Grown Up Treats
When grocery shopping with my two small nieces I'll usually allow them each to pick out a treat; something special, not on the grocery list, that's just for them. Sometime's they surprise me and pick out a healthy cereal, sometimes- as it's to be expected with children- they pick out something totally gross like super sour/sweet candy with hues not found in nature.
When grocery shopping alone, I rarely pick out a treat for myself. I'm a stickler for sticking to my grocery list which usually features special ingredients for new recipes I want to try, or everyday basics like bread, eggs, butter, etc. My boyfriend thinks it's weird that I never have impulse buys, never buy anything not on the list- no chips, no sales items. Most of this has to do with the fact that I'm on a super strict budget, but sometimes ... on very rare occassions, I indulge and pick out a "grown up treat."
Some of my favorite treats include Bosc pears and small wheels of brie for sandwiches, organic vanilla almond granola that's stupidly expensive given the amount provided, Mexican beer and limes, goat cheese and figs, expensive deli lunchmeat, focaccia bread that I don't have to bake myself, really, really good olive oil, huge jars of oil-packed sundried tomatoes (I eat a majority of them right out of the jar), Kalamata olives and good feta for snacking-
So yeah, those are a few of my favorite things. I buy them on very rare occassions because if I got these "treats" all the time, I'd be way broke.
Do you have any "grown up treats" that you buy for yourself sometimes? What keeps you from buying them all the time? Why are they treats; because they're decadent, because they're expensive?
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30 Comments:
No I will buy something because I crave it, so therefore it can be anything from a piece of Bazooka gum to a very expensive import of some sort, it all depends on that nagging craving I get that will not get off my back till I get it.
pjracz10 at 5:48AM on 04/02/09
Cheeses are my treat, I like to try some new ones and I have some favorites. Kasseri is a new favorite as isDubliner from Ireland. I also like assorted Italian cheeses like sharp provolone, asiago and good Italian sharp cheese. Another favorite is aged Canadian extra sharp cheddar.
dmcavanagh at 6:15AM on 04/02/09
Good (typically more expensive) cheese is also my grown-up treat to myself. I usual stick to a very strict budget as well, buying only what I need to make oatmeal, a sandwich, and dinner for myself everyday, plus whatever I need if I'm baking or cooking for a party that week. However, if I really crave a nice wedge of gruyere or goat cheese, I'll usually give in. If I'm going to splurge, though, I tend to make a trip to a nice cheese shop (Neal's Yard Dairy being the best in London) to enjoy the tasting and choosing process, which makes the purchase just that much more satisfying!
ChristineB at 6:25AM on 04/02/09
Cambozola and fig jam; I usually give in to that or whatever urge, because if I don't I will go home and eat a bunch of worthless junk instead...
cowprintrabbit at 7:00AM on 04/02/09
Peppadews, feta and marinated mozzarella are the treats that I rarely indulge in--simply because it's usually just me eating them. My husband always knows when we're having company when he sees that jar of peppadews and marinated mozzarella in the fridge. And they're in the fridge right now because some folks will be visiting this weekend. I also picked up some feta in a moment of weakness and told myself I'll have it on a salad everyday this week, twice a day, and in other things too.
dhorst at 7:14AM on 04/02/09
I buy cheese all the time. My local Kroger's just opened a new cheese section, and they cut smaller "tasting" wedges for their newest cheeses. For $2 a wedge I can walk away with a one-person sized cheese flight! Pair that with a $10-ish wine and I have a small but tasteful dinner for less than $20. Perfect for nights that my hubby is working late!
dharmon at 7:56AM on 04/02/09
Yogurt covered raisins.
@cowprintrabbit - "Fig jam" hahaha, i didnt know it was a real thing, although I have heard pro golfers call Phil Mickelson Fig Jam cause he is apparently conceited...stands for "F**k I'm Great Just Ask Me"
BiereBeer at 8:25AM on 04/02/09
My big splurge for myself is usually a trip to Fresh Market where I hit the olive bar, roasted garlic, oil cured black olives, fresh mozzarella mini cheese balls soaking in an oily vinegrette, and a muffaletta type olive salad, then a quick stop at the bakery for some uber fresh foccacia and a good bottle of Ste Michelle cab and SO and I have a picnic.
huneybumper at 8:42AM on 04/02/09
My treats aren't really grown up treats, but nostalgic "I loved this when I was a kid" treats. So occasionally I'll pick up a box of sugar cereal, boxed mac and cheese, or something similarly "kiddie." Or I'll order a delivery pizza, which is also a treat for me. It's a treat for obvious reasons (don't want to be eating that crap every day), and also because it takes next to no work on my part...just eating!
cycorider at 8:48AM on 04/02/09
A bottle of Rose Champagne when I am feeling blue. Makes me feel special & puts a bubbly smile back on my face!
stigcr at 8:53AM on 04/02/09
Yesterday I bought some expensive blue cheese which I don't normally do (even though I ALWAYS stop and look a the cheese assortment). I did, however, hide it in the back of the fridge so my hubby wouldn't see it. ; )
arm1970 at 9:15AM on 04/02/09
a nice bottle of cabernet and then a trip to whole foods for some dark chocolate always does the trick
ssultan23 at 10:02AM on 04/02/09
Surprising how many people choose, "cheese" as a treat! Nothing wrong with that, of course, it just shows the majority are basically healthy eaters.
@dhorst - like you, I usually reserve buying the "best of the best" when I am expecting company - real butter, cream for coffee and dessert, extra, delicious condiments.
My "grown up" treat, maybe once a year, especially if I am blue or stressed would be a, "Snickers" bar that I will eat slowly and secretly! Shows you how healthy I am!
bareneed at 10:32AM on 04/02/09
As much as I try to stay on a strict diet, every so often I indulge in something that is definitely not on my diet, like chocolate. My "grown-up treats" are typically sweets that I know I shouldn't be eating.
KatomRS at 10:46AM on 04/02/09
Don't know how 'grown-up' this one is, but lately I cannot go through the checkout without throwing a Cadbury Caramel egg in my cart. A few weeks ago I accidentally threw in a Willy Wonka egg and was so disappointed when I realized what I'd done. That is, until I opened it.
mollykate678 at 10:58AM on 04/02/09
I'm with all the other cheese-people out there...and I absolutely agree with huneybumper about the Fresh Market. I love that place, but my wallet doesn't allow for it that often, so when I do go, it's all a treat. I suppose the few other things would be food that isn't particularly healthy - ice cream, chocolate, really good bakery bread....I'm a really healthy eater, so I don't get any of these things very often - although I love them all. It's only when a craving that I just can't take hits me that I actually buy any of them.
kimberlymac at 11:15AM on 04/02/09
Expensive, perfect (and maybe out-of-season) produce for me! Yesterday I bought myself one avocado and felt so deliciously naughty for spending so much on it. I also consider fresh herbs a treat, except for when I can get a massive bunch for not very much money (e.g. parsley). Yeah, maybe a little pathetic.
annatr at 11:26AM on 04/02/09
A treat for me is usually something pre-made, yet delicious like those pierogies or blintzes in the refrig. section or maybe a puffy cheese danish from the bakery. They're treats because I know they're not good for me and are usually overpriced, too. Double whammy.
jbeach at 2:15PM on 04/02/09
Since I'm the designated cook and shopper, and since I only buy and cook things that I like (which is just about everything) I guess everything is a treat.
Things I get excited about tend to be when I find an exotic new spice or I find an intriguing olive oil or vinegar.
My real "treat yourself to something special" things tend to be when I find a new little serving dish or some quirky gadget or a new cookbook or something like that.
I also love finding great stuff on sale. So I get all chirpy because the pork shoulder was 88 cents a pound or I found a great olive oil that was marked down. DH is always a bit puzzled by this sort of thing. I get happy about going to the farmer's market or grocery store, but most of the time I hate trying to find new shoes.
dbcurrie at 2:30PM on 04/02/09
When I was a kid, I used to think, "when I grow up, I can buy any junk food I want." Then, I learned about nutrition and how hard it is to lose weight over the age of 25.
So now my big treats are those junk foods I thought I'd live on as a kid. Cheese popcorn, Hershey's Kisses, and the dreaded Cakester - evil fat grams in tasty goodness.
TheCheapChick at 2:47PM on 04/02/09
I have a salt tooth, so my junkfood treat is potato chips and french onion dip. Quitting it is like quitting smoking for me: sure, I still do it now and again and if I *really* feel the urge, I don't deny myself and toss it in the cart (or smoke the cigarette) ... but I don't let it turn into a habitual part of my daily lifestyle :P
I just have to re-focus how to get my salt fix. A fried of mine had a really good goat cheese that was pretty salty but oh so good ... and her roommate made to-die-for bean sprouts that were cold and perfectly salty from the Braggs. Either way, they were so good and I'm planning on making them this weekend. Yum :)
joyyy at 3:49PM on 04/02/09
As a child, there was a period during every shopping trip when I could pick out three pieces of candy from the bulk bins--I used to select a Brach's walnut, vanilla, and strawberry cream, or the occasional Neopolitan tri-color.
And quite often, when going to Wegmans, I purchase three pieces of bulk bin candy--usually some kind of caramels on the way home.
HeartofGlass at 6:51PM on 04/02/09
cheese, glorious cheese ..... i'll hunt and rip through thrift stores for clothing & housewares (except shoes and underwear) .... but as far as food goes, the best, always and only the best. (that is available to me in this particular time and place)....
everything is a treat. just bought some great local pea shoots and sunflower shoots.... and a hunk of locally made cheese..... love, love, love!better than a diamond ring!
pooch at 9:32PM on 04/02/09
Really, really good chocolate. Not just a hershey's bar, its gotta be the good stuff.
That or some kind of food I have never tried before. Adventure is always a treat.
fuuchan at 11:05PM on 04/02/09
i confess i really overspend on my food. among today's treats were some freeze dried cherries {seven bucks for a couple of ounces} a hunk of smoked white fish from zabar's, organic asparagus, goat brie, cerignola olives, and a container of meyer lemons.
but i don't spend a lot of money on clothes or entertainment and i never eat out, so it's all relative.
cybercita at 11:14PM on 04/02/09
My treat is trying things I don't or can't cook properly. There is a Philippine grocery nearby with a small prepared foods section in the back and when I want to treat myself I'll go try something I've never had. Its all about being adventurous and experiencing new flavors that I will invariably try to work into future home cooking riffs.
thegoch at 2:20AM on 04/03/09
My treat for myself is a can of asparagus, the one that runs about three plus dollars. I chill it and eat it straight from the can it's sooo good.
chardonnay at 1:41PM on 04/03/09
I really don't do grown up treats from the store very much. I am there to get nutiritious and healthy food and if I want to splurge and be bad I usually go out, but that is almost always relegated to Sunday Brunch with the parental units.
FrostyGhost at 1:44PM on 04/03/09
If I want a treat, and it's a night I'll be eating by myself for some reason, I'll go to the fish counter and pick out the biggest lobster in the tank and have them steam it there. I live five minutes from the grocery, so the lobster will still be quite warm when I get home. Then I melt some butter, pour a glass of wine and stand over the sink while I eat that bad boy. Good times!
Amandarama at 1:59PM on 04/03/09
since i moved away from home and am on a strict budget, my treat to myself is a little jar of artichoke hearts soaked in olive oil and spices.
sooo good. i chill them and eat them straight from the jar.
they're qute pricy, but so worth it :]
missgenna at 2:39PM on 04/03/09