complaint about grocery stores

miasuperstar

So i just moved to the mid-west from California and am having a very difficult time adjusting to what is available in the grocery stores here. I met my weight loss goal in CA and i found just the right foods for me that were low in calorie, healthy and tasty and became very loyal to those brands. Not to mention the wonderful selection of fresh and delicious produce which can be found anywhere. Now it seems like the only stores i can find are giant wal-mart size superstores and small low selection organic grocers. There's no in between and its been very frustrating. I have to go to one store to get buckwheat noodles and another to get lowfat yogurt! I know I'm just going to have to get use to what I have available in the mid-west but i'm very sad about the downgrade in vegetable quality and selection. I have also noticed that in general the food here is just LESS HEALTHY ( few restaurants which provide smart meal choices and more overly artificial packaged junk on the shelves. I'm worried I'm going to gain my weight back because I'm going to have to adjust to the food here. Any suggestion? I love it here but I wish the mid-west would catch up with california on its food consciousness. I happen to live in a very agriculturally productive region where a diversity of veg/fruits are grown but at this point the only place to get that is at the farmer's market- which would be fine if i wasn't already having to go to 2 different stores to get my staples. Thanks for letting me vent

Poison5119

Welcome to my he//~! :flowerforyou:

At first, I thought "No, way, this isn't real." The only thing remotely reminiscent of my original home (Boston/Worcester MA), was downtown Indianapolis. But the realization dawned on me....

It's confirmed that most midwestern states are backwards in just about every aspect of life. By the time something "NEW" comes along that finally becomes popular/accepted here, it's passe'/been-there in every other corner of the US. Midwesterners are among the most overweight in the country.
Unfortunately, I can't do a thing about it for a few more years.

The good news is that with some creativity and adjustment, you'll survive. I feel your pain.

toots99

So i just moved to the mid-west from California and am having a very difficult time adjusting to what is available in the grocery stores here. I met my weight loss goal in CA and i found just the right foods for me that were low in calorie, healthy and tasty and became very loyal to those brands. Not to mention the wonderful selection of fresh and delicious produce which can be found anywhere. Now it seems like the only stores i can find are giant wal-mart size superstores and small low selection organic grocers. There's no in between and its been very frustrating. I have to go to one store to get buckwheat noodles and another to get lowfat yogurt! I know I'm just going to have to get use to what I have available in the mid-west but i'm very sad about the downgrade in vegetable quality and selection. I have also noticed that in general the food here is just LESS HEALTHY ( few restaurants which provide smart meal choices and more overly artificial packaged junk on the shelves. I'm worried I'm going to gain my weight back because I'm going to have to adjust to the food here. Any suggestion? I love it here but I wish the mid-west would catch up with california on its food consciousness. I happen to live in a very agriculturally productive region where a diversity of veg/fruits are grown but at this point the only place to get that is at the farmer's market- which would be fine if i wasn't already having to go to 2 different stores to get my staples. Thanks for letting me vent

Where did you move to? I can totally understand what you mean...I moved to Texas recently from L.A. and I miss my Trader Joe's!

jeterbeater

Try living in the Middle of Nowhere, NC, we don't even have a health food store/organic food store. Many of the foods I read about on MFP and would like to try are not sold where I live. Very frusturating, I totally understand where you are coming from.

toots99

Where are you in NC? There are a few Trader Joe's there...

http://traderjoes.findlocation.com/results.aspx?page=default&search_param=N6&city=charlotte&state=nc

blakgarnet

I fell your pain. I grew up in Los Angeles and then went to school in Burlington, VT and then Boston. I now live in northern NY (ie middle of nowhere). I try to go to Burlington or another major city every few weeks and stock up on the staples I use a lot from my old favorite stores. I do like my local super walmart more than my local grocery store since it actually has better produce and more variety (if that's more of a comment on P&C, who knows), but I can get bok choy and I actually saw plantains and star fruit there last week that I am going to try to find something healthy to do with.

miasuperstar

Thanks for your moral support- I guess we just need a critical mass in our "middle of nowhere" regions. Actually, i'm in the capital of michigan (Lansing) pretty big town with several colleges but still very limited choices. Sounds like some of you have it a bit worse though. I suppose as one person put it, it comes down to creativity!

jessmomof3

Another midwesterner here too! (Illinois) I do shop at a variety of stores to find certain things. I just try to stock up when I go to certain stores on the things I like there, and then rotate every couple weeks where I shop.

I went to TJ's for the first time when I was in Indy in May and really wish we had one close by! (I checked and the closest one is at least a 2 1/2 hr drive!).

Do you have a Meijer or Kroger? I really like their health foods/ organic selections here. I think they are a more midwestern chain of grocery stores. HTH!

robbienjill

Try living in the South- NC/SC. Where all the food seems to be comfort food!!! lol

toots99

I like Kroger's, but I think their produce could be better.

jessmomof3

I like Kroger's, but I think their produce could be better.

Yes, I agree. I like Kroger for their natural products and Meijer for their produce. See why I have to shop at different stores also?? :laugh:

pettmybunny

Another idea might be to ask the department head of the natural/organics section and see if they can order whatever it is you like. I asked the health food section guy at my local supermarket if he could get Fage, because I could only buy it at the co-op. He checked, and now I can buy it when I get my regular shopping done!

tiedye

Maybe you could purchase some non-perishable foods online. Amazon sells a lot of food online in bulk packages for decent prices.

BrendaLee

My big complaint about grocery stores around here is that I can't find everything I want in organic produce.

astridfeline

Thanks for your moral support- I guess we just need a critical mass in our "middle of nowhere" regions. Actually, i'm in the capital of michigan (Lansing) pretty big town with several colleges but still very limited choices. Sounds like some of you have it a bit worse though. I suppose as one person put it, it comes down to creativity!

Hi,
I'm from California and spent 6 months in Mt Pleasant a couple of years ago. It's about an hour north of Lansing--probably too far for you. But I thought I'd mention that there is a great little co-op in Mt Pleasant with healthy foods. I can't remember the name of it though. Maybe there is something similar in Lansing?

Katy009

I am originally from Michigan (UP) and when I went home a couple years ago was miserable with the food selections. I was there for three weeks and ended up being SUPER bloated and feeling like crap for the last two weeks. I live in Italy and guess I am pretty spoiled now with the fresh fruit and veges available (as I would imagine CA is) and it's almost impossible to find pre-packaged meals here. I'm sorry I don't have any advice other to find any farmer's markets that are available.

Berna

Because I am Canadian, I can't really relate to your midwest grocer problem. However, I am on a fair sized island in the middle of the North Atlantic (NL) and getting fresh produce of any kind here is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Our grocers try desperately to get organic, fresh, etc. here but, and here's the crux of it, how can it be fresh or organic if it comes from SC or other regions of Canada? The majority of our grocery and food stuff is shipped and sometimes (because of high winds) sits on the mainland waiting for the all clear to bring these items across the straight. Often, by the time we get the produce it is well on it's way to being methane gas (if you get my drift). Fresh fruit and veggies can be grown here but the season is so short and what is grown is extremely limited to root veggies, cabbage and berries so I find myself buying frozen, not exactly my choice but definitely better than boxed, dehydrated over sweetened garbage. My beef with grocery stores is the cost of eating healthy versus junk food. I find it is far more expensive to eat and be healthy than it is to buy junk food and be overweight.

For example I am on a vitamin enhanced diet. I take 6 different supplements a day that cost me almost $220.00/CDN a month. Now, add that to a hefty grocery bill of about $150.00/CDN a week and you can see my complaint. That grocery bill is for just food, not for anything like foils or wraps or cleaning products just food.

I guess what I am trying to say to Katy009 is .... You think you got it bad...*lol* Good luck in your search for healthy foods. I keep hunting daily and my search has turned up few choices but I make the best of summer and autumn.

Here's a suggestion Katy, are there any roadside vendors around your area or farmers who sell directly? Sometimes you may have to spend a bit more to get the best, but if I were in your shoes, that is exactly what I would do. I know it takes time to find these places but hey, you lost all that weight, got your diet under control, isn't it worth saving that time you worked so hard to achieve your goals to seek out those stands? Just a thought.

XFitMojoMom

Berna - Also a Canadian here...
Caution - not all roadside vendors are organic or clean! Ask them, some will give you lip service, so be careful. Same thing for farmer markets.

I was traveling a lot for business before I had kids and I loved TJ's and Whole Foods. There was a whole foods right behind the hotel I always stayed at in San Diego and I'd walk over (GASP! Walk there?!! The concierge looked at me like I had 8 heads) and stock my mini bar fridge with fresh fruit and wraps, instead of eating lousy restaurant food.

mrd232

It's all about foraging at farmer's markets, roadside stands, and local farms. Walking into most supermarkets (with the exception of the AWESOME Wegmans and possibly Shady Maple in Blue Bell, PA) p*sses me off anymore, considering I avoid the entire center of the store and only shop on the "safe" sides of meat, seafood, produce, dairy/eggs.

stormieweather

My grocery shopping has evolved into "market day". I go to a Family Dollar store for my paper and cleaning produts, a small shop/stand for my veggies, fruits, and exotic items, then to Publix for the rest. This is a brand new Publix and although I never much cared for them in the past (their veggies are pre-wrapped so you can't pick and choose your own), this one has an awesome organic/natural food selection. A good 1/3 of the entire store is set aside for this and I can find all sorts of unique items like Quorn products and Indian foods.

I consider myself lucky, although a year ago, I just shopped at one store and bought total crap...lol. It took a year to find decent places to shop.

CasperO

I hated to do it, but I ponied up the $35 to join Sam's Club. They're really good on fruits & veggies. I stopped in last night and got:

4 lbs pistachios
3 lbs bananas
8 lbs RD apples
3 lbs plums
6 romaine lettuce hearts
3 lbs strawberries
6 fresh 12" sub rolls
and 1 big, gorgeous, delicious seedless watermelon.

I paid $45. And I brought it all home on me motorcycle. :noway:

Ya' got a Sam's nearby? I'm in Marietta OH, which is about nowhere, and we've got one right across the river in Vienna WV.