“What is one word that describes you?”

I’m a curious kind of person.

I’ve been that way as long as I can remember.

The other day (Sunday to be specific) I decided to get some type of beef roast. I wanted to try our new crockpot that I had gotten for Christmas since my old one cracked. Okay (kinda) funny backstory- I got a Paris Hilton crockpot for Christmas as a gift. Do you remember Paris Hilton? I mean I know I am definitely not up on my celebrity news, but who knew that Paris had her own line of cookware? She does! With her famous (?) slogan- That’s Hot. She has baking dishes shaped like hearts, knives, a French press. I mean. Wow. Check this out:

I didn’t get to pick it up until a while after Christmas, brought it home and took it out to check it out. My boyfriend commented that the ceramic crock really didn’t fit in the pot. It was so… wonky for lack of a better word. So while I really did love the gift from my dad and his girlfriend and can’t wait to try out some keto cookbook recipes (as soon as I’m done with my carb arc) I sent it back. Instead, I replaced it with a boring ole “Crockpot” crockpot.

It has a locking lid. A timer. The crock fits in the pot. Etc. and so on.

I wanted to break it in, so this past weekend, bright-eyed and full of caffeine with a nice long lazy Sunday stretched out before me, I thought I’d run down to my local Weis and pick up a roast of some sort, which I haven’t made in nearly a decade, not even kidding. So I go to the back of the store and find the very small section of beef way in the back and lo- a roast of chuck cost like twenty dollars??! So I am really curious about this one. When and why did this happen.

??? CHUCK. POURQUOI ???

If you grocery shop, are a beef-eater, or have kids or a spouse who loves a cheeseburger now and then, you may have noticed this. I mean, everything seems more expensive. I don’t know how people are making ends meet. Really. And it’s great that we have this new food pyramid that recommends staying away from processed food and eating more red meat and protein. But if a few meal’s worth of beef costs $40 or $50, how is that ever going to happen? Even if it’s ground beef. I missed the news about the drought and the record low cattle herd. I live surrounded by farms though, so it seems like there’s still just as many cows as usual. Apparently that’s not the case. And it’s just as hard for the cattle farmers. Prices are high for them, too.

Not to worry- our cereals, chips, and even our water has protein in it now. That comes at a price. In addition, these are all ultra-processed. Americans eat a lot of ultra-processed foods. They are everywhere. Ultra-processed foods are things like a pack of hot dogs, but it also includes a loaf of bread. And especially includes those cricket crackers that I found at the local discount store once which yes, I tried. And yes, they were good. (Did my coworkers think so? Eh, not really). FYI, you can buy a bag of cricket protein powder for about forty bucks. (I did try a chocolate covered cricket once, at a bug fair at my old alma mater, but that’s another story. Can we just say- exoskeleton?)

But even a $7 box of protein cereal and a jug of milk is less than a package of ground beef. Ultra-processed or not. And forget about it if you want organic, grass-fed, happy cows.

Anyway, I bought the roast. Put it in the crockpot with a bunch of potatoes, carrots, and celery. It was really good, but was it worth twenty-plus bucks? Maybe, maybe not. I consider myself fortunate though, that I’m even able to afford something like that now and then. It’s still cheaper than going out to eat, and we got a couple meals out of it.

I’m curious to hear what you think! Where do you get your protein from these days? And would you eat a cricket cracker??? Would you rather buy some ground beef or a box of protein Cheerios? Or perhaps a bag of beans?