We recently had occasion for a gathering at our house where we needed to cook for a large group of people and I knew the best option was to recruit my husband to handle some items on the grill. I considered the guests and their likes/dislikes and knew that chicken was an obvious, easy choice.
And now, my confession comes in…our usual, organic, Amish-raised chicken was not on sale (and yes, it can be more expensive), so the cost for the gathering would have been substantial for this one item. Meanwhile, our local, chain grocery store had their ever-appealing BOGO (buy one, get one free) offer and the wallet couldn’t resist. So, I released my usual standards and bought the regular, ‘ole chicken breasts. (GASP!)
I didn’t open the packages until we were ready to grill, but when I did….my husband and I stood there… awestruck… mouths wide open at the ENORMITY of those chicken breasts! After being so used to the modest, NORMAL size of the organic chicken breasts I usually buy, we were shocked…SHOCKED!
Enormous simply doesn’t describe them. All I could think about is “how many growth hormones and steroids did these poor chickens need to be injected with to produce these gargantuan breasts!!!…and “oh my god, I’m about to serve these to people I care about….steroids and all!”
We have another gathering in a few days. Menu item: chicken. Needless to say, this time my wallet suffered a bit, but my conscience didn’t.
photo by: thadman
photo by: www.its-ming.com
Hah. I just had a similar experience. Purchased chicken breasts on sale, got home and thought, “Whoah, mutant chickens!” I didn’t think about steroids. Thanks for giving me something to worry about? By the way, I really enjoy your blog and am looking forward to future posts. Anything on, “How to feed you family as cheaply as possible” is always appealing!
tracys last blog post..Thesis Trauma
Tracy — Hi! And so glad you like my blog! (And I shudder to think how many people ended up here today after they Googled “Giant Breasts”! haha!) But sincerely, it’s amazing the difference those steroids and growth hormones make. I truly didn’t realize it until I switched to organic and then had a “weak” moment and switched back for our family gathering. No more non-organic for us after that experiment! 🙂 Feeding a family on a budget is often difficult when you’re buying organic since they ARE more expensive. Thanks for great food for thought (pathetic pun not intended!). I’ll certainly share if I find a good solution.