HEP (Healthy Eating Program) – September 2014

August was a blur; I can't remember an August that went by so quickly. So here we are entering a new month and soon a new season. Now's the perfect time to start planning a new way to buy food and a new way to prepare food.

My goal this month is to really change it up and shun the old haunts -- the grocery stores that made me think I'd have a seizure in aisle 6. I'm searching for new places to buy food.

And I have to take a hard look at the warehouse stores. They serve a purpose and I still like stocking up on certain items (paper towels, toilet paper, deodorant, canned goods, pasta...) but I really need to look at the waste generated when I buy super sizes of items that two people can't use in a reasonable amount of time. It's a trap: The big jar of ____ is half the price of the smallest jar at the grocery store. Why does it even make sense to pay more for less?

But when do you ever use up that whole jar? How many times do you go into the fridge and pull out that jar and discover something unpleasant in it? Example: Big jar of bleu cheese dressing. Great price on that vat of dressing at Costco. But twice now, about a quarter of the way through it, what have we found in the jar? Fur. Mold.

Really need to shop smarter and stop buying items we think we'll use instead of items we know we'll use.

jb, I said the same thing about August, can't remember one that went faster since I was a kid and back then summer lasted a week it seemed and I was back in school.

Also totally agree with the BB stores, looked into it and couldn't see any advantage for us,just me and him now.

I work at a grocery store and they make customers buy 6 of this or 10 of that to get the super deal. Doesn't make sense for a lot of people.

My mantra this month is going to be "less is more" both buying and eating. Thanks for the funny thread. Also your philosophy about dogs could not be more true.

Just Bee, I like the way you think! I agree with MoJoV, too. We need a plan that is simple and less expensive. I'd love to do the warehouse store, but just can't use up big quantities like that. Would even minimal purchases there justify the membership of a place like Costco's? They do have some great things at great prices. As I've said before, those grocery stores are getting bigger and bigger (some are like small cities) and how much of that stuff do we really need. What we need is to eat better and eat less. I like this thread, Just Bee.

Oh, and I like your Big Orange Kitty! Were you calling me???.........lol

Thanks for starting the thread, Bee! I dig it! I dig it!

We don't have Costco's here but I like the idea of getting great bargains from a club. On the other hand, I live in a small apartment with almost no storage space so stocking up doesn't work for me. I question my wisdom when I buy an extra large pack of toilet paper!

I'm just plugging along eating the same old, simple, healthy foods. It is easy & it tastes good to me. I don't get bored easily. In a month or so I will probably feel like making some soups and trying a few new recipes. It is too hot now.

I'm still losing & looking forward to dropping another size before it cools off enough to do shopping for fall clothes.

I'm so frustrated with our current food situation that I could just cry. First world problems, right? How could someone who lives in a country like this have any issues with the food? We have variety, we have supply.

I'm living in a state that is a culinary wasteland. This is where great restaurants come to die. I clearly remember that food was good here when we first arrived. Something has changed.

Like I've said, I'm worn down by the grocery store chains that offer everything but food. I can buy appliances and patio furniture but I can't find a great apple. My problem isn't that I don't like eating healthy food; my problem is that I can't buy healthy food. Where are we hiding it?

Produce has always been hit or miss here: Sometimes it's surprisingly good, most times it looks like it fell off the back of a truck. Good bread west of the Mississippi has always been a challenge. Maybe it's the water.

There's a local sausage-maker here in town and we finally got over there to stock up on a variety of products. Our first -- bratwurst -- was a success. But every sausage we've had since has been...uh... Let me put it this way: I couldn't eat my dinner last night. When Better-half asked me for my review I told him I couldn't get past the texture. This morning I went to the kitchen and found a one-word note from Better-half on the counter.

DISGUSTING.

I'm pretty sure he was referring to the sausage. The grind is all wrong. Way too coarse. Big chunks of fat and gristle. I'm at a loss. How does one screw up a basic sausage, yet stay in business and charge premium prices?

I want so much to support local businesses -- the butcher, the baker, the sausage-maker -- but I'm tired of the disappointment. Restaurant food has been awful -- they all season with salt and sugar and call it cuisine. Food in the stores is mediocre. Our local farms are too inconsistent.

We're running out of options.

I dislike going to the grocery stores. They're too huge and so full of stuff it's overwhelming. Who needs all that stuff. And it's getting risky buying produce there, so many recalls - cantaloupe, tomatoes, lettuce - you don't know if it's safe, and why do I have to buy tomatoes from Mexico? We don't grow tomatoes in this country? We have a new Wal-Mart. The food section is bigger than the rest of the store. They have a full deli, meat dept., aisles and aisles of produce, a bakery, huge dairy dept., and then so many aisles of grocery items. You forget you're actually in a Wal-Mart. I think restaurants are going down-hill all over the place. Many are closing and those still going just don't have the quality or service they once had. I'd much rather eat at home. Something simple, light. We don't need so much food!

Well, my healthy eating was going fairly well until recently. The last few weeks have been terrible. My love for bread, junk food and sugary treats came back with a vengeance. I just love it and thought I had it under control. I was still having it but not all the time. Then I got busy and started just letting loose. Uh huh, being busy is definitely a derailer and you really have to be mindful in those times. Although, if I am honest, I just used it as an excuse. I have so much stuff at home again but today starts my "back to healthy eating" program. oy vey. I will just show some willpower. I miss the days where I can eat what I want without even thinking about it. I didnt even have to exercise. I havent kept up with exercising either so I need to start back with walking. The worse part is I was actually starting to fit back in my clothes a bit.

Yes, I agree JustBee, about the food. I really think it has gone downhill. Unfortunately, I dont think that is going to change so I just do the best I can. It is disappointing. I try and not think about it because it makes me a little crazy.

Just recently I bought some loose raisins and they are just delicious. I mix some with almonds for a snack and it sure is tasty. They are definitely a repurchase if they stay the same quality. I will never buy the boxed raisins again. Those werent bad at one point but now, they should be ashamed to call them raisins. Tomatoes have also been delicious. The ones I pick myself on the farm. Now those are the tomatoes I remember from long ago. Soon, the season will be over and I am a little sad.

I agree, BigOrangeKitty, I dont understand why we dont use local farmers for our produce instead of importing it. At least, the stuff we do grow here. I have always picked certain things myself in the summertime, but this year, I have also made use of the local farmers that setup up stands. I made a point in supporting them.

So today starts my back to eating healthy. So far, so good. I may have a piece of pie later, the apple pie from Costco's is delicious, but it will be a little piece. I have never been big on apple pie and this I can devour. I may skip it tonight though since it is my first day back on the wagon. We shall see.