Store brands

I think one of the most given tips, at least that I have read, to save money when grocery shopping is to try store brands. I've actually been making a point to toy around with this recently and I figured I would share up some of the results. I have become the main grocery shopper in our household and I've been making weekly trips to stock up instead of the once every 3 week epic shop-fests we used to do with small stops in between. I've been more pleased with the selection at our local Harris Teeter (Pentagon Row) and have opted to frequent it over the Giant (Arlandria) that I was visiting before. I actually stopped in the new-ish Harris Teeter that is at the south end of Crystal City recently and was even more impressed with that store and might start making that the regular stop. Here's my list of store brand items I have given the thumbs up to, most of which relate to my baking endeavors:

• stick butter
• cream cheese
• cream (heavy or whipping)
• powdered sugar
• vegetable/canola oil
• frosted mini wheats cereal (only the HT brand, it is just like Kelloggs, the Giant brand, not-so-much)
• canned tomatoes
• shredded or block cheese
• pre-packaged luncheon meat (although I'm trying to move away from this altogether)
• dish washing liquid
• paper plates/plastic cutlery
• shave gel (for Jake)
• OTC medications
• vitamins
• granola bars
• oatmeal
• peanut butter

The things I haven't loved include:

• napkins
• paper towels
• toilet paper
• dishwasher detergent
• salsa
• ground beef (lower fat percentages can be found in non-store brands)
• graham crackers

I'm sure there are more for both lists that I am neglecting to remember but I can say for the most part my findings have been good. Of course I'm not willing to take the risk on something like a package of cookies where you just know in your heart that Oreo wannabe is nothing like the original, but particularly for the purposes of cooking and baking, it really has saved us money to buy the store brand ingredients and have the results come out the same.