Abby, Zoë and Enzo

Irene picked us up at 7:30 AM to go to the Hiper Bom Preço store.  We were all prepared with a big list of items, determined to get the remaining baby items needed.  When we got into the car Irene handed me a gift from her and her family, it was a cute little onsie that said "meu bebé" and also a little outfit that came with a hat.  We apparently went on the right day, because they were having a big baby sale.  We have the flier from the sale to photograph and add once we have access to a camera. We were able to get pampers baby dry diapers with a cost per diaper of R$0.41 = US$0.23, not too bad.  We looked up when we got home what they go for in the US as I just couldn't remember and Chris found that with free delivery in bulk Pampers Baby Dry from Amazon.com costs US$0.18 per diaper.  It is crazy, as you can pay for the diapers here in 3 installments without incurring any interest.  All of the prices at the sale areas showed the price as 3x and then whatever the payment plan price would be.

We got a lot of produce this time, with some yummy things in mind to prepare.  We especially took advantage of having a ride to and from the store by getting some heavier fruits, such as a really big watermelon.  The watermelon ended up being 18 pounds and it was on sale for R$2.70 = US$1.52, now that's a good deal.  Not only that, later in the day when we cut into it, we discovered that it was wonderfully juicy and tasty.

We waited in the special line again, for pregnant women, and senior citizens, figuring we'd take advantage of this for as much longer as we can, and finally we were on our way out of there, after spending R$280.41 = US$160.25.  Visa's rate was R$1.75 = US$1.00.  After leaving the apartment at 7:30 we didn't get back until around 9:45 AM.  

We bought a prepared whole chicken for R$9.99 = US$5.70.  This chicken was very tastey and a way better deal than buying the frozen chicken parts, or even the fresh chicken parts and then preparing it yourself.  Without an oven here, and the typical small Brazilian kitchen, and the lack of tools (pots, pans, utensils) it is a challenge to prepare anything elaborate.  Professional chefs will feel at a huge disadvantage.  After washing the produce and lettuce, we prepared and enjoyed a nice salad with some chicken on top for lunch.  Later we cleaned the whole chicken, Chris cooked the carcass in some water to make a stock for use in our chicken garlic rice dish, which turned out super yummy, with bits of garlic and chicken through out, while the rice became creamy almost risotto like.

Chris also spent 30 minutes in the tiny kitchen preparing fresh salsa (celantro, tomatoe, lime, green onion, garlic, red onion, salt) for us to use on top of our beans and rice dishes, salads and sandwiches.  We need to have some flavorful toppers for our staple foods.  In the tiny kitchen, without modern conveniences like a food processor, all the tiny cuts have to happen by hand, and with dull horrible knives and a tiny counter space in which to work, it takes much longer to prepare.  We saw at the store they had a small bundle of green onions and celantro for R$0.97 = US$0.55, but right next to this special, they had a larger bundle of celantro for R$0.33 = US$0.19 and a larger bundle of green onions for R$0.33 = US$0.19.  These were all marked unit price, so weight was not a factor.  We watched people grabbing the more expensive bundled item with amazement, when right next to it, you could have bought more for less.  We are surprised that in this type of pricing climate, people are not more cautious and aware, or even willing to do the math. 

Here are some prices for items we bought: