{"id":345,"date":"2026-02-19T01:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/?p=345"},"modified":"2026-02-19T01:41:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:41:16","slug":"my-favourite-hobby-is-becoming-a-luxury-i-cant-afford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/2026\/02\/19\/my-favourite-hobby-is-becoming-a-luxury-i-cant-afford\/","title":{"rendered":"My favourite hobby is becoming a luxury I can\u2019t afford"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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My favourite hobby is becoming a luxury I can\u2019t afford<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The reality of baking as a student living in Canada<\/strong><\/p>

By Kendra Mendrisky<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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FreshCo grocery store baking aisle in Ottawa on Feb. 1, 2026.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Baking has always been one of\u00a0my\u00a0favourite\u00a0hobbies.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0calming,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0creative,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0experimental, and\u00a0maybe the\u00a0best part is\u00a0the\u00a0treat\u00a0you get\u00a0at the end.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In high school, I\u00a0baked\u00a0something new every three-to-four\u00a0weeks, on top of making goods for special occasions, like Christmas cookies and Thanksgiving pies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Now, I\u00a0almost exclusively\u00a0bake something from scratch for certain holidays\u00a0or\u00a0for close friends and family. Not because I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have time, or\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0enjoy sweets as much, but because the cost is too high.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Along with baking less, I swap name brand products for\u00a0generic ones, fresh fruit for frozen,\u00a0or\u00a0just opt for box mixes altogether.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Maia Knowlton, a first-year University of Ottawa student, has also changed her baking habits over the past few years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cI still live with my parents, so I have the luxury of not really paying for\u00a0(groceries), but I\u2019m still very aware of how much everything costs,\u201d said Knowlton.\u00a0\u201cIf\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a recipe that uses a lot of eggs or an excess amount of butter,\u00a0maybe I\u00a0will not use that one and\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0look for a different recipe that uses cheaper ingredients.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

For parties and potlucks, Knowlton uses cake and brownie mixes because they are cheaper.\u00a0Often,\u00a0people\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0notice\u00a0the difference, or if they do, they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0mind.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cIf I\u2019m giving it to somebody that I love, I care about,\u00a0this\u00a0is a gift,\u00a0I\u2019ll use the good, expensive ingredients,\u201d said Knowlton.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Price of brownie and cake box mixes at FreshCo in Ottawa on Feb. 1, 2026.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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After\u00a0our conversation, I went to my local grocery store, a\u00a0FreshCo\u00a0in Ottawa, to compare prices.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The following are my observations from Feb. 1.\u00a0A brownie\u00a0mix\u00a0costs $3.99. Plus,\u00a0you\u2019d\u00a0need oil\u00a0($5.99), a\u00a0couple\u00a0eggs\u00a0($3.99)\u00a0and\u00a0some water.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Now, if you were to make brownies from scratch, the typical recipe requires\u00a0eggs, butter ($5.99), sugar ($3.39), cocoa powder\u00a0($7.49), baking powder ($7.99)\u00a0and\u00a0flour\u00a0($4.19), plus\u00a0a bit of vanilla extract and salt.\u00a0Common add-ins include chocolate chips\u00a0($4.99)\u00a0and walnuts\u00a0($3.49), if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0feeling fancy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

There are ways to get more bang for your buck, like buying in bulk. But not everyone can afford to do\u00a0so, especially not students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Price of chocolate chips at Ottawa FreshCo on Feb. 1, 2026.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Price of chocolate chips at Ottawa FreshCo on Feb. 1, 2026.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Kendra Wong is a student in her final year of studies at the University of Ottawa. She shares an apartment with her sister and\u00a0boyfriend, and\u00a0enjoys cooking and baking.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Unfortunately, she\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0do it\u00a0as much as she would like.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cAs a student, you\u00a0have to\u00a0always\u00a0be budgeting,\u201d said Wong. \u201cI currently have no income, so we\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0bake.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no way I can afford to bake.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

She\u00a0remembers around\u00a015 years ago,\u00a0making things from scratch would have been\u00a0cheaper than buying\u00a0pre-made\u00a0treats\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0store.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Now, you can get ultra-processed, preservative-filled, two-bite brownies\u00a0($5)\u00a0for\u00a0a lower\u00a0price\u00a0than\u00a0butter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cRight now, the cheapest option is not to bake it,\u201d said Wong. \u201cThat\u2019s really sad because (baking) can be the healthiest way. You can choose how much butter is in it. You can choose how much sugar is in it. But if you buy it from the store, it\u2019s not going to be as healthy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My favourite hobby is becoming a luxury I can\u2019t afford The reality of baking as a student living in Canada By Kendra Mendrisky FreshCo grocery store baking aisle in Ottawa on Feb. 1, 2026. Baking has always been one of\u00a0my\u00a0favourite\u00a0hobbies.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0calming,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0creative,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0experimental, and\u00a0maybe the\u00a0best part is\u00a0the\u00a0treat\u00a0you get\u00a0at the end.\u00a0 In high school, I\u00a0baked\u00a0something new every three-to-four\u00a0weeks, on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359,"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions\/359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.j-proj.com\/foodbeets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}