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March 05, 2008

Clipping the Cord

(warning:  fascinating tales of suburbanality ahead!)

Kat and I have completely overhauled our grocery shopping regimen:  we are now 80% Trader Joe's (with a 20% augmentation of Whole Foods, farmer's market produce, and organic vegetable delivery).  This is a marked departure from our longstanding prior routine...which involved, in short, being a slave to coupons and some bizarre idea of "savings."  Why the change?

• I've learned got better things to do with my time than clip coupons and play some weird game with huge food mega-corporations and huge chain supermarkets all to save a basically arbitrary percentage.  I've reclaimed my Sunday mornings.
  
• It feels good to cancel our Sunday Boston Globe subscription (which we got for the above coupons)...we save money and it feels good to not have someone drive to our house to throw a newspaper at us.  The carbon footprint and all that.
• The lure of crappy Michael Pollan-warned-about "middle of the supermarket" super-processed "all-in-one beef-brisket with honey-dijon chicken heads and gravy" makes me feel icky.  Now, I have no misconceptions about Trader Joe's food being a panacea for my and the world's ills...but it just feels easier and better (and more natural, more organic-if-possible).
• Miles always gets balloons at Trader Joe's (and we get free shots of coffee)

The only downside is our Trader Joe's produce selection is pretty...small.  It reminds me of shopping at a convenience store. 

But, two weeks in and I like how we're eating.

Clampants | March 5, 2008 05:07 PM