My food shopping habits...

Thanks to Sarah at http://livingfruity.blogspot.com for this blogging idea. Sarah offers great tips, so I thought I'd write a complementary one to show a similar yet somewhat different approach to 811 shopping-when we're in Canada(this is very different when we're in Costa Rica).

First off, I have 3 humans and 2 dogs to feed our raw vegan diet. I spend approximately $200 dollars a week, depending on seasonal availabilities and sales. We're all raw vegans but we have very different tastes. Tropical food suits me perfectly, while seasonal and local suits the rest of my family more.

I shop frequently. I go to Asian stores once a week-on the day they receive their produce and I buy a lot of exotic tropical fruit that I adore. This is mostly just for me since the men (young and younger)in my family as well as my dogs haven't acquired a taste for them yet. I buy one coconut every two weeks or so (I try to stay as low fat as possible) plus other seasonal food such as rambutans, longans, lychees, cherimoyas, tamarind, star fruit etc. This food can be quite expensive, although sales and bulk discounts are frequent. However, tropical fruits are usually very high calorie and nutrient dense so I feel I'm getting good value.

For the rest of my food, I stopped buying bananas by the case because of ripening issues. Instead, I buy them almost everyday at different stores that are on my way home from work. I usually buy them in the reduced section where near ripe bananas are on sale because they're turning black. They are not rotten at all, but simply ripening-I still have to wait a couple of days more before they're truly ripe. My greens and other fruits, I'll buy as I need them trying to stay organic as much as possible.

Raw and organic nuts and seeds, I buy at the health food store-every two weeks or so and I store them in the freezer. They are expensive and also not to be over consumed because of the high fat content.

As for storage, almost all of my counter tops, shelves and even some cupboards are full of produce. I transfer all the food that is unfortunately sold in styrofoam containers with plastic into baskets-except for lettuce and celery which keep better in the plastic. I keep things in the fridge only to maintain freshness, but I always let them warm up to room temperature before eating. I'm not a big fan of frozen smoothies and the like so I don't buy any frozen food except for corn which although usually blanched is still good quality in the frozen state. I eat it sparingly nonetheless, after thawing and warming in warm water.

Needless to say that my shopping carts almost always raise eyebrows. A visit to my home also surprises people that don't know me very well.