[toasterlovin]

I love people who geek out about optimizing their diet.

> The simmer sauce isn't the cheapest option, but I pay extra to make my normally boring/cheap food taste good enough to eat for 5+ days straight

This is a great example of something that is more expensive in theory, but probably cheaper in practice, since it increases overall adherence to your diet plan.

> I love the Costco Tillamook cheddar

If you can't do lactose, then the pricing on Tillamook cheddar is basically the protein & fat portion of milk, without the very cheap carb calories. Carbs are always cheap to add via other sources anyway...