Yesterday, April 2nd, there was an article in the "
Dining & Wine" section of "
The New York Times" titled "
Some Goods News on Food Prices" which I read with great interest and hope. The article points out that most American shoppers are agonizing over the sharp increase in costs of most food items they encounter at the local grocery store, this actually might be a good thing for all of us. To read the entire article follow this link:
Some Goods News on Food PricesThe argument goes like this: As energy costs continue to climb, that increase eventually effects everything we buy and consume, it simply costs more to manufacture, package and transport these goods and thus that cost must be passed on to the consumer. As that takes place, what was once considered inexpensive food i.e. fast-food, processed frozen dinners, soft beverages, synthetic snack foods, etc. may no longer look that attractive from a purely financial point of view. And in turn, may actually make items that are all-natural, organic, sustainable and locally raised more approachable by more and more Americans.
ALLELUIA!!! Don't get me wrong here, I hate to pay more for everything we buy today, but for some time now, I have been advocating that when consumers actually take the time to shop and compare the "true" costs associated with these so-called "inexpensive foods", they might just be surprised to find that there is very little if any savings. Today the American diet is so out of whack and yet study - after - study show the correlation between our diets and our national health crisis, I not talking "Universal Health Care", I'm talking the alarming increase is diabetes, the obesity of our population, our growing concerns about pesticides, artificial growth hormones, etc. Not to mention the whole "sustainability" aspect of watching out for Mother Earth!
I have found that when I go grocery shopping and take my time to shop wisely, it is fairly easy to find products that aren't laden with high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings and colorings, partially hydrogenated oils and a whole list of ingredients that one cannot even pronounce. Instead I can choose ingredients that are all-natural, organic, grass-fed, sustainable and delicious and best of all that actually cost about the same!
Have you noticed that even Wal-Mart is now advertising organically grown-sustainable coffee beans? When Wal-Mart takes notice folks it can only mean one thing...this is the future and I for one say "it's about time"!!!
Here are a few tips for anyone needing to grocery shop soon:
1) Eat before you shop! We've heard it all before but shopping on an empty stomach feeds (no pun intended) our desire to buy junk food. Those "Whoopee Pies" always look better on an empty stomach!
2) Try and do 80 - 90% of your shopping in the "outside aisles" of the store! Most grocery stores are set-up pretty much the same way...you walk in near the produce area, behind or next to that is the deli counter, followed by the fish counter, butcher area along the back wall usually. Then the dairy section is most times next. All on the "outside aisles". The danger foods are usually found in the center of the store - try to avoid these as much as possible.
3) Buy what is in season! Right now they say it's Spring (we still have at least 3 feet of snow on the ground), this time of year you will find asparagus, artichokes, strawberries, tangerines, grapefruit, some grapes, papaya, blood oranges, some melons, a whole lot of beans, broccoli, micro greens, spring onions, vidalia onions, spinach, carrots, along with other fruit and produce. These items will cost less this time of year. Follow this link to find a: "
Seasonal Fruit & Vegetable Guide" on my website
http://www.cookwithjohn.com/ .
4) Don't be afraid to check out the store brands! In our hometown there is a new "Stop & Shop" and I have found that they have a store brand called "Simply Enjoy" that offers a lot of
items which are actually pretty darn good from a nutritional, as well as flavor, point of view. I recently bought a jar of "Simply Enjoy Tomato-Basil Sauce" which only contained all-natural, real ingredients and it was much cheaper than the "big name" pasta sauces which tend to be loaded with sugar or corn syrup. The other day, my wife and I were looking for a salad dressing which wasn't loaded with calories. I spotted a "Simply Enjoy Mango Lime Vinaigrette" which only contains 50 calories and only 3.5 grams of total fat per 2 tablespoons - and this isn't a "low cal" or "Low fat" dressing. (It does contain some corn syrup and some xanthium gum, but not nearly as much as some of the other "big brands"). I'm sure that most large grocery chains have similar offerings.
5) If you live near a wholesale club like Sam's, Costco, BJ's, etc. check them out for all-natural & organic groceries. I recently bought a beautiful 1-pound package of Organic Baby Spinach at BJ's for about $5.00, you can expect to pay about $4.00 in the grocery stores for a 7-ounce package of the same. I also have purchased a great Sea Salt Grinder there as well as a lovely Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
6) Buy better quality and cut the portion size! I don't know about you but I cannot stand most of the "less expensive" cold cuts available at most grocery stores today. They simply pump them with excess water and salt to add weight. I would much rather pay a little extra for the all-natural turkey, the Black Forrest ham or the lean all-natural roast beef...then when I make a sandwich or Chef's Salad, I simply use 3 ounces (which is plenty) instead of 4. Same goes for all-natural grass-fed meats...go for the quality but instead of serving an 8-ounce portion of hormone enriched beef, scale it down to a 4-6 ounce portion. Did you know that all-natural, grass-fed beef tend to be much lower in total fat than grain fed products. For example, a sirloin steak from a grass fed steer has about one half to one third the amount of fat as a similar cut from a grain fed steer. In fact, grass fed meat has about the same amount of fat as skinless chicken or wild deer or elk and it actually lowers your LDL cholesterol levels.
7) Find ways to use most, if not all of the products you buy! Sounds simple but in actuality it is alarming how much food we throw-out as a nation. Here's a nice little example: For Easter we served asparagus as the vegetable. There were 8 of us dining and so we bought 2 pounds of asparagus (remember - it's in season now). Hopefully, most of you know to "snap-off" the bottom stem part which can be a bit woody...most people would simply throw that part away. Not us, my wife Cindy made a lovely batch of cream of asparagus soup (we just had a bowl for lunch). Cindy had to puree the soup and pass it through a chinois to remove any of the real woody pieces, but all-in-all it made for a great tasty treat.
8) Don't do your grocery shopping at "dollar" stores!!! I know that these "everything for a dollar or less" stores are cropping up all over the place. Believe me, I've been to the local one with my "frugal" mother and I was astonished at how awful the ingredient lists were on most of the food items offered. There is a reason it's only a buck!!!
I hope that these tips are of help to at least one person out there.
I've been providing a recipe with each posting so here is one that is easy to put together in less then half an hour. It's tasty and has 612 calories per serving.
Grown-Up Mac & Cheese with Wild American Shrimp
Servings: 8
1 Pound Wild American Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Pound Macaroni, cooked and drained
2 Each Large Eggs, slightly beaten
1 Cup Whole Milk
2 Cups Fontina Cheese, shaved
3 Cups Parmesan Cheese,shaved
4 Ounces Proscuitto Di Parma,small cubes
4 Cloves Garlic, finely minced
2 Each Vine Ripened Tomatoes, cored, seeded &diced
1/4 Cup Fresh Basil Leaf,chiffonade
To Taste Sea Salt
To Taste Cracked Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Organic Unsalted Butter
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a rapid boil over high heat. Once water is at boil,
add the macaroni and cook "al Dente", about 8 - 9 minutes, uncovered. Once pasta is cooked,
strain through colander, rinse under cold water to stop cooking
While the pasta is cooking, mince the garlic; core, seed and chop the tomatoes; chiffonade
the basil and shred the cheeses. Reserve 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese for the top of the
casserole. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl along with the eggs and milk.
When the pasta is done cooking and has cooled, toss into bowl with other ingredients, add the
shrimp and toss well to coat.
Use the butter to slightly grease a large casserole dish on bottom and all sides. Pour the
Mac & Cheese into casserole dish. Top with the reserved Parmesan cheese and place on middle
rack of oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until cheese has melted to golden brown color.
Remove from oven, toss ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes.
Serve in warmed pasta bowls along with some crusty bread and enjoy.
Until Next Time,
Chef John
