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Walking into your average supermarket is a lot like being a contestant on "Jeopardy!" If you think hard, choose wisely, and give all the right answers, you can go home with a carload of cash and prizes. But make a few mistakes and you'll leave with an empty wallet-not to mention a lot of empty calories.
In fact, even the lowest-priced supermarket in your neighborhood is brimming with complete rip-offs-health foods that aren't healthy, gourmet foods that aren't gourmet, specialty items that just aren't that special. Here are just some of the foods you're overpaying for, compliments of Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide and Cook This, Not That!.
7 Supermarket Rip-Offs
The Environmental Working Group, an organization that studies pesticide contamination, ranks onions and avocados as the most pesticide-free vegetable and fruit, respectively-even when grown conventionally.
In fact, as a general rule, anything you have to peel before you eat (such as bananas or garlic, for example) is relatively low in pesticides. If you want to eat organic, splurge on produce with permeable or edible skin, such as peaches, lettuce, and apples.
There's a lot of hype in this bottle, but the only ingredient that provides any significant energy is caffeine, of which there are 135 grams in each bottle. That's less than you'd find in a14-ounce cup of coffee (Dunkin' Donuts 14-ounce medium has 164 grams of caffeine). Cost for a cup of coffee: A buck or two. Cost for 5-Hour Energy: Between $3 and $4.
Gluten-free foods generally cost two to three times more as their gluten-containing counterparts, and unless you're among the less than 1 percent of people with celiac disease, there's no point in coughing up the extra dough. Gluten-free pastries and breads don't necessarily have fewer calories or more nutrients than regular products. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology followed a group of gluten-free dieters with celiac disease for 2 years and discovered that 81 percent of them actually gained weight.
You know there's trouble when food needs a mascot. A grinning cartoon character on the front of a box is a surefire sign of two things: 1) The box is filled with mostly cheap carbohydrates, and 2) Most of the money you spend on it will end up in the pockets of marketers. See the Golden Crisp box here? The mascot on the front is known as Sugar Bear, which explains why more than half the calories come from pure sugar. And what's that all around him? Advertisements. This box is like a big billboard stuffed full of junk that will make you flabby. You might as well just eat your money-at least that's sugar free.
A pound of swordfish can cost more than $20. Why? Supply and demand: Because it's scarce, it's viewed as a luxury. But you should consider its high cost a blessing: It probably has saved your family from slow, steady infusions of poison. Due to abnormally high levels of mercury, the Monterey Bay Aquarium recommends that children and women (who could potentially become pregnant) cut swordfish from their diets entirely. A better seafood option: halibut. It has all the flavor, with 40 percent fewer calories, a much lower cost, and it's one of the cleanest fish out there.
This is consistently one of the most expensive cuts of beef, but all you're buying is a little bit of tenderness. In fact, tenderloin isn't a particularly flavorful steak. So why does it cost so much? Because there aren't many tenderloin steaks on a cow. Switch to top sirloin instead. It's one of the leanest cuts on the cow, and it packs in far more rich, deep, beefy flavor. And depending where you're buying, it might end up costing you about half as much. This saves you cash at the supermarket--and the steakhouse!
Does a bag of Funyuns look like a bargain to you? At about $4, it holds 6.5 ounces of snackable corn inside. Now consider this: a large ear of corn will run you about a buck and weighs just over 5 ounces. So the Funyuns bag contains the food equivalent of 1 1/4 ears of corn. Do the math here: If an ear of corn costs a dollar, a bag of Funyuns should run no more than $1.25, and that's under the assumption that cheap fillers like sugar, corn starch, and soy flour haven't driven the cost down significantly (a very generous assumption, indeed). Part of the reason this bag contains so little actual food is that it contains massive amounts of air. The corn is puffed and the bag is puffed-so you're buying mostly puffery. Even a regular bag of potato chips, which is by no means a bargain, contains more actual food than this. A bag of Ruffles is 10 grams, a bag of Doritos 17.
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3-27-2011 @2:13AM David said... I'm wondering why a $0.99 bag of funyuns, as indicated in the photo, would cost $4.
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3-27-2011 @5:25AM Roger said... movie fiona corona
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3-27-2011 @9:16AM Philly said... 1.) The "airiness" in a bag of Funyuns (or any other bagged chips) is like that for good reason. Lay the bag flat and place a flat palm on it while pressing down. You'll notice nothing touches the chip. They do it to prevent the food getting crushed during handling.
2.) I'm a huge coffee drinker so I'm quite familiar with levels of caffeine. i took one of these so called "energy shots" about 6 months ago and was wired to the nines for about 8 hours. Not only is there much more caffeine than your average cup of joe, but many companies also use "ginseng" which is a pretty strong stimulant in its own right.
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3-27-2011 @10:43AM Keith said... Buying "organic" at your grocery store is a total rip off. The receptionist at work saw me with some boiled eggs, she went on about them being organic, I guess because they were brown. Told her my chickens layed them. I went to the store a couple days later and saw "organic" eggs for almost $5 a dozen. Most people around here with chickens will sell you free range eggs for $2 a dozen. Me included. Most of us with small farms that grow and raise food don't use chemicals because they cost too much. Unless you live in some mega city, take a ride out to a rural area and you can get most of the "organic" food they sell in the stores for much less and you can ask how it was produced.
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3-27-2011 @10:43AM Keith said... Buying "organic" at your grocery store is a total rip off. The receptionist at work saw me with some boiled eggs, she went on about them being organic, I guess because they were brown. Told her my chickens layed them. I went to the store a couple days later and saw "organic" eggs for almost $5 a dozen. Most people around here with chickens will sell you free range eggs for $2 a dozen. Me included. Most of us with small farms that grow and raise food don't use chemicals because they cost too much. Unless you live in some mega city, take a ride out to a rural area and you can get most of the "organic" food they sell in the stores for much less and you can ask how it was produced.
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3-27-2011 @2:13PM Monique Ramirez said... I'm pretty surprised that no one has brought up the point that Organic doesn't just mean Pesticides. The environment in which the plants are growing has to be Organic , which includes the soil, water, previous land usage... all of these are factors. Not to mention most Organic farms don't use pesticides at all, which is actually why they are more expensive. Since there aren't ANY pesticides to kill ANY bugs the percentage of fruit that is actually presentable enough to be sold in a store is so small that they have to spend more money coming up with other things to turn the fruit into (i.e. Juices, sauces, jams, etc.) so therefore its more expensive.
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3-27-2011 @12:35PM Randy said... 5 hour Energy drinks work for me. And I might add the high levels of vitamin B12 do elevate energy levels significantly,which is factually based. The caffeine present in coffee keeps you ''juiced'' for about an hour. Anyone who can get past the acrid taste of a 5 hour Energy drink can feel the subtle gain in alertness and energy that lasts quite awhile without the agitation that caffeine many times creates. The high cost is problematical but if you buy the 6 packs its more tolerable. Its wise to use the product early in the day to avoid sleeplessness at bedtime.
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3-27-2011 @5:37PM DeSha said... Eating Organic Produce strictly has helped me with my allergies, I used to be under 'doctors ordered house arrest', 7 years later ... nearly allergy free..
ALSO I've tried the whole organic avocado vs conventional and onions etc..
organic tastes better..
home grown (organic as you can get, very fresh) is the best.. sadly I do not live in a place that grows avocados and organic bags cost 6 dollars >_
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3-27-2011 @11:00PM local said... Tenderloin Steak is NOT a waste of money. It is very delicious cut of meat that is DIFFERENT than top sirloin.
Now if I buy tenderloins I get them from a real butcher, not the giant supper market where the meat is sometimes of questionable quality.
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3-28-2011 @9:24AM Copper said... Why blame the store? My issue is how this article is framed. That is, that it’s the grocery store, the final link in the food supply chain, that is behind the so called ‘Rip Off.’ Regardless of the validity of the claims made by the author, every food item listed, and the associated negative, is the result of either; public demand and buying habits or the manufacturer. Not the grocery store. Of course had you titled and written the article simply: ‘How To Grocery Shop Wisely’ then number of buyers/readers would be far less. Are you not guilty of the same tactic?
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3-28-2011 @11:31AM Yana said... You know what's funny...
He was talking about Funyuns onion rings price, saying:
-"If an ear of corn costs a dollar, a bag of Funyuns should run no more than $1.25", but the bag of Funyuns on a picture shows it's .99c lol
he-he-he
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3-28-2011 @11:39AM redherring said... These advice pieces are very disappointing and misleading.
To point:
Organic does not only mean no pesticides used. It also means non-genetically modified food, and no irradiation amongst other things (also beyond no pesticides). I prefer organic over non specifically to avoid genetically modified foods. Humans think we know everything, but we don't. Genetic modification is not something we should play with in our FOOD supply.
Uh, Gluten-Free Baked Goods are there because some people cannot eat gluten. Period. End of subject. It isn't a choice. I can't have gluten, and trust me, if I could eat regular bread, I would. I don't know anyone who is *happy* they can't eat gluten-containing bread; it's just something we live with because ultimately the benefits to avoiding gluten are better than the alternatives. But, I'm very happy there are Gluten-Free Baked Goods, because sometimes I really want a bagel. or an english muffin. or a waffle.
And your statistics are incorrect as to the # of Americans who may have a gluten issue.
overall, this is a very bad article and I believe I will avoid this site in the future.
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3-28-2011 @5:08PM james.harvey said... My sister found that she is a bit allergic to gluten and needs to have a gluten-free diet. I don't think she has celiac but gluten was making her slightly sick. She cooks most often herself, so she will buy some gluten-free, else she makes her own food.
Per the 5 hour energy shot, that stuff is nasty and I've heard the taste is compared to dishwashing soap. Amway partnered with XS Energy drink and has their own XS Energy Shot in Berry and Citrus flavors. 8 calories per shot, no sugar or carbs, 10,000% Vit B12 per shot. Good tasting and the energy you need. It is the B12 that wakes you up, not just the caffiene. About enough caffiene as an 8 oz coffee. No crash later on. http://www.JVE.biz, password: nutrition
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3-28-2011 @5:08PM james.harvey said... My sister found that she is a bit allergic to gluten and needs to have a gluten-free diet. I don't think she has celiac but gluten was making her slightly sick. She cooks most often herself, so she will buy some gluten-free, else she makes her own food.
Per the 5 hour energy shot, that stuff is nasty and I've heard the taste is compared to dishwashing soap. Amway partnered with XS Energy drink and has their own XS Energy Shot in Berry and Citrus flavors. 8 calories per shot, no sugar or carbs, 10,000% Vit B12 per shot. Good tasting and the energy you need. It is the B12 that wakes you up, not just the caffiene. About enough caffiene as an 8 oz coffee. No crash later on. http://www.JVE.biz, password: nutrition
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4-20-2011 @10:02AM Linda said... Gluten is poison to the body and should be avoided at all costs.
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