(New Zealand's version of Dollar Tree or Family Dollar? I guess that's a foreshadowing as to where this post is going!)
I have to admit that I got a little bugged by one blogger in particular, who seemed to rant about food costs on every other post. I thought to myself, 'Good grief, lady...you get to live in New Zealand! You knew it would be expensive. Get over it!' I vowed that if we ever made it to New Zealand, I wouldn't waste a lot of time complaining about the costs. There's too much other good stuff to focus on. So, this will be my first (and only) post solely dedicated to food prices.
That being said.... HOLY SHIZ, FOOD IS SO EXPENSIVE!!! :)
Seriously, it was quite a shocker when we made those first few trips to the grocery store. It's one thing to hear how costly things are, and another to actually pull things off the shelves and pay for them. The first few nights we were here, I had trouble sleeping because I was brainstorming through all of my recipes and trying to figure out what I could make (that my family would enjoy) that wouldn't cost a fortune.
I'm happy to report that, after living here for a month, I'm sleeping like a baby and I think I've got the food thing worked out. I still have moments of disbelief when I notice something at the store that's particularly pricey, but I'm getting used to it and using helpful hints to decrease costs... same way you would save money in the States, by watching the ads, buying things in bulk when they are on sale, and choosing produce that's in season. Some of the basics (bread, milk, eggs, etc.) don't change much in price, and you just learn to deal with it.
I've been pulling out my phone and taking a few photos here and there while at the store (earning myself some strange glances from onlookers). I thought it might be interesting for you to take a tour through the store with me. The prices seem crazy at first glance...all prices listed in this post are New Zealand dollars, of course, and converting to US dollars decreases the prices a bit. Also, it's important to remember that there are 2.2 pounds in a kilogram, so I roughly half the price in my mind to quickly gauge what the (ballpark) per-pound price would be.
The produce section is first. One thing I think is interesting is that they tell you where the produce comes from (which region or island). It's been fun to learn new names for so many things! Since I eat sweet potatoes like candy, I stop at this spot often.
At first glance, I thought these zucchini squash were labeled "Cougarettes." Isn't that what the dancers at BYU are called?
Don't these "yams" look a little bit like giant, colorful grub worms?
I had seen bell peppers called "capsicums" in recipes before...how much would you spend on a red pepper in the States? I can't remember.
I have no idea what "earth gems" are but I'm going to buy some soon to try them out. We've eaten a lot of broccoli here, too...it's about $2 per bunch.
You'd think that we'd eat a lot of kiwi fruit as well, being in New Zealand and all, but although I love them, my family doesn't. Some of us are very prone to developing canker sores and kiwi fruit seems to exacerbate that problem. We've eaten dozens of apples, though. You can find small Braeburns or Fujis for $5 a bag. I love the cheery color of these lemonade apples (and they have a delightful, sweet & tart flavor).
I'm hoping that the tomatoes will cost a little less when they are in season.
I honestly considered putting like 5 cherries in a bag, just to eat on the way home, but I decided to pass. Yikes!
Kiwis love bulk food, particularly candy and nuts. They have about a million varieties of gummy-type candies (or "lollies"). Nuts (like cashews and peanuts) are surprisingly less expensive than in the US. We ate a LOT of candy in the beginning, especially when we were traveling so much in the car, but I haven't bought anything from this section for a few weeks. Still, it's pretty to look at.
The cost of chicken has been a heartbreaker, since so many of the things I was cooking at home were chicken dishes. I did the math on this one... nearly $12 US for about 1.4 pounds of chicken breast. The frozen chicken breasts in Utah from Costco are about $2.35/pound. I have been able to find chicken on sale a few times, but even then, it's expensive.
Beef, on the other hand, in all varieties (ground or "minced", stew cut, roast, steak) has been very reasonably priced and and we've used it several times.
Right near the beef, you find the dog food. For real. It would be wise to pay attention in this department, so you don't come home with the wrong "meat"!
Interestingly, the dog food is refrigerated...
...but the eggs are not.
Kiwis LOVE soup, it seems. I've laughed at a recent ad campaign here about a new "diet" targeted toward men, centered around soup, claiming that you'll lose 10 pounds in 7 days. I'm thinking, 'yeah, anyone's going to lose weight eating cabbage with broth for a week!' But whatever. Here's a sampling of some of the yummy prepared soups they offer (and I'm guessing most of these wouldn't be approved for the soup diet).
There is a HUGE Thai and Indian food presence here in New Zealand. Since we love Thai and Indian food, no complaints here! There are almost as many Thai/Indian restaurants as there are cafes filled with meat pies. Moreover, there are Indian corner shops that specialize in Indian-inspired meat pies! We've had pies filled with butter chicken and tikka masala.
If you don't want to go to the cafe for your pies, there are plenty available to be prepared at home.
More Indian-inspired selections can be found throughout the store.
The most costly grocery item for us overall has been milk...not only because it's more expensive, but because our family drinks so much of it. We buy the large containers, which hold 3 Liters of milk (a gallon in the US is 3.8 L).
We can often find the 3L jugs (in a different brand) for about $4.90, which is a little less painful. :)
While we're on the subject of beverages, I've yet to drink a single drop of Diet Mountain Dew here, since it's not available (I have consumed a fair amount of Diet Pepsi drops, though). Soda costs about $4-5 for a 3 liter bottle. We saw this variety of Mountain Dew on one of our roadies and had to try it. I think it's exclusive to New Zealand. Yum!
Rachel and Cameron have gone nuts over this Milo cereal, and the twins love the powder mixed with their milk. The large box of cereal costs $8.99 per box, but you can find them on sale if you search.
Julia doesn't care for Milo, but loves this cereal best ("sultana" just sounds more exotic than "raisin").
The twins can't resist the snap, crackle, pop...and at about $2.50 a box, I don't feel quite so ill when they only take 5 bites. As for Emily, she likes them all.
There aren't traditional cafeterias in the schools here, and everyone brings their lunch from home. Part of the school day (for all ages) is "morning tea time"-- everyone breaks for a little snack. It's convenient to pack a granola-type bar for this purpose, and there are a lot of options to choose from.
We were stunned to see such a massive aisle full of instant noodles, but figure that, although they aren't very healthy, they are cheap and quick, so that must be why they are so popular.
Baking supplies are reasonably priced, and everyone was excited to have our traditional Sunday evening chocolate-chip cookies (I had to bake them in muffin tins because I didn't have a cookie sheet).
This is a perfect time to introduce one of our favorite New Zealand treats --- Tim Tam cookies. Oh my goodness, we love them. I prefer the dark chocolate and mint cookies. Rachel and Cam also love the mint variety. Steve prefers the original (milk) chocolate, and Julia likes the caramel version. We sort of went crazy on these when we first arrived. We've slowed down considerably, but still love them. A few days after we arrived in Palmy, we ran into some LDS missionaries at the grocery store. We laughed to notice that we were both holding packages of Tim Tams. One of the missionaries said, "Oh, you're here for a Tim Tam Slam, too?"
You'll notice the Cadbury and Whittaker's chocolate there, too...but I promise we've eaten tons of broccoli and apples and other healthy food as well! It's not as fun to take pictures of tuna sandwiches or egg-white omelets. :)
There are plenty of American fast-food establishments around town --- McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Wendy's, Carl's Jr, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominoes. We even saw that a Pita Pit has just opened! A large combo meal at Wendy's costs about $12 (compared to $5 - $7 in the States). Hence, we've gotten fast food only once since living here.
As far as non-food items we frequently buy, we are LOVING the local diapers (nappies), called Treasures. They are only a little more expensive than Costco diapers, and are the best diapers we've ever used. The local wipes, on the other hand, are pretty crappy (no pun intended), so we splurge on Huggies wipes. Hopefully the twins will get potty trained soon, and nappies will be a thing of the past!
We're also super pleased that our van takes diesel fuel, which is less expensive than unleaded, and it has gotten great mileage so far. We're paying about $1.50 per liter for fuel ($5.70/gallon). Unleaded can cost $9.00+/gallon! I'm pretty sure that premium unleaded still costs between $3 and $4 per gallon in Utah.
One last thing to note...we noticed fairly quickly that elaborate make-up and hair styling are not given as much emphasis here as they get in the States (well, in Utah at least, haha). Maybe this has something to do with that?
I would pay seven bucks at Walmart for this. If anyone comes to visit, please bring mascara!!
Despite things generally being more expensive, we wouldn't trade this experience for anything. We are having a wonderful time. Stay tuned for guest posts from the kids and Steve about school and work. Interesting stuff!
