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GGrrr.. looking for a place to vent about finding compliant food


jmh

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We are blessed to have a super great health food store in our area but it is not very close. Sometimes I find myself needing to make a quick stop at one of the big chain stores. I have 3 little kids and sometimes I am short on time. I spent an hour and a half there this evening armed with my list of food I needed to buy to make some great new recipes I have been wanting to try. SO frustrating!! I feel like I read almost every label in the store. Even the organic food is packed with sugar and junk!! No wonder why we all have sugar dragons because it is in everything!!! Even the tea with it's darn soy and natural flavorings was annoying!! I suppose I could look on the positive side of things and say it made me super happy when I was able to find some stuff I could have. Sometimes I feel like I'm on a food treadmill and just want to pick up some bbq sauce I don't have to spend 40 min making from scratch!

 

OK, thank you. I feel better now.

 

Although I am often short on time it is a wonderful feeling to make something complicated and have it turn out super yummy!! I try to stay positive so I had to add my happy afterthought.....

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I love your happy afterthought :wub:

 

Seriously, I am sooo with you on the frustrations of supermarket or even health food shopping.  On the plus side, the longer you do it, the easier it gets because you know everything to avoid. You learn which hot sauces, pickles etc are compliant and so I no longer waste time looking at the rest. Since i miss out so many aisles in the supermarket, I can be round it quicker than ever before. good luck

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I agree with Kirsteen! My shopping trips have become super easy.  I pretty much stay in the produce and meat sections.  I don't live near *ANY* health food stores or Whole Foods or TJ's. So its everything from scratch for me :)  I have started a weekly cookup for my family of 6 and thats helping.  I am thinking of starting OAMC so I can have a good bit of food in the freezer.  It takes a little planning, but its worth the effort!

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@jmh:  Ditto on the health food store rant -- back in the 70s, there was very little processed food in the few-and-far-between health food stores & that was mostly whole grain baked goods, the rest was pretty much organic bulk dry goods.  Now, it just amazes me no end that formerly "trusted" brands are putting sugar in everything, or even worse, "evaporated cane juice" -- really, who are they trying to fool?  You can always tell where I am in the store by listening for the exclamations of "Sugar!!  Why does ____ have sugar!"  ;)

 

@KnottyMama:  that OAMC sounds intriguing, I'm going to check it out, thanks for the info.

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I do as much as I can from scratch but there are sometimes when you just need to grab something quick and easy. I would love to make extra to freeze but I have a husband that we call the human garbage disposal because he eats everything in sight and 3 boys!! My husband works at least 60 hours a week, goes to school 4 nights a week, runs, bikes and goes to the gym. My kids are 8, 3 and 18 months and I could tell you stories about how wild my 18 month is. I try make sure I get in a hour of working out 6 days a week also. I just don't understand why they need to put all that stuff in everything. I pretty much know my stuff I like but when I want to make something new or have to shop at a different store it can be frustrating. Especially when you are trying to read labels when your 8 year old is whining, the 3 year old wants fruit loops and the 18 month is trying to wrench himself out of the cart in order to hurl himself on the floor:) It would be nice to just have a day to cook food for the week but we just seem to have too much going on. Maybe it is time to see if we can slow down some?? How does one do that?? :) I just don't see why they need to add all that extra stuff. Who the heck needs sugar in salsa!!

 

@thewyrdwoman That cracked me up when I read that people know where you are in a store because of your sugar rant!! Evaporated cane sugar is the worst!

 

@KnottyMomma I am going to have to look up OAMC to see what it is :)

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OAMC is  Once A Month Cooking.  You cook huge quantities so that you always have something in the freezer to eat.  I used to do it before I started eating gluten free a couple of years ago.  Now that I am eating paleo and feel like I am cooking nonstop, the idea of cooking once for the month sounds very ideal. There may still be meal I will have to cook occasionally, but to have lots of chili or paleo spaghetti sauce and stuff like that where I can just make some zoodles or something will make things easier for me at least.  Also I am planning on making my own mayo,  BBQ sauce, salad dressings, in large quantities so I don't have to keep making them. 

 

I understand your need to rant! I sometimes go shopping with all 4 of my kids and that is such a pain! lol  I have a 22 mo old that also tries to throw herself from the cart so I totally know what you are going through.  

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I understand your rant.  This is only day 4 for me and I tried to go shopping ahead of time to be prepared but man they do through sugar and salt into everything.   I have made 4 shopping trips this week.   Thankfully all the stores near me are close but still.   So frustrating! 

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OAMC is Once A Month Cooking. You cook huge quantities so that you always have something in the freezer to eat. I used to do it before I started eating gluten free a couple of years ago. Now that I am eating paleo and feel like I am cooking nonstop, the idea of cooking once for the month sounds very ideal. There may still be meal I will have to cook occasionally, but to have lots of chili or paleo spaghetti sauce and stuff like that where I can just make some zoodles or something will make things easier for me at least. Also I am planning on making my own mayo, BBQ sauce, salad dressings, in large quantities so I don't have to keep making them.

I understand your need to rant! I sometimes go shopping with all 4 of my kids and that is such a pain! lol I have a 22 mo old that also tries to throw herself from the cart so I totally know what you are going through.

I do big cooks every couple of weeks...if I had a big freezer id make more and cook less frequently! I have about 14 meals worth of cooked dinners in the freezer, meat portioned out for is we just want meat (about 7), cooked chicken enough for over a week of lunches and postWO, and baked sweet potato and pumpkin for about 2 weeks too! I'm looking forward to a) having next weekend out of the kitchen, b.) not spending ridiculous amounts of money on meat! It definitely helps with sanity during the week, and means a lot less time in the kitchen...I still make breakfast fresh though, and lunch salads every couple of days, and vegies fresh each night...

For the mums who struggle with shopping+kids, is delivery an option? Might save time and stress!

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Ack!  You lost me at the whole shopping with small children thing.  My girls are ten and I still try to leave them out of the grocery store as often as possible.  You have my heartfelt admiration.  :lol:   (And yes, sugar is in everything, it's no freakin' wonder we're all so badly addicted. :o  )

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OAMC is  Once A Month Cooking.  You cook huge quantities so that you always have something in the freezer to eat.  I used to do it before I started eating gluten free a couple of years ago.  Now that I am eating paleo and feel like I am cooking nonstop, the idea of cooking once for the month sounds very ideal. There may still be meal I will have to cook occasionally, but to have lots of chili or paleo spaghetti sauce and stuff like that where I can just make some zoodles or something will make things easier for me at least.  Also I am planning on making my own mayo,  BBQ sauce, salad dressings, in large quantities so I don't have to keep making them. 

 

I understand your need to rant! I sometimes go shopping with all 4 of my kids and that is such a pain! lol  I have a 22 mo old that also tries to throw herself from the cart so I totally know what you are going through.  

 

That is a great idea! I would love to have a months worth of food in the freezer but I'm pretty sure my boys would scarf it all down in 2 weeks:) I think it is a great idea to have some spaghetti sauce, chili and bbq sauce in the freezer for some quick meals. I would love to make mayo in a bigger batch but it seems to look a little sad after a week or so. I am not really paleo or whole 9. I am kinda my own version of a clean eater. I don't eat honey or maple syrup or any sweetener but I do make this "paleo bread" stuff. I also eat greek yogurt but other then that I am pretty much whole 9. I feel like I cook ALL the time. I am ok with it for now but I am wondering how long I can keep it up sometimes. Shopping with kids is so fun when they are little:)

 

 

I do big cooks every couple of weeks...if I had a big freezer id make more and cook less frequently! I have about 14 meals worth of cooked dinners in the freezer, meat portioned out for is we just want meat (about 7), cooked chicken enough for over a week of lunches and postWO, and baked sweet potato and pumpkin for about 2 weeks too! I'm looking forward to a) having next weekend out of the kitchen, b.) not spending ridiculous amounts of money on meat! It definitely helps with sanity during the week, and means a lot less time in the kitchen...I still make breakfast fresh though, and lunch salads every couple of days, and vegies fresh each night...

For the mums who struggle with shopping+kids, is delivery an option? Might save time and stress!

 

Sounds like you have big cook ups down!! Great idea about delivery! Would love to do it but I am a little picky about my fresh produce and I'm pretty sure if they offered it there would be some extra cost involved. My husband already has fits about how much I spend on eggs:) 

 

 

Ack!  You lost me at the whole shopping with small children thing.  My girls are ten and I still try to leave them out of the grocery store as often as possible.  You have my heartfelt admiration.  :lol:   (And yes, sugar is in everything, it's no freakin' wonder we're all so badly addicted. :o  )

 

Am excited for the day when my youngest is 10!! I was thinking the same thing about us all being addicted to sugar. It is like the world of food sets us up for failure sometimes.

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It gets easier the more familiar you get with brands/ foods.... You'll develop a " go to " list. You still need to do a check of the labels because they change all the time ....grrrrrr

There are a lot of staple items ( coconut milk, tomato sauce,oils,teas, ) that are available on line for good prices at a discount.... Saves time at the grocery store.

Also don't be afraid to ask you local store manager for a discount on " bulk/case prices". I usually get 10-20% off on items that I use a lot of

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I have trouble finding a block of time to do a proper cookup, but I've found I can make a big batch of something after dinner, when I'm just sitting around watching TV.  One day, it'll be a double batch of chocolate chili, another a double batch of green curry.  And since I've already eaten, I'm not feeling the pressure to get it done fast, or starving and sampling while I'm cooking.  I can get the prep done and then just go stir every couple of minutes.  Some nights I'll prep a bunch of veggies for roasting, and just keep switching out pans every time the timer goes off.

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