In light of the economy, readers have asked me to be on the lookout for cheap deals; everybody needs to stretch their food budget. I don’t know what kids pack in the brown bag lunches these days (do they even take lunch to school any more, is it allowed?), but for me, a half a century ago, besides PB&J, bologna sandwiches were a mainstay. This doesn’t count the year my mother tried to poison me by making me eat (or so she thought) yogurt every day.
Bologna, “American style”, is a finely ground, large format pork (generally) sausage, similar to the Italian mortadella, but without the visible chunks of lard that is normal in the Italian version.
In America, one can find bologna (baloney) made up of a variety of proteins, either singularly or mixed. Any of them are all rather flavorless, a mild, mass-appeal lunch meat commonly used in sandwiches. “An unrolled hot dog” some would say.
In certain parts of the country, and certainly eastern Canada, you will find people that buy unsliced bologna, whack off a half inch or whole inch slab, and grill or fry it. I like that myself.
Yesterday, at Winco, I was looking for some inexpensive food, and came across Bar-S Bologna, which is a chicken, pork, and beef mixture (mechanically separated, the label says) – that is relatively low in sodium and fat, compared to other lunch meats. The 12 oz package was .99, and contains 10 slices.
Bologna is the US is extruded into an artificial casing (peel before eating).
While I am not generally a fan of Bar-S products, they are the largest branded hot dog seller in the U.S. (I’ve never tried them, oddly), but their bologna is OK, and a good value at a pro-rated price point of about $1.32 per pound.
That’s cheap protein for your family, comparably priced to eggs, another source of inexpensive protein.
It’s difficult to eat well in tough times, and one has to make sure their family gets as much nutrition instead of empty calories.
One can look at any sales figures and see that the sales of empty calorie foods skyrockets in tough times, they are inexpensive and filling.
I recommend you add Bar-S Bologna to your shopping list. In addition to sandwiches, or as a cooked breakfast meat, I’ve known moms who have diced it and used as a substitute in ham salad.