With rising food and gas prices, how many of you have given up eating expensive "luxury" groceries? I just read an article that more people are cooking from scratch, clipping coupons, and giving up things like chocolate and shrimp. (here's the article: Feeling the bite of food prices)

What things have you given up? In what ways are you changing the way you shop for groceries and/or prepare meals?

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I know I have been trying to plan alot more, as far as meals for the week, snacks etc. I am still buying the same foods I am just making sure we use it and I have been buying alot less snacks and making more at home.

We haven't had to give anything up because I'm just planning better with coupons and sale ads. There are things we buy less of pop, snacks. There are also things I have switched on, like using dry beans instead of canned. I am hoping to just plan so much better so that we don't have to give anything up.

Most of our "luxury" grocery items have always been purchased on sale. We have never bought cold cereal unless it was on sale. My morning tea goes on sale about every 2 or 3 months and I stock up then. I do buy the kids small packages of Horizon Chocolate milk but a 3 pack at Target or WalMart is almost cheaper than a single box at Starbucks. My Little Pony fruit snacks -- we bought 8 boxes of when they were last on sale.

On a daily basis, we really haven't given up any type of grocery food, however, I won't buy certain cuts of meat unless I get them on sale. As for eating out at restaurants with the family, that has been cut drastically. We have found that our kids leave half their food on their plate and we'd rather save that money for me and hubby to go out for a nice meal that we'll actually eat!

Yes! Actually, it's kind of funny because now that I have learned to scour grocery circulars for loss leaders and such, I realize 90% of what's on sale I don't buy because I make it myself.

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We have. We used to make steaks all of the time, and now we only buy them when they are on sale. Otherwise I have a huge supply of chicken breasts that I bought on sale (they were $3 for a big bag, I have like 10, lol) that we do something with if there isn't any other meat around.

I WILL NOT - give up my Ben & Jerry's ice cream. DH and I keep that around to satisfy our sweet tooth - no one else even knows it's there. We don't keep candy or anything sweet around the house, but we do have 4 pints of the ice cream stashed in the back of the freezer that we will take a couple bites out of when we're craving something sweet.

Fresh fish. Smoked salmon. Prices have increased to the point that I give a little more thought to just tossing it in my shopping cart.

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I still buy everything that I had been (chocolate, ice cream, soda, seafood, etc) just a little less of it!

I did give up my organic oatmeal though. I ended up buying a 50 pound bag instead. I just couldn't pass up the savings. The organic oatmeal went up to like $1.30 a pound! The 50 pound bag works out to be like $0.47 a pound.