hey y'all - i had my first day of school today, and i'm absolutely, 100% pooped. it went pretty well with a few speed bumps, but i made it! and if you follow me on twitter, you already know i discovered i'll probably be arrested in my ethics class before the year is over with... yikes.
i have an awesome post swirling in my mind about food marketing/labeling, but i just can't bang it out tonight... forgive me? i plan on attacking it tomorrow or saturday, so hang in there with me!
in the mean time, check out gena's post on the whys and hows of eating. it ties in perfectly with my food posts the last few days, but she is so much more eloquent than i am.
my question for y'all tonight is: what do you look for when you shop for food? quality, price, local, ingredients... what ends up in your cart and why?
-rebekah
Sadly, packaging plays a major role (when it's not something fresh that I'm buying). This makes my husband happy to hear, however, because he does package design for a living. He married a sucker for it!
ReplyDeleteNo need to apologize for not being able to crank out something that you'd rather put effort into to make it better. I do it all the time :P
ReplyDeleteAnd so much goes into what ends up in my cart. Lately I've been trying to stay away from packaged stuff so I've stopped buying cereal - I just get oats/grains in bulk. I try to buy things mostly as fresh produce or bulk bins - fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains. I look for organic but if it's not available I don't fret as much as I used to. I do my best to get fruit from at the very least the US instead of apples from Chile, etc. And of course, I read labels like a hawk when I do buy packaged things. Anything hydrogenated or full of so many preservatives that when the people who eat it die their body stays in tact for years I put back and find something better.
I'm a little obsessed with my food. :P
Something that recently came to my attention is the prevalence of "fat-phobic" packaging: packaging that plays upon people's fears of added weight, obesity and whatnot: coming at it from a post-ED and feminist perspective, I'm trying to be more aware of the dangers of this type of marketing and packaging - the message it sends, etc.
ReplyDeleteHappy first day o' school day! That must feel kinda, maybe, a tad bit exciting, right? It makes me slightly miss school days. Ah, but married days are pretty rad in comparison.
ReplyDeleteSupermarket purchases: fruit, veggies, grains that are 100% whole wheat, no processed foods, if they are processed foods (pasta sauce, canned fish, etc) we compare ingredient lists. Lowest amount of sodium, added sugars, and free of all the nasty ingredients (hyrog. oils, hfcs, poisons?) is the winner. I like short ingredient lists that I can read easily, and foods that come from the ground :] Organic? Only if it's not twice the price of the other guys.
Go relax!
ReplyDeleteI'm pooped too, girl. Get some rest!
ReplyDeleteI am smoked today! Check your texts when you wake up though :)
ReplyDeleteFor foods, I really just look for fewest ingredients possible and make sure I know WHAT they are!
do you go to VCU? i had my first day back yesterday.. ughhh.
ReplyDeleteand for foods: I read the labels like a nazi and also try to stay away from processed foods + ingredients that i can't pronounce!
I'm similar to most of the other comments. There is always a financial consideration in what I buy (shopping for 2 1/2), which sometimes determines if I buy organic or not. I buy packaged/preserved foods sparingly and for convenience sake, but try to stick primarily with whole foods, fruits and veggies (fresh or frozen, no matter), nuts, grains, etc. I'm also conscious of getting a diversity of foods and what is necessary for me as an athlete (carbs). I try not to get too wrapped up in the considerations lets I stress myself out about going shopping.
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