The NO MEAT Contest

I went to a local supermarket for some food a couple of days ago and I was really shocked by the prices. It's nothing new but seems there's no end to this continuous increase. The funny thing is unlike the majority of the people I don't buy any type of meat. First of all, a good piece of meat, regardless of the type, is expensive and secondly I have to stay away from meat as much as I can because I have gout. I normally buy a few pieces of fruits, a little amount of different vegetables, plain Yogurt, Eggs, legumes and from time to time, a little snack which is limited to nuts or a good Chocolate bar. The latter have been reduced due to the soaring price of Cocoa in the world! 

Here is my receipt from today's shopping: 

1) Three Astro Balkan Yogurts = 3 x $3.29= $9.87 (Discounted item! Down from $5.69!)

2) Three Avocados (fair size) = 3 x $2 = $6 (Discounted item! Down from $2.79)

3) Two medium size Bartlett Pears = $3.21! 

4) One head (or perhaps should say Iceberg Lettuce) (big) = $4.99 (This is really insane!) 

Total = $24.07!

I tried to convince myself to get a reasonably priced fish but it was too expensive, particularly in Save on Foods! It's really ironic! There's no saving really no saving, most of the time, when you go to this specific supermarket or any other one for that matter but the only thing would worth getting from Wal Mart, at times, is Yogurt. Almost everything else, particularly fruits and vegetables, would usually be low quality and at times inedible, rotten and old. 

I have been able to stick to the NO MEAT Contest until today. I bought meat once and that was a mortal mistake! I purchased Rotisserie Chicken from Wal Mart, out of desperation, and it was awful! Then last night I purchased a Trout from Superstore and tried it for lunch. It was $14. I was hoping that I could make the $14 whole fish to two dishes but when I finished a few pieces with my home made bread, I then finished the rest by itself! I was hungry! There was no side! I scraped the scales, washed it, seasoned it, wrapped it in a foil and then first baked it for 20 min. and then broiled it for 5 min. It was good, fast and easy. I know what to do the next time to make it tastier and more appealing.  

(Picture: A bag of 150 g. seasoned Pistachio in a store in Japan goes for ¥1253, equal to CAN$10.75, now, a little cheaper when I was there in the fourth quarter of 2024. Fried fruits and nuts are considered very luxurious items. So they do here but the close proximity to the US makes it a little bit less expensive. You can buy nearly 400 g of the product here with that money, in Canada)