Making a different kind of food... mini clay foods for the Superheroes - ha ha

I'm NOT a 'mini' maker.  Never have done it before in my life.  
Don't even play with Play-Doh much less clay.

But I bought a super cheap pack of poly clay off Amazon (like, dirt cheap) and probably the lowest quality you can buy... but meh.

My plan is just to make some mini fake food for the kids to play with in their "Superhero House" (like a Barbie House but for the 11-12 inch size Superheroes).  

 

 Two nights ago I just sat down at the desk, put "Friends" episodes playing in the background and started to make some fake food.

Didn't matter how good (or bad) it turned out as my audience is literally a 5 year old and 3 year old...  and they are more than thrilled with what they've gotten so far!

 

The very first thing I ever made... some avocado's.
Then I tried to make some donuts and an orange.

   Then I tried my hand at some 'cake' because the boys always play that
the Superhero's are having a birthday party.

  Last night I  made them some play hotdogs.... 

 

 

 

 

They've got some little Brownies there too.

 This morning the boys were given the miniature play food to play with...  and then when I put the 3 year old down for his nap, I walked by his little truck he was playing with and saw this...

He was hauling his play food in his truck!   :) 

Grocery Receipt from 2008 verses the same items today in 2026 (Almost 20 years later!)

I was going through some old files on my external hard drive, downloaded over the years from various laptops or computers we had at the time.   I saw an old receipt from Costco... Spring of 2008.

Just for fun, I decided to look up what the same items would sell for today, in spring of 2026 - almost (almost!) TWENTY YEARS LATER.

Honestly I was surprised as everyone wants to complain how expensive groceries are right now, but they were very, very similar to the price we were paying almost 20 years ago!!! 

Obviously beef is higher now, and the one I found to be really kind of crazy is the cost of GUM now compared to then, but also, bagged snack foods are really high now compared to then.

Many items are CHEAPER today than they were back in 2008.  

A couple items I didn't have a comparison for today when I looked it up this morning using Costco and Sam's - but I also wasn't sure what one or two of them even were... like the 'juice blast'.   

We buy many of the same items today but back then I had three (3) kids still at home so we were buying just a few things different that I don't buy now (like a package of oreos, juice blasts or the gel cups or frito snacks).  But generally speaking we ate similar meals back then as we do now so it was easy to know immediately what they were, and even what I pay for them now. 

 

 

My receipt from Costco, 2008

 

THEN (2008)                       and NOW (2026)                                                        

Crumbled feta            5.49                7.28
HB White                    2.99
mangoes                        6.99             9.88 (for an 8 pound box)  
bacon                           10.75            12.83
6# freezer patty            11.49            30.57
Hoagie rolls                1.95                6.98
Breaded tilapia            11.88             13.96 
Fuji apples                    7.99               7.96
Sour cream                    3.79            5.54
cereal                            6.95            6.78
green beans                    6.29          5.74  
juice blast                    7.69
hamburger buns            2.45           3.84 
orange chicken            13.89            12.98
spring rolls                    8.99            8.96
organic broccoli            5.59            6.36
asparagus                        3.99            8.86
garlic potato                    6.59            8.78
romaine                            3.49        4.96
1 % milk                        2.79            2.94
broccoli                        4.49            3.74
strawberries                    8.99        4.37
onions                            4.79         6.22   
pizza sauce                    2.69            
hellman mayo                5.15        9.48
large kiwi                        5.99          7.96  
salmon burger                11.69       14.96 
soy sauce                        3.92         
oreo cookie                    5.08        10.98
org egg 18 count            3.99        5.94
part skim mozzarella        11.72        12.17
org med rice                    5.85          4.98
strbk 2 lb                            9.99        21.78
crumbled bacon            6.99            8.98
1 lb butter quarters        6.32            10.96
fancy mixed nuts            10.99        14.98
3 lb. cream cheese            4.99        6.47
dole fruit gel                    5.99            9.98
celery                             3.79                4.24
sliced swiss                    7.99            7.82
eclipse variety gum        9.79            18.98
pretzel sandwich            6.79                
frito snack 36 ct                8.45            18.48
whole fryer                    6.86            15.87





I've always loved keeping track of the price of groceries and comparing them, so I have various odd excel spread sheets I've made, or word docs I randomly (for fun) did comparisons on.   I'll have to post some of those!

One I'll have to look for I found interesting at the time was the spreadsheets I was tracking during Covid - when prices and shortages were all over the place.  It was fun to keep track though (for a geek like me it's fun anyway!).  ha ha.