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SallyT
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| Posted: Jan 23 2014 at 12:52pm | IP Logged
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Lack of variety is one serious drawback of a small town like ours. I'd have to drive roughly an hour to Charlotte to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. There's an Ingles about half an hour away in Gastonia (NC, that is -- I realize "Gastonia" isn't one of those iconic town names), and I do like their selections a lot . . . it's a more upscale supermarket and carries a number of good brands. And there's a Lowe's Foods in Hickory, up the road the other way. I like *that* Lowe's . . . Hickory is on the edge of Granola Mountain World here in my part of NC, and the stores there reflect that.
My town, on the other hand, is the county seat of a poor rural county, and our stores tend to reflect that. Flour tends to come in varieties of white and self-rising, with a token King Arthur wheat on offer. Offerings in organic or pastured meats are much narrower. And so on. Wal-Mart, which I don't love on principle, is the best supermarket in town by miles in terms of choice as well as price, and I usually go there to buy whatever I can't get at Aldi, which is cheaper but limited.
Still, one of the major stress thoughts in my typical day is, "Oh, my gosh, they eat so much! How can they be hungry again? What's left for people to eat now?" And this seems to be true whether they've eaten chicken, nuts, cheese, eggs, oatmeal, bread, or popcorn. I do try to curb anything that looks like boredom eating or just plain greed, and I have to be a total prison guard over the milk. But seriously! Three kids at home! And it's like someone held a giant vacuum cleaner up to my kitchen door, and out went every edible in the house.
Well, OK, that's a tiny exaggeration. But it's how I feel a lot of the time! Back, you people! Away from the fridge!
Overall, I think taking whatever baby steps you can in anything like a right direction is a very good thing. The project of feeding people, including yourself, shouldn't be an all-or-nothing proposition. That's what I like about the Kitchen Stewardship blog -- she offers manageable weekly goals for improving nutrition, with the idea that focusing on even one thing to add or subtract from your diet is a valuable step in the right direction: ridding your diet of high-fructose corn syrup and other unnecessary sugars, eliminating trans-fat, adding coconut oil, adding one organic or "clean" element to your diet. You can't do it all, certainly not immediately, but if you can do that one thing, whatever it is, that's good!
Sally
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 23 2014 at 12:58pm | IP Logged
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Sally you about described my town. But the smaller of the grocery stores is wonderful about ordering things for people. So if it's something you can buy a case of.. go in and talk to them. If they can get it from their suppliers they'd probably order it for you. I mean seriously, knowing that it'll sell and they don't even have to unpack the box.  I've noticed that our little store carries some specialty items simply because they got the reputation of ordering that stuff and when they realize how many people are ordering it, they've taken to carrying it on the shelf.
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TryingMyBest
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| Posted: Jan 23 2014 at 1:29pm | IP Logged
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You can also buy many organic, natural staples through Amazon. Things like Coconut Oil, Sucanat or honey. Prices seem to be less than what I see at Whole Foods. Many of them are Prime eligible or you can do the Subscribe and Save option.
Jenn
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: Jan 23 2014 at 2:32pm | IP Logged
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Sally, I had to laugh at your description of keeping dc fed (or keeping the family larder stocked)! When we were young, my poor mother resorted to locking the walk in pantry in our very old farm house ~ one day while my parents were away my teenage brother actually climbed an extension ladder from outside to sneak into the pantry through a very high window! My mother would also hide grocery untouchables beneath their bed, in the hopes of keeping the ravaging throng from inhaling everything in sight before the next payday!
The ideas shared by Kitchen Stewardship are very helpful, and consoling! Yes! We can all make small changes and our families will surely reap the benefits! Ever since we switched to butter, from artery clogging margarine, just a few years ago, dh's cholesterol has been much more manageable!
We find bulk items like flour, grains and spices at a local Amish store and are blessed to live two miles from a local creamery. A local farm family just opened up a store in an old schoolhouse for grassfed meats and other locally grown foods! It can help to ask the locals where you might find local suppliers. In our area local prices are actually pretty competitive with prices in larger stores for healthier foods, since they don't have to pay the high overhead of distribution charges! While not everyone has local suppliers nearby, it can be worthwhile to become familiar with area sources and perhaps take a healthy food field trip every one in a while!
In a nearby city, where dh works, we have access to an amazing store, very similar to Trader Joes, which I discovered by searching online. Another recent search uncovered a health food store in the same city, which we never knew existed! Having dh pick up groceries saves me an immense amount of time and energy! A little internet sleuthing can sometimes uncover wondrous hidden gems for buying local!
We also use Click 'n Pull through Sams Club, in the city where dh works. He's able to pick up orders, large or small, without wasting extra time locating all the items instore. Searching for organic items or looking for specific food items online enables us to make healthier choices and we're not tempted or distracted by the huge amount of offerings that surround a person when shopping inside the store. A quick stop at the courtesy desk and he's usually in and out in less than five minutes! Our local Sams seems to be offering healthier items lately ~ while placing a recent order, and doing a search for 'organic', I noticed they're carrying agave nectar and quinoa, which weren't available at that store in the past.
You're not alone! I pray you'll find economical solutions for feeding your family in ways that suit your budget, energy and time constraints, and health concerns! 
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Erica Sanchez
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Click 'n Pull through! That is awesome!!! Like the library but for food!
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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SallyT
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I always forget about groceries on Amazon, even though I've ordered things to send to my daughter in college.
Sally
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 23 2014 at 6:35pm | IP Logged
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Sometimes I find it very hard to get to the bottom of what is healthy and what is not. Take oils... canola, safflower... good or bad? Neutral?
If you search on line, you find that opinions vary greatly and widely, just for these two. Some claim they are poison, others say they are a heart healthy choice.
Which is the truth? 
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JodieLyn
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I agree it's confusing.. where I find it difficult is when you look at "cheap" oils, you have soy oil and canola oil in general. Soy is awful horrible terrible.. or canola is.. but often I see those that don't like one like the other.. how can you tell?
I went to canola because my BIL has a soy allergy. I think it improved my dh's blood pressure too.. can't prove it.. but it seems to have contributed. So I'm sticking with it for now.
Sure I'd love to use coconut oil but.. sometimes it's hard enough to get the cheap oils..
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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KackyK
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| Posted: Jan 23 2014 at 8:42pm | IP Logged
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I unload groceries with a Sharpie in my hand and I write on items "DO NOT EAT" "THIS IS NOT FOR YOU" "THIS IS FOR DAD ONLY"…this has so far been heeded!
I have a teen boy who will literally eat up to 8 pb & j sandwiches (not at one time, final tally of the day) and still claim he is hungry and "there is nothing to eat."
I have found that small steps are easier to stick to…going all organic to me is not a small step. My "big" small step, that I can keep is no hfcs. Really obviously it means just staying away from overly processed items. But at least it means one less yucko they are eating.
I love Kitchen Stewardship!
This was really just a rather commentary…no good tips! OH wait, I have found that Aldi's now carries quite a few organic selections!
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TryingMyBest
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SeaStar wrote:
Sometimes I find it very hard to get to the bottom of what is healthy and what is not. Take oils... canola, safflower... good or bad? Neutral?
If you search on line, you find that opinions vary greatly and widely, just for these two. Some claim they are poison, others say they are a heart healthy choice.
Which is the truth? |
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I think it's impossible to really know unless you have a medical or science background and can read the studies in full (not the news articles that discuss them) and understand them. I'm definitely not capable of that. So then you just have to pick a side. Who do you trust? Mainstream medicine (Canola oil is good for you and coconut oil is terrible) or alternative (Canola oil is terrible and coconut oil is good for you). And what terrifies me about this is that my choice doesn't just impact me. It's how I'm feeding my husband and child. And what if I'm wrong and exposing my husband to a higher risk of heart disease?
Admittedly I'm not capable of understanding the science but it seems like there is consensus about the benefits of olive oil so that seems to be an easier choice for a cooking oil. However then you have to worry about those studies showing that what is sold as olive oil often isn't really olive oil or worry about whether you should really cook with olive oil because of the low smoke point.
Jenn
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guitarnan
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We buy our olive oil from Costco because we like to buy olive oil that is from Italy. Their Italian olive oil is attractively priced, and, if one can believe their monthly magazine, it really is Italian. It definitely smells and tastes like olive oil - and I lived in Italy twice. (We used to buy our olive oil from American Benedictine nuns who had olive trees on their abbey grounds in the mountains above Isernia - sigh - it wasn't extra virgin or anything special, but boy, was it delicious, and we were supporting the nuns, too...)
I don't use it for baking, although Italians certainly do - I don't care for the taste - but we use it for just about everything else. We've never had issues with the smoke point - just heat on medium to medium-high and keep an eye on things.
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 24 2014 at 5:34am | IP Logged
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From what I've read, the key to olive oil is how it is processed. Ideally, you want to get first cold pressed.
I don't think even scientists can agree as far as what is good or not...
everyone has an opinion.
Then you can get into the downward spiral of: soy is bad, wheat is bad, canola oil is bad, rice is tainted with arsenic, slow cookers leach lead, potatoes have too much starch..... so here's your glass of filtered water 
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Jenn Sal
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| Posted: Jan 24 2014 at 10:42am | IP Logged
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KackyK wrote:
| I unload groceries with a Sharpie in my hand and I write on items "DO NOT EAT" "THIS IS NOT FOR YOU" "THIS IS FOR DAD ONLY"…this has so far been heeded! |
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Now that is a great idea and funny!
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TryingMyBest
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| Posted: Jan 24 2014 at 11:39am | IP Logged
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100 Days of Real Food did a challenge of eating real food on a budget. You might want to check it out. It was interesting to see what choices she made, compromises, etc. on a small budget.
Jenn
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SallyT
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| Posted: Jan 24 2014 at 11:39am | IP Logged
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Kacky, that cracks me up. People in my house -- otherwise honest people -- are very sneaky, however. I find a lot of empty containers in my fridge, that I don't know are empty until I pull them out and discover that some unknown person has consumed the contents and put the container back in the fridge. I have found ex-chocolate bars with the foil neatly folded and slid back into the paper sleeve. I have found foil, that had been wrapped around the last piece of chicken, re-folded around the same amount of empty air and replaced in the same spot in the fridge. I have . . . concluded that we probably need to be going to Confession daily.
And Melinda, I start feeling that way, too. Nothing! We can eat nothing! Think how much money we'll save, eating nothing!
But then there's air pollution. So everybody: eat nothing, and hold your breath.
It can all start to feel like a form of mental illness after a while, at least in my own obsessive head. I really can drive myself right off the edge. So I have to step back, take a deep breath, and remind myself that somehow I survived with enough brain cells to get through the day, despite having eaten Space Food Sticks, chocolate Pop Tarts, and jello every day of 1973. Not that I have any wish to recreate that particular food era in my own home today, but when I think about that, I suddenly feel a lot better about my own choices.
Sally
eta: This isn't, by the way, a commentary on anything anyone else has said. I do take all this quite seriously, but on the other hand, I know my own proclivities, which can verge on the ridiculous. I could see myself becoming so paralyzed by over-information about what might be wrong with my food that I stopped cooking altogether. Which would not be a popular option in my household . . . and while I sat gibbering about it on the kitchen floor, everyone else would tiptoe out and go to Taco Bell.
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KackyK
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Sally I'm so glad to hear you have those "mysterious" eaters too…the legend of all legends in our home was the day I went to Costco and bought a bag of cheese sticks. Then within 24 hours, a mother load of wrappers was found in an upstairs bathroom…with a few leaving a trail down the hall as some "escaped" from someone's hold as they tried to "hide" them in the bathroom. The trail led all the way to someone's particular bed. This person eventually confessed…we warned of a bad belly ache to come…they never complained and their next two month's allowances went to purchasing another bag.
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KackyK
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SallyT
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OK, you can come to my house, and you will understand . . . so much.
:)
Sally
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SallyT
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| Posted: Jan 24 2014 at 1:38pm | IP Logged
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One of my constant lines is, "You wouldn't drop this trash in a campground! WHY are you dropping it inside your own home???"
Sally
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dinasiano
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| Posted: Jan 24 2014 at 6:17pm | IP Logged
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Servant2theKing wrote:
I A little internet sleuthing can sometimes uncover wondrous hidden gems for buying local!
You're not alone! I pray you'll find economical solutions for feeding your family in ways that suit your budget, energy and time constraints, and health concerns! |
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Thank you for the link and kind words!
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SeaStar
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SallyT wrote:
One of my constant lines is, "You wouldn't drop this trash in a campground! WHY are you dropping it inside your own home???"
Sally |
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I love that line! I can't wait to try it out on the person who leaves empty toilet rolls on the bathroom floor.
As far as mystery eaters, my brother in his prime had his own system. If there was something in the fridge he had his eye on, he would take two or three large bites out of it and then replace it. That ensured that no one else would touch it- who wants the last three pancakes when they all have a bite missing? This drove my mother crazy  and disgusted his five sisters.
I, too, grew up eating some really fine 70's and 80's foods.... LaChoy from a can, Tang, Suzy Q's, Chef Boyardee ravioli and Spaghettios, ... and my all time favorite nonfood ever: Hostess Fruit Pies in our sack lunches.
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: Nutrition is killing my budget!
