Food Quality

[jacobda]

Hello Jordan,

My diet is fairly simplistic.

Protein: Cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, chicken, chicken thighs, fish (sardines or salmon), eggs and egg whites

Carbs: Oats, rice, quinoa, lentils, beans, apples, pears, berries and sweet potatoes

Fats: Avocados, peanut butter and coconut oil

My question is, what is the difference (if any) of getting chicken sold at Whole Foods for $7.99/lb versus something at a generic store for sub-$4/lb? I mean, the $7.99/lb isn't even the organic (that being $10.99/lb). Right now, I buy two 2 lb bags of frozen chicken from Whole Foods each week (only frozen chicken I can find that has one ingredient: chicken) -- each being $8.99 a piece.

Considering I want to gain weight and that protein is usually the most expensive food, is there anyway I can cut down on the weekly grocery bill by getting "regular" chicken?

And I'd like to incorporate fattier pieces of meat into my diet, as well as pork chops. How do I go about purchasing those? If there is no extra nutritional benefit, there is no reason for me to buy the more expensive food. That just doesn't seem logical. Rice, oats, sweet potatoes and peanut butter are relatively cheap, in my opinion. IF I can get that protein cost down as well as eating more meat, that'd be great.

Overall, I'm interested in your opinion.

Thanks.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Buying anything at Whole Paycheck, I mean Foods, is not budget friendly. There's no reason to buy your chicken (or anything really) there.

As far as putting pork chops in your diet, I'd imagine most grocers would frown upon you stealing them from their store- so you had better pay for them on the way out. Then you can cook and eat them.

[waistline warrior]

Grocery stores normally have one day a week where they markdown meats that are getting ready to expire. Here its Thursdays for my stores. Purchased 4 packs of 93% lean ground turkey breast and two packs of organic chicken thighs at 50% off. Last week it was pork chops that were already on sale marked down another 30% off the sale price.

Hope that helps.

[Bolson32]

People who shop at Whole Foods don't consume 150-200g of Protein a day. You'd go broke even if you made 6 figures a year doing that. Some of their fruits/veggies/staples aren't that bad around here(Minnesota) price wise, but their meat prices are astronomical.

Also, I eat a lot pork. It's cheap and good. The only thing is if you're trying to control for fat intake and are on a strict macro profile, most good cuts of pork have a fair amount of fat.

[Chandler Williamson]

Your cheaper chicken is processed by dunking it in water, electrically shocking the chicken, using a chemical to aid plucking, and then treating the meat with injected solutions of broth or brine and, in most cases, I'm sure, preservatives. This usually makes the chicken somewhat spongier instead of actually naturally juicer and degrades the flavor, in my opinion. It also means you should reduce how much salt you add when you cook it because it's already got some.

But, said mass-production also means your average distracted home cook won't turn it into a piece of dried-out chalk as easily, and that there is decent quality, protein rich, affordable food available to the masses - yay capitalism.

The more expensive chicken is processed in other ways, often "air chilled" where it is never dunked in any chemicals and is not injected in anything. This takes longer, requires more labor and storage at facilities, and is thus more expensive. Culinarily, the more expensive is definitely going to be better.
That said, that's all culinary. To my understanding, a gram protein is a gram of protein. I usually buy the cheap stuff myself for every day use. I mean a $20 chicken?! Seriously.

[jacobda]

Thank you.

I think the real travesty of WF is the middle aisles. Come and get your organic coco puffs! I can't poke fun at anyone, for I fell into the seductive trap of what they have been selling. Shame on me.

One of the great things of living in Nebraska is the opportunity to barter for the finest meat in the country. Before the school year starts, I've lined up some work at a local farm in exchange for ground beef and roasts. Have to stock up for the fall and winter!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Your cheaper chicken is processed by dunking it in water, electrically shocking the chicken, using a chemical to aid plucking, and then treating the meat with injected solutions of broth or brine and, in most cases, I'm sure, preservatives. This usually makes the chicken somewhat spongier instead of actually naturally juicer and degrades the flavor, in my opinion. It also means you should reduce how much salt you add when you cook it because it's already got some.

Unlikely to need less salt if you're training. Quite the opposite, in fact. Interesting notes on the flavor though!

[jacobda]

The more expensive chicken is processed in other ways, often "air chilled" where it is never dunked in any chemicals and is not injected in anything. This takes longer, requires more labor and storage at facilities, and is thus more expensive. Culinarily, the more expensive is definitely going to be better.
That said, that's all culinary. To my understanding, a gram protein is a gram of protein. I usually buy the cheap stuff myself for every day use. I mean a $20 chicken?! Seriously.

This is extremely interesting. When I think of Whole Foods - or any "natural" grocery store, for that matter - I can't help but think what people did in the past. Only 21, so the anecdotal evidence may not necessarily add up, but I never recalled having to worry if an animal was chemically induced (lack of a better phrase) or naturally raised in an open pasture. The only product that I know that offers a different nutritional benefit is grass-fed beef. Other than that, is it just good marketing or what? I mean, I get the humane argument behind buying locally versus buying mass marketed products. But I also know not every company is Tyson Foods.

Personally, I know I probably shouldn't over think this. When it comes to budgeting, I would much rather put money into savings than buy food for an extra $5/lb when the difference doesn't exist. Culinary etiquette only comes into play if I'm eating out or cooking for a date. Other than that, I'm a cook 1 or 2 times a week guy just trying to allocate his time wisely.

I'm going to go off on a tangent here, but can't seem to find any conclusive evidence backing my intuition (sucker for confirmation bias). That is, I'm currently wanting to put on anywhere between 30-40 lbs of muscle (and will probably post nutritional breakdown in the coming weeks). Therefore, a lot of rice and sweet potatoes.

As far as cooking appliances, I am wanting to get a power cooker, indoor grill and rice cooker. My concern with the indoor grill and rice cooker is the plastic interior. The same can be said about a crock pot, which is mainly why I'm going with the power cooker (more expensive, but it is also more versatile). Should I be worried about that? Intuitively, I can't recall reading about anyone getting any chronic diseases from using these appliances. Stainless steel is so freaking expensive.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I'm going to go off on a tangent here, but can't seem to find any conclusive evidence backing my intuition (sucker for confirmation bias). That is, I'm currently wanting to put on anywhere between 30-40 lbs of muscle (and will probably post nutritional breakdown in the coming weeks). Therefore, a lot of rice and sweet potatoes.

As far as cooking appliances, I am wanting to get a power cooker, indoor grill and rice cooker. My concern with the indoor grill and rice cooker is the plastic interior. The same can be said about a crock pot, which is mainly why I'm going with the power cooker (more expensive, but it is also more versatile). Should I be worried about that? Intuitively, I can't recall reading about anyone getting any chronic diseases from using these appliances. Stainless steel is so freaking expensive.

Dude, you're way over thinking this and your goal for 30-40 lbs of muscle is ~2-3 years of hard work, likely. We'd best get started, right?

[jacobda]

Dude, you're way over thinking this and your goal for 30-40 lbs of muscle is ~2-3 years of hard work, likely. We'd best get started, right?

Just bought the e-reader version of the book. If I'm in, I'm all in. Head down and ready to go.