Cost of food in Canada

[greydot]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn People should learn to cook, once you know how to cook and instead of going to a grocery store and buying what you’re craving or what you had in mind etc … steak and potatoes or you wanted to make nachos. Buy what’s on sale only! And learn to make a dish out of it.

Also buying bulk sale and store/freeze. There’s so many ways to save on groceries that a lot of people don’t put in the effort to.

 

[sophiahiddenlight]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn There are a number of YouTube channels that have grocery budget channels. They show you how to make nutritious meals on a budget. I watch a few based in US and a few from UK, but my favorite is Canadian channel Adventures in Groceryland. She teaches you how to create a pantry over a number of weeks while spending low. Right now she is cleaning up her freezer and pantry so you will have to look back at episodes from last year for shopping advice. There are also great young chefs that show you how to be a fabat home cook on a budget. One guy duplicates restaurant meals. Just start looking at YouTube and the algorithm will find more videos for you.

 

[zmccabe]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn Flash food app is showing some deals. But I have not used it yet. Grocery expense is the new car insurance expense. We cannot do anything about it.

 

[terrystrickl]

@zmccabe This app is amazing! I haven't paid full price for meat in months. You need to check the app multiple times a day as things get added at random times and they go fast.

 

[robslaybaugh]

@zmccabe the $5 produce boxes can be really great if you are checking semi-regularly (not the one that was apparently just full of ginger - seriously, who needs that much ginger in their freezer?) and hold out for the ones with a photo, not the surprise box.

 

[carlea]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn The “hack” that’s been saving my low-ish earning DINK household is the mighty Costco rotisserie chickens when I run out of the Hutterite chickens I get from our friendly neighborhood Chicken Man (make friends with Hutterites if you can).

The Costco birds are always 7.99 ($2-5 less than everyone else) and I use them for everything. 1 Costco bird is about 4 meals plus a carcass for soup which turns into 2-4 more meals depending how much meat you leave on the bones or if you want to go lean on eating the roast chicken itself for a day.

But ultimately, eating meat is still expensive compared to vegetarian meals. I’m trying to get my neurospicy partner to open up to the idea of eating more vegetarian dishes, but it’s slooooow going and high pressure. If I mess up the texture at all then they’ll take two “no thank you bites” and then just not eat. Or only eat the rice.

 

[baralabite]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn No great advice from me, other than the usuals. Buy frozen vegetables and some fruits instead of fresh (Eg 2kg mixed blueberries/raspberries/blueberries are $20 at Costco). Of course if you are really tight for $ you are not buying frozen berries either. Frozen corn, peas and the like are pretty cheap from Costco vs the regular stores BUT you need freezer space.

Cheese, cold cuts, alcohol we are just screwed here. Was in Europe recently and was shocked how much cheaper nearly everything was (particularly cheese, cold cuts, smoked salmon and alcohol). And nearly every store had their own FRESH bakery vs the processed and pice fixed garbage here.)

For meats, I often go to restaurant supply stores and buy a larger cut of « commercial » meat then cut and vacuum seal myself.

 

[falkenstein]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn Saskatoon pretty limited on variety to shop around but Costco expensive on all goods by far than all others. Just visited Costco last night for the first time in years and couldn’t believe how expensive it was.

Living in Van, we have every major competitor alongside many small independent markets that we can shop all the sales and using the Flip App.

For example recent buys in the last week here. Costco can’t even compete to these prices.

Chicken at $99lb to $1.29lb. Striplion at $4.99lb. Pork Chops at $1.88lb. Eggs at 2.99 dozen. Green Onions at $1 each.

 

[suganyakarthick]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn I've literally just moved from the UK to ontario, I just want good cheddar cheese for less than a mortgage

 

[raytoddard]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn At this time of the year it off season its gonna be pricy unless u by at costco and even than.. Mason jar perserve the food much longer. example: blueberries rinse in cold water remove any bad one, pat dry place in mason jar will stay fresh for up to 3 weeks.

Check flyers, depending what type of food you prefer, by from butcher for meat is cheaper,

but fruit and veg, its all off season as where winter. i do recommend frozen vs can stuff.

I usually do a u-pick in the spring-summer-fall so i have some threw out the winter. ( for fruits i rinse place on wax paper place in the freezer for 4 hrs and than bag it in air tight bag)

veg blanch than freeze

 

[crossworx]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn I don't know what's available in Saskatoon, but in Vancouver you do pretty well if you split your grocery budget between No Frills and small Asian or Middle Eastern markets, and also focus on base ingredients rather than stuff like frozen pizza, and but little/no animal products.

 

[hisdaughter74]

@crossworx Which Asian or middle Eastern markets do you frequent and what do you pick up from there

 

[crossworx]

@hisdaughter74 There are two Chinese markets I go to, Sunrise and Rice World, for rice + standard fresh stuff (produce, tofu, veggie meats). I also go to Persia Foods sometimes for spices, nuts, dried fruit, some bakery items (flatbreads), and the best hummus in town. Persia Foods is also one of the few places around that sells massive sacks of beans and other legumes, if you want to eat REALLY cheaply.

 

[hisdaughter74]

@crossworx Oh cool! Thanks for the info. I haven't been to the Powell Street area recently because of safety concerns, but good to know the best deals in town.

 

[resjudicata]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn Eat lots of rice, beans, and lentils. Can also check dumpsters of grocery stores for expired food. Lots of still edible stuff to get. This is called "dumpster diving" and is very common/popular in metro Vancouver area

 

[ohmaggiemae]

@resjudicata This sounds like things have gotten really bad for you. Maybe a food bank but dumpster diving??

 

[resjudicata]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn Go back to the UK

 

[anne169]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn Costco: the butter is 5.20 vs 4.99 which is what it went for up until New Year’s Day

 

[rect4389]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn @qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn

Sorry to hear you are living in Saskatoon.

 

[resjudicata]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn When did you leave the UK? Because I see the same complaints on /r/casualuk