I have tried for about two years now to eat better. It's a struggle, mostly because Husband is not totally on board with it, and neither are the kids. Actually, Husband does eat healthy foods for breakfast and lunch; therefore, he doesn't want a repeat of it at dinner. No one wants to eat two salads a day, I'm guessing.Lately, I've attempted to buy more organic foods, with less than stellar results. Every package of organic strawberries and grapes I've purchased has gotten moldy in about two days. Bags of potatoes begin to smell 'old' quickly. Baby carrots have gotten soft and watery within a week. Maybe buying organic means you have to eat the foods the same day? This is not realistic for me; I'm not going to waste gas by grocery shopping more than once a week.
I eat a lot of walnuts and thought I'd give organic ones a try over the holidays. I was shocked the first time I tried one; it had the worst flavor ever. Not the rancid flavor of a nut gone bad. Just a very funny flavor not related to the nut family. And don't get me started about the price. I felt guilty throwing them away, so I've been chopping them and adding them to baked goods, hoping no one will notice. So far, so good.
On my last dining adventure, I ordered a seafood dish that came with steamed broccoli and brown rice. I thought I'd eaten brown rice before, but I was incorrect. I was thinking of wild rice. Brown rice is just plain nasty. Gummy, with an incredibly bad flavor. I seriously do not know how people eat that stuff. I was humored that the restaurant must have tried to mask the flavor by adding a few chopped tomatoes and a sprinkling of cheese on top of it. It did nothing to help.
My only success has been Kashi products. I like most their cereals and crackers. Even the kids think the Kashi 'nutrigrain style' bars are good. It's about as good as this family can do right now.
Am I alone? How have you fared with organic foods and other healthy eating?
Our organic is from my grandmother's backyard or our neighbors garden. They don't tend to go bad that much quicker than what we get at Wal-Mart. Not as pretty, but actually tastier.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about nuts, though.
I have the exact same complaint. I sent my husband out to get some veggies from a local Organic market upon returning he told me almost all the veggies and fruit looked old and withered. He said they got in the car and went straight to Safeway to get the veggies. I also feel like why bother, you pay through the nose and it goes bad within a day or two.
ReplyDeleteP.S I think Mama Dawg has is right, maybe we need to get back to growing our own food. Canning is maybe a lost art.
ReplyDeleteAll my organic food comes from my own garden. Most of what the stores sell is commercial organic which means that it's not completely organic AND it has been shipped in from somewhere meaning it is anything but fresh.
ReplyDeleteHome grown corn is the best!
I buy some organic produce at Costco that seems to hold up pretty well. (mix greens, carrots, lettuce, etc.) but I'm thinking that everyone else has the right idea. Sadly, I've never really even had a garden of my own. (well, I've tried some container gardening without much success. My fault. Not the container's.) Hope to change that some time in the future, though.
ReplyDeleteMama - Nobody ever gives me anything but zucchini.
ReplyDeleteJody - Canning has always scared me. I'm too worried I'll whip up some botulism.
Xavier - LOL....yes, I'm sure the deer would just love it if we grew some corn here.
Flutter- Due to all the critters and a wooded backyard, a full-blown garden is out. We did some containers of peppers and grape tomatoes that worked out well on the deck this past summer.
Don't count a garden out, my dear, just because you've got some deer. If you take a wander to my hunting pics blog a majority of the pics from the Game Cam were taken under my apple tree which is also one of the corner markers for my garden! I also have bunnies, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, and the occasional two-legged varmint trying to take bites out of my produce. I also have a wooded area on the other side of the garden.
ReplyDeleteYou can successfully garden in a predator-rich environment and still have plenty to enjoy for yourself and it takes less work than you might imagine. Trust me!
The 'diet' I've been on for the past 2 years involves lots and lots of fresh produce (I don't think Molly goes out of her way to buy 'organic', but she does a lot of her shopping at the farmer's market). And yeah we've had to be more conscious of spoilage than we were before. Especially basil - stuff is delicious, but if you don't use it within a few days, you got a bunch of green mush. . .
ReplyDeleteBut, for years now, Molly has spent much of August/September canning - applesauce, mostly (upwards of 80 quarts this year), but also peaches and pears. So far, no botulism. If the jars don't seal, we just fridge 'em, and eat 'em right away. . . And besides, if they do go bad, it's usually pretty obvious, just by visual inspection alone. . .
I buy organic milk routinely, and then other things just depending. The tomatoes and herbs and squash I grew last year were organic though, and all were tasty and beautiful. I hope to expand it next year.
ReplyDeleteAbout brown rice - it is an aquired taste if you are used to white rice, but I actually prefer it now to white rice - it has a nutty flavor. Shouldn't have been gummy though - that was badly cooked.
We don't buy organic. The grocery store that is closest to my house, and the most affordable, just doesn't stock much in that vein. I do try to spend the bulk of our grocery budget on fresh or 'perimeter' items, though, for what that might be worth.
ReplyDeleteI do eat brown rice, though, as a small side to whatever the main dish is, like meat and veggie kabobs. Of course I'm not sure just how true to brown rice Minute Rice brown rice is!
Xavier - Our main problem is the lack of flat ground and all shade in the back yard. We'll have to stick to the containers on the deck and hope the deer don't learn how to climb stairs.
ReplyDeleteDesmond - How are home canned peaches/pears? Do they have a better texture than store bought cans?
Citizen - I'm not sure it's a taste I could acquire.
FADKOG - LOL....I always wonder about brands like that too.
Oh yeah, the texture of home-canned peaches and pears is WAY nicer than the store-bought ones. And Molly doesn't load 'em up w/ sugar, either, so they actually taste like fruit. . .
ReplyDeleteI'll add my vote (is this a vote?) for brown rice - tastes like actual grain, y'know? 'Course, I like the wheat bread with the cracked wheat-berries in it, and steel-cut oatmeal, and 'rough' stuff like that, so maybe it's just me. . .
Hmmmmm. . . talking about spoilage, and all, does it seem funny that my WordVer is 'flies'. . .?
Just not an organic kind of guy. I'm from the vein of eat a balanced diet and get the excercise and you'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteUntil the bus hits you....
Desmond - The fruit sounds good; the brown rice, not so much.
ReplyDeleteMike - I'm with you. Moderation in everything. Let's not forget the health benefits of a glass of red wine either.
Chili-cheeseburgers from Hardees are organic, aren't they? If so, I'm doing fine.
ReplyDeleteNo way could I get away with solely Organic in this house. No way! lol
ReplyDeleteThe only organic we get these days is when we plant some tomatoes in the spring or when 1 of my sisters gives me some veggies that she has canned. Otherwise, it's your average-joe produce (cuz it's cheaper) and a bunch of crap. l0l
FTN - You've been quite the cut-up all over the internets today, haven't you?
ReplyDeleteLB - I'm famous for my crap buying as well :)