There is something incredibly dreary about every supermarket ever known.
As soon as you walk into one your heart sinks and you become a grumpy trolley shuffler, unless you're one of those crazy basket people that goes to the supermarket at 6am after a brisk jog (in which case you should go away and eat a carrot now and leave us all alone), or you're 2 years old, in which case it is your god given right to chuck a giant tantrum.
The traffic inside most supermarkets is just as bad as roads in any modern city. The same women who can't manage to reverse without an oops or two are let loose here on far more dangerous vehicles without a licence.
You'll find those horrid perky athletic types in the supermarket too - jogging on the spot while contemplating whether they want 5 packets of lean cuisine spaghetti low-fat extra-goo or the smooshed up packets of tofu burgers with added tar that are on special this week.
There's always at least one newlywed couple - arms around each other, romantically deciding whether they should have a bright yellow packet of tacos or frozen lasagne for dinner tonight.
The aisles are set up like one of those awful hedge mazes that landscape architects think are "charming" and "quaint" but there is nothing at all quaint about an entire aisle of noodles served with varying kinds of sludge in styrofoam cups. This aisle is a particularly dangerous one and must be avoided at all costs, lest you accidentally tarnish your ears with the existential rubbish that can only be emitted from first year arts students.
When you run away to safer ground you find yourself surrounded by last year's apples, floury and tasteless. Or maybe they're the potatoes? It is hard to tell.
![All Lost in the Supermarket, Pt. 2 [106/365]](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/462388595_3730215e6e_m.jpg)
A fact about supermarkets that you should know:
- 'Fresh' fruit and vegetables on supermarket shelves can actually be around a year old when you buy them. The Sydney Morning Herald bought apples from Australia's major supermarkets and sent them to the Sydney Postharvest Laboratory for testing. The tests revealed that the apples were up to ten months old.
Despite common misconception, apples are not grown year round in Australia. In order to meet the year-round demand, supermarkets purchase apples from growers during the short season and then keep them in cold storage. While the cool temperatures can help the apples last longer, it has a negative effect on the quality and flavour of the apple.
So what can you do if you want to eat produce that is actually fresh, full of flavour and nutrients?
photo credit: tanguero (BLOCK, rinse, repeat)
The answer is simple. You need to embrace the slow food movement and buy nearly everything from organic happylands where everyone wears hemp, talks about ecosystems and sustainability and smiles a lot.
The hippies have got it right. The birds sing and frolic as you stroll along at farmers markets or at those wonderful greengrocers that actually source fresh produce. I promise you will taste the difference. Nobody will smack you in the shins with a trolley. You will be able to identify everything on the stands and if you can't, a friendly person over the age of 12 will be able to explain it to you.
So how much extra should you pay for fresh? Almost nothing at all. Sure, the prices look more per kilo but somehow my basket, laden with fresh goodies, costs less than the equivalent from the supermarket.
photo credit: Indiana shutterbug
Fresh lasts longer too, so you won't need to resort to stringy lettuce or frozen peas at the end of the week. Is it any wonder that most kids don't like vegies? Get them to choose the fresh veg from the stands and see what happens next. You can thank me later.
If you can find a quality butcher, fishmonger, greengrocer or farmers market and wholefoods store you will come out ahead financially and have the knowledge that you're supporting your community, your own health and the environment too.
How can neon lights and plastic wrapped in more plastic compete with that?
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Sadly there are no fresh food shops of any kind near me or I'd definitely be a regular shopper there.
At the moment I'm living in a tourist hot-spot. As far as the shops go, if you don't want something to eat or to buy a gift - new or antique - you're out of luck.
Fresh quality food is essential for a healthy diet and it's important to support local growers, which in turn helps the planet by reducing food miles - so everyone's a winner!
But I do manage to avoid the "stupidmarket" - I buy my food online.
Hi Teresa, thanks for coming by! I agree that it is vital to support local farmers and producers.
A lot of Australian growers are adversely affected by drought and they need all the support they can get. It is better where possible to buy directly from a grower so they can get a better return, instead of them selling to the supermarkets where the produce sits in warehouses before getting to us.
I'm really curious now to know whereabouts you're from - is there no locally grown produce at all to hunt out and enjoy? I know I'm horribly spoiled but I just can't imagine it!
Hi Rachel
Yes, you'd think that living in the country buying locally grown organic fresh food would be a breeze wouldn't you?
I live in a village in England. Sounds idyllic doesn't it? Well life in the 'country' isn't always.
There's as much noise from the endless traffic (that's only going to get worse in the summer) than when I was living in the London suburbs! They've been fighting for a by-pass for about 20 years so far - guess it's never going to happen.
I was shocked to discover that there is no greengrocer and no fishmonger even though we're only about 22 miles from the sea. There is a butcher, but I'm pescatarian. Apart from that, there is a small, over-priced supermarket, but their 'fresh' stuff doesn't look that appetizing.
I was better off in the suburbs because one of the local pubs had a farmers' market in their car park every Sunday.
Oh well, this move was only temporary because of my job - and I'm grateful to have one in this economic climate with so many people losing theirs! But I have to say, it looks like I'll be moving back to the suburbs as soon as I can.
Love your blog btw - your recipes are soo yummy.
Cheers, Teresa
Rachel, what a refreshing post! I love how you described the grocery store. I concur that the slow food tastes better, looks better and makes you feel better (when buying or eating).
In a little town nearby to me, I am able to get most of my fresh foods -- greens, eggs, chickens. I got to a little Market each week and have enjoyed getting to know the growers. They're wonderful people. It is a privilege to be able to consume what other people have poured their hearts into raising healthfully, not only for their livlihood but as an act of service to a local community.
I'll be back to visit your blog again and again!
Love, Wardeh
from gnowfglins.com
Embracing "God's Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season"
Oh gosh Teresa that sounds crazy! I have a very picturesque idea of what village life in England would be like (perhaps incorrectly coloured by research I did into my husband's family tree recently..) and I can't believe there's no fishmonger even! Who knows Teresa - with things changing maybe food markets and so on might come into the area. Well we can hope.
Hi Wardeh, it really is great to develop personal relationships with your food producers and I'm glad you have access to such a wonderful bounty! I find that growers impart great wisdom about their food and are such a valuable resource. Your blog and the concept behind it is inspiring and encouraging.
Great post Rachel. I think getting out of the supermarkets and back to the real food is an integral part of reclaiming our health. Another great thing about shopping this way is that you end up eating seasonally which can be a lot of fun. There's something special about waiting for the apple season and being rewarded by having beautiful crisp fresh fruit to enjoy.
Hey thanks Berni, now you have me droolling over the thought of crispy but sweet, flavourful and not floury apples - I'm grabbing one right now in fact. Take that processed food, how can you possibly beat the immediacy, flavour and cool packaging of an apple?
Rachel,
This post has it all: humor at the beginning (I particularly like the scathing attack on art students... they have it coming, no?) and a sensible recommendation at the end.
My boyfriend and I recently moved from a bigger city (long, long story) where there was a Sunflower Farmer's Market, which was amazingly cheap, to a town where our options are Wal-Mart or a smaller (more expensive) store called Thrift Way. Oh, the woes of a small town lifestyle.
Might I just add in that this blog is absolutely gorgeous?
Thanks Michael, I appreciate your comments! My blog is gorgeous merely because an awesome fellow Aussie Michael Tyson made the theme and then was good enough to make it available for free!
It looks like there is a bit of a small-town no farmers-market or reliable, reasonably priced fresh food option problem happening here. Perhaps some grass-roots community gardening action is required (and for you too, Teresa)?
I might toddle off and see what I can find out about what is happening where and how people can get involved with creating a community garden or similiar. There has to be a better way!