Grocery Tales

When we first started this new way of eating, I had no idea how it would affect our grocery buying.  I was curious whether our grocery costs would decrease or escalate.  I sure was hoping our costs would decrease.  There have been some surprises along the way. 

I was surprised to find that the rather large, nice grocery store from which I did a lot of my shopping was a pitiful source for whole grains.  I was looking for wheat-berries, barley, bulgur,

and several others.  Alas, most were not to be found in that store.  I can find them in Whole Foods for the most part, but the nickname "whole paycheck" is not in error.   I need to work on finding a good internet source for grains.  I have heard there are some good ones, but I just haven't had the time to research it yet.  If I find some good sources, I will share them here.

It has also been somewhat difficult to find a good source of a large variety of dried beans.  I have found that while canned beans are great for quick meals, cooking my own dried beans have a much better flavor.  For years I have kept a good supply of cooked beans in our freezer for quick meals, but now we eat them even more.  I am really enjoying the different varieties.  I just happened to stop in Walmart for a non-grocery item and decided to check out their grains and beans.  I was so surprised to find that they actually had more choices than my larger, nicer grocery store.  The prices were good also, so I will be making periodic visits there. 

I buy a week's worth of groceries at a time.  I occasionally have to return for some fresh produce, but not usually.  When I entered a grocery store in the past, I always went through the Produce Department first.  I have always bought a lot of fresh produce, but now we use an even larger quantity of it.  After going through the Produce Department the first couple of times after starting this way of eating, I found that I had no room in my cart left for the rest of the groceries.  I would say that at least 2/3 of our groceries on most weeks is fresh produce.  That meant my other groceries would "squish" my beautiful produce.  Now I buy the other items first, then proceed to the Produce Department at the end of my grocery trip.  All is well now. 

Okay, now the little detail of whether our grocery bills have come up or down.  I think I am too soon into this experience to know for sure.  I certainly had some catching up to do in stocking my pantry, and that has made our grocery bills go up higher than they were before.  I think our bills will now start to stabilize more.  I suspect our costs may come out about the same eventually.  If a person ate a very limited plant based diet, it could be done very cheaply- beans and rice, rice and beans.  I actually love beans and rice, but I love to experiment with new recipes and new ingredients.  That is what pushes my bill up. 

Just last week I bought a very small container of quinoa flour for $9.00.  I mentioned this to my daughter Ashley, (whom I consider an expert on plant based eating and on economical food bills), and she had just bought chickpea flour for $2.50 that week.  The quinoa flour and chickpea flour should be close to the same cost.  She is going to take me out grocery shopping soon in her town to help me locate some low cost pantry supplies.  We are quite the party girls, I know.