european shopping and diet.

mike_littlerock

one of our kids has noted that my wife and I shop like we are Europeans. He observed that we do not keep a well stocked refrigerator and pantry, but instead make almost daily visits to the market. We do this because we consume mostly fresh veggies along with a lean protein source. It makes no sense to me that I would buy for the whole week, as it typical in America, as I really do not know what we will want to eat 3 days from now. if you look at our shopping cart, its filled with perishable items. I have a habit of observing people in various situations, including the market. I see a trend that the shopping carts of the larger patrons seems to be commonly filled with pre-made, packaged foods.. most of those items have nutrition info that is almost scary, but I do understand that its "easy" to prepare. I would argue that our fresh diet is also very easy. we came home rather late 2 days ago, and I ran into the market and was able to whip up a nice healthy stir-fry in minutes.

Just my observation, and i welcome the comments of fellow MFPer's, especially those from Europe. Lets stay classy though, dont think this needs to be an invite to bash the US or any other country.

lucysmommy

i live in the united kingdom and i do my shopping every 2 days due to the fact that veggies go off pretty quick - i do buy bigger portions of meat though and freeze them into smaller portions for the coming weeks

amberlykay1014

Yes, I think I might do this too. I usually go to the grocery store once early in the week, then again mid week, and then to the farmer's market closer to the end of the week. I hardly ever plan meals, but buy small quantities of what I'd like to eat that day and the next and lots of produce. I also should note that I only buy for myself and occasionally my fiance, so anything that I buy in bulk will most likely spoil and I hate throwing food out. I only buy what I know I will eat.

Not sure if it's the most economical thing to do, but that's how it works for me.

mike_littlerock

Not sure if it's the most economical thing to do, but that's how it works for me.

I have not really analyzed this much. I have a feeling that its about the same, perhaps a tiny bit more expensive but then again I feel that being healthy is worth it (Not to mention that I probably make up any potential difference with lower expenditures in medical care)

madworld1

I love Europe. I hear what you are saying.

As an American, I try to buy groceries every 2 weeks because it is easier for me to eat healthy. My cart is filled to the brim. It contains both healthy & unhealthy foods (for me and husband, respectively). I used to go every couple of days, but I stopped when I started school. Although I would rather eat fresh veggies, I end up buying frozen because it lasts longer. I also buy big portions of meat and separate it into smaller packages. It's just a matter of convenience.

Gramps251

I'm in the US and shopped that way when I lived in a big city where I could walk to the co-op or any number of stores but now I shop less often because it takes extra trips that take time that I don't have to spare. My fresh food isn't much less fresh due to the few days in the fridge. I also didn't own a car when I lived in the city so shopping trips involved carrying home all my food by hand.

Whatever works for you.

WhatDoesLisa

My father was from Switzerland and this is exactly the way that I shop. I also don't shop at just one store. I might hit 3-4 stores because each one has specific items that I like and are of better quality than another place.

Oh, and I HATE leftovers so I cook a lot. I am a whiz at cooking for one.

painauxraisin

I go to two markets a week and pop into the supermarket for the basic stuff (loo roll etc). I try to buy as local as posible and round here that's not difficult.
I'm in France.

meshashesha2012

i'm not european but i lived in france for awhile. this is the way the older people in my family shopped. when i was younger my great grandparents would baby sit me and they'd go to the market 2-3 times a week to get fresh stuff.

i think with the rise of processed food people needed to shop less often.

i personally grocery shop once a week. my produce isnt as fresh by the end of the week but i have a pretty good fridge that keep things fresh. the main reason i dont go more often is because i dont drive and it's inconvenient for me to go to the grocery store on a work night

YaGigi

I have lived all over the world, including the USA, Europe (France, Spain, Switzerland), Asia. It all depends on the convenience.
In America the spaces are huge and people mostly drive everywhere. It means they dont have o actually carry the bags and can buy a lot of food.


If you have stores next to your place, and really small space, you tend to do small shopping but often. Currently I have many grocery stores around me, so I buy when I need something right at tat moment. I drive to a big store maybe once in two months. Most food I buy while walking home after work or after gym. Therefore, I can't carry too many bags with me.
In America I used to drive everywhere, so it'd be easier to get 10 bags of food to put in my fridge.

In NYC or Paris or Geneva it was the same - these are not cities to own a car, so most people walk. I used to would buy things and walk home there.

Erienneb

I live in the USA (outside of Chicago) and shop for myself mostly. I go every Sunday and get things that don't go bad right away, like apples, zucchini, potatoes, what have you. If I know I'm making a meal later in the week that requires somethign that on;y keeps for a day or two, I'll go again later.
My mom prefers to bulk shop because my teenage brother eats like 4000 calories a day and is a rail. The rest of the house is filled with dried, canned, and frozen goods, which is nice if I have a lazy day and didn't prepare something the night before.

astrampe

I buy groceries every two weeks, but have fruit and veggie runs once a week - and bread, milk and fruit if we run out around every second or third day...
I do keep frozen veggies and fruit for crazy days!

azwaa

I was about to comment about why I don't do smaller trips more often when I realised I shop twice a week, which works out to every couple days (did I mention I was a math major). I do more trips because I love fresh bakery bread and that doesn't last more than a day or two. I also like having fresh veggies. But the biggest reason is because we only have one fridge but we have six kids. Milk alone for a week would fill the whole fridge! So I guess that is kind of like the no car excuse for more frequent trips.

jessicawrites

I shop once a week and buy as few processed foods as possible. I plan weekly menus, putting the meals with the most perishable items at the beginning of the week and saving the longer-lasting produce for end-of-week meals.

junipearl

I buy fresh for the week and just freeze whatever I won't be able to use by the expiry date.

dahkneeka

I shop around the perimeter of the store, meaning I am mostly buying fresh food... however, I also buy lots of frozen vegetables for the convenience.

Just recently went to the Farmers Market and paid $7 for a big bag of 10-12 mini cucumbers, 4 peppers (yellow/orange/red) and about 6 red/yellow tomatos!! Definately going back

sunbeat

For you, livin in US, it is strange to go to market each day - for me, European it's strange to go food shopping once a week or two (two actually is hard for me even to imagine).

1. We never know what we gonna cook for dinner on the next day. We go to the market in the morning or after work (depends on the family etc.) and eventually we're getting the idea for meal while shopping.

2. Each morning there is a fresh bread straight from the bakery and honestly I don't imagine myself eating packed bread with long term usage. The bread we have is not really good after 3 days, but we know how much to buy and the taste of fresh bread - priceless (besides I heard few times already we have one of the most delicious types of bread here in Poland). Besides the dry bread left-overs we mince (?) and make bread-crumbs out of it.

3. If we would shop once a week I think we would buy more than we actually need and either eat more or have to throw out the overdated food.

4. The only products we buy in bigger amounts and less often are those with longer expity date like flour, sugar, pasta, mineral water, yoghurts.

5. It is very rare that we buy food in bigger amount and froze it. It happens mostly before bigger holidays like easter, xmass to avoid long queues. Besides frozen food (except meat I guess) will never taste as good as fresh (especially fruit).

6. Instant food maybe is easy and fast to prepare, but not matter how popular and reputable the brand is it will NEVER taste half as good as a "home made" meal.


If you have any questions to european style of food shopping, feel free to ask
Cheers,
Beata

mike_littlerock

For you, livin in US, it is strange to go to market each day -

1. We never know what we gonna cook for dinner on the next day.

2. Each morning there is a fresh bread straight from the bakery

I admit that I am strange. LOL. I am originally from New Orleans, and we have a strong food culture. We consider ourselves more like a European city that happens to be located in the southern US, than like the surrounding states

On point 1. I agree completely. my wife and I will see what is fresh, and looks appealing.. from there i will construct a menu.
Point 2. we dont eat bread very often, but if we want it. I make fresh bread (as well as home-made pasta's) and even the stuff fresh from the bakery is not as good as my home-made bread.

believe22

I shop every week or 2. I buy mainly fresh foods/nonprocessed, but I honestly cannot imagine having to go to the store every single day. 1 I don't have time and 2 have you ever taken a 2 year out out in public? So much easier to plan then buy what we need for the week.

sunbeat

I admit that I am strange. LOL. I am originally from New Orleans, and we have a strong food culture. We consider ourselves more like a European city that happens to be located in the southern US, than like the surrounding states

Oh please don't get me wrong with saying strange
I've never been to US so all I know is what I saw on tv.

On point 1. I agree completely. my wife and I will see what is fresh, and looks appealing.. from there i will construct a menu.
Point 2. we dont eat bread very often, but if we want it. I make fresh bread (as well as home-made pasta's) and even the stuff fresh from the bakery is not as good as my home-made bread.

For us bread is a basic food. I was just wondering and it's hard for me to imagine few days straight without bread...

Yeah, we also make pasta, mostly when we have a left-over dough from pierogi
My point 5 agrees: there's nothing better than a home made food!

MrsPong

I used to shop every 2 weeks for my family of three. My husband is a Marine and eats and eats. So it didn't work out well because I plan my meals for the weeks.

We now shop once a week... I have stores all around me but I work 40 hours at the office with a 30 min commute. And have a duty phone on me 24/7. My husband also works weird and long hours and of course we have a 4 year old...life is busy. There is no way I can go to the store more than once a week. We buy what we need for that week (usually more)..veggies r usually frozen because I dont know when we will be eating them since days/meals change on what I cook the night before or whats fast.

YaGigi

I shop every week or 2. I buy mainly fresh foods/nonprocessed, but I honestly cannot imagine having to go to the store every single day. 1 I don't have time and 2 have you ever taken a 2 year out out in public? So much easier to plan then buy what we need for the week.

Actually, in my country it's pretty normal for parents to take kids from kindergardens and stop by at groceries to get fresh food, girls learn how to shop and play "grocery shopping " later. . Kids at 5-6 do some limited grocery shopping, like milk or bread.

I used to stop by a local farmers market every evening after work to get fresh meat and bread, greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh milk and cheese. My 1st husband was very into fresh cooked food, he didnt eat any processed food or anything older than a day. Too picky! And I would buy only for this evening dinner, so it'd be like two tomatoes, and a pound of lamb or beef. The meat would literally be still warm bcs it was alive couple hours ago.

mfpcopine

I think that if you like shopping and live near shops or greenmarkets that have fresh ingredients and can get in and out of the shop quickly (a must if you work) there's nothing wrong in shopping several times a week.

It's important not to romanticize Europe. They have super- and hypermarchés and obesity is a concern in some countries.

SarahCW1979

I go once a week (Im a Brit) BUT Ill use all the fresh stuff in the first few days making meals large enough to freeze 'leftovers' that are used later in the week. Home-made, healthy ready meals :bigsmile:
I couldnt go shopping every day, Im an impulse shopper, it would cost me a fortune!!!

acpgee

We live in the UK but are from the Netherlands, and are in the habit of shopping daily. This is probably also a result of living in the centrally in a big city and not a suburb or village.

Although I am from Canada, my husband is Dutch. I got used to daily shopping due to necessity. Refrigerators that are typical in central Amsterdam are tiny. In Holland we bought a half loaf fresh bread daily, as well as fruit, veg and meat. In the London, where we don't have a bakery on every corner, we bake our own bread but still buy fresh fruit, veg and meat daily.

We do buy frozen fish and crustaceans, though. But that is maybe a function of not having a fishmonger nearby.