The Real Shopping Cart 24/10/24

lamb curry ... yum

Image description: a blue stoneware bowl filled with lamb curry and a yogurt, cilantro heart.

Highlighted meal of the week

Lamb curry: . Ingredients: coconut milk, chicken broth, green pepper, peas, mirepoix, onion, curry paste, lamb. Meal cost $8.58 for two people and one serving was $4.29. My blood sugar level was fantastic at 5.5.

We don’t eat lamb much because it is too expensive, but several months ago, there was a sale for ground lamb at Food Basics. It was $7.99 for a pound, which is on the higher end for meat, but low for lamb. We usually divide meat into half pound portions and freeze it, making sure to thaw it the night before in the fridge. This is a habit we have had to learn and develop. Planning is an essential part of saving money on our food.

This meal used homemade mirepoix and curry paste, which enabled us to keep the price under $10. I have written about mirepoix in a previous post. It took us a long time to be able to perfect our curry paste, but I feel that we have achieved the height of deliciousness with this version: tomato paste, red curry paste, soy sauce, ground ginger, cumin and garlic. One way in which we are able to be more economical is to buy a larger container of coconut milk and freeze it in meal-size portions. One small can of tomato paste is also too much for one meal, so we do the same, dividing it into two-tablespoon portions, which work for most recipes.

Charles and I have been writing The Real Shopping Cart since August 9. Every week, Charles goes through our groceries to figure out where we can get the least expensive foods and products. If you’d like to read the background, please read the first post.

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 $166.55.

By combining delivery from Walmart, and a few strolls to local stores, and a bus ride out to Food Basics, Charles has obtained a price of $172.65 for this week’s shopping list, only four percent higher than the cheapest price if we could shop all the stores.

This week Walmart was missing a few too many key items so it couldn’t be included in the chart but did very well price wise for the items that were in stock and continues to be the backbone with its weekly grocery delivery option.

Each store on its own will cost a shopper anywhere from ten to thirty-nine percent more or an extra $65.54. Any store that provided less than thirty-three of the thirty-eight items we were looking for was disqualified.

I wish you nutritious, delicious and affordable meals, lingering conversations with loved ones, joy and whimsy.

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