I remember when the penny gumball machines disappeared from the local drugstore. I also remember when that drugstores ice cream was no longer sold for $.35/scoop. I remember when beef noticeably began to rise in cost due to the fad diets that promoted lots of red meat. However, I have never seen so many items rise in costs all at the same time as I have in this economic crisis. Maybe it's because I've always been a stickler about food costs. I'm the girl who reads the fine print, calculates the cost/oz. and never let's the supermarket pull one over my eyes with their "deals". So with my knowledge of what I pay for almost every item in my cart, it sickens me to see how much the cost of food is rising.
I'm grateful that before it turned bad, I had felt impressed to start learning to make a lot of things from scratch. From my bread, to my potstickers, I prefer to make the real deal instead of buying artificial nastiness. It doesn't save me a THAT much money since flour and fresh foods rises in costs with everything else, however, I feel good in knowing that I am feeding my family healthy, better for you food. It also feels good to know that I am making a stand against those companies that create "cancer in a box". K, there's no proof in that I just thought it had a cool ring to it.
I can't make everything from scratch, but I am resolved to keep trying. Lunchmeat is one I HATE, but have to have. Maybe I'll raise my own chickens and slaughter, pluck, and roast them for my kids sandwiches! Would you put it past me?