Wholesome food is on the top of my list of things to love – somehow, I always feel bouncier and better-balanced when I stoke my furnace with a rainbow of nutrition. I’m one of those firm believers in the magical properties of veggies, sipping copious amounts of green tea, going heavy on the chile peppers and chowing down on a plethora of whole grains (because they look aesthetically pleasing to me and never fail to stick to my ribs). Not surprisingly, I’ve become especially fond of the interestingly diverse range of good-for-you groceries available at granola palaces. For sheer entertainment value, I’ve found that nothing beats engaging in a leisurely-paced, self-guided tour of one’s local natural grocer. Perusing aisle upon aisle of super-mega-healthified, Acai-fortified, wheat-grass-bolstered, pomegranate-powered yummies could make even the staunchest Twinkie-advocate gobble up the super-food goodness and then fancy themselves a two-mile run afterward.
When these meccas-of-salubrity offer free samples of the latest-greatest-wholesome-munchie, be still my beating heart! Count me in among the extraordinarily elated and yes, even jubilant. While savoring free cubes of sharp Irish cheddar, modest palmfuls of puffed potato crisps and tri-color peppers plunged unabashedly into chunky organic guacamole, I admire quirky gourmet products, home-grown labels, hard-to-find kitchen staples, and curious new edibles that I make a mental note to theoretically try in the near future. Without question, this veritable microcosm of happy-happy-joy-joy is the panacea for all that ails me.
It is only when I allow myself to snap out of my blissful zen long enough to actually focus on the price tags emblazoned on the shelves that reality hits me like a ton of bricks. They want what for how much?? I’ve done enough reading on the subject of organic products to know that there is considerably more labor and financial investment required to bring certified organic items to the marketplace. Furthermore, farmers committed to sustainable practices are not privy to the federal subsidies that conventional farmers benefit from, and overall, they generate less volume which further strains their bottom line. I respect their commitment and great effort and am ‘all for’ supporting the organic cause, but what’s a greeniac to do when times are tough and every penny is accounted for? Time to get creative.
There’s no question that the humble dollar doesn’t stretch as much as it used to, especially in natural grocery-ville-land. Now and again, I’ve popped into my local Whole Foods, only to be rendered numb and utterly baffled by their sky-high price points. I can’t help but wonder how they can shake the ‘whole paycheck’ stigma now that our economy has fallen flat and bankruptcies are at an all-time-high? Although they’ve heartily embraced a marketing campaign touting their “whole deals” (take a look at this month’s flyer for all of the details — http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/pdfs/whole-deal-jan09.pdf), I can honestly say that I can do far better shopping cautiously at a traditional market using fistfuls of coupons matched with specific sale items. One blogger recently received a lot of traffic for her post on “50 Food Items At Whole Foods Under $1.50” (http://www.noshtopia.com/2008/12/50-food-items-at-whole-foods-under-150.html)
and while I applaud her effort and resourcefulness, I am still inclined to search for wholesome foods elsewhere. If you calculate the price per ounce of many of the things on her list, it turns out that overall, you are getting far less volume for far more money.
I have never EVER seen any Whole Foods items marked down (bakery items included), whereas shrewd shoppers can find a plethora of high-quality organic items reduced at smaller natural grocery chains such as Vitamin Cottage, Trader Joe’s, et.al. (and even in the “natural sections” of conventional supermarkets), giving consumers greater bang for their buck. In my humble opinion, there is nothing wrong with buying a few cups of Organic Valley yogurt that are a few days from their expiration date or boxes of Kashi cereal that are being phased out, particularly if they are slashed to 1/5th of their normal price! One other phenomenal resource to stretch one’s budget – use coupons!! Yes, coupons for organic and natural products abound on the internet, now more than ever. These are just a few consistently reliable links that I use on a regular basis: 1) www.organicvalley.com, 2) www.stonyfield.com, 3) www.scojuice.com, 4) www.colemannatural.com, 5) www.mambosprouts.com/coupons, 6) http://www.shopnaturesoasis.com/common/coupons/HealthESavers.asp?storeID=0E75F5E3C2DF416C896EF03680134ECB&viewall=1
Good luck and happy hunting!
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