The Real Shopping Cart 26/12/25
Image description: three pork potties on a bed of spinach and cheese with ranch dressing in the centre, tomatoes, cucumber and apple hidden from view by spinach.
Highlighted Meal
Pork and apple patties with ranch dressing
Ingredients
baby spinach
English cucumber
Extra virgin olive oil
Fuji apple
ground pork
hothouse tomato
whole grain mustard
panko breadcrumbs
homemade ranch dressing (garlic clove, chopped jalapeno, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon zest)
shredded lactose free triple cheddar
white wine vinegar
yellow onion
Cost
$6.55 for two and $3.27 for a single serving
Blood Sugar Level
5.4
Discussion
I wish I’d known about the myriad creative and delicious uses for ground meat years ago. Patties are a fantastic way of making cheap meat good. We buy inexpensive ground pork from Kowloon. The not-so-secret-delicious ingredient inside the patty is the grated apple. I can handle a small amount of bread crumbs or flour. Have I talked yet about our bacon and veggie fritters? I will some day. They are another favourite and also include putting grated produce inside the patty.
I’ve likely talked about our homemade ranch dressing before, but I will add that one of the things I love about it is the addition of Jalapeno peppers. Unlike other types of peppers, they can be chopped and stored in single portions in the freezer, but make sure to wear gloves and a mask if you’re chopping up a bunch at a time, and remove the seeds if you like. We haven’t tried it with the seeds, to be honest, but we tend to avoid seeds, thanks to my tendency toward bowel obstructions. Kowloon sells packages of Jalapeno peppers and the price varies, but is typically cheaper than the one-of-a-kind varieties found at Farm Boy or Massines.
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 $154.27.
By combining delivery from Walmart, plus a few strolls to local stores, Charles has obtained a price of $159.10 for this week’s shopping list, only three 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 eight to thirty-four percent more or an extra $53.01. Any store that provided less than twenty-eight of the thirty-three items we were looking for was disqualified.
I wish you nutritious, delicious and affordable meals, lingering conversations with loved ones, joy and whimsy. Thanks dear readers for your interest and support in 2024! In 2025, we will be sharing more recipes and continue to share our discoveries as we shop the deals and live frugally, nutritiously and deliciously. Here’s to a healthy, calm and productive 2025!
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