Sourcing Food
You probably get most of your food at a supermarket. Most Americans do. But there are lots and LOTS of differences all across the country of how and where people get their food. Some of it is socioeconomic, some of it is by choice, and some of it is without choice at all – one buys what’s available or eats what’s being cooked.
Everyone who has the good fortune to choose their food sources has their own preferences, beliefs, and idiosyncrasies built into their weekly shopping. For many, it’s all about convenience and cost. For others, it’s a preference that leads them to specialty shops or out-of-the-way stores that carry something a little different. Some folks insist on organic foodstuffs. Others want the cheapest thing they can find. Some want vegan staples that can be hard to find; others frequent ethnic groceries for staples while their neighbors might only visit once every forever when looking for that one hard to pronounce ingredient from a new cookbook. We, as cooks, are all over the map.
So here’s a rundown of what *I* do. It’s evolved massively over the past decade. This is because of geography (going from small city to big city to inner city), climate (cold Northern Minnesota to comparatively balmy NYC), and my own changing understanding of our planet, our farming economics and agricultural practices, and our body’s needs. I’ve been on an organic bent, a paleo fling, and I’ve had to change my eating while pregnant with gestational diabetes. I try to balance cost, current medical understanding in healthy eating, and environmental impact. Part two of this missive will be very specific, but for starters, here are the broad categories:
FRUIT:
As much as is possible, eating what’s in season is our main rule of thumb. It’s the most economical way to go, and the most delicious. We still eat our bananas year-round, though, and we eat a fair amount of frozen berries when they’re out of season or unavailable. They’re just as good for you. We do not prioritize organics (though we used to – but that’s a separate post). I buy whatever looks yummiest, and in quantities that we will eat or cook before they spoil.
VEGETABLES:
Seasonal buying and eating is wonderful here too, though some great local resources have made year-round enjoyment of certain seasonally temperamental veggies possible. Local lettuce greenhouses and hydroponic farmers mean we have microgreens and tomatoes which are every bit as wonderful as spring and summer produce. Not everyone has this luxury; we’re really lucky.
Farmers’ markets have GORGEOUS, impossibly fresh produce much of the time, and the sometimes higher price is often worth it. Some small, family, or organic farms might have high prices; some larger conventional farms may have a stand and be fairly competitive with grocery prices. I don’t find anything inherently compelling about shopping at a Greenmarket beyond the pleasure of shopping there. The locavore movement is nice but at scale comes up too short for large populations; the organic pesticide residues on produce are just as problematic as conventional ones, and I don’t give much credence to the EWG’s “Dirty Dozen.” There aren’t enough commercially available GMOs for that to even enter the produce shopping equation. So I shop here simply because it makes me happy or because I can’t get baby rutabegas anywhere else.
Big grocery stores are the winner for most fruits and vegetables for most families. Frozen veggies are just as healthful as fresh, though I don’t cook with them much because my fresh options are abundant. Canned vegetables have their place, though are almost always higher in salt and often have compromised textures. But the most important thing here is that one EATS vegetables, and that trumps where it comes from or in what form. Even for kids.
GRAINS:
I like buying in bulk as much as possible. Reducing packaging is always a nice idea, and most of the time it’s cheaper. This only works well for dry goods with long shelf lives, and a reasonable expectation of eating enough of them to make bulk purchasing worthwhile. I’ve ordered specialty flours online when I couldn’t get them locally, but otherwise I’m a warehouse and grocery store shopper for these. I try to cook whole grains as often as I can. White bread, white rice, and plain pastas are marvelous but I really try to keep things varied and brown as much as possible.
EGGS:
I think most conventionally produced eggs are pretty sad, given the chickens they come from. Laying productions can be awful endeavors for the most part – with some notable exceptions. I really like the folks at Locally Laid, but that’s not available to most of us. I choose cage-free or free-range most of the time, and omega-3 fortified whenever I can get it. Color of the shell is irrelevant for health but brown has a lovely aesthetic. When making things with raw eggs or whites, I prefer a pasteurized product. If push comes to shove I’ll use pasteurized boxed whites. I strongly prefer whole in-shell pasteurized eggs, but again these can be very difficult to find. Luckily salmonella is rare enough for me to be comfortable eating my over-easy conventional eggs at breakfast, but not uncommon enough for me to serve the same to a baby, elder, or an immunocompromised person.
MEATS:
Grass fed beef tastes different than conventionally (grain) fed. My mom hates it. I like the two equally. But I like feeding grass to grazers more than feeding them grain crops, so when it’s not crazy costly I’ll buy it. I prefer to buy humanely raised animals, but this can be an amazingly expensive ordeal. So I try to balance it by eating LESS meat, but BETTER meat.
That being said, there’s a place for cost and convenience, and I’m a huge fan of bulk buying. So buying a 6-pack of individually portioned 1.5 lb bags of chicken thighs at Costco makes my family work better on days I’m not there (but can make slow cooker meals in the morning). I prioritize healthy eating first, and this helps me accomplish that goal best. When I have room for a standalone chest freezer, I don’t doubt that I’ll go in on meat/poultry shares so long as they have reliable, excellent freezer-bound packaging. (We’ve been burned pretty badly on that before, and freezer-burned fabulous meat is anything but fabulous.)
FISH:
We have an amazing local (NYC) fishmonger who sources local, sustainable seafood. They even have a community-sponsored fish program delivering fresh goodies weekly to subscribers. Mermaid’s Garden is absolutely wonderful, and I buy from them whenever I can.
Unfortunately, we have a salmon problem. My family adores salmon, and most readily available salmon isn’t sustainable. The Iliamna fiish company in Alaska vacuum seals and freezes some amazing sustainable sockeye, but I haven’t been able to convince my family to love it. Verlasso (from Chile) is a lovely alternative, but I can’t get it easily (I don’t order from Fresh Direct much anymore because I prefer my smaller packaging footprint and I can walk to the store). So I try to get what’s greenlighted (or at least yellow) from Seafood Watch, a good group focused on sustainability.
And again, cost and convenience: fish sticks are a great way to get my family to eat a lovely protein that cooks quickly and easily for my childcare providers. And I love them. So while we don’t eat them that often, they have a permanent space in my rotation – as do sustainable, vacuum packed frozen cod fillets and responsibly sourced canned and/or jarred tuna. We don’t eat any of these often enough to worry much about PCBs or mercury, though I paid more attention to these when I was pregnant and craved fish more often.
Want to know more about what makes my family’s tummies tick? Check out my Food Specifics here.