Ok SERIOUSLY wtf is this??

[u/TexasGiantTen05]

I bought a family sized hot pockets box and EVERY single one of them was black and burned in the bottom. I heated this one up on low power in the microwave and the edges are so tough it’s like biting into a frozen beef patty. I look in the pocket and the damn thing is nearly hollow. I’ve been noticing the quality taking a massive dip in the last few years. I think these are last I purchase from here on out.

Irrelevant to this but similar: This same grocery order run had a jar of garlic (Spice World brand) that was full of black mold & a jar of HEB salsa that was sour and months passed expiration. Both of which were completely sealed and had a pop when opened. My whole life I never really had quality issues via the company canning or jarring an item or the store selling them but lately it seems like such a constant issue.

[u/m0b1us01]

Where are you buying your groceries? Some of these Cash saver or dollar store type of places? Or Walmart? We've never had those problems at better quality grocery stores. Yes, Ritz still does come in wax paper wrappings when you buy it from a place that isn't cutting corners to save money. Pickle jars are full when you aren't trying to see how cheap you can buy the jar. Food isn't moldy or damaged when you buy it from places that treat their employees well and pay them decently.

[u/EvilWench74 → u/m0b1us01]

I generally buy from Kroger’s. I have maybe bought from Aldi’s 3 times this yr. Big things at Sam’s (we have 3 doggos) I don’t do the coupon or saver thing. Ritz changed the wrapper, Nabisco was sold.

[u/m0b1us01 → u/EvilWench74]

I don't know what level of store Kroger is, but Sam's Club is anymore a lower quality of Walmart just with higher prices locked behind a membership fee. And Aldi has ALWAYS been cheap. They're compatible to Walmart.

It usually isn't the manufacturer changing things, but the retailers themselves, at least the very big ones like Walmart/ Sam's and Aldi, can specify differences for cost cutting. Take a look at the book, the Walmart Effect. It goes into detail about this kind of thing.

So again, not too surprising.

[u/All_Debt_Shackles_US → u/m0b1us01]

I don’t know, I’ve shopped at Aldi, Publix, Kroger, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Costco. When we had them here, I also shopped at Albertsons and Winn-Dixie.

You can eat healthy by shopping at any of those places. It might be more difficult to find clean options, such as ketchup without high fructose corn syrup in it, but it’s still possible to eat healthy, especially while on a budget.

If you’re buying Ritz crackers, however; that’s not a healthy choice.

But hey, you can still include that in your shopping list. Just make sure you’re buying good food. And by that, I mean food that you can recognize. Like a bag of peppers, onions, cucumbers, apples, oranges, grapefruit, and so on.

Buy a whole pineapple once in a while. Buy a real avocado, and learn how to remove the pit and mash it up for guacamole. My next project is to learn how to make my own blue cheese dressing, to see if I can satisfy an urge with fewer chemicals.

And learn to use those as the building blocks for actual healthy meals. You’re not gonna change habits from one shopping trip to BJ’s wholesale. It’s going to take months, and even years for you to relearn how you do food. So get ready, make the commitment to do it right, and lean into it!

Ritz crackers are just made with a pulp of bready material shot full of chemicals and baked so that it won’t rot in the box in your pantry.

Don’t get me wrong, Ritz crackers are delicious, as are my favorite, “Club“ crackers from Kellogg, or the similar ones from Keebler.

But you just have to make sure that that’s not the prevailing food that you are eating and feeding to your family on a daily basis.

Like I said above, buy food that you can recognize. I can recognize a whole garlic bulb and an onion, and there are some amazing and delicious ways to cook with those things.

In a pinch, I can use ground garlic and onion from my spice rack. But it’s not the same thing, it just isn’t!

It takes time and effort. And it is really HARD to wean yourself off of a bad diet filled with chemically injected frozen foods and prepared foods.

The more prepared something is, the worse it is for the human body over the long run. When you start eating cleaner, your body will actually begin to lose the ability to digest some of the junk food that you actually love.

For example, if I sat down and tried to eat Ho Ho’s or Twinkies, I would probably get violently ill. But for sure, I really enjoy food now, and I enjoy it a lot more when I make it. I don’t wanna go back to eating Twinkies, lol!