I am not a real good shopper. I tend to over think the process a bit too much. I am OK when it comes to general shopping for a couple of specific items, but you can just about forget it when it comes to multiple lists and multiple stores.
I can safely say that in our area it seems like there is either a grocery store, gas station or a pharmacy on just about every corner. Heck, many of them have all three in the same shopping center. I am all for convenience, but I think that it is a bit crazy to have two separate grocery stores right next to each other. In a few centers, I could probably throw an apple from one grocery store to the next.
All fruit related drive by fruiting jokes aside, I stumbled across this great store that has a great selection of foods stored and sold in bulk. In the past I would just ignore the whole bulk food section altogether. Historically much of the stuff sold in bulk is the kind of stuff that I really do not enjoy eating, like trail mix, granola and hard candies.
I am a meat eating, non hiking, non granola, non Birkenstock regular kind of guy person. Dried bananas, oats and raisins don’t really cut it.
Until I started this little writing project, I never really thought about buying from the bulk food bins, but I have found out some pretty interesting facts about buying food from the bulk bins. The facts below are from the Bulk is Green Council. Click here Check them out at http://bulkisgreen.org/index.php and remember to get out there and Bulk-up.
• Bulk foods provide a savings to the consumer of 30% to 60%. Packaging and promotion can be a significant contributor to food cost.
• Bulk goods require less overall transportation to deliver to consumers. Bulk foods do not require the packaging components that must be produced and transported prior to being filled. And the transportation of bulk product to retailers is efficient because it can be packed more densely on a truck.”
• The manufacture of paper and cardboard pulls trees from our forests, dumps contaminated water into our streams and uses enormous amounts of energy resulting in grotesque levels of CO2 emissions pumped into our atmosphere.
• Food packaging may limit a consumer’s ability to buy in quantities desired which can result in food surplus and ultimately waste.
• Although most natural food companies sell their food products in recyclable packaging, there are still some food companies that use non-recyclable materials. And some consumers choose not to recycle which creates additional burden in our country’s landfills.
• Packaging often limits a consumer’s ability to actually see the product they are buying.
• In a grocery store, packaged products require more labor to ensure fresh product. Shelves must constantly be rearranged.
• With bulk, product density at the store level can be significantly higher. So stores can provide a wider variety of foods in the same space.
As I sit here just finishing up the last few chips of my late lunch, I realized that I am hopelessly addicted to good deli food and sweet iced tea. There is just something about a nice club sandwich made just right. I am a bit crazy and I like mine cut in half instead of quarters. I feel obligated to eat the whole piece because it all falls apart when I put it down.
I can’t tell you how many times that I have gone to the store and the bagger or cashier puts one item in a plastic bag. I can sometimes understand some items, but things that have their own handle–like milk or packs of soda–really don’t need to be bagged.
Day 113- How Many Do You Have?
We have four and a half sets of dishes. Our everyday stuff, the ones we got as a gift from the hotel in Jamaica for our honeymoon (which we don’t use), special holiday everyday dishes, “the good stuff” that we have all wrapped up ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and the kids dishes (Dora, Princess, My Little Pony, etc).
The holiday season is fast approaching and so will countless parties, lunches and dinners. We eat way too much in America. Portion control is just something that you see on special diets or on extreme body makeover shows on TV. How can it be legal or moral to sell a bacon, double, super-big-large thingy with cheese and mayo (don’t forget the diet soda) for a dollar and have a better choice that costs a lot more?
I am exaggerating and understand that everyone has a choice. I have noticed that food that is better for you costs more than food that is loaded with chemicals and is not so good for you.
Here in the United States, we have labels on our food to tell us about the food that we consume. The biggest thing to understand is portion size and how many portions are in the container. On the front of the bag it says 100 calories, but you look at the serving size and realize that the bag contains two servings. That 100 calorie snack just turned into 200 pretty quick.
Although portion control is a bit difficult to judge when you are at a holiday party or a buffet, there is one simple trick to help you along. Use smaller plates. The biggest control you would need is how many times you go back to get more–and that’s pretty easy.
Using smaller plates takes less water to wash them and they take up much less room in the dishwasher. Visually you are tricking your brain to think that what you have on your plate will fill you up. Not only is using smaller plates a greener idea, it can also reduce the extra pounds on the waistline.
I really think that plates got bigger in the past 75 years or so. If you live in an older house, do you notice that it is more difficult to fit your dishes all the way in your cabinets? Who makes these decisions?
Do you think that someone actually said: “Lets make the plates and cabinets bigger so they can get more stuff and fit more on the plate. Let’s jack up good food cost so they can’t afford what is good for them, get them overweight and unhealthy. Now, let’s show them pictures and TV shows with anorexic, short human puppets and say that everyone is supposed to look this way–or at least make them feel guilty about it. Let’s make it difficult and expensive to see a qualified doctor who isn’t afraid of getting sued and now have to take this medicine to regulate whatever.”
I hope not because I don’t want “them” to take me away now. Hold on, there is a knock at my door………