A type of list I hope you never read from me

You know those posts or vlogs that are titled "10 foods I no longer buy," or "10 foods you should stop buying, " or "I stopped buying these 10 foods and why you should too." I couldn't in good conscience write a post like that. And here's why.

1) My list of foods that I can honestly say I will never, ever, ever buy (either again or for the first time) is too short to even reach 10 items. So let me think, what would I even put on such a list. Okay, here's one, caviar. I would put caviar at the top of my list. And not because it's expensive. But because it has a texture that I can't stomach. Three of my family members actually think it's good stuff. Not me. I won't be buying any. Two, offal with exception to liver. Some people say when done right, dishes made with offal are delicious. I'll eat liver, but not the rest of the organ meats. And that's my complete list of foods that I'll never buy. I reached two entries, and neither one had anything to do with frugal choices or nutritional benefits.

There are many foods that I try to minimize or even try to avoid. But I can't say with certainty that I'll never buy those again. If it's a financial thing (it doesn't make good sense to spend my money on a particular food), who knows? Our finances may drastically improve at some point. or our priorities on how to spend the money we have may change. Even a pricey food like Wagyu beef could someday make it into my shopping cart, if we had a special celebration and the financial circumstances allowed it. If it's a nutritional thing, telling myself I won't ever have a particular food again just sets me up for obsessing over it. And I can say with absolute certainty that that approach never ends well for me.

2) Just saying I won't buy something in a blog post sort of implies that I think you shouldn't either. Why else would I publicly write my list of foods I won't or will no longer buy, unless I thought you friends should jump on my bandwagon. Who am I to say what someone should or shouldn't buy with their own hard-earned money or what foods they should or should not consume for their good health? I'm neither a professional financial planner nor a dietitian. Although I've studied nutrition as a lay person for about 50 years, I've studied it for my own personal use, not to make suggestions for someone else's health and well-being. What I can do from a financial point of view is suggest ways to reduce the cost of foods someone may enjoy. I can also share garnered nutritional information, and you can see if that info applies to your own life.

Besides all that, those "10 things not to buy" titles to posts and vlogs remind me of click-bait. An irresistible headline that leads to negative and fear-based content, which may or may not be based in truth. When I think of it that way, it feels a little slimy. Frankly, I have too much respect for all of you to do that. 

But just out of curiosity, are there any foods that you can with certainty say you'll never buy?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers and This Week's Shopping

a whole chicken rubbed with herbs and ready to go into the oven

As you'll see in a minute, several of this week's meals were based on a whole roasted chicken from Tuesday. There's still some meat on the carcass. So, I'll make chicken stock and remove the last of the meat from the bones on Friday. I think we'll have chicken soup for lunches this weekend.

Here's our menu for the last week.

Friday
pepperoni and pepper pizza
mixed frozen cauliflower and broccoli, steamed
tangerines

Saturday
burrito bowls (shredded beef, pinto beans, seasoned canned corn, fresh bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, avocado, cheese, salsa)
stewed prunes

Sunday
leftover tea sandwiches, carrot and celery sticks, trail mix, cookies, cake, and orange segments from earlier today, plus steamed broccoli/cauliflower mix and breakfast sausage links -- a very easy dinner.

Monday
Mex soup -- leftover (from Saturday) beef, beans, and corn, plus frozen peppers, fresh onion, canned tomatoes, seasonings, cheese, cilantro, and beef cracklins'
green bean salad -- canned green beans in vinaigrette
no sugar added applesauce bread pudding recipe here

Tuesday
roasted chicken and gravy
steamed baby potatoes in their skins
steamed carrots (I steamed extra carrots to add to my morning smoothie on Wednesday)

frozen peas
sautéed spiced apples

Wednesday
leftover chicken and gravy
sautéed spinach, garlic, and onions
frozen cauliflower, steamed
brown rice (I made extra for Thursday)

Thursday
chicken fried rice, using leftover chicken, leftover rice, fresh mushrooms, celery, frozen mixed veggies, and an egg
Asian cabbage and tangerine slaw
gingered pears

I also did a little shopping earlier this week. Last week I mentioned we'd run out of bananas and need more this week. I went to Walmart on Tuesday for bananas and a couple of other items. I chose Tuesday to go because Tuesday is Value Village's Senior day -- 30% off any purchase -- and Value Village is right next door to Walmart.

At Walmart, I spent a total $29.30 on the following:
1 gallon milk $3.13
decaf coffee $8.77
regular coffee $8.77
bananas $1.14
6 bags frozen spinach $1.26 ea (frozen spinach has been hard to find at WinCo since sometime in fall, due to a nationwide recall)

As I said, I also wanted to go to Value Village for another flannel shirt for myself. This new one makes 3.

At Value Village I spent $3.84 plus tax for the above flannel, sage buffalo check shirt.
I saw the same shirt on Poshmark, previously-owned, for $12.00 or $4.88, pre-owned on Mercari. I got a pretty good deal and didn't have to pay shipping.

I don't know how you launder flannel shirts, but I've found that machine washing followed by hang drying helps the flannel last longer and gives me a neater looking shirt once dried, as compared to running through the tumble dryer.

How was your week? Any special meals you particularly enjoyed? Do you wear flannel shirts in winter? Is there a brand you think is better than others?