I'm a budget pro - three food items to never buy at Dollar Tree including 'fake' cheese, and what to

Publish date: 2024-02-10

A BUDGETING master has shared three food items she said you should never get from Dollar Tree and what to buy instead.

Sarah Hardy, who's known on TikTok by her username SensationalFinds, made a video showing some Dollar Tree food items with concerning ingredients in them.

She has a number of videos giving Dollar Tree shopping advice on her TikTok to more than 151,000 followers.

Her video about food items she said people shouldn't buy from has been viewed nearly 35,000 times.

"Here are more of the worst Dollar Tree food items you need to stop buying if you are," Sarah said in her video.

"And a few products that I actually like."

1. Virgin olive oil

Sarah said to stop buying Dollar Tree's Pampa brand product that says it's a blend of soybean and olive oil if you do.

"It's made to look like it's extra virgin olive oil but it's really 95 percent soybean oil and it contains GMOs," Sarah said.

She said she prefers to buy a smaller extra virgin olive oil Dollar Tree sells by Gourmet Empire, which she showed in the video.

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"It's pure extra virgin olive oil and it's a much better option for you."

The Pampa blend of soybean and olive oil 8.5-ounce bottles are priced at $1.25 each on the store's website.

The Gourmet Empire extra virgin olive oil in her video that she said she prefers is not listed on Dollar Tree's website.

2. Cheese

Sarah claimed Dollar Tree's Breckenridge brand Cheddar Style Shreds is not real cheese.

"Nowhere on the packaging does it say cheese because it's actually just a cheese product," Sarah said in her TikTok video.

"It's a little bit of cheese and a whole lot of filler."

She didn't mention a Dollar Tree alternative but recommended cheese from a different store altogether, instead.

"A better option is to go into Aldi, somewhere like that, to score a block of cheese for $1.69," she said as she showed a block of Happy Farms brand cheese with that listed market price.

The Breckenridge brand Cheddar Style Shreds product isn't listed on Dollar Tree's website.

But you can find Aldi's Happy Farms brand cheese on the store's website as block cheese or shredded.

Aldi does not list product prices on its website.

A Tiktok user commented on Sarah's video: "I made a dish with the shreds they would not even melt"

"They’re so bad! You can light it on fire and it will burn," Sarah replied to the comment.

Another asked: "So a block of cheese is better than shredded?" and Sarah said "Yes. It contains less fillers."

Sarah said she does love Dollar Tree's Pede Brothers brand frozen cheese ravioli, though.

"They make an easy dinner idea and they taste delicious."

The ravioli is not listed on Dollar Tree's website, either.

"I didn't care for the cheese ravioli. It was missing something," a person commented.

Sarah replied: "I’ve always liked them with a good sauce.

"We’ve made a lazy lasagna and it was fire but I get everyone’s tastes are different."

3. Honey

Dollar Tree's High Five brand honey is not completely honey, Sarah said in her video.

"This is corn syrup mixed with honey which is a much cheaper way to make honey," Sarah said.

"It doesn't taste as good, it's not as good for you. Skip this," she added.

She said she gets Dollar Tree's Utopia brand butter-flavored pancake syrup instead.

Sarahsaid: "This is great because it doesn't contain any high fructose corn syrup."

A 24-once bottle of the Utopia butter flavored pancake syrup is listed on Dollar Tree's website for $1.25 each.

The Sun contacted Dollar Tree for comment.

How to cut grocery costs

There are a number of tips to follow to slash your grocery shop every single time, including meal planning and using coupons.

Combine the two and you'll find yourself saving even more money.

It's also important to shop around so you're getting the best deals.

If you're on a low income, you may also qualify for food stamps - more recently known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

SNAP households are expected to spend about 30% of their own resources on food.

Depending on your income and household size, the maximum monthly benefit amount is $250 for a single-person household while a household of four can get up to $835.

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