I took my Light Green grocery list and went to the Superstore. I had strict instructions; organic vegetables and fruit, herbs, spices, and oils. Organic, hormone and antibiotic free meat, milk and eggs. I was aloud to get a few canned ingredients but it had to be organic and aluminum free.
The Result
I was not as successful as I had hoped. Only half the vegetables and fruit I found were organic. I couldn’t find any organic, antibiotic free meat except chicken breasts. I searched and searched, looking for organic symbols, reading labels, all through the aisles looking for organic eggs, milk, and canned goods. It was very frustrating and took forever! Then I realized at the end, it was all in an aisle I was never in before in the naturals section.
Shopping Tip
I had no idea they had another refrigerated section by the pharmacy. I was amazed with the variety of stuff they had in that little section. I later found out, if you’re sticking with green you just have to walk around the sides of the store and stop at the Naturals section and skip all of the other aisles in between.
4 stops
Produce, meat, freezers and naturals.
If you can’t find something in the Naturals section then go to the other aisles.
Confession
Since the store did not have all of the things on my list in organic, my Light Green Cooking Plan is now Half Light Green 😦 but still it’s a lot better than the junk I have been eating. It shouldn’t be that hard to find organic food. I need a one stop shop. I am not going to go to one store for organic meat and another for organic vegetables and another for other basic groceries.
As I was searching the store I’d ask nearby employees to point me in the right direction and they’d say they don’t carry it, there isn’t enough demand for it, they had once carried something like organic peppers but people didn’t want to pay the extra 10 cents for them. 10 cents are you serious. What difference does a few dollars a week make if you pay a few cents here and there for some fruits and vegetables. I shouldn’t talk though, I am the worst when it comes to prices. Comparative price shoppers are smarter than me.
I’m not a very responsible shopper, I hate shopping. It’s one of those things I don’t feel I have time for. I have no idea how much anything costs, I don’t look, I just throw things in the cart and rush out of the store as quickly as I can. It’s like a race, if I realize I forgot something and I have already passed the aisle, I don’t have time to walk back and get it, I’ll just have to do without or stop at a convenience store and pay twice as much. I’m working on that too.
I did notice though that I got a whole lot more groceries for a whole lot less than I normally pay. Those convenient items I usually buy are much more costly than organic ingredients.
What we can do…
Keep an eye out for organic when shopping. Some people are going totally green and some of us will make smarter purchases if they are available. Buy organic if you can and if there is no organic options at the store you faithfully shop at, just ask an employee in the produce section or meat section. It only takes a minute, maybe they do have it somewhere you weren’t aware of. If they don’t, your asking gives the store feedback, lets them know people are looking to buy organic.
As more of us ask and buy, the stores will then supply us with more options.
Confessions of a Convenience-aholic 
February 15th, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Organic is good, as is simply-local, but only to a point; if the price difference for naturally-fertilized, unmedicated, and abusively-grown is excessive – personal calculation – then opt for the best of the rest.
Your biggest advantage is avoiding the pre-packaged and processed in favour of pure and simple… and adding your own time and energy to prepare.
February 15th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
I agree Mike. I spend a lot of money on prepackaged food so avoiding those really makes up for paying for the organic. In the coming weeks I plan to really cut back on packaged foods like snacks, lunch items etc.
February 19th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
I like the idea of organic things but because it’s so unregulated I wonder how much of what claims to be organic really is? It’s like products that advertise themselves to be “green” when really they aren’t at all…
Michael makes a good point. I remember reading somewhere to buy foods that “remember where they came from” ie the least PROCESSED possible might sometimes be better than trying to buy organic.