The Real Shopping Cart 05/02/24
Image description: air fried tofu puffs, turkey patties covered in tikka sauce and cilantro in a black ceramic bowl
Highlighted Meal of the Week
Turkey patties in Tikka Sauce
Ingredients
ground turkey
baby spinach
butter
cilantro
lemon
tomato
yogurt
fried tofu puff
homemade tikka sauce (ginger garlic puree, chili powder, coriander seeds, cloves, cumin, garum masala, turmeric, onion, crushed tomatoes with garlic and onion)
Cost
$10.41 for two servings and $5.21 for one serving.
Blood Sugar Level
6.3
Details
A delicious way to have South Asian flavours without the high carbs of rice, sugar and without dairy. The star of the show is the homemade tikka sauce, which Charles has created after considerable research. It is custom-made for our particular dietary issues: my lack of colon, and diabetes; Charles’ lactose intolerance. I’ve already spoken several times about the use of fried tofu puffs as a rice replacement. It’s low carb and delicious when air-fried.
Improvement for Next Time
We used too much tikka sauce. It was really filling. Next time we’ll reduce by half, which will reduce both the cost and the blood sugar level; although 6.3 is reasonable for dinner.
This Week’s Cart
Stores considered this week were Metro.ca, Walmart, Massine’s, Isabella Loblaws, Kowloon and Farm Boy, which are within walking distance, and the Real Canadian Superstore, Metro Rideau and Food Basics, which are accessible to us by public transit.
If we could get the cheapest price at all the stores, the total amount would be $154.25.
By combining delivery from Walmart and the Real Canadian Superstore, plus a few strolls to local stores, Charles has obtained a price of $157.47 for this week’s shopping list, only two percent higher than the cheapest price if we could shop all the stores.
In this week’s chart each store on its own will cost a shopper anywhere from twenty to sixty percent more or an extra $92.09. Any store that provided less than twenty-three of the twenty-six items we were looking for was disqualified.
Temptations
At this time of year, the “festive season,” the food industry is marketing heavily to consumers, trying to get us to buy a bunch of high carb, sugary and expensive items. It’s very difficult to resist. Given our dietary and financial issues, Charles and I are doing the best we can to avoid such. It helps us to keep in mind that this is how they are trying to make their money and it makes us less interested in buying in to the hype. Our strategy is to enjoy treats in moderation. We share a brownie at Ten Toes once a week or a Nanaimo bar at the Art House Cafe. We don’t buy a cake or a big bag of cookies from the grocery store. When we are in the store, we avoid the middle aisles and stick to the outer aisles where the produce and meat are kept. We find other ways to celebrate and enjoy the season: we get outside as much as we are able to, and once we are not, we will frolic in our building’s pool.
I wish you nutritious, delicious and affordable meals, lingering conversations with loved ones, joy and whimsy.
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