Grocery Store Snob??

I notice but I don't judge as I have a bag of cookies and pop tarts hidden under all my veggies

Because my household is full of a variety of eaters and appetites (from strict vegetarian to junk food junkie), the contents of my cart are frequently oxymoronic and laughable.

I did notice something the other day that made me step back and think about how we, as a country, grocery shop:
I live in a small town (5,000 people) and shop in a family-owned grocery store where they still carry my groceries to the car.
They bought about a dozen new carts last fall --- they are taller, with two shallow racks that don't stick out very far. These carts are the preferred choice for all but those shoppers who are loading up a week's worth of groceries at a time.
I have become so used to these carts, that I grumble when I have to use the "normal" carts at the regular Walmart next door.

Imagine my surprise last weekend when I stopped in a Super Walmart in a larger urban area and the cart was HUGE! I swear it was larger than my first apartment after college. I've been known to measure how "done" I am with my grocery shopping by the fullness of my cart --- there is no way a body could actually fill that cart and still have money to pay the mortgage. I made a decision right then and there NOT to shop in that store anymore --- those worshiping dead presidents are enabling and encouraging food addiction and I don't want to add my $ to their till. Does that make me a snob? Probably, and I don't care

The odd time I go out to the store JUST to stock up for hubby who would prefer to eat kettle cooked chips and Jos Louis in shameful quantities. I feel so stupid bringing 4 items of crap because I usually can't resist picking up something I'm low on... asparagus or raspberries. I need to get over this but knowing that I notice, I am also aware that others do too. I wish I could put stickers on my stuff saying "for my husband with the hollow leg and perfect labs" lol Not fair. lol

I tend not to think about it, because I used to be on the other end and was always self-conscience that people were judging my poor choices of food!!

I feel this way. I don't always eat like crap and I don't always eat healthy. And how do they even know who you are buying it for? Maybe you are trying to make someone in your life fat on purpose LOL - just kidding.

Either way ... each to his own. I've seen really thin people eat junk and I've also known thinner people that had higher cholesterol and blood pressure than I have no matter how they ate.

My blood pressure is always good and my cholesterol is always good on my physicals and I know I eat junk food.

You have no idea what they have at home!


When i see a persons cart full of fruits and veggies and meats only i think "well.... have fun when that goes bad in 3 days before you have a chance to prepare all of that. Good try though.

I buy perishables every week, for that week, for a family of 5. Both adults work full time so the menu is planned out before the grocery trip. We get through it all before it spoils. And your right I have no idea what they have at home.

I buy tons of perishables too... I batch cook things like quiche stuffings (ham, onion, spinach, peppers, mushrooms) NO WAY I'm chopping 5 times when I can prepare it all in advance and freeze.

Nope. I'm usually way too busy trying to figure out 1) what to make my family for dinner all week 2) how to keep my 10 year old son in check while shopping and 3) how to satisfy everyone while also making food choices that satisfy my own dietary goals. Plus, there's the whole weighing price options while shopping, and if I do happen to peek into someone else's cart, I usually just take in mentally what they have and wonder what is for what and / or analyze what I would or would not use / eat out of it.

Lots of people, like myself, shop for more than just themselves. I buy strawberries for my husband, but I hate them. I buy skim milk for myself, husband hates it. Twinkies for him and my son, I don't touch them. So yeah, judging someone by their grocery cart is kind of pointless.

Thank you!

Imagine my surprise last weekend when I stopped in a Super Walmart in a larger urban area and the cart was HUGE! I swear it was larger than my first apartment after college. I've been known to measure how "done" I am with my grocery shopping by the fullness of my cart --- there is no way a body could actually fill that cart and still have money to pay the mortgage. I made a decision right then and there NOT to shop in that store anymore --- those worshiping dead presidents are enabling and encouraging food addiction and I don't want to add my $ to their till. Does that make me a snob? Probably, and I don't care

People at Wal-Mart often buy things other than food. If you want to pick up some groceries, a couple bags of fertilizer, some mixing bowls, a few new Wii games, socks, bags for the vacuum, a new bike for Tommy and some Christmas decorations you are going to need a big cart.

Has this happened to anyone esle? I fear I am becoming a grocery store snob. I look in other people's carts at the checkout and mentally gloat at my healthier choices or I am just totally shocked that the cart half full (maybe 3 bags worth) of junk cost more than my weeks worth of nutiritous food. I try to stop myself because we have all been there but it seems to happen every time.

Can't say I have. But that's probably because my significant other does all the grocery shopping :laugh:

I see a lot of posts asking how we know who they are buying it for. This one does confuse me some. Yes, my kids get applesauce and chicken nuggets occasionally and ice cream on occasion. BUT, I do all the shopping and most of the cooking. The way I see it, they eat whats for dinner. The girls are harder some days since they are 2 years old and picky but generally we all eat whats for dinner - the same menu. How does this work when everyone eats something different? Are you cooking 3 seperate meals or hubby and the kids on their own? My Mom always said she wasn't a short order cook, you eat whats for dinner...

My son is autistic/Aspergers diagnosed and he his so picky and has so many taste/texture aversions - he has to eat what he eats and it is seldom what I am eating. He lives off of strawberry milk and peanut butter sandwiches, plain toast or nothing. Sometimes he has just one thing to eat in a whole day or all of them.

Sometimes my shopping cart looks so fresh it puts others to shame. So serious, they start discarding the kool aid jammers and cap n crunch into the magazine section.

I look at the items on the belt behind my order. Most of the time, I'm drooling or noting new health foods I haven't seen during my walk up and down the aisle. Sometimes I strike up a conversation about certain items to see what people think about it.

I don't know. I don't think I'm snobby. Just curious!

I do notice what is in other people's carts but I don't pass judgement because for many of us that would have been us not that long ago.

That and my purchases are different for different places. I get comments at Costco all the time from cashiers because my purchases are the following:

chicken, greek yogurt, quinoa, organic granola, eggs, egg whites, cheese, spinach, milk, some fruit, fish, cottage cheese, and cereal for my kids, vegegreens supplements and protein powder....

I have had a couple cashiers make comments on how healthy the choices are.

I get my produce at the local farmers market or asian market, they have the best prices, freshest produce for the best prices.

But at the 'grocery' store I might leave with no produce and some canned items (beans), baked goods (I have 6 kids to feed and a terrible baker), some frozen veggies, some 'treats' for the kids and other odds and ends. I would hate to think someone judged me because I had no produce in there, I don't buy it at my local discount grocery store but my fridge is bursting with produce so much that my DH and I have joked we need a produce only fridge.

So no I don't judge, I try and educate people on nutrition when I can, but I lead by example for those in my life, mostly my 6 year old daughter and my husband. It starts in the home.

I see a lot of posts asking how we know who they are buying it for. This one does confuse me some. Yes, my kids get applesauce and chicken nuggets occasionally and ice cream on occasion. BUT, I do all the shopping and most of the cooking. The way I see it, they eat whats for dinner. The girls are harder some days since they are 2 years old and picky but generally we all eat whats for dinner - the same menu. How does this work when everyone eats something different? Are you cooking 3 seperate meals or hubby and the kids on their own? My Mom always said she wasn't a short order cook, you eat whats for dinner...

The crap in my cart is only for hubby... he's an adult and he can eat what he wants (literally and figuratively) My kids and hubby get dinner and lunches the healthiest way I can prepare them using things I choose. If hubby asks for "snacks" *eyeroll* I usually get them for him. His body, his choice. My kids? Eat what I cook and if not, eat it tomorrow. I'm not a short order chef. lol

My son is away at college and it's just me and hubs for now. I am not my husband's mother or keeper. There are snacks and foods he likes that I don't, and vice versa. We pretty much agree on the meals, but the snacks are pretty different. I think it would be passive agressive for me to deliberately not buy foods he requests (we have a list on the fridge that we both add to throughout the week for food/tolietries that we need). He wants Doritos, I am buying Doritos. I don't have to eat them.

Passive aggressive, indeed. As for picky eaters, both my husband and son are the pickiest eaters I've ever met in my life. Frustrating as hell, but you learn to deal with it and compromise... on the things we can't compromise on, I end up caving or they do. Funnily enough, I convinced my husband to give up using salt on most things by just cooking without it. He tried my meatloaf the first time with salt, as he requested adamantly, and we both spat it out because of how salty it was. I used the recipe's recommended amount, HALVED. So, next time, I cooked it with no salt, just a tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce and husband's blend of sauces on the top - totally delicious. You don't have to force people to be healthy, they will usually choose to be when presented the opportunity in a logical manner.