I imagine it’s pretty correct to assume that everyone has one or more staple food item that he or she can’t live without and finds absolutely crucial to have stocked at all times. However, I recognize the peculiarity of Ocean Spray dried cranberries in becoming my most essential food item in the past few years. I love eating them in pretty much any type of edible form whether it be in salads, cookies, bread, muffins, cereal, or just by the plain handful. They just add to everything!
I don’t know exactly why I have grown to love the taste as well as the consistency of Craisins, but since I’ve been away at college it’s really hard to keep my constant supply of them, since I live in the dorms and rarely go grocery shopping due to my meal plan that I have. Whenever I go home on breaks, I have the opportunity to get my share of them to bring back with me to Minneapolis (at least for a little while.)
When I first discovered how much I enjoyed this dried fruit, I had just been buying the smaller bags at the store which I believe are about 6 oz. They sell for around $3.00. That was fine when that bag was able to last me a week, but once I was able to eat 6 oz. in a day, it was getting a little ridiculous. Sam’s Club in my hometown sells food in bulk quantities, and ever since the day I stumbled upon the 48 oz. bags of Craisins as I was walking down the aisles, I have been able to maximize my utility while saving money in the long run. I’m able to get 8 times the amount of product for only $8.00 a bag, or just $4.00 more than I was spending for the small bag.
Due to my limited accessibility in comparison to when I was living at home, my consumption has decreased overall. My mom was sending me two 48 oz. bags a week at the beginning of the school year, but she’s stopped, since it was costing a ton of money to ship them, and now I’ve settled with only eating my favorite food when I visit home, because it didn’t make sense to be spending so much money each additional week. Not to mention it can’t be good to consume two 48 oz. bags in a week, which is what I maximized at. I’ve been having to make do with raisins, which hardly compare, so I’m predicting my consumption will once again be in full force when I move back to Wisconsin this summer.
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I have the EXACT same problem with raisins...kinda of. I eat them like crazy, but I am still in high school and so live at home with my parents, who do most of the shopping. They have encountered the same frustration as you–what to do when my raisin consumption is up to a 6 oz bag of the 3$ organic raisins a day? The easy (or maybe not so easy) solution would be for me to cut my consumption, but of course I don't want to do that (opportunity cost of saving a lot of money is a significantly less happy kid). Next best thing would be to buy in bulk, but this usually means finding Sunmaid somewhere (not sold at the co-ops my parents shop at, and not organic so something I try to avoid). So, what do I do? My house remains in a constant raisin conflict. Yet to work out a solution, but I think I might have to cut back as you did...
ReplyDeleteI understand the frusteration you are going through while living at the dorms, as I am in the same situation. I absolutely hate having to buy only snack food and having limited refriderator space with a freezer smaller than my shoe. The cafe was good at first, but now has become pretty tasteless. I also have to wait to go home to be able to get groceries and lugging them across the states isn't fun. The dorms have constricted our maximum untility when buying food. I know our dorm cafe provides a bowl of raisins (the best substitute); I would just try and take as many as you can from there daily to satisify your crave. Mine as well maxmize your utility of what the dorm provides if its gonna limit it in other aspects.
ReplyDeleteDUDE. I think a great example of this is baby carrots. which are really just shaved down regular carrots. 3 dollars for a 16 oz bag? Whereas you can be WHOLE CARROTS, 99 cents for a 16 oz bag (or for a 32 oz bag if you're lucky) and cut your own damn carrots. I used to eat them constantly and go through three bags of baby carrots a week. Then I learned. What a trick, right?
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