The shopping strike continues…
It has now been over a month since I started my restricted grocery shopping experiment - I’m only allowed to purchase fresh fruits, veggies, and soy products. No dry goods, beverages, etc. I’m surprised to have made it this long.
The pantry is getting emptier and emptier as staples get used up. This week’s hardest loss: coffee. I have plenty of tea on hand (and I’m hoping to use more of it up now that coffee is out of the picture), but I miss my morning java. I’m wondering how much longer I’ll hold out…
Besides the lack of coffee, I’m still enjoying this experiment. I love using things up and cleaning out the kitchen. It just feels good for some reason, but then I’ve always been a fan of a good decluttering. Plus I feel good about how healthy the food I’m purchasing is - all those fresh veggies are so healthy and delicious. Bring on month 2!
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POSTED IN: Adventures, Food
12 opinions for The shopping strike continues…
kathryn
Aug 3, 2007 at 4:02 am
What a great idea this is. Boy could my cupboards do with an empty-out and re-fresh. Over the past six months we’ve started buying fruit and veg once a fortnight and only what’s in season. We then have to make it last two weeks, with no topping up - just using what’s in the house. It’s just about halved our grocery bill.
I think I’m going to take your idea on board though. Thanks for this.
Jul
Aug 3, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Hi, Kathryn! I’ve been shopping for veggies at least once a week, but I have a tiny refrigerator and really couldn’t get enough for two weeks in there plus I suppose the more often I go, the fresher they are).
I should look to see if I’ve been saving money, too. I’m not sure I have, since I’ve been splurging on some pricey items at the farmers’ market.
Christopher Howse
Aug 3, 2007 at 9:54 pm
You are obviously very strong! :)
VnV
Aug 4, 2007 at 2:21 am
What a great idea! My husband and I have decided to do the same, the last week of every month to clear out our pantry and refrig.
The Nourisher
Aug 4, 2007 at 5:20 am
Jewel, I’m glad you’re only buying fresh fruit and vegetables. I am worried though, as a Nourisher does, about your intake of soy foods. There are only a few truly traditional soy foods: Tempeh, Miso, Natto, small amounts of Tofu and Soy Sauces. All other soy products including soy milk/yoghurt/cheeses, soy flour, TVP, those scary bits of gluten and soy that look like imitation meat and soy protein isolate are not traditional and very dangerous.
Soy is considered by traditional Chinese culture to be one of the five sacred grains. It was named this in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic over 2,000 years ago. This is not because it’s good to eat but because it’s good to fallow the fields for a season to fix nitrogen in the soil again. It has been used by their culture for 15,000 years but only 5,000 years ago did they finally work out how to eat it - very well fermented. Unfermented soy products cause cancer of the thyroid, ovaries and other cancers, infertility and digestive disorders. Please read to educate yourself further.
BTW your submission to the Carnival of Nourishment is up.
http://carnival.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/carnival-of-nourishment-5th-edition
Blessings
Ward
Aug 4, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I think that concerns about unfermented soy are overblown:
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/weilhealthyliving/1449/rethinking-soy?print=1&cin=
It makes me think of Michael Pollan’s advice to not be too consumed with chasing the latest science:
http://www.veggiechic.com/fighting-nutritionism-with-michael-pollan/
The Nourisher
Aug 5, 2007 at 12:06 am
That’s precisely why, Ward, I prefer to take the lead of our ancestors. If it wasn’t eaten more than 400 years ago by people of my genetic background, I won’t eat it and neither should you.
Jul
Aug 5, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Christopher - Thanks :)
VnV - Such a good idea to do this every month! I should try that in the future so I don’t end up with such a big stock in my pantry in the first place…
Nourisher - I’ve done lots of reading up on soy, and I have to agree with Ward about the dangers of soy being overblown. I just haven’t seen anything credible that leads me to believe it’s not a healthy food for me. Too much of any single food is probably a bad idea, but a serving or two of soy a day doesn’t bother me in the least.
I will agree that highly processed foods are good to avoid, which is why when I buy soy milk, for example, I go for the stuff that has 2 ingredients (soy beans and water).
The Nourisher
Aug 6, 2007 at 4:16 am
If you do wish to challenge your beliefs, read this article about soy.
http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/the-ploy-of-soy/
You’ll find you’ve been lied to about the safety of soy by many whose vested interest is not your health. Substituting your soy milk intake with RAW milk from animals that have been treated with respect and fed what their biology intends for them to eat - grass, will make a big difference to your health and your ecological and sociological footprint.
céline
Aug 6, 2007 at 10:35 pm
You’re doing well! Much better than me. I chickened out on the coffee. Poor vanilla tea languishing in the drawer…
Jul
Aug 8, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Celine - vanilla tea sounds delicious! But I have to agree, it’s hard to choose tea over coffee (at least in the morning…)
Zandria
Aug 15, 2007 at 4:07 am
That’s an interesting shopping experiment! Very brave of you. :)
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