A Generic Lesson

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but my love for food rivals Kim Kardashian's love of herself. Having one son who eats "human" food like a pre-pubescent boy going through a growth spurt and another who requires formula, which is not cheap, it is important and hard to keep the grocery bill on budget. Many of us have gotten generic brands to help with our budgets, tried them out, & decided eating cardboard/tasteless food is not worth the $.50 savings. Well, my husband brought home Safeway brand jelly the other day. *insert wide eyed emoji* Now, I don't mean to brag, but I'm what many would consider a peanut butter and jelly connoisseur. I dare you to test my pallet by putting any other type of peanut butter that is not Jiff Crunchy on my sandwich and try to pull that wool over my eyes. I'm a bit the same way with jelly. I adore Bonne Maman's preserves so you can imagine my "what are you thinking" expression and the way I drilled him with questions like a pimp would to a "working girl" who didn't turn in the right amount of money at the end of the night. Well, I caved. I was desperate. I have no car to drive myself to the store and I was hungry. I spread the generic jelly on my generic bread with the utmost contempt. I took the first bite. Then the second. Huh! This isn't so bad! It was actually pretty good jelly! Next, my ho of a husband dared bring home a generic pizza! Now, come on, David! You're pushing it! Again, I was desperate. I was hungry. I was cold and alone. So, the last part maybe a bit over the top, but you get it. I popped that sucker into the over and waited the 18 minutes. Loo and behold, that Safeway pizza was good! It fed the family! It was only $3! What is going on with this universe? Since these two experiences, we have been buying more generic brands and have been happy with each choice this far! Here's another California life hack for you: 99 Ranch. It is an Asian market that smells terrible & whose isles are uber narrow, however, they have amazing prices on proteins and other essential grocery items. Our 4 year old would live on fruit if we let him. Fruit is not cheap! At 99 Ranch it is! It is, honestly, 1/3 to 1/2 the price of other groceries and super fresh! Farmers' markets are another great place to get produce cheaply, or course. Your local town will usually have theirs on either Saturday or Sunday every week. If you are as lucky as we are, our town's is one day & our neighboring town's is the other so we don't have to spend our entire day going to Farmers' markets. California is expensive, but there are ways to cut corners without having to miss out of flavor or quantity, you just have to know where to look.