Grocery Shrink e-book ?

[MommyinTX]

Does anyone have a review or comments on this book? I stumbled across this website, and thought I'd check before I plunk down $10. I'm just not sure there's any grocery-saving tip I haven't already heard or used.

Thanks,
Becky

[Grainlady]

I may have to "plunk down $10" out of curiosity; and if I do I'll report back. It may be a good resource in my library.

Here's the link for anyone else who would be interested.

The Grocery Shrink: eBook

I'm like you, I'd be surprised if there were any tips I haven't already heard. What I did see from the 2 pages shown from the book is a lot of detailed meal planning and paperwork, and I don't like to do a lot of paperwork. Several books I have on the subject are also quite detailed. My head would explode if I had to devote that much time and effort to purchasing and meal preparation.

My bottom line:
-Set a $ amount budget for ALL food purchased.
-Purchase food at the lowest possible price.
-Stockpile food from ALL the food groups.
-Purchase nutrient-dense foods (usually whole foods)
-Skip on the "junk" and highly processed foods.

In 1978 I purchased the book "How I Feed My Family On $16 A Week" by Jo Ann York (purchased it used for .90) and I was able to beat her $16/week on a regular basis (with 2 kids at home back then).

[Grainlady]

Update...

I really can't suggest this 114-page e-book. Half of the book is family recipes, some which are unsafe. The recipe for pickled beets isn't heat processed properly. Evidently they subscribe to unsafe canning techniques. Another unsafe recipe is for homemade ice cream which uses uncooked eggs. There was WAY too much sugar and fat used in recipes and a lot of highly-processed foods used in recipes.

The common-sense ideas are not original, things most of us have read from other sources, but are nicely presented for newbies, who would be the audience for this book. Planning menus for a month, even though you purchase food weekly, is the main theme. The author said, "One time before I planned meals regularly I served green beans every day for a week." I got a chuckle out of that.

There is a section in the book I found interesting... Calculate Your Recipe Costs with a nice "Ingredient Cost Calculator" chart and "Recipe Calculator Sheet". You can track your ingredients to quickly figure recipe costs. A nice feature, but maybe not all that practical, especially with prices always changing. I typically don't write prices on my food when it goes into storage, so I really wouldn't know if that was sugar I purchased $1.75/5# or $2.53/5#.

Lots of other nice charts:
-Grocery list
-Weekly Meal Plan
-Monthly Meal Plan
-Pantry Planning Sheet
-Price Book Sheet
-Substitutes and Equivalents
-Quantities to serve 100 people
-Suggested amounts to Store for One Year

All these are readily available for free on the internet.

Anyone could make their own book in a 3-ringed notebook and add all the charts and ideas they would need.

[IntlMom]

wow - as usual you are super full of helpful information!!!

thanks for your thoughts on this


but I have one caveat - I LOOOOVE homemade ice cream (and *gasp* we use uncooked eggs) - oh that and super yummy raw cookie dough! yep, we live on the edge here!! LOL

[Grainlady]

IntlMom~

Raw egg roulette...YIKES!!! A couple food safety classes took all the "fun" out of raw eggs (LOL). That, and a friend who was cooking with raw eggs who contracted salmonella through inadvertent contact from his hand to his mouth. He didn't even consume any raw egg, he just handled them.

Complications from Salmonellosis can result in death in infants, chronically ill persons and the elderly. Serious rheumatoid or cardiac problems may occur after recovery from the acute disease. My friend had both these conditions after his bout with Salmonella bacteria.

I love homemade ice cream too, but I'd suggest Egg Beaters or rehydrated powered whole eggs (or powdered egg yolks, if yolks only are required). These items are pasteurized and would be a safe alternative in your ice cream or cookie dough and you won't notice any difference in taste or texture. I use powdered whole eggs all the time in cooking/baking. I consider them a wonderful convenience, as well as safe to use.

[MommyinTX]

Thanks, Grainlady! You are sure speedy...I hadn't even seen your first post yet, and now you've already read the book. Yea, I kind of suspected I wouldn't learn much from it...seeing as I already gained so much wisdom from everyone here. Thank you for being the guinea pig.

Becky