Fed up with grocery stores!

dumb_blondes_rock
dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
I'mm no farmer, but i always thought tomatoes were supposed to be red? I went to grab some tomatoes for a special spinach and cheese melted on top of a roasted tomato breakfast thing i make, and all the tomatoes were orange. like literally ever single tomato....and i bought grape tomatos that said "sweet and perfect for snaking" and they were soooo sour and acidic. I am getting extremely fed up with not even knowing how real food is supposed to taste, and yet i don't really have time or space to make a garden to grow my own things. I also bought some kiwi's and they are sour as ever!! I live in a really small town, so there aren't any like organic stores around...but when i do go into "they city", we have one called lassen's, but we don't have a whole foods. i really need to look up when the farmers market will be in the city so i can go pick some stuff up from there cause i can't continue to pay $3 for an orange tomato. Does anyone else feel the rage?? haha

Replies

  • GingerSnark
    GingerSnark Posts: 153
    if you lve in a small town, is there any farms or farmers markets around you? look for a CSA thing perhaps in your area.

    Try: http://www.localharvest.org/
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    thank you for the link. I actually live in the san jauquin valley, which is one of the largest(if not THE largest) producer of fod in america...the really sad thing is though, the food that we produce here in san juaquin valley could feed the wole entire earth....and yet food rots and people starve??? and with all the food that gets produced here, it gets shipped to other countries or other parts of the states, it rarely stays here....i know we have a farmers market every now and then in bakersfield... but its not oe of those cool ones that is there every weekend:(
  • nakrya
    nakrya Posts: 191
    if you lve in a small town, is there any farms or farmers markets around you? look for a CSA thing perhaps in your area.

    Try: http://www.localharvest.org/

    Agree with you.

    I buy all my fruits and veggies from the farmer's market or small local grocery stores.
  • acakeforawife
    acakeforawife Posts: 207
    Well, I wouldn't put all the blame on grocery stores, I don't think tomatoes are really in season right now. And to be honest, most of the time grocery store tomatoes are gassed to make them red, because no one wants to buy the orange ones. Ha ha ha! (You gotta laugh because otherwise you would cry, right? :ohwell: )

    Try to find out what's in season in your area and eat as much as you can of that stuff. And yeah, if you can find a farmer's market that's a great way to buy (mostly) seasonal and local stuff that will most likely taste better. :smile:
  • NaturalMom
    NaturalMom Posts: 85
    All good advice and suggestions. I would also add that container gardening is sometimes possible for those in apartments or small city lots. Also, I love the Aerogarden (http://www.aerogardenstore.com). You can grow tomatoes, culinary herbs and even lettuce on your countertop!
  • Kath712
    Kath712 Posts: 1,263 Member
    Totally agree! Grocery store tomatoes are a total waste of time and money. The best tasting tomatoes come from my husband's garden. :bigsmile: But like someone said, they are only in season a few months of the year. But we thoroughly enjoy them while they are.
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    i was just talking to my dad about this today at lunch and he said that when he was a kid, eve in the grocery stores you could only get tomatoes a certain time of year. funny how things change in just 30 or so years....i wanted to try that upside down tomato thing, has anyone tried it before? its on an infomercial thing
  • flwyland
    flwyland Posts: 142
    My neighbor has one of those upside-down tomato growers. The plant looks healthy. Can't wait to see the tomatoes on it!
  • meganm86
    meganm86 Posts: 9 Member
    The Topsy Turvey? I tried that last year... as did 2 of my neighbors and my parents... it sucked! Such a big waste of money! Don't do it!!!! LOL
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    The Topsy Turvey? I tried that last year... as did 2 of my neighbors and my parents... it sucked! Such a big waste of money! Don't do it!!!! LOL

    haha thank you for the advice....i am in no way able to waste money on someting that doesn't work lol. do you think maybe it has to do wher you live or whatnot?
  • KimbersNewLife
    KimbersNewLife Posts: 646 Member
    I totally agree. I went to Food Lion today and was told when I asked where the almond milk was "we don't do that organic thing anymore."" I thought they were joking but trust me NONE to be found! Also all the produce was made in Hunduras and Mexico and looked really off. I live in NC so it had to travel a long long way!!! It SUCKS! I have a farmer's market not to far from me and will start going there. Anyway thanks everyone for letting me vent! I am so with you grocery stores are horrible for fresh fruit and vegis. I started a garden with my hubby and can't wait for things to pop. We are very exicted about it. At least we will know where our peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and beans come from'!! LOL
  • B4its2L8
    B4its2L8 Posts: 80 Member
    Someone gave my 94 year old Grandma a Topsy turvey and it grew but she felt sorry for it cause it kept growing up. I can't wait til we have fresh veggies from our garden! So far I have 6 different kinds and colors going in the garden, including a purple tomato! Anxious to see how that one tastes. I would really try to find a farmers market.
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    well i have convinced my dad today that we should plant an herb garden and a tomato plant...so we shall see...this kind of weather has been giving us a green thumb lately, so why not add some fresh veggies in the mix! As for the almond milk, that is soo crazy that its considered "an organic thing" because the lactose intolerant people need an alternative too, its not just for health conscious people they have some at albertson's, but i couldn't find the chocoalte kind which is my FAV...has anyone ever planted an avacado? i don't evne know what it looks like..does it come off a tree?
  • weaklink109
    weaklink109 Posts: 2,831 Member
    Well, I wouldn't put all the blame on grocery stores, I don't think tomatoes are really in season right now. And to be honest, most of the time grocery store tomatoes are gassed to make them red, because no one wants to buy the orange ones. Ha ha ha! (You gotta laugh because otherwise you would cry, right? :ohwell: )

    Try to find out what's in season in your area and eat as much as you can of that stuff. And yeah, if you can find a farmer's market that's a great way to buy (mostly) seasonal and local stuff that will most likely taste better. :smile:

    I live in Washington (state) and we have beautiful vine ripened tomatoes in our stores that come from British Columbia, Canada. They have a huge hothouse vegetable growing area up there. We also get English cucumbers from the same area.

    I also went to a local farmers' market today and there were some beautiful tomatoes there, also grown locally with a little greenhouse intervention I am sure as we have only had one day that made it to 70 (F) degrees so far, and that was today!!

    I am sorry you are having such lousy luck with vegetables and organic food options in other parts of the country.

    Regarding the (lack of) almond milk--if you have a Walmart nearby, with a grocery department, check there. In my local Walmart, I saw almond milk today when I was there.

    Good luck,
  • luly727
    luly727 Posts: 202 Member
    I know u can grow some herbs in containers on your window sill, then cut off what u need :) Tastes totally differant than bottled up freeze dried stuff..
    Avocados are awesome, Love them on a sandwich, pita or in a salad. I grew up in Florida and everyone in the neighborhood had huge avocade trees with the avocados sometimes being the size of a elongated cantaloupe :)
    Now I live in Illinois and NO avocados :( Cant be grown here, too cold and the ones u can find at walmart are those little California ones :(
    Depending where u live you can grow avocados but planting the seed and waiting is a long journey, i've heard it can take up to 5 yrs for the tree to mature and actually give u anything...Maybe try a good nursery if they can be grown in yr area and got a 1-2- year old tree..
    Good luck
  • smdevos
    smdevos Posts: 15 Member
    well i have convinced my dad today that we should plant an herb garden and a tomato plant...so we shall see...this kind of weather has been giving us a green thumb lately, so why not add some fresh veggies in the mix! As for the almond milk, that is soo crazy that its considered "an organic thing" because the lactose intolerant people need an alternative too, its not just for health conscious people they have some at albertson's, but i couldn't find the chocoalte kind which is my FAV...has anyone ever planted an avacado? i don't evne know what it looks like..does it come off a tree?

    Avocados grow on a pretty big tree, not something I would recommend unless you have a lot of space and time to wait. Good luck on your plants! Tomatoes can be kind of finicky (though California probably has better weather for it than here in Georgia), but the end result is awesome. So much better than the ones picked green and trucked everywhere.
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
    Not sure if they're available in your area, but look for hydroponic lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics

    The tomatoes and bibb lettuce are wonderful, even out of season.
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    thank you all for your suggestions! and yes, unfortunantly here in cali we have small avacados:(....i loooooove avacados soo much but they are like a dollar for one little baby one. i cut mine into slices and put lime juice and a tad of salt on them...muy delicioso!! i also will jsut mash it up raw and put it on some toast...well "unfortunantly" we have a pool in our back yard, so we can't really grow any cool trees or anything , but the spices and tomatoes i'm definantly gonna give a try! does anyone have any green thumb tips?
  • mistyvw
    mistyvw Posts: 3
    Every Saturday until about 11:30 there is a Farmer's Market outside of the old Montgomery Ward building on F street. Also Fresh & Easy is great because they only carry local produce. Lassen's which you mentioned earlier is great, but for personal reasons I won't shop there.
    Fresh & Easy also has great prices, my grocery bill went from $100 to $60-$70 each time I go shopping.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    tomatoes actually are in season right now. grocers buy them from long distances and pick them unripe to ripen in the backs of trucks.
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