Sunday, April 13, 2008

I went shopping tonight at CVS and then at Walmart. I will post later on about the deals... hopefully with pictures.

I hate the grocery store options around here. Where we used to live, in Florida, we had unlimited options. Publix, Albertsons, Kash and Karry, Food Lion, Winn Dixie, Whole Foods (just moved there) and many other smaller, local stores. And some that I am sure that I have forgotten. And the numerous specialty stores. Like Mother Earth and Asian and Latin food stores. Whatever we wanted.... we could find.

Here, in southern Mississippi.... I am lucky if I can find Boca Burgers for when my MIL comes to visit. Forget about anything gourmet or "foreign" unless you are looking for La Choy or Taco Bell. Thai? We have one Thai restaurant in the whole area. And one Asian supermarket. One Latin/ Mexican store. But, when we went in asking about Cilantro, the checker looked at us like we were crazy and asked us what cilantro was. hmmm....

As for grocery stores... we have one Winn Dixie. One place called Sunflower that is similar to WD and very.... dirty. Two small, local stores called Corner Market (where I can at least occasionally find fresh pasta), a Save Rite and three (yes. three.) Wal Marts. Two Supers and one smaller. We have a Target but not a Super Target. It has some groceries but not many. We have a "lil' Butcher Shop" and a Discount Grocery store (dented things, etc). And then of course the dollar stores, drug stores, etc.

That's it.

When we want something we can't find around here, we are forced to import it from Florida. My MIL and my Mom bring us hotdogs. Because we will only eat one kind and you can't get them here. And we get Wild Rice blends, Butter Buds, any and all specialty Asian and Mexican ingredients, specialty cereal bars made with organic wheat flour and real fruit, Tings (corn sticks with nutritional yeast) ummm..... I'm sure there is more. They bring them to us several times a year. How crazy is that?

I wish we could get a better store around here. But Wally World has the "market" on groceries. (hehe) There is a Kroger's about an hour and a half away and another in the opposite direction about 45 minutes away. Nope. Not making that trip.... not with the price of gas the way it is.

I keep wondering whether people here are just unconcerned about choices and healthy eating or if they just don't know what their options are...

I wonder if I can lobby for a Whole Foods to move here.... or even a Kroger's....

btw... has anyone tried any of the new "bio-degradable" "all natural" soaps and cleaners that I have seen for sale at Wally World? I'm just wondering how well they work. i would definately rather use them... but I need them to work really well! We are dirty people! LOL

Enough complaining for tonight... I am going to go and read and relax. I plan on moving mountains tomorrow (of laundry, anyway) and need my rest!

Catchya on the flip side....

6 comments:

C. said...

"btw... has anyone tried any of the new "bio-degradable" "all natural" soaps and cleaners that I have seen for sale at Wally World?"
The only cleansers I use are from method.com. Our entire household is chemical sensitive and being a tree hugger, it just made sense. Does it work as well? I don't know. I mean, I'll confess to reaching under the sink and whipping out the pure bleach from time to time just to 'feel' 100% clean and then airing out the house before the kids come home, but generally speaking? Yes. And in the long run it's SO much better for the environment and our health that a small trade off between squeaky clean and healthy clean seems worth the sacrifice. :)

Would be THRILLED to make you a header. Choose a color you want. Do you prefer browns? Earth tones? Let me know. And I need an e-mail addy to mail it to when I'm done. :) YEAH! A new blog friend, a new blog friend.
( hugs )
Claudia

Kristen said...

That's funny because when I lived in Florida (Ft Lauderdale) I desperately wanted to find a grocery store I was familiar with. I didn't like Publix at all. I ended up finding a supercenter Walmart 25 min. away and I had to pay tolls both ways. It was worth it b/c it didn't make me feel as homesick.

Jessica said...

I feel so uncultured. I usually don't buy anything unusual. I do wish we had a few more options here.

Unknown said...

We used to have a Wynne Dixie but they closed some years back. We have Food Lion and Kroger. Kroger is SO EXPENSIVE! If you can catch the 10 for $10 at Food Lion, sometimes it's worth it, but other times I can still get the stuff cheaper at Wal-Mart. I think, well, I'm pretty sure those are the only three options we have! Of course, we have three Super- Wal-Marts, and a lot of Kroger and Food Lion.

Unknown said...

btw, I haven't tried the GREEN cleaners yet, but I'm going to as soon as I run out of my other stuff. But, when I mop or wipe counter or clean windows, I use vinegar mixed with water. It works just as well and only smells that way a few minutes, and I've heard it will keep ants from coming in your house! I've never had any ants, so I don't if that's true or not! LOL

Lesley said...

I use Norwex cleaning products which are bio-degradable but pretty pricey. One of my friends switched to a grocery store version and said it's comparable so I'll be switching.
The detergents are low-sudsing but still work great. I used to equate the amount of soap with the effectiveness but it's totally not the case. Takes a little getting used to.