"BRAND NAMES VS. STORE BRANDS VS. NO BRAND......"

You choose.

With food prices hitting historic highs, we all better become sleuths, sniffing out the bargains.

Last week I felt like I was on a scavenger hunt, whilst searching for food. And I also use a number of food grade products for my soap making: coconut oil, coconut milk, olive oil, to name a few. So, sales and bargains are a must!

Many people believe that the big box stores have all us consumers drinking the Koolade, convincing us that brand name products are better products.

Are they now.

I'm beginning to think not, and in my estimation, I know not. As you can see by the random sampling of canned goods filtched from my cupboards, that I use whatever is on sale at the time. I do not believe that Dole pineapple is the best; of course not, a fresh pineapple is the very best. But I tend to stock up on all sorts of staples that I frequently use, it's the only way to save a few $$$ each week.

So since I have a can of pineapple chunks, some fresh hamburg (sale) and a little jasmine rice to use up, it looks like Sweet & Sour meatballs for supper. Nutritious, delicious, affordable and leftovers for tomorrow. Win win.

Last year I tried retirement. I found out that it really isn't my bag. This year I've gone back into the workforce, part time at "Souris By The Sea Treasures & Gifts" and I've found it to be truly enjoyable. Who doesn't want to work with Carmella? Seriously, she runs a very efficient ship, organized to the nth degree, the shop is bright and inviting, with an amazing array of gift and household items, priced just right, in support of a lot of local and Island makers. (ahem) If you haven't dropped in yet, do!

So with that in mind, I'm back to meal planning and packing a lunch. And in the summer, Jamie and I tend to live on berries and new potatoes, so I've got to pay more attention to our diet.

But holy moly, it's an ordeal, and I don't know how I'd feed 4 kids now, our family of six would be quite challenging.

But I'm a good shopper, I have patience for that, and I really believe we need to post out there when we find a good deal; as you all know I love to sniff out butter on sale and share that. We need to share more. We're all in this together.

I have a great loyalty to our local Co-op and IGA and Pharmasave. I collect and use the points offered in all stores, although it can feel like a juggling act at times. All points I receive, I save all year and only cash them all in at Christmas. It's a treat for me and I buy the little extras that my family enjoys.

And I'm happy to report that on more than one trip to the IGA, a shopper, brandishing her phone, says "Thanks for the heads up about the bonus points, or limited items in my PC account this week!" We need to keep helping each other out. Eggs at $2.99, limit 4 this week? Butter $4.99 limit 4? Coffee at $5.99 for a 12 pod pack?

You betcha!!

These stores also often hire young students who get their first taste of a "real" job, where they work hard to earn a cheque and they pay taxes. It's a terrific learning experience, and it's the one I credit with having trained me to have a life-long work ethic. That first year out of High School, working at the Larter's Pharmacy, what a great life experience. Our local stores provide that opportunity. Also, I begrudge the time it takes to drive to Montague for my groceries when I can get the exact same thing here, with out paying for gas, and being cranky for the way it eats up my day. And I'd like to know where we'll be if these stores don't survive.......Charlottetown is a shit show now, there's no fun or relaxation in driving to Town. Doctor appointments notwithstanding, you won't find me in Queens County too much.

Saving on food? Well, it means different things to different people. Notice my can of Compliments Pumpkin Puree? We love a Pumpkin Pie at my house, and I'm sorry all you Pumpkin Pie snobs out there who insist you must make a slave of yourselves with a real pumpkin to make pie. Not this old bag.

May I state: the best Pumpkin Pie starts with a can.

And the big player in the pie market, E.D. Smith, would have you believing theirs is the best. And perhaps it is. But it'll be a foggy day in Hell before I pay $9.99 for a can of their pie filling. Yes, it's a large can, enough to make 2 pies, and yes, it's good. But I'm not tempted. Good god what happened to those prices, and who's going to pay them? We have to stop blaming everything on Covid.

So last week I had a good look at the pie fillings offered at the Co-op. I was able to stock up on Lemon and Butterscotch pie fillings for 2/$5.00, not bad. And low and behold, on the lowest shelf (easy for me to find, 'cause I'm SweetnLow too, and I can squat for hours) was a supply of single size cans of Pumpkin Puree, enough for one pie, for $2.99 each, now there's a price I can get behind. So I stocked up.

I have a son who was saying "We've been duped for years into believing brand names are better......"

I'm not a believer anymore.

Think about butter, a staple in our meal planning. All butter comes from a cow, the brand makes no difference, the process hasn't changed since some cave dweller figured out how to use that pile of lumps left over in the milk bucket. It's costly if it's not on sale, but what the hell happened? It's actually cheaper now than a pound of Crisco shortening, that's gone insane. I need it for my pie crusts, and I will have it, but it's easy to see how home baking is becoming more of a pastime for the rich and famous, and absolutely no wonder why a slice of any dessert in a restaurant costs $10.00 and up. Oh, for a pound of Fluffo, that's harder to find now than an ounce of fat on Celine Dion's ass.

How about Bacon? A luxury meat for sure, I'd make a terrible vegetarian. Bacon makes it better, is my motto, I'm rarely caught without it in my freezer. Presently I have a case on order, plus a case of meats from a local fund raiser. Great way to support and stock up at the same time.

Brands? Maple Leaf comes to mind, of course, but they're an enormous company with tentacles everywhere in the food industry. Is their brand better? Maybe? Doesn't all bacon come from a pig somewhere though? Slice it thin and fry it? Or as we do here in LRB, layer a cookie sheet with parchment and bake it at high heat in the oven. Oh man, that's living.

But again, is brand important?

I'm done drinking the Koolade. I'm a grown up. I make up my own mind. I'm on a mission to keep eating as healthy as I can, never mind a slice of pie when the kids are dropping in, that's my absolute pleasure.

We don't smoke.

We don't drink, not even bottled water.

We read the labels, and we exercise as much as we can. God knows keeping the lawns looking good is enough exercise most days for these two old senior citizens.

My grandmother was a real homemaker, and had lots of tricks to make food go further and last longer. I don't know how she figured it all out, but some things stuck with me.

For instance, those giant bags of Puffed Wheat, back in the day. Not much nourishment, for sure, but with a bit of milk and sugar, they filled little bellies up. But when they started to lose their appeal, what do you do with them? I don't think plastic tubs with snap on lids were the norm yet, but not to worry. That old wood stove was about to provide more magic.

She would pour a bunch of the puffed wheat into a pan, put it in the oven to heat up, and voila! A toasted, tastier version of the bland old cereal.

A donut or two that were past their prime? Unlikely as a leftover donut might be......... Again, she loved to toast those things up in the woodstove, right on the rack, and they tasted delicious to us!

Dulce de Leche? A new treat? I don't think so. Michael Smith may have become famous for it, but it existed decades ago, in that old country kitchen, on the old wood stove, out of necessity.

It seemed a miracle at the time, but Momma knew how to take a can of sweetened condensed milk and make "magic" alright. She would place a saucepan at the back of the stove, almost fill it with hot water from the kettle and set the can of milk in it. She would let it simmer slowly there, for hours, and when she finally opened that can......wow! It had thickened into a spreadable caramel that could only be described as heaven!

She would use it to spread between two layers of plain white cake that became a gourmet delight! How simple, but how ingenious.

And when roasting a chicken or turkey, nothing was wasted. The bones and neck were saved for the soup pot, and even the giblets were put to use. She would cut them up and fry them nice and brown, add onions and leftover potatoes. And behold.........chicken gizzard hash, a tasty dish I remember well from my childhood.

Momma also made THE best baked beans, usually followed by a serving of tinned peaches. Simple, cheap, but nutritious, and it filled us up. Absolutely nothing wrong with canned fruit.........I'm here to confess that more than once the bottom layer of a basket of strawberries or blueberries was escorted to the green bin, not fit to eat. That never happens with canned fruit, it's picked and preserved immediately.

I could go on all day, but you get the picture. The reason a lot of us survived was due to our smart and resourceful forebears.

So to sum it up: Let's check those flyers, make a list and stick to it, share on FB if we find a particularly good deal on a common household staple, and try to shop local as much as possible.

I just walked across the road to pick up some beautiful cucumbers for Mustard Pickles, you can't get any more local than a neighbor, and she'll have my green tomatoes for chow ready on Friday. She charged a fair price and I'm happy to pay it.

We're all in this together...........