Friday, September 3, 2010

Day 3- Shopping Trip

Today I am planning to go to Whole Foods and Trader Joes.  I say "planning" because it's a bit of a trip and some times the best laid plans- well you know!  Whole Foods has a pretty good web site- you can check their specials and they have printable coupons.  Did you know Trader Joes is owned by the same family in Germany that runs Aldi?  It's actually 2 different branches of the same family- one owns Trader Joes and one owns Aldi.  (I actually don't have very good luck at Aldi but I know a lot of people do.) One thing about Trader Joe's- a lot of their Trader Joe's brand items are actually made by mainstream companies like Frito Lay (Pepsi), etc.- that's why the prices are low.

A bit more about yesterday's post on fast food. There are a couple reasons- I think- not to eat fast food.  First, most of the menu is fried. Food deep fried in oil is just not that good for you.  Second, I think the meat- especially the beef is suspect.  According to Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser,  McDonald's is the largest purchaser of beef in the world.  That means beef producers pretty much produce beef to McDonald's standards- for just about everyone- including schools.  A couple things make me uneasy about this beef.  First the way the animals are fed and raised on "factory-farms". I am opposed to any kind of growth hormone given to cows.  Second the way they are slaughtered and processed.  Because there is a great risk of E. coli 0157:H7 contamination, the beef is treated with ammonia.

A bit of a disclaimer here.  I am no expert on whole food, organic food, or anything else.  I am just posting things I am trying.  I'm not telling you what to do- you have to make your own choices.  I'm not totally on board with the whole "organic" thing.  I want to eat more vegetables, fruits and healthy meats- and way less packaged foods.  I also want to support local farmers when I can.  I have not cleaned out my refrigerator or pantry.  I can't afford to do this right now- so we are eating our way through some packaged stuff now.  But as I shop and replace things- I try to make better choices.

Hope you have a great holiday weekend! If you are looking for some frugal pantry ideas- check out Frugal Friday over at Life As Mom (a terrific blog).

5 comments:

  1. We love Trader Joe's for many of our staples (whole grain pastas, raw nuts and seeds) but end up at our favorite local chain grocery store for produce most often. Whole Foods is awe-inspiring but usually out of our price range. Good luck on your shopping trip!

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  2. I agree with beanland. I actually just posted on my blog today about what I love at Trader Joe's, and it's mostly a lot of staples. I do buy carrots and celery there, though because they are organic (and carrots and celery are on the dirty dozen list) and the same price as conventional at other stores. Bananas are a good price, too, but other than that, I rarely buy produce there. We don't have a Whole Foods, but if we did, I probably wouldn't shop there much. Too expensive!

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  3. We really enjoy Trader Joe's! The prices are surprisingly reasonable. Their Texas Toast bread makes awesome French Toast. I'm not too big on Whole Foods. I find it pricey, but I didn't know there were coupons. I'll have to check out their website. Thanks for the info!

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  4. We are back- Whole Foods is very expensive and they carry some of the same items as Giant Eagle in the organic section. They do have in store coupons though. We went specifically to get grass fed beef that was on sale for $3.99/lb. Trader Joe's was packed and we got a lot of snacks and some other stuff.

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  5. I am enjoying your journey so far. We are doing something very similar, trying to eliminate processed foods to get healthier. Thanks for sharing your journey with the bloggy world :-)

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