New Year's rant 11 DUMBEST GROCERY STORE ITEMS THAT YOU CERTAINLY DON’T NEED TO BUY

SOAPBOX TIME. Ok, it’s the first month of the new year—you know, where we look back at the past year and wonder how in the heck it came and went so fast. Also, people seem to do the ’10 most……..’ thing and I finally couldn’t stand it so I decided to harp on one of my 'I can't believe we do this' subjects.  Yes, I find both hilarity and sadness at the grocery store. Not only are the items below filled with preservatives, they don’t really save time, they are expensive and downright lazy. Also, I do realize that I have 11 items listed, not 10.  Believe me, I have more.  So here is my


11 DUMBEST GROCERY STORE ITEMS THAT YOU CERTAINLY DON’T NEED TO BUY

No particular order, you can decide on that...........................
Dumb Item #1 Cornmeal mush in a plastic bag ready to cut and fry (really, really hard to make at home, cornmeal, salt and water)

Dumb Item #2 Congealed sausage gravy in a plastic bag (ready to squeeze out and reheat.  Yum, yum —wouldn’t your grandma be proud!)

Dumb Item #3 Seasoned bread crumbs (won’t even address this!)

Dumb Item #4 Pre-cooked bacon that costs as much for 2 oz as it costs for an entire pound of unpre-cooked bacon (ok, so the ones who are buying this spent thousands on a gourmet kitchen?)

Dumb Item #5 Individually wrapped potatoes (potatoes last a long time in the kitchen, no need to buy just a few—this is just wrong and certainly expensive)

Dumb Item #6 Pre-made pie crust (another difficult problem, flour, shortening, salt, water and a little practice)

Dumb Item #7 Tiny carrots in a bag (these are not baby carrots which would be a waste of garden/field space, these are large carrots sanded down to small carrots –lots of waste, people. Do we really have to have mini-carrots—Come on!)

Dumb Item #8 Already mashed and refrigerated potatoes in a butter tub (two things—container waste and how hard is it to buy instant potatoes – oldest form of food preservation—if you really can’t mash your own?). This also applies to macaroni and cheese in a tub.

Dumb Item #9 Already mixed cinnamon and sugar in a shaker (speechless)

Dumb Item #10 Tomatoes on a vine (you really want to pay for the vine while buying transported tomatoes that taste like water?—needless eco-miles. Grow your own if possible and don’t eat these out of season. The anticipation of really good tomatoes in July through October is worth it!)

Dumb Item #11 I am a big fan of crockpots since I work outside the home but Crockpot meals (frozen in a bag, just add water) are just plain expensive and just silly-- (is it that difficult to put a piece of meat/whole chicken, some veggies, seasoning and water in the crockpot?--takes 5 minutes in the morning as you get ready for work) My husband found me almost hysterical in the store aisle.  Imagine how interested I was in finding out that you can also buy crockpot liners--another piece of stuff to recycle!

There's a lot more.  I could go on and on and on and on, but you get the message!

Yes, we should be very, very embarrassed. The foods (and I use the term loosely) that I have listed above don’t really save time and we certainly don't really know what is in them. Don’t tell me that no one really buys them because this is America and our business is making money and those products wouldn’t be there unless someone is buying them. Most of us have refrigerators, stoves, etc and half a brain. Indeed, some of us actually have kitchens to die for, but SOMEONE is buying this stuff! While we talk about ecology and eco-footprints, we go to the store and forget everything regarding packaging and eco-miles and things we can do for ourselves. Is it any wonder that the rest of the world thinks we are greedy, self-serving, and lazy with no regard for the planet?