So what on your grocery list and were do you buy it?

[Sara Badger]

I am curious to see what you all buy most weeks and were you go to get it.
I bought a half a cow and am looking at raw milk cow share as raw milk can't be bought in MI. I'm from Ca and this was much easier to find stuff. We have a mejiers which is pretty much crap food in a box.I have ordered bulk beans and oatmeal for the HFS. I'm trying hard to get back on track, help tell me your weekly or monthly shopping.

[Feb2003]

I'm not sure how typical we are (I don't prepare much grain besides oatmeal...), but here's an idea of what and where I buy:

local farms - raw milk, raw yogurt, raw cream, raw cheeses, lacto-fermented veggies, pecans, and pastured/grass-fed: eggs, chicken, pork (mmm bacon!), and beef

online farms - hot dogs, beef sticks, and a few superfoods/snacks (US Wellness Meats), almonds (http://organicalmondsraw.com/)

online superfoods - FCLO (liquid and gummies at http://www.building-health.com/), EV and EP coconut oil and flour (Tropical Traditions)

local HFS - fresh and frozen veggies and fruits, sourdough, sliced meat, acv, butter, nut butters, jelly, crackers, flours, natural sugars, olive oil, occasional snacks (lara bars, ben and jerry's etc.), household goods (soaps, detergents, etc)

HTH

[Sara Badger]

yes that totally helps! anyone else?

[WorldsBestMom]

Vegetables, fruits, bread, potato, sweet potato, chicken, beef, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, pan cake, waffles, sauces, snacks for my kid and many other stuff too.

[krankedyann]

UNFI co-op- pretty much anything you'd get from a HFS.
Frontier Whosale co-op- spices, herbs, tea, personal care. Anyone can sign up for wholesale, minimum $250 order to get free shipping. Go in with some friends to meet the minimum.
Asian market- rice, tapioca flour, sesame oil, cheap veggies, coconut products
Bob's Red Mill online- I organize a major bulk buy once a year and get it for less than half of what the HFS costs that way. Our last order, the GF oats were $1.33 a pound, regular steel-cut oats would probably be much cheaper.
Mexican market- beans and rice cheaper than I can find it anywhere else, piloncillo, cheap veggies.
Indian markets- compressed rapadura-type sugars.

Check www.eatwild.com and www.localharvest.com to find local farmers.

We grow out own chickens for meat and eggs, deal with local farmers for beef and a small amount of pork, we garden for most of our own produce.

[Brown Lioness]

Ok right now I buy like this:

Farmer's Market/grassfed co-op:
whole chicken
roast
beef steak
ground beef (with organs)
greens (spinach, chard, kale, etc)
squashes
fruit
starches and veggies (potatoes, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, etc)
eggs
raw milk
cream
bacon
sausage
raw cheeses
pork (tenderloin, chops, chipped)

HFS/Whole Paycheck/Trader Joes:
grassfed butter
maple syrup
sucanat
herbs
spices
cheese
salmon
scallops
shrimp
clams
brown rice pasta
canned tomatoes
baking powder
baking soda
frozen fruit, veggies

Online:
coconut oil
olive oil
sprouted flour
fermented soy sauce

Conventional grocery store (All the crap my sweet husband refuses to go without, lol):
chips
juice
caramel popcorn
cereal
cheese slices
frozen pizza rolls
sweet ice tea

Hope this helps!

[TzippityDoulah]

we have a grocery that has a "natural market" in it, actually two different grocers, so for the time being this serves as out bulk of purchases (we're moving shortly so this may change to some degree)
we can't afford grass fed for right now unfortunately - though we're trying to work out a side of beef asap! so our meat comes from the natural grocer. it isn't usually organic certified, but it's a lot better than average grocery store meat. but really, it isn't ideal. I just had to put in that little disclaimer - b/c I'm a huge organic meat advocate.

my buys might be a little different as Im juggling a host of various allergies right now... we also eat kosher, though I can't always find kosher brands around her (constant struggle!) so obviously no pork, shrimp, no suet or lard (though I render my own) etc... and we're dairy free sans some ghee


Giant/Wegmans Grocery:

produce: (it's too cold for local in PA in the winter months)
organic potatoes (red or yukon gold)
organic onions
organic summer squash
mushrooms
organic carrots (often I cheat and get pre shredded)
avacados (can't find organic!)
organic apples
sometimes a fun fruit like pears or something
bananas
asparagus


meat:
chicken thighs, whole roasters, breasts... whatever is on sale
ground beef
ground turkey
beef roasts
steaks
(all depends on what's on sale!)

dairy:
ghee and some butter (for my hsuband - the only dairy eater in our family)

other:
almond milk
almond flour
rice flour
flaxseed meal
organic bown rice cereal
organic palm shortening
organic olive oil
organic coconut oil
various seaonsings that I can't make at home (cumin, corriander, parsley, cinnamon...)
honey (our only sweetener)
various nuts
PB
almond butter on occasion
white jasmine rice (the only kind I can digest)
organic cranberry juice
White tea bags
water (from a refillable source)


frozen:
broccoli
limas on occasion


my big "no nos" that I buy anyway:
canola mayo (b/c I just can't seem to make good homemade mayo!)
organic ketchup
alexia organic fries once in a great while
potato chips


HFS:
various supplements for healing
sea salt
whatever else they may have that I need. I try to support local as much as budget allows


things I'd like to improve:
of course meat - grassfed kosher.... working on that one but it's slow going.
more organ meats (some aren't kosher)
fish something. I HATE fish - but I want the others to get it.
buying a grinder to make my own flours
dehydrate my own seasonings like garlic and onion powders
make my condiments from scratch
make my own almond milk

[cristeen]

Farmers mkt - meat, eggs and coffee. Sometimes juice from a local producer, and during the growing season berries.

CSA - fruit and veg, sometimes supplemented by the farmer's mkt

Trader Joes - baby carrots (DH's lunchbox), potatoes/sweet potatoes when I can't find them at the mkt, oatmeal, maple syrup, honey, organic dairy products (milk, cream, yogurt, cheese), Kerrygold butter, frozen fruit/veg/seafood, nuts, coffee, wine

WF - raw milk, sour cream, spices, sometimes chicken pieces (can only get whole chicken from the farmers market), oils (CO, local OO, etc.), Dr. Braggs, tomato products (paste, sauce, etc.), sometimes local sourdough bread.

local HFS - bulk foods (sugar, beans, grains, spices, herbs, etc.) It's out of the way so I only go a couple times a year and stock up.

[Magelet]

Farmer's Markets:
bulk rice
pastured eggs
pastured beef/lamb/goat/bones/organs
fruits and veggies
pastured chicken
mushrooms

Small local butcher (I don't love their selection, and often buy meat at the locally owned grocery store instead. not enough high quality):
ground lamb
free range organic chicken
free range organic chicken liver

small locally owned cheeseshop:
various types of cheeses

small locally owned market focusing on produce:
seasonal produce
raisins
on sale olive oil
bananas

small local natural food store:
mostly grass-fed non homogenized pasturized ( ) milk and cream
same as above yogurt
same as above butter (primarily winter)

locally owned supermarket/that sort of leans towards the hfs side:
local pastured beef
free range organic chickens
pastured cultured butter (summer only)
bulk grains/legumes
spices
coconut oil
peanut butter
olive oil
flours
steel cut oats
sparkling grape juice (it's much cheaper than wine for shabbat, and tastes really nice. it's made from wine grapes)

work (aka CSK):
pastured eggs
cod liver oil
celtic sea salt
occasionally sprouted flour (don't use it much, it's horribly expensive)

local homebrew shop:
store made red and white wine vinegar

occasionally:

asian fish market:
seaweed
soy sauce/sesame seed oil
sashimi "trim" for tuna tartar

small local fish market:
other fish

local bakeries:
sourdough or other artisan bread

Holy crud. and I'm still looking to source a few things? my goodness! we shop a lot of places. we don't go to all these places every week, however our weekly grocery loops includes at a minimum 4 stores (2 on the same block, and a third 4 blocks away) plus the farmers market. The four stores we hit one right after another, one trip a week, the farmers market when we want/feel like it/need to. For fish we'll make a separate trip the day we're going to eat it. Plus what I pick up at work.

I don't coupon shop, but we're very aware of what costs the least where, as we're on a tight budget, and want to make every penny count. Since a lot of the stores we shop are right next to each other, several within walking distance of each other, it doesn't cost us more gas to go to more places.

(and we also go a few other places for a few random things. the middle eastern market for spices, a few other middle eastern foods, the mexican grocery for meat for the cat and lime, herb shop for apple cider vinegar, etc.)

[2cutiekitties]

[rhiandmoi]

CSA - Eggs, Veggies

Farmers Market - Beef, Pork, Fruit, Nuts, fresh pressed apple cider, bread

Grocery Store(usually whole foods) - Bananas, Milk, Butter, Yogurt, OJ, rice, flour, canned tomatoes, veggies, chicken, oatmeal

Costco - Olive oil, beef, pork, frozen berries, pasta, nuts, craisins

Online - sprouting seeds

[blueridgewoman]

Mine is:

Local farms: all meat (grassfed/pastured, etc), raw grassfed milk, pastured/cultured butter
Best friend: pastured, soy free eggs
Online/buying clubs like Frontier: coconut oil, spices, bulk cocoa powder, cornstarch, coconut flour, Real Salt, etc

Grocery stores:
fruits & veggies (organic- farmer's market or CSA during spring and summer)
raw cheddar
cream cheese
canned tuna and salmon
occasionally wild fish from seafood dept of more upscale store in town if there's a sale
GF fish sticks/org fries (occasional special treat for my daughter)
condiments like mustard
olive oil, vinegars
mineral water
wine
raw honey
GF oats
chocolate covered almonds for me- my splurge. :P
coffee
coconut milk
tea
canned tomatoes

I make every attempt to make sure that I buy everything I can organic/fair trade/other applicable label and generally get about 80-85% of everything that way, but there are always exceptions (ahem, almonds... )

[openpollination]

Let's see...

farmers market:
-bulk rice, wheat for grinding
-meat
-nearly all of our veggies/fruits
-mushrooms
-bulk honey
-seafood
-cheese
-raw milk
-apple cider
-kombucha
-indian food

local, small grocery store:
-butter
-milk (local, organic, & pasteurized for culturing and baking)
-ghee (local)
-occasional treats like bernie-o's, organic saltines, and fig newmans
-corn tortillas (local)

local butcher:
-meatloaf
-bacon
-whole chickens

friends:
-pastured eggs

online:
-bulk oats, beans, sugar, grains, dried fruit
-maple syrup
-olive oil (even though it's technically local)
-apple cider vinegar (now i make my own)
-baking supplies
-coconut oil, FCLO, butter oil
-real salt

we try to stay out of large, chain grocery stores as much as possible - too much going on, and i always buy things i shouldn't be eating in the first place!

[MrsBone]

We're big costo shoppers!

Costco:
maple syrup
olive oil
hummus occasionally
organic veggies occasionally
salsa
organic peanut butter

CSA
$25 dollar seasonal produce share
raw milk
raw cheese
raw butter
beef cuts
whole chickens
pork products
soup/stock bones
raw honey

Grocery/natural store:

shredded cheeses
supplemental produce
bulk beans
bulk org. rice
kombucha
gf treats every now and then(cookies, crackers, etc)
organic decaf coffee
stevia
spices
ketchup
sauces
mayo(don't use if often enough to try and make a natural version)
corn tortillas
organic brown rice pasta


online:
chebe bread mixes
pamela's gf mix
coconut oil & flour
FCLO


Things my husband can't live without that I try to stay away from!

diet soda
juice
cereal
granola bars
tortilla chips
lunchmeat
instant organic oatmeal
m&ms
ice cream
sometimes freezer meals, but I try and cook enough that he feels he doesn't need those for lunches at work

I'm def. not as TF as I'd like to be, but I think I do pretty good working 20 hours a week and taking care of a little one. It's the grain thing that's hard. Prepping grains properly just takes too much time for my busy life!

[MrsBone]

I forgot to add pastured eggs, canned tuna, bragg's or GF tamari, raw ACV, and real salt(www.celticseasalt.com)

[blueridgewoman]

MrsBone, those Chebe bread mixes are AMAZING, aren't they? I use the pizza crust one for breadsticks a few times a month and WOW.

[Hollyrose114]

Meats:
Local Butcher Shop in Maine where they raise all the animals
Beef: My parents raised a cow

Raw Milk/Cream/Yogurt/Butter: Local Farm

Produce: Organic food coop/Farmer's Market

Eggs: Down the street/Roadside farm stand

Cheese: Dublinger Cheese

Honey: Local

Maple Syrup: From friends down the street

Grains/Oats/dried fruit: Local health food store in bulk

I try to buy everything as local as possible

[nerdymom]

Well I'm new to TF and have to work within a pretty strict budget of about $350 (not including the CSA) so this is what I do:

Weekly/biweekly
CSA
We have a full 4 season CSA subscription, plus a summer fruit share for the first time, we get a bag every other week. Sadly we had a ton of snow in VA this winter and our winter share has been pretty small. It's kinda hard to harvest when all your crops are under a couple feet of snow, ykwim? But I'm hoping that as things get back on track we'll be able to count on the CSA for 50% of our seasonal veg.

Whole Foods
For ethical reasons my DH does not want to buy out-of-state raw dairy, and we're not ready to commit to a cow share, so I get either low-temp pasteurized non homogenized whole milk or if they are out of that brand (which they are frequently) I get whole organic grass fed homogenized milk from another company. Occasionally organic, cage-free omega-3 eggs. I buy some grains I can't find in the commissary (quinoa, green lentils), sometimes splurge on unsulfered dried fruit.

Commissary
I buy the rest of our produce, trying to keep in season. I don't buy the organics, too pricey and selection is poor, out of season. I buy coffee, conventional cheese, conventional sour cream, unsalted organic butter for baking, dried beans, natural peanut butter (Smuckers brand is just peanuts and salt), canned tomato products (paste, diced, sauce), canned salmon, tuna, mackerel. White vinegar and baking soda for cleaning. Paper products. Fluoride-free toothpaste. Occasionally bacon. Occasionally Omega-3 eggs.

Monthly

Quail Cove Farms (local bulk natural foods co-op)
VA grown roasted peanuts, Gerber brand Amish chicken, whole wheat flour, real salt, olive oil, safflower oil, coconut oil, sucanat, rapadura-type sugars, carob powder, vanilla extract, yeast.

Local butcher
all beef products, preferred source for local eggs, salted roll butter, lard, occasionally pork, occasionally sausage.

Health Food Store
Local, unfiltered raw honey