Confused at the grocery store--which things are best for us and the planet?

[kayte]

I really have no idea how to title this post...

I just thought I would come here for help with my ramblings about decisions I struggle to make at the grocery store...

Several years ago I started buying better, starting with the dirty dozen produce list, whole food, eliminating HFCS and other yucky additives and going from there. I did a good bit of reading and have made some better choices.Now I am find myself trying to further tweak our buying but have VERY RANDOM some questions--and not sure where to go for the answers... So if you have some thoughts or maybe even some resources for me to look for my answers, please jump on in...

As I said these things are very random!

Let's start with oil... Do you buy organic olive oil? I noticed that olives don't make the top 47 fruits and veggies for pesticide use... So are they okay to eat conventionally? Any production difference when pressing to oil? The price is more than double.

What other oils do you use besides olive (something lighter)? Some of our favorite recipes (namely homemade granola that we make usually every other week) call for canola. I have been using it, despite a bunch of bad things I have heard about the production of and the actual healthiness of it. What's a good alternative?

What's a better choice-- Langer's apple juice--made from non-organic but US grown apples in a BPA free plastic bottle or juice from organic apples grown in Madagascar in a regular #2 plastic bottle? Apples are high on the list pesticide list, but I don't generally trust organics from outside the country, coupled with the idea that we don't use plastic cups in our house so buying juice in a plastic jug annoys me... What's better between the two and what's a better option (frozen juice concentrate?)?

Do I really need organic pasta (or organic semolina flour when making pasta at home)? I do know that most of the Duram wheat (which is used for semolina flour) production takes place in Asia and other dry areas of the world, so almost all imported. But I thought the chemicals used in production and growth were minimal. What am I missing? Chemical treatment when the flour is brought into the US? Won't they still do that even if it's organic?

We buy sugar from WHolesome Sweeteners. It's important to me to buy fair trade sugar. But I find that the basic sugar is larger and harder to dissolve when I use it for baking.. it has effected some things like angel food cake and muffins. Any better options out there?

And I am the only one that shops at more than one store for just basic groceries? My local grocery (which is less than a mile) has a nice selection of local produce, organic produce, and free range meats, and greener alternatives... but not everything. About every two weeks I find myself at Whole Food (about 15 mile drive) buying things like organic yogurt or shampoo and other things I can't find at my close by store. Am I the only one that can't find a grocery with the selection, pricing and locale to make grocery shopping a one stop shop?

I know I have more things that come up at the store.. but I'll start with these...

[AnnieW625]

Let's start with oil... Do you buy organic olive oil? No I buy my Olive Oil from Costco which comes from Italy. I have also bought Olive Oil from local people and no I do not believe it's organic.

What other oils do you use besides olive (something lighter)? I also use canola oil

What's a better choice-- Langer's apple juice--made from non-organic but US grown apples in a BPA free plastic bottle or juice from organic apples grown in Madagascar in a regular #2 plastic bottle? Apples are high on the list pesticide list, but I don't generally trust organics from outside the country, coupled with the idea that we don't use plastic cups in our house so buying juice in a plastic jug annoys me... What's better between the two and what's a better option (frozen juice concentrate?)? I make juice from concentrate because it's cheaper

Do I really need organic pasta (or organic semolina flour when making pasta at home)? I do know that most of the Duram wheat (which is used for semolina flour) production takes place in Asia and other dry areas of the world, so almost all imported. But I thought the chemicals used in production and growth were minimal. What am I missing? Chemical treatment when the flour is brought into the US? Won't they still do that even if it's organic? I buy quinoa or rice pasta since I don't eat wheat and DH and DD don't notice the difference. Both are organic I believe, but if they weren't organic I would still eat them.

We buy sugar from WHolesome Sweeteners. It's important to me to buy fair trade sugar. But I find that the basic sugar is larger and harder to dissolve when I use it for baking.. it has effected some things like angel food cake and muffins. Any better options out there? I buy Trader Joe's organic sugar for DH to use in his coffee because he likes it but for baking I use C&H/Domino. They make a fine bakers sugar. C&H is regional and headquartered an hour from where I grew up. They are still in business even though they are owned by Domino now so I like to support them.

The only thing I'm a tad picky about now is dairy and I get 98% of my dairy products home delivered to my door every Wednesday. Yes I found a milk man. I don't get the organic milk as I can't tell the difference and the regular non RBST milk is beyond fresh. It lasts for over a week. Unfortunately it comes in a plastic bottle, I'd prefer milk in a glass bottle, but this is the freshest milk I have found.

I shop at Trader Joe's the most, but it's nice to have both Vons and Ralphs about a half mile from my house. Whole Foods is 5 miles from my house and I guess I could go there more often but I hate their parking lot and I can get most stuff from the other stores although I am becoming much more picky about quality meat and neither the Vons or Ralphs near me have that so I end up at Costco for most of that now, but am tempted to try the butcher my grandparents have been going to in Pasadena (30 miles away) for many years.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

Make sure Olive Oil is cold pressed.

[bubbaray]

Do you buy organic olive oil? No

What other oils do you use besides olive (something lighter)? I use canola almost exclusively to get the omega-3 fatty acids. We can't have fish in the house, so canola oil is one of our few alternatives

What's a better choice-- Langer's apple juice--made from non-organic but US grown apples in a BPA free plastic bottle or juice from organic apples grown in Madagascar in a regular #2 plastic bottle? Generally, I buy local over organic. If both items, particularly dirty dozen, are not local, I purchase organic.

Do I really need organic pasta (or organic semolina flour when making pasta at home)? I buy regular pasta, but only whole wheat.

And I am the only one that shops at more than one store for just basic groceries? 1-stop grocery shopping for us, better for our sanity and better for the planet than driving all over.

[Snow mom]

On the apple juice question, isn't BPA only in #7 plastic? I think it gets confusing because some companies mark plastic BPA free but this is only due to the current craziness about BPA. I'd say both types of apple juice are in BPA free plastic, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[kayte]

On the apple juice question, isn't BPA only in #7 plastic? I think it gets confusing because some companies mark plastic BPA free but this is only due to the current craziness about BPA. I'd say both types of apple juice are in BPA free plastic, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

BPA can be in #7s or #3s.

My original post should say Langer's #7 BPA -Free. I think it's the the new cornstarch plastic that gets labeled as a #7 for "other plastics".

[mytwosons]

Check out Whole Foods for apple juice. Ours has organic (365 store brand) in a glass jug. :-)

[misshollygolightly]

Just weighing in on the olive oil to say no, I don't buy organic. For one thing, as most olive oil I buy is imported from Italy, I don't know whether the US "organic" certification would really apply (sort of like how some European toy manufacturers have super-high safety and quality standards, but don't necessarily perform the same tests/certifications that the US is starting to require). If you're really concerned about where/how the oil is produced, I'd invest in a really high quality olive oil from a small producer (like the ones sold by zingermans.com) rather than something that simply bears the "organic" label and costs a lot.

[brittone2]

For oil of any type, I only buy expeller pressed/cold pressed stuff...so often that ends up being organic, sometimes not.

We use: unrefined virgin coconut oil, grapeseed oil, organic olive oil mostly. And butter. Good grassfed (not technically organic but raised organically) butter. I want to start using more walnut oil, and rice bran oil.

We shop mostly at our local co-op, with a little Costco and Trader Joe's thrown in from time to time (at Trader Joe's I stock up on organic valencia peanut butter for example).

[kayte]

Check out Whole Foods for apple juice. Ours has organic (365 store brand) in a glass jug. :-)

Brilliant... I haven't seen it there...but will stock up next trip.

Thanks for the help everyone... especially oil... our current brand is cold pressed and imported from ITL so I'll stick with that...

I am curious about coconut oil -- what it offers nutritionally (well, kind of fats) and if it offers any taste change...

I have used walnut oil but it's not my favorite smell (like peanut oil) when heated -very potent.

Thanks again!