Prices change over time
In the last articles I've looked at basic foodstuffs and their prices. Now I have standardized each food to give a "Price per 2000 calories" not so much that I think anyone should eat a diet consisting of 2000 calories of any one item per day but rather to give a guideline on just how expensive the food is compared to other foods. The price per day is to set the bar that is easy to think of.
Here is a recap of things so far :
Cost for 2000 calories worth of each
- Flour.................$0.44
- Canola Oil ...........$0.61
- Sunflower Oil.........$0.74
- White Sugar ..........$0.75 New to the list
- Corn Flour............$1.03
- Lentils...............$1.07
- Rice..................$1.11 ... Sale $.91
- Chickpeas ............$1.15
- Soy Bean .............$1.30
- Margarine.............$1.58 ...
- Potato................$2.27
- Butter ...............$2.91 ... Sale $2.59
- Olive Oil ............$4.22
- 2% Milk ..............$4.58
- Pork .................$4.58
- Cashews...............$5.00 new to the list
- Chicken ..............$5.98
- Beef .................$7.56
- Eggs .................$9.55 Sale $$9.02
But today when I was shopping some of those items were on sale for a better price than before. When I took the time to calculate and rate it etched those prices in my mind so I now know where the bar was set and can see a good deal that much faster.
Rice that was over $36.99 before is now on sale :
Eggs that were $4.01 before are now on sale :
Butter that was $5.97 before is also on sale :
Does that change the overall list?
Honestly the change doesn't really move the bar too far for any one item. Rice became much less expensive but it is still not as cheap a carb as flour is. Butter got a little less expensive but still not as cheap as margarine. Eggs are a little less expensive but still the most expensive protein.
Today's big sale event
Now every month Real Canadian Superstore is putting three items on what they call a "Hit of the Month" promotion where they offer different items at a deep discount over their regular price. Just for fun I thought I would look at those items and see how they actually stack up on a price per 2000 calories workout.
First up :
Small package rice : (2kg)
$3.50
Or $29.88 for 18.1kg. Which works out to $3.30 for the same 2kg.
Honestly if you don't eat a lot of rice it is worthwhile to just pay the 6% difference. It is also cheaper than the regular price of bulk rice.
Overall I'll give it a pass as a decent deal.
Cashews 200g
Now with 6 calories per gram you don't need too many of these nuts to make 2000 calories. Only 333g is 2000 calories. How much does that cost?
$5.00 for a daily allowance.
With 18% protein, 28% carbs and a whopping 46% fat is is a pretty decent source of both protein and fat. What do I think of the price tag? It is cheaper than both chicken and beef as a protein source. Quick and easy to eat. I'll put that as a decent addition to our food stuffs. However, it is far more expensive than less expensive alternatives.
Cheez-It Crackers.
This is the first processed food that I'm looking at. I mean for only $1.50 for a box of crackers you can just sit down and munch as a snack, it has to be cheap, right?
Well, lets take a look. At 10% protein it has less protein that even regular flour. 17% fat and 60% carbs. Not impressed so far. The fat is from vegetable oil which we know is cheap. The carbs are from flour which we know is really cheap. Both of which are had under $1.00/2000 calories.
But $1.50/200g --> $1.50 / 750 calories
$ 4.00 for 2000 calories. Sure its a cheaper snack than the cashews but I'm going to guess the cashews have more nutrients and healthier oils. I also know I could make biscuits for a quarter the price of this with similar nutritional profile.
I'll give his a pass for convenience but a fail for actual cost for nutrition.
What about sugar?
I've looked at lots of foodstuffs so far but I've ignored sugar. However, it is in so many recipe, especially in baking, that I should I should give it a rundown.
Now.. many people think that buying in bulk is the way to go when buying things like sugar which last pretty much forever. But is that true?
2kg bag of sugar
$2.99 / 2kg --> $1.50 per kg (with rounding).
4kg bag of sugar
$5.99 for 4kg --> $1.50/kg
10 kg Bag of sugar
$14.99 for 10kg --> $1.50/kg
Small bag or large bag all the same price!
Of course if you don't round then the small bag is two cents cheaper but essentially all the same price.
Then the question comes : Why fight with a 10kg bag when you can just get the smaller bags?
But of course I have to look at it as cost per 2000 calories :
$1.50 for 1kg @ 4cal/g = $1.50 for 4000 calories
Which works out to $0.75 for 2000 calories.
Not as cheap as flour but certainly works as an inexpensive source of calories!
As a side note to my friend and helper in the #earnspendgive community @monica-ene ... you wanted to be tagged so her is your tag. Also regarding your upcoming mission on buying foodstuffs for yourself and to share....If you look at the list you will see why Rice isn't my #1 choice. Flour, Oil, Beans, and sugar to make tortilla, refried beans and yes, a little rice would be my first choices. But more on that in a different post.
Thanks for dropping by everyone.
As always feel free to add comments!
Fair points well made.
Good to see your stores running discounts regularly.
Rice shouldn't be the first choice if we are looking at the best meal with better nutrition and energy(calories) and at affordable price.
For the mission, at first I was looking at what people can prepare and eat without stress which is not a good enough criteria.
I wish to go for soya beans, this will have giving better nutrient and calories but only a few people can find quality use to it. People here are not familiar with the methods of preparing soya beans milk/meals.
Bean is another good choice here but I was discouraged about the price. A 50kg bag of beans is above 100k/146HBD. We can work with half of this if we want to feed the people with quality meals and not necessarily rice which is a cheaper version with lesser nutrient.
So sorry that I am not good with calculating the calories, would have add that to the reply 🤗
I'll likely post something to the #earnspendgive community under the hiveabbyftp account. An update saying I've changed the amounts from what were previously stated and that working on a different project. I've give my thoughts and hope it clarifies a few things.
I understand both getting rice as a gift as it is more immediately useable.
I understand trying to get the most nutrition for the least price ... but that would require education over time as you said not everyone knows how to cook soy beans or other beans for that matter.
I understand wanting to purchase locally and not online ... but some things are better price online while other things look good but are of poor quality.
I also understand that I put you in a tough position by giving you lots of flexibility :D
Watch for a tag later today ;)