The Big O

I watched Food, Inc. recently and have had my eyes opened (even further) to how I want to feed my family. It might be a long time...and possibly forever, before I buy regular grocery store meat and poultry.

So, today I set off to the grocery store. I had three choices. Whole Foods, Central Market, or
Tom Thumb (Safeway.) Whole Foods is probably the most expensive and does well with organic but not so great with local produce. Central Market does an excellent job with high quality meat, fish and local produce, and kind of gives me the warmies to shop there, but it is impossible to buy paper towels that dont cost six dollars. So, Tom Thumb it was. Parking and shopping carts are also big factors for me. Whole Foods has great carts for two babies. It looks like a race car and they are at the top and back of the cart...right near me. And they are clean and new. Central Market has the second best option. The two seater, but it's the kind where the seat part takes up the entire back third of the cart and looks like a Six Flags ride. They sit up straight in a seat and are harnessed in. Again, though, they are closer to me and I know exactly what they are doing. Tom Thumb has some of the worst carts (but not THE worst). They are those awful car cart things, where I can put them in the pink-eye ridden car part, that sometimes has straps to secure them in but I can't see them and things are at eye level and within reach. So, I put them up in the traditional seat (where there is room for two) and if I am lucky enough to find a cart with buckles, I secure them in. Today I got the one with buckles...and the sticky, broken wheels. Pushing it around a corner usually took two or three tries and I got sympathetic looks from strangers. Better than hairy eye balls, I suppose.

We hit the aisles. I managed to only buy organic where I felt it mattered. Non-organic items included lemons (used only for grown up Tom Collins cocktails...no children are harmed in the squeezing of the lemons and hopefully the gin negates any pesticides), that Baby Bel soft swiss cheese that I love on sandwiches right now and I could find no options for, club soda (see Tom Collins), and sandwich bread (I did buy Orowheat which has no high fructose corn syrup). I did not buy any meat because they only carry organic chicken and it's kind of expensive on an otherwise pretty big shopping trip. Also, big advantage Central Market. I love their butchers and their meat. It just seems like it comes from a more trusted source and they make all their sausage in house. Have I mentioned how much I love that store?

So, my total was $100. With no diapers and no meat. Next time I'll try Central Market, spend the same amount and see how it stacks up.

Here's to not filling our families with pesticides,
Christie