grocery store REVELATION!

Last night I had the opportunity to go shopping for groceries by myself. We were running out of milk and I decided that since Carl was home, I'd better just go and do it. We were also running out of carrots, which I pack with Carl's lunch every day now.

I recently discovered this blog about eating only "real food," as in food that is like actually real. As in, vegetables that grew on plants and fruits that grew on trees, as opposed to more synthetic-type foods like Cheez-Its and (sadly) Doritos. One of the lady's blog posts suggested that when shopping, to only shop around the perimeter of the store--where the real foods are.

Last night, for the first time, I tried it.

It was enlightening.

I started off in the produce aisle. Bananas, apples, a bizarre kind of squash I decided to try based solely on how weird it looked, strawberries, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli. Done.

Next wall: dairy and eggs. Picked up some sour cream and milk (we still had eggs at home). Done.

Next wall: passed the bakery and then walked into the meat section. Perused the meat; didn't get anything. Stopped in the soap aisle to pick up some new soap for my homemade laundry detergent I need to make again soon (that first batch has lasted almost 3 months).

Next wall: frozen foods. Got a bunch of frozen vegetables, 4 for $5.

Before I left, I picked up some whole wheat flour from the baking aisle so I could try my hand at baking with whole grain. I was shocked to discover that the generic whole wheat flour cost EXACTLY THE SAME as the generic enriched white flour. Wow. I got 20 lbs of it for around $10, and I figure that since we go through about 1 loaf of bread every 2-3 days, and one loaf of bread uses a little less than 1 lb of flour, we should have enough for bread for the next 2 months. For less than $11. Nice!

I also got some brown rice in the rice aisle. I was also shocked to discover that once I actually found the brown rice, it was cheaper than the white rice. TOTALLY SHOCKED. There is this media hype that being healthy is sooooo expensive but I don't think that's true. Nope.

My new goal for us is to incorporate at least 2 different fruits/veggies per meal, in addition to cutting out refined flour and sugar. For lunch today, I made Carl:

- 1 PBJ sandwich on homemade bread
- 1 PB-Honey sandwich on homemade bread (my bread is smaller than storebought bread so the sandwiches aren't very big)
- 1 small apple's worth of apple-peanut butter sandwiches, where the slices of apple are held together by peanut butter
- 1 baggie of carrot sticks
- 1 banana

For breakfast, I made him eggs with cheese and salsa (salsa has more than 2 vegetables in it! yay!). For my breakfast, I just had toast--I'm not really sure still how to have a healthy breakfast that doesn't involve eggs, dairy, peanut, sugar, or white flour. Working on that. I've been trying to give oatmeal a chance, but even dressed up with honey and cinnamon I find myself missing sugar. I think I just need to keep going. Eventually this will get easier.

Anyway, THE REVELATION!

As I was doing my trip around the perimeter of the store, it occurred to me that I should go browse the aisles as usual. I almost did, but then I realized--why? Why? So I can buy some cookies that will rot our teeth? I can pay for cookies, AND for years of dental work down the road! It's like a TWOFER!

Or so I can go buy snacks that have no nutritional value, so we can gain weight from them while suffering from malnutrition? Again--I get to buy the snack food now, AND pay for years of medical care down the road when we start seeing the consequences reflected in our bodies. It's two-for-one!

Well, my revelation was that anything I buy multiples in value or cost. When I buy unhealthy food at the store and eat it, I get to pay for it then, and years down the road.

When I buy healthy food at the store--vegetables, grains, fruits--and eat them instead, it's like an investment into my body. It's less money I will have to spend on medical care, dental care, and so on.

Plus, this will definitely shave off how much time it takes to shop! Sweet!