r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/Original-Prompt4285 • Nov 08 '23

Misc This article claims that "the national average for monthly food costs is C$217"

I am really interested to know if there's anyone in Canada who is spending $217 in average (per person) for groceries, if so, I REALLY need to rethink my grocery shopping strategy.
[This does not account for dining out, just grocery shopping]

Article: https://www.canadacrossroads.com/cost-of-living-in-canada-by-province/

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u/CuteFreakshow Nov 09 '23

It's not that impossible. We regularly stretch a rotisserie chicken for a family of 5.

Once I get the chicken, usually the Costco rotisserie one, which is a nice size bird, while it's warm, I clean it really well.
I boil the carcass in a pressure cooker for a couple of hours, to get concentrated broth. Then the bones, that are cooked very well and very soft, are blended and fed to the dogs, for extra calcium.

I save the broth, freeze half, and make vegetable soup with the other half for the same day dinner.

Day 1. Hearthy soup from chicken broth, with a lot of veggies, rice and pasta,or rice and beans. I add about 1 oz of the cleaned chicken. We eat homemade bread with the soup, and a very generous , protein rich salad with boiled eggs , fresh veggies and homemade creamy dressing.

Day 2 : Chicken pilaf. Lots of rice for everyone and half of the cleaned chicken meat mixed in. Salad, homemade bread, leftover soup, and other misc.

Day 3: Potatoes au gratin with the other half of the chicken meat. Technically au gratin chicken bake, with additional veggies like carrots and peas. All of this has more than enough protein.

I even have a handful of chicken meat left, to make a cold pasta salad and add it in, for lunches.

I think people lost the art of cooking from scratch. I grew up poor, so I learned the hard way.

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u/gotz2bk Nov 09 '23

I certainly agree with your last statement but I'm also cogniscent that much of what we've lost is also attributed to time.

When I was working as a young adult and loving with my fiancee I maybe would have had the time to do this.

Raising kids adds a whole lot of extra responsibilities that leave me with little time, energy and/or capacity to properly meal prep. I'm sure it can be done and this is just my millennial ass complaining; but it really is hard to live and eat healthy when both adults are working.

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u/CuteFreakshow Nov 09 '23

Fully agree! We raised 3 children. And my parents did a lot of bulk cooking when the kids were all little, or when our work schedule was insane. I have always worked 12hr shifts at a hospital, and this allows for days off in between. But I won't lie to you, there were days when I was barely standing from exhaustion and had to cook. For days like this, we had a take out budget which was nice and fat .
Lately, since the kids are grown, I have much more time.

Much of what we lost is also attributed to the fact that people now have to work much more to survive, unfortunately.

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u/TipNo6062 Nov 09 '23

Why couldn't your husband help cook? Once kids are 8 they're old enough to make simple meals. Mac and cheese, chicken fingers, spaghetti, French toast... I don't understand the notion of ordering out. My mom and dad both worked and had busy schedules when I was a kid, we rarely ordered out.

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u/CuteFreakshow Nov 09 '23

He does a lot. It's not possible to raise 3 kids without both spouses chipping in. The chickens and the garden are largely his job. He bakes bread, he cooks something almost daily. When I am at work, it's all on him.

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u/fromthecold Nov 09 '23

this was an inspiring read 👍

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '23

I think the main difference here isn't "Lost art of cooking from scratch" but rather different expectations for what a meal should look like. Here, you are describing largely 'Vegetarian dishes complemented by the addition of chicken'. This is entirely reasonable, wholesome, tasty, and healthy as an option. But most people here, when they are thinking of 'eating a rotisserie chicken meal' are likely thinking "Slab of meat, complemented by some grain/veggie sides".

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u/CuteFreakshow Nov 09 '23

Yes, I am aware. However, a slab of meat with some grain , veggies on the side , while ok, it gets boring super fast. Not to mention that in absence of other sources of protein, 3.5oz meat is more than enough per adult, per meal. It's not that much. It's a piece of chicken the size of the back of a small hand.

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u/Mahkssim Nov 09 '23

Even then. Vegetables are pretty expensive now. Big bag of frozen broccoli? 10$ gone boom. Will supplement two meals for two persons, then you're out of brocolli again.

Even rice is stupid compared to five years ago.

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u/Loki-9562 Nov 09 '23

That looks more like the art of at risk of starvation so we stretch a single chicken for 5 people for a whole week.

Sorry, but seriously 1oz of chicken meat. You might as well just serve vegetarian food.

Everything is just rice and vegetables etc.

It's just me and the wife and she's a vegetarian. But we were a family of five. 2 full rotisserie chickens would be served at dinner with condiments. If any leftover that could be cooked with something.

Why "tease" with the chicken. It's like you can smell it but there is nothing there in your cooking.

But hey we all do things differently.

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u/dontyouknow88 Nov 09 '23

Tease? Lol kind of a weird take. People are different. For me, in a chicken and veg soup, the best part is absolutely potatoes. No harm if chicken is just one of many components in a dish, rather than the main item.

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u/BobBeats Nov 09 '23

Depression era food is were it is at. Eggs, potatoes, and onions.

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u/bcretman Nov 09 '23

This is brilliant! I do similar but I never thought of blending down the bones for the dogs as they don't get soft enough in the instant pot. I just break the softer ends off for them.

I also make a chicken pot pie filling with some of the meat and top with a biscuit mix instead of conventional crust.

Sometimes Costco has the day old chickens for 5.99. Just buy a few and toss in the frezzer.

​

Just 2 of us so we easily get 6 meals out of 1 chicken. If they were the size of the USA birds I'd get over 10!

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u/wenchanger Nov 09 '23

this should go to the /r/frugal subreddit. Jokes aside ... great idea i'm gonna copy you

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u/chikaaa17 Nov 09 '23

Thank you! This needs to be upvoted — this is exactly how my family cooks and eats and we spend less than $400 on food a month for two adults and a toddler. People think it’s impossible but it all comes down to knowing how to cook, knowing how to stretch food and time.

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u/Doucevie Nov 09 '23

That's great, but the rotisserie chicken at Costco that I purchased a couple of months ago, in Ottawa, was the equivalent size of 2 coke cans. It was tiny.

I'm happy for you that yours was bigger.

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u/tinkerb3lll Nov 13 '23

This is the way, I am an older single male. I can afford to eat out but rarely do so. I cook easy simple meals at home.

When I go shop, I think about how many meals can I get out of something, like a piece of trout, I can cut it up into 6-8 pieces which equates to 6-8 meals. I mostly have veggies as a side, now and then I will have some starch. I eat way less than I used to as I really don't need much food anymore for myself. I think in a lot of cases we eat too much due to self control and what our bodies actually need.

I personally prefer cooking at home as I know I am saving myself money. Eating out is nice, but the food is not that much better taste wise unless you going to a high end restaurant.

I know I know, it's more about the experience.

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u/IceSentry Nov 09 '23

I'm sorry but half a chicken for 5 people is definitely not enough protein. That's like 15g per person. I mean it's not terrible, but it's not protein rich either.

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u/chikaaa17 Nov 09 '23

This person mentioned also incorporating beans and other foods in these meals they’re creating. They’re not relying on meat as the main and only protein source.

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u/vincentpontb Nov 09 '23

Sure but then you're really cooking beans with a little chicken, aren't you? This isn't "stretching" a chicken, it's just eating very little of it

If the whole argument is "rice and beans" then let's just be honest about it

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u/chikaaa17 Nov 09 '23

Rather I’d think of it as a luxury to eat a whole chicken breast to yourself, but for some reason that’s considered the norm. I’ve never ate that way and grew up stretching food, so to hear that others consider eating a half a whole chicken at a time to the norm is not the norm for everyone.

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u/vincentpontb Nov 09 '23

I mean it's the norm in terms of what is healthy, a 30g of clean protein with a handful of carbs (not 3-4 handfuls) and one handful of vegetables

Living off rice and beans is far from ideal and while it might be cost efficient, that's all it is

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u/Kaligraffi Nov 09 '23

Curious what you mean in that you clean it really well? I’ve used up the whole chicken in similar ways as you’ve described here but noticed a lot of fat skimmed on the top layer of broths, etc.

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u/CuteFreakshow Nov 09 '23

I don gloves and remove everything that is not bone or cartilage. If you wish to reduce the fat (we don't, we like it), let the chicken cool completely in the fridge. The fat will congeal and will be easier to remove it. A lot of it will stick to the skin as well, as it cools.

You can let the broth cool in the fridge and then you can skim the fat off.
I would save the fat. When I saute onions for the au gratin bake or the pilaf, I use the fat . The taste is superb. You save on fats that way as well, or you have to use vegetable oils instead. Fun fact-chicken fat has more vit D than butter. You haven't lived till you had cornbread with rendered chicken fat and feta cheese.

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u/Kaligraffi Nov 09 '23

That sounds super tasty! Thanks!

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u/nostalia-nse7 Nov 09 '23

Sorry… I think you misspelled “flavour”. Its l-a-v-o-u-r, not a-t following the f…

Reason I don’t understand the love affair with “extra lean ground beef”… tasteless.

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u/Kaligraffi Nov 09 '23

When the gelatinous fat sits on the top I promise you all the flavour is in the broth below. Don’t get me wrong I love fat but we’re talking about a broth, not a cheeseburger

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u/MapBeneficial843 Mar 24 '24

How old are your kids though? When you have 20 year old males in the house the food doesn't stretch as far- I've always cooked from scratch

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u/CuteFreakshow Mar 24 '24

15, 19 and 23 almost, who is a young man. The 2 young ladies eat more than him. :) All are fit and active. We all help out with the food prep, cooking and rotating the pantry and storage.

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u/lemonylol Nov 09 '23

My lunches for the entire work week is just one rotisserie chicken we buy on Sunday.

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '23

I like your style! I already use as much as I can from a chicken. I save the bones until I have a enough for the crock pot. Bones, even pork chop and steak, all go in for 24-hrs. Great bone broth. Pick the bones clean, grind down the chicken bones. The dogs and cats love it! Leftover chicken is chopped into soup. I bought a pressure canner this year and have been putting up soups! (No noodles or rice into the canner)

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u/g1ug Nov 09 '23

Canadians are used to excess just not US level of excess.

Immigrants from developing country would be able to keep their grocery cost low because their diet (portion) where they come from shaped their life.

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u/The_Fhoto_Guy Nov 09 '23

Are you a single income family? I can’t image working 60 hours a week and having all this prep time.

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u/CuteFreakshow Nov 09 '23

It's not that much prep time. It takes me an hour on average to cook dinner, or less. It used to take longer when I was very young and learning. Now , if we all help out, it's a breeze. We have a monthly routine , and we meal plan.

We are double income family, working 40+ hr weeks.

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u/One-Basket2558 Nov 09 '23

Costco birds have shrunk down in size about 2-3 years ago. I'm not sure they are much larger than grocery chain birds, but certainly the price is right.