The Trolley Challenge: Only Buying Real Food.

[Bathsheba]

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

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.

[Campari]

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.

[Bathsheba]

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?

[AngelPunks]

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.

[Phteven]

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

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.

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.

[Bengal]

I never knew that trick about the outskirts of the supermarket

[Michelle71]

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

I think I like the sound of that Grandma

[Lulu]

There is no real food in the supermarket!

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

[christy]

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....

[Lulu]

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!

[Bathsheba]

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*

[willow5]

there is no real food in the supermarket!

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

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

so true!!

[jamakin]

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

[Kazbah]

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!

[cindyb]

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...

[Pandora]

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...

Cool Cindy Im coming over and you can teach me.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

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.