The Trolley Challenge: Only Buying Real Food.

During my last weekend grocery shop I set myself a challenge that I could only partially meet: only buying real food, as opposed to highly processed "food". It has occurred to me that I can walk up and down the aisles of (for example) Coles and not actually find anything to eat. It all just seems so fake.

So I decided to try to stick to buying foods that are basic and that a person would have recognized 100 years ago... ie you don't need a chemistry degree to understand all the ingredients.

But I caved in when I saw that Cadbury fruit dark chocolate was on special :redface:

BUT I did avoid buying any biscuits and that was one of my main aims.

I also avoided buying flavoured yogurt because the plain one was biodynamic/organic ie better for us.

I also avoided buying the usual spreads... although DH insisted I buy peanut butter. Instead i bought a block of pure butter/eggs and free lemons (some that were given to us) and made lemon butter. 3 jars worth. (4 eggs, sugar, juice of 3 lemons, 125gm butter etc) worked out much cheaper than buying three jars of it from the supermarket.

Also I have just mixed a teaspoon of my lemon butter through some of that plain yogurt and YUMMO! Voila! Cheesecake flavoured yogurt without the ****tail of chemicals!!!

How back-to-basics could you go? I certainly have room for improvement.

Great plan!

It reminds me of the "Grandma Diet" - basically recommending that you only eat/buy food that would have been around when our grandparents were our age - so nothing processed, nothing laden with preservatives, not too much imported food .. of course you are not limited to eating chops and mashed potatoes, but just gives you something to think about.

There is no real food in the supermarket!

Well ok, fruit and veg and flour etc. Thats it....

LOL I've never heard of the "Grandma Diet"! Might have to Google. Sounds interesting! On the whole (except for over cooking the vegies) they did eat soooo much better than we do!

Lulu: oh, and rolled oats ;) I don't even really trust the fruit... how long has it been off the tree?

I tend to only buy rice crackers, tins of tomatoes, toilet paper, soy sauce etc when I go to coles/woollies now. So all processed stuff I can't make at home.

I buy fruit/veges from the produce market, meat from the butchers and now I get flour, coffee, sugar from the little organic market around the corner.... So when I go to the big shops its only for processed stuff I can't get there....

Oh don't get me started on that - I was fuming to see Strawberries all the way from QLD when we have farms 25 mins from here!

Another thing: I don't get it when people say "you shouldn't shop when you feel hungry". (Assuming you will over spend) Shopping in Coles doesn't actually make me feel hungry or overspend... if anything I feel quite depressed and walk out without enough ingredients to make meals. I'm actually more inspired by the cleaning products aisles than the "food" aisles.... not that I over spend there either... I keep it pretty basic: Gumption, de-mineralised water... check out to see if Reva have released a new colour of peg... *sigh*

Sounds like my normal shop, Bath! Apart from the odd frozen pizza/garlic bread.

I usually buy dried herbs as our garden is so small we don't have room for herbs. We've tried but the other veggies just push them out the way. Given that I have studied Chemistry at Uni (just finished that course) I can recognise a lot of things. I do buy things for DS's eczema, but that's not foodstuff.

Thing is - my in-laws won't eat pasta as it's "too foreign". So limiting myself to stuff Grandma would have eaten as a girl means most of my food is off-limits. No rice. No pasta. Only pig-meat (they were pig-farmers so didn't buy in other meat). No tinned tomatoes! I do cook my meals from fresh, buy local or fairtrade, but giving up my son's favourite meals just isn't going to happen.

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there is no real food in the supermarket!

Well ok, fruit and veg and flour etc. Thats it....

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lulu: Oh, and rolled oats ;) i don't even really trust the fruit... How long has it been off the tree?

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so true!!

I went to a supermarket on the weekend with Div - the first time I've set foot in a supermarket for MONTHS - since they have started the farmers market in the CBD weekly I get all my F&V from there, I do buy meat from there or from my local butcher. I will have to set foot into the supermarket this week as I've run out of baking basics (flour etc), almost out of toilet paper and I need more bicarb & vinegar.

For me this wasn't me attempting to be ethical - this was purely for cost cutting - at the farmers market I can buy enough fruit & veg for me for a fortnight for about $40 (that includes a totally indulgent LARGE punnet of strawberries for $10 plus some home-made greek yoghurt).

They say that you can buy your basic food essentials just by walking around the outside of the supermarket (as in isle 1, along the back & then the last isle) - of course that doesn't include things like oats, flour etc.

I don't think anyone had my dear old Granny in mind when they came up with the grandma diet - unless gin and pate are counted as whole foods ;)

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They say that you can buy your basic food essentials just by walking around the outside of the supermarket (as in isle 1, along the back & then the last isle) - of course that doesn't include things like oats, flour etc.

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That's pretty much true - it's designed so that you have to go through the aisles to get to all your staples and you enter through the fruit and veges to make you think it's fresh.

I never knew that trick about the outskirts of the supermarket

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I don't think anyone had my dear old Granny in mind when they came up with the grandma diet - unless gin and pate are counted as whole foods ;)

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:rofl: I think I like the sound of that Grandma :D

Sounds like a great plan Bath I am going to give it a whirl next shop!

I reckon with the Grandma diet you can pretend your Grandma lived everywhere in the world! So you can still eat rice and pasta, but not that 2 minute microwave rice, or jars of pasta sauces, or packaged ravioli etc...

i;ve been thinking about this a bit lately, and you know what sparked it? xavi is obsessed with jungle book, so i've heard the song 'bare necessities' a million times.

So basically, we can eat any food so long as it tastes good (ie I cook it rather than opening a jar)?

I'll do that diet!

I buy very little in the way of processed foods also. I am really pedantic about salt content for the boys which basically rules out 3/4 of the supermarket! Also the boys react to sugar and most preservatives which rules out most of the rest!

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There is no real food in the supermarket!

Well ok, fruit and veg and flour etc. Thats it....

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TBH, most of the fruit and veg in supermarkets is barely real either - most of it is genetically designed to withstand rough picking and transport, and it's frozen for so long before it hits the shelves that "fresh" is an entirely inappropriate way to describe it.

I have been getting f&v from the farmers markets like punks (maybe we'll run into each other one day!!) and you can totally taste the difference. Real fresh fruit and vegies have far more taste - which means they are far more nutritious.

I really struggle with the guilt of not buying at the farmers markets etc ... in fact, what is a farmers market ? Vic Market ?

Been trying to do this for awhile. We have our own veggie patch going (even though it is a bit sad this time of year) and have just gotten some chooks, so that helps a lot. We are a lot like Christy, tend to buy what we cannot make or would be to hard or too expensive to make. I do buy puff pastry, have made it once and won't be doing it again!

My nanna's diet consisted of cups of tea and becks :lol: DH's lived on scotch and valium!

This sounds really interesting. DH would kill me if i did it!

Sorry I havent read through the full thread, but in reference to the peanut butter that Bath's DH wanted.

The health food store I worked at at uni had a machine that made nut butters. Customer could bring in their own nuts (macadamia, peanuts, hazelnuts etc) and they would put them through the machine and make it in to nut butter - much better than that stuff at the supermarket.
Maybe there is somewhere near you that does the same thing.

I usually try not to buy to many things like that for the supermarket. I do most my shopping every week at the prahran market, fruit, veg and meat. It can be a little more expensive but i find the fruit and veg lasts twice as long than anything from the supermarket and tastes so much better!! I also pick up things like bread and fairtrade coffee. There is also a local farmers market once a month and i pick up things like dried fruit, olives and chutneys, stuff i cant be bothered making at home.

The only things i get from the supermarket are tins of tomatoes, pasta, rice, flour, some dried spices and herbs etc (and of course the odd treat!) i also buy biodynamic natural yougurt and add my own fruit to it.

I have always gone to markets and things, but only really started to look at what we were eating when DS started eating, i am happy to say i make most of the things he eats from scratch. He has never had any pre prepared baby food and i am so proud of myself, i had never made things like custard and stocks but now i make stuff like that all the time. Once i learnt how, its easy and its definatley cheaper!!

I'm sure i could be more efficient with my shopping and do some more baking and stuff at home... you have inspired me to do better :)

I don't buy biscuits at all ... DH sometimes buys BBQ shapes but that's it (unless I'm stocking for biscuit bases for slices).

There's a great thread on here - "the jar alternative" or something similar ...

Unfortunately cookbooks like "4 Ingredients" rely heavily on pre-packaged food as the ingredients, so the meals are rather expensive. I like the challenge of getting a Veg basket once a fortnight and cooking from there. Ensures variety of veg and what's in season :)

And TBH, most people I know are surprised when they come over and I serve them scones, I find it very easy and they find it hard!!! I mean, really - you can't get much easier and yummy fresh!

I have been shopping at butchers warehouses and f&veg markets for atleat the last 12 months and have to say I have got my food shopping down to about $150 per fortnight for our family of 4. we do one supermarket shop about every 6 weeks which is when i get my cans of tomatoes and tomato paste and cheeses etc but apart from that we go to the local milk bar for bread/milk and thats it.

I have heard that the trick with supermarkets is to shop around the edges...

Mmmmmmmmmm...........Lemon butter! My Grandma used to make that for us. I miss her cooking so much :( One thing I definetely DIDN'T inherit.
Every time I try to do something from scratch I ruin it somehow...so I rarely try.

I do make my own rissoles & chicken feticcini. We could never live with out peanut butter though...the kids would go insane!

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I have been shopping at butchers warehouses and f&veg markets for atleat the last 12 months and have to say I have got my food shopping down to about $150 per fortnight for our family of 4. we do one supermarket shop about every 6 weeks which is when i get my cans of tomatoes and tomato paste and cheeses etc but apart from that we go to the local milk bar for bread/milk and thats it.

I have heard that the trick with supermarkets is to shop around the edges...

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Cool Cindy Im coming over and you can teach me.

I'll take you shopping rach! for sure! the trick I think is having a chest freezer so i can buy meat in bulk and then all my tupperware for my fridge! But you of all people know all about the tupper

Bathsheba that lemon butter sounds delicious! I will have to try making my own.

I believe the grandma diet you guys are talking about is from Michael Pollan's great book "In Defense of Food". I highly recommend it.

"Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it?

Because most of what we're consuming today is not food, and how we're consuming it -- in the car, in front of the TV, and increasingly alone -- is not really eating. Instead of food, we're consuming "edible foodlike substances" -- no longer the products of nature but of food science. Many of them come packaged with health claims that should be our first clue they are anything but healthy. In the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion. The result is what Michael Pollan calls the American paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we seem to become. "

Good ideas - I have been trying to cook as much from scratch as possible and get back to basics with our food. I had gestational diabetes and was amazed at the difference eating home cooked vs prepared items made to my blood sugar levels. Not that I should be surprised I guess but the difference was astounding - so I have resolved to make a few permanent changes, without turning the rest of my family into rebellious eaters!!!
Is it appropriate to ask for any recommendations for F&V markets/wholesale butchers in SE melb?

Regarding recommendations: I find that as well as shopping at Farmers markets you can also find some good quality real food at places like Leo's and Phillipas (supermarket and bread). In Melbourne we are spoilt for choice... it's only that sometimes I find I have limited time and have to try to get everything at one place ie Coles/Safeway instead of going around all the specialty places. In an ideal world I would have the time to go and hand-pick everything from the best outlets. At least once a month I do... but sadly not every weekend.

Not sure if i am meant to post places on here but I am in Narre warren and go to a meat place in rowville and get my fruit and veg out at cranbourne- if you want specifics send me a personal message and i will pass the names on

Cindy: as far as I know you can recommend a place or product just as long as you personally don't have a vested interest. And as long as you don't post a link. Large multi-national companies are always being recommended (eg Cadbury's) so why not smaller companies? ;)

One of my favourite Farmers Markets is at the Collingwood Children's Farm... then a snack at the Abbotsford Convent next door... makes a great day out!

It is frustrating. I am in the country now, but do you think I can find a decent farmers market nearby?? :wall: Same with meat, there is massive abattoir, but it's "wholesale' outlest is just as expensive as the supermarkets and some of the items full of additives.

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One of my favourite Farmers Markets is at the Collingwood Children's Farm... then a snack at the Abbotsford Convent next door... makes a great day out!

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This, Leo's. You. Are. Making. Me. HOMESICK!

But I have found an incredible farmer's market here in brissy - it's at the broadway hotel in the gabba. Food there is SO fresh that I freak out when I buy stuff even from other markets!

Michael Pollan is a great read. I love giving it to people as a wedding/engagement present :p

This is something I have been trying hard to do, partly for our health, and partly for our pocket. I also do all of my fruit and veg shopping at our local farmers markets, I have switched to butchers meat and free range chicken (which is all I will ever buy now, because it is tastier and better for us). I am a bit slack sometimes buying pre packaged snack foods- rice crackers, muesli bars etc. We hardly ever eat prepackge or preprepared food at dinner time, I much prefer to cook from scratch- never use recipe bases, or the instant pasta packets etc, never have though. My aim is to get better at baking and preparing snack foods, especially as Tori starts school next year and I would much rather she have homemade in her lunchbox.

Yes! I am so avoiding buying those mueslie bars for school! They are rubbish, honestly. Just as easy is cutting a few sticks of real cheese (not the single wrapped flappy stuff) and popping that in the lunchbox for recess. My DS also like BabyBel cheese but I only buy it on special. My DD went to stay at her cousins over the school holidays and they asked her what she wanted on a sandwich... she said cheese so they pulled out that Kraft flappy stuff. She politely declined and asked if they had some real cheese... the kids didn't even know what she meant... they had only ever eaten that soapy plastic stuff that doesn't even melt when you make a jaffle. My DD once ate a whole wedge of blue cheese from Tarago... cost us about $8.... we found her age 2yo sitting in front of an open fridge stuffing it into her mouth... at least the girl knows what real cheese is!!! And the idea of bottled Kraft cheese spread makes her want to puke... good girl! ;) Sorry if I'm sounding like a food snob :redface:

Bento Box Lunch boxes will help with school lunches. You can bake lots in advance, get creative and feel as though you're feeding your kids well all at the same time!