Food Price Hikes Nearly Ruined New Year’s Day Dinner

I went to the grocery store on Saturday, (I really had to be crazy it was New Year's Eve).  I wanted to get a few things to cook an very unhealthy but delicious New Year's Day dinner.  This is a meal I haven't cooked in ages and I didn't have any of the ingredients.  I was cooking up chicken fried steaks, potatoes, gravy and of course black-eyed peas.  I was amazed at how much the cost of some of the ingredients have skyrocketed.

I was completely out of cooking oil and needed a new bottle, now the last time I purchased oil I swear it was $1 or $2 dollars a bottle.  Holy Moly, the stuff was almost $4 for a bottle of cooking oil.  I couldn't believe it.

Then I realized that I was out of eggs and I needed eggs to make the batter.  I usually buy eggs in the 18-count container, and the price on eggs is high as well.  I was used to paying about $2 per container and now it was over $3.

Potatoes, I usually buy potatoes in a 5lb bag and goodness when did those suckers go up in price.

As for the meat, I knew that wasn't going to be cheap since meat prices continue to rise.

My New Year's Day Dinner for 3 ended up costing me what it would if we would have gone to a restaurant.  Sheesh, all that work and I could have gone and had someone else cook it for the same cost.

I was in shock at the cost of these things but today I realized why it was so expensive.

I ran across an article from Good Housekeeping, as to why my New Year's Day Dinner was so expensive.

Fats & Oils: Surging soybean prices in 2011 made the commodity prices of fats and oils go up 11.1%.

Eggs: The inventory of hens that lay the eggs we eat decreased in 2011, bringing egg prices up 22.8%.

Potatoes: According to the Consumer Price Index, potato prices were up 11.9%. With twice the average rainfall in the east and cold spring weather across North America, crop losses and delays were significant. That, along with seed shortages, meant there were no bumper crops to drive down prices this past year.

I am seriously considering taking the knowledge I learned from my grandmother and starting a garden this spring.

I know I cannot grow chickens and I'm sure my neighbors wouldn't appreciate the smell.  However a vegetable garden would be cost saving and vegetables freeze and keep well after being cooked.  Potatoes will keep for a long time.  However,  I'm just out of luck on the oil, but then again I don't really use it all that much and it isn't very healthy so I can live without it.

If food prices continue to rise I may have to start learning to like beans and Ramen Noodles.