent, anyway. A tin of cream of... soup is equivalent to 2tbsp flour, 2 of butter and 2 cups of milk, which is actually less than the tin. You'd be way more productive teaching people how to actually make the sub in a recipe they know, and encouraging them in ways to add vegetables to things they already cook, and which vegetables are both cheap and pakatable. (tinned tomatoes, frozen peas, frozen corn, butternut, carrot, baby spinach).

[Arete]

You do not need all 2 USD of the bag of carrots to make soup. Neither do you need the 1.69 USD of the bag of onions. Or the whole 50 cents of the bulb of garlic. That all gets put into other dishes. Really.

A pound of lentils, 2 carrots, one onion, and 2 cloves of garlic are not going over 2 USD.

Feel free to call me a bitch, August. :nenner:

[August]

I'd like to see you buy an onion for under $1, and a pound of lentils for under $3, anywhere I've lived in the US.

[Arete]

I live 40 minutes outside of midtown Manhattan, so I call bullshit on your numbers being even close to a good representation. Complete and total bullshit. 1 USD for an onion? 3 USD for a pound of lentils? Where the hell do you shop, Whole Paycheck?

[BlondeAgent007]

I can buy a 1 lb bag of dried lentils from the expensive grocery mart for under $2. Any bean variety dried there in a prepackage is $1-2/lb A 5 lb bag of onions is usually less than or equal to $1/lb. Have you always lived in places where food does not grow? The moon perhaps?

[Sumeri]

Just chiming in from a very expensive (for groceries, we have to ship them in) part of the US. I just came back from the store where I bought a 5 pound bag of onions for $2.49 and a 1 pound bag of lentils for $1.50ish. If I'd have gone to our Mexican grocer, which has bulk bins of beans, they would have been cheaper. It's kind of silly to even argue about, beans are just cheap. We eat them all the time - at least 3 days a week. It's kind of like saying potatoes are expensive. They're just not.

[August]

I can buy a 1 lb bag of dried lentils from the expensive grocery mart for under $2. Any bean variety dried there in a prepackage is $1-2/lb A 5 lb bag of onions is usually less than or equal to $1/lb. Have you always lived in places where food does not grow? The moon perhaps?

Certainly not the South, so mebbee. Onions always equal out to about a dollar each for me. Other dried things are that cheap, butnot lentils, for some reason. It's a mystery.

Still no explanation why a pot of unseasoned dal is anywhere near the sort of food someone raised on cream of hotdush is going to enjoy eating.

[nelliebelle1197]

I live 40 minutes outside of midtown Manhattan, so I call bullshit on your numbers being even close to a good representation. Complete and total bullshit. 1 USD for an onion? 3 USD for a pound of lentils? Where the hell do you shop, Whole Paycheck?

I live two blocks from Atlanta and pretty much exclusively shop at Whole Foods. The only time I have paid that much for an onion would be if it was some organic South Georgia Vidalia the size of my baby.

[Conuly]

I live 40 minutes outside of midtown Manhattan, so I call bullshit on your numbers being even close to a good representation. Complete and total bullshit. 1 USD for an onion? 3 USD for a pound of lentils? Where the hell do you shop, Whole Paycheck?

Apparently, one of the few things that cost less in NYC than elsewhere is food.

Which doesn't mean I believe anybody is spending a dollar per onion unless they're buying them loose from the corner store, or else buying the fanciest heirloom variety they can find (ditto on the lentils, which are $1.50 per pound if I buy Goya, $1 per pound if I buy another brand, and about 89¢ per pound for bulk lentils, at least at my local supermarket), but I, too, have fallen into the trap of assuming NYC prices are a good data point for the upper limit of food prices because our cost of living is otherwise so high.

[Conuly]

The "no cows milk" for a year thing comes from studies that are linking lactose intolerance to young exposure to cow's milk. I don't think a bit of milk for processing will hurt anybody. If you're worried, could you mash up the baby's portion using the milk/formula the baby drinks?

That, and also giving that blanket advice keeps people from saving on formula by giving their kids cow's milk. A little cow or goat milk won't do much harm, but babies should not be getting the bulk of their calories from anything other than breastmilk or formula.

[BlondeAgent007]

That, and also giving that blanket advice keeps people from saving on formula by giving their kids cow's milk. A little cow or goat milk won't do much harm, but babies should not be getting the bulk of their calories from anything other than breastmilk or formula.

Formula companies could have something to do with it. Almost any dietician worth their snuff though will advocate breastfeeding 100% over formula, unless the mother is having milk production issues. Breastfeeding is the least expensive of all the options.

The blanket statement about cow's milk, I've come to conclude, is to keep people from misinterpreting "a little". Some people will read or hear, "a little," look at the price discrepancy between cow's milk and formula, and decide a little means "majority of diet". A little more money on formula, though, could save that same person years of money buying lactose free dairy products. You are correct though, I don't think a little bit would do much harm.

[Coconut Flan]

I'd like to see you buy an onion for under $1, and a pound of lentils for under $3, anywhere I've lived in the US.

I can do it at five stores all ten minutes or less from my house and I don't live in a cheap area of the country.

I agree the dab of cow's milk in mashed potatoes is no harm to the child. So often the rules as said above are because people can misinterpret a little to be several ounces a day.

[ladyamylynn]

Everything I eat and cook is amazing, and anybody who disagrees with me is most likely deficient in both taste and decency, and either hates their children or is hated by their children. People with standards higher than mine are sanctimonious asshole yuppies, and everyone with standards lower than mine was probably raised in a barn, or by wolves, or by wolf-people in a barn.

Unless you are at this very moment eating an exact carbon copy of my dinner, down to the most minute detail, I would seriously question your fitness as a functioning member of society.

[lilith]

I can do it at five stores all ten minutes or less from my house and I don't live in a cheap area of the country.

I agree the dab of cow's milk in mashed potatoes is no harm to the child. So often the rules as said above are because people can misinterpret a little to be several ounces a day.

I always thought that the milk guidelines indicated that cows milk shouldn't be a baby's main source if nutrition before twelve months, not that it shouldn't be used at all.

I always used breast milk in cereals and purées, but my babies didn't eat much of either - when they got interested in food they just started eating bits of whatever I was eating. If necessary I would chop it more finely or even chew it myself before putting it on their spoon (gross, I know, but it's how humans have been weening babies forever), but they pretty much moved straight to adult foods, including milk.

That said, they got the bulk of their calories from breast milk til well past 12 months.

I remember being very focused on what to give my first baby when, but she really wasn't interested in solids at six months, and letting her lead the way when she was ready worked. My usual advice to first time mothers is to read all you can, arm yourself with information, and then follow your instincts.

I do think that it's a good idea to offer a wide variety of foods and flavours to babies and toddlers, both for nutrition (for toddlers) and to minimise pickiness later in life.

[Conuly]

Breastfeeding is the least expensive of all the options.

Yes and no. As Sam Vimes has observed, it costs more money to be poor. (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/72745-t ... s-reasoned) Breastfeeding is nominally free, but if you have to work then in order to exclusively breastfeed you need a pump and bottles, and time to pump at work, and of course the ability to get sufficient milk when pumping. (WIC will pay for a pump in some areas, but it won't always spring for a better one if the one you have isn't good enough.)

Who is more likely to get a lengthy paid maternity leave, somebody with a middle class job or somebody working at McDonald's? Who is more likely to be given time to pump every few hours and a place to do it? Heck, I've even heard of daycares refusing to accept breastmilk. Which mother has a greater ability to choose her childcare situation, a wealthy one or a poor one?

Saying that Breastfeeding is cheapest is sorta true, in the same way that cloth diapers are cheapest if you can afford to pay $200 upfront for them, but it's not always very useful to say.

Now, when we get our socialist paradise and all people are guaranteed a decent parental leave, quality childcare at an affordable rate, a legally ensured right to pump at work, and lactation assistance if needed, then we will all be much better off. We just aren't anywhere near there yet.

[LadyBlue]

I did the rice cereal & purees thing with ds1 (nearly 12 years ago), but he wasn't really interested in eating until closer to 9/10 months and we quickly moved to real food and self feeding. With number 2, I skipped the rice, did the purees for a bit and quickly moved to real food around 10 months. With 3 & 4, I skipped both rice cereal & purees.

I'm very cautious about using anything other than breastmilk for my babies, though. My eldest had clear issues with even after 1. Guess I shouldn't be surprised, dh has issues with anything other than cheese & yogurt. I think if you don't have any family issues, it should be ok, but I didn't even considered MrBlue's issues when I first introduced milk to our eldest.

[BriMamai]

I agree with the love for the Baby Bullet - it's a great system. Sadly, my little one decided pretty quickly after starting solids that she did not want us to feed her (she wanted to do it herself), and the Bullet was put away. I agree with the wholesomebabyfoods site, but the post just before mine reminded me of yogurt. We fed Baby B about a metric ton of yogurt - plain, organic, whole milk yogurt. It is supposed to eliminate the issues with lactose intolerance. She really didn't need any flavoring, but if you have trouble getting the young'un to take fruits or veggies, you can always mix them in. Same with purées in pasta sauce. Cottage cheese was recommended somewhere, and I think would be a good way to work on handling textures, but my kid did not like it. I also believe that the guidelines about eggs have relaxed recently, so we do a lot of eggs with some cheese mixed in. Right now, pasta with tofu chunks and mixed veggies is a hit. I also made some sweet potato fries, baked in the oven with olive oil that she liked. They don't really get crispy and you can cut them to whatever size your baby can handle. Now that she is older, I have made her meatballs that I break-up into bite sized chunks.

Sorry, that was supposed to be a quick post, but apparently the evening wine made me chatty!

[OkToBeTakei]

Certainly not the South, so mebbee. Onions always equal out to about a dollar each for me. Other dried things are that cheap, butnot lentils, for some reason. It's a mystery.

Still no explanation why a pot of unseasoned dal is anywhere near the sort of food someone raised on cream of hotdush is going to enjoy eating.

Varying taste maybe. Somebody brought up on additive laden flavour enhanced MSG laden salty food is unlikely to 'taste' anything. Bit like somebody told me oven baked veggie crisps were better than good old Pickled Onion flavoured Monster Munch... err they might be but Monster Munch are supremely crapper and supremely tastier :lol: NOT knowing they are crap or the same is the point really. It is the fact as previously mentioned that for whatever reason folks are not aware the food they are eating is not good nutrition or value for money. If they know that and still prefer it then that is their choice.

Lentil soup is tasteless and out of touch ehh? :lol: Dahl is a staple indian food, can't say I've ever found any Indian food tasteless, kind of the opposite.

It did occur to me about cupboard basics, that can be an expense. I think if I had to replace all the oils, vinegars, dried herbs, spices, sauces (fish, oyster, etc, etc.) All at once it would cost me a fortune. Only buying one or so at a time over time is doable but for sure some of them can be expensive but overall pay for themselves buy how long they last. Most foods would indeed be bland without any flavour.

I can certainly understand the 'oh you have to grow your own herbs' as being ludicrous and off-putting. The eating fresh food in opposition to processed as snobbery not so much. I must tell my nearly 80 yr old Mother what a right bloody snob she has been for large parts of her life for eating what was available. I will also be sure to tell her she missed the boat on condensed soup which she could not afford. Poor dear, slaving away with a bit of butter some flour and milk. What a snob.

[OkToBeTakei]

This is from a few pages back, but the US varies so much that one can't really stereotype the country. I grew up in an area where a fresh mushroom of any kind was exotic, but there were a lot of home gardens and family farms and fresh produce was everywhere. It tended to the more common vegies, but it was extremely plentiful. Where I live now, I can get 99% of the fresh ingredients I want within a mile and half of my house and they are normally of high quality. Going five miles and I can get 99.9% and by combining stores everything would be very high quality.

That sounds similar to here. Although the more rural areas may have to travel further. US is such a huge landmass it honestly had not occurred to me before this thread, the food chain. I consider the oranges I buy which come from Spain an imported food. But the actual distance from Spain to my country is tiny in comparison to say some travel cross country in the US.

[August]

Varying taste maybe. Somebody brought up on additive laden flavour enhanced MSG laden salty food is unlikely to 'taste' anything. Bit like somebody told me oven baked veggie crisps were better than good old Pickled Onion flavoured Monster Munch... err they might be but Monster Munch are supremely crapper and supremely tastier :lol: NOT knowing they are crap or the same is the point really. It is the fact as previously mentioned that for whatever reason folks are not aware the food they are eating is not good nutrition or value for money. If they know that and still prefer it then that is their choice.

Lentil soup is tasteless and out of touch ehh? :lol: Dahl is a staple indian food, can't say I've ever found any Indian food tasteless, kind of the opposite.

It did occur to me about cupboard basics, that can be an expense. I think if I had to replace all the oils, vinegars, dried herbs, spices, sauces (fish, oyster, etc, etc.) All at once it would cost me a fortune. Only buying one or so at a time over time is doable but for sure some of them can be expensive but overall pay for themselves buy how long they last. Most foods would indeed be bland without any flavour.

I can certainly understand the 'oh you have to grow your own herbs' as being ludicrous and off-putting. The eating fresh food in opposition to processed as snobbery not so much. I must tell my nearly 80 yr old Mother what a right bloody snob she has been for large parts of her life for eating what was available. I will also be sure to tell her she missed the boat on condensed soup which she could not afford. Poor dear, slaving away with a bit of butter some flour and milk. What a snob.

Let me assure you, dal has a lot more ingredients than a single clove of garlic. In fact, I can't think of any Indian foods which are unspiced. Naan, perhaps. Rice, if you leave out the spices. Indian food is kind of renowned for being heavily spiced. For a cup of lentils I add a heaped tablespoon of garam marsala, plus several cloves of garlic, plus ginger, plus way more vegetables than one carrot per cup of lentils.

Go on, go and boil up some lentils with a solitary clove of garlic and see how it tastes. I won't be doingit, they're too expensive to waste like that.

[Anny Nym]

Go on, go and boil up some lentils with a solitary clove of garlic and see how it tastes. I won't be doingit, they're too expensive to waste like that.

Uhm, that´s how we make lentil salad. Boiled lentils, adding chopped garlic, onions, pepper & salt and standard salad marinade (vinegar, oil, water)

Great sidedish for pork ! :P

On the topic of expensive food prices: I get it for fresh fruits and maybe veggies, but for dry goods like beans, lentils, grains and easy-storage vegetables like onions, garlic potatoes, root vegetables? Nope... :think:

How popular is the concept of "vegetable boxes" (you order a box full of saisonal veg/fruit from a distributor and have it home delivered) in city areas of the USA?