Alternative Food Sources

[OutinChgoburbs]

Wow thanks no I had never heard of Tenuta’s…I will look into that.

Going to Madison is a good idea I think, but I’ve avoided it because it’s a good 50 miles from me. Maybe I am just going to have to come up with a shopping strategy that includes a bi monthly road trip somewhere to get decent food.

Yeah now that I think of it last time I was down in Wilmette visiting grandparents, the milk was pretty high there too. Even at Aldi here it’s 4.00/gallon. Thankfully we don’t drink a lot of milk. But to buy our yogurt and kefir here is insane. 4.50 for a quart container

I am paying $1.99 at Aldi’s for milk. I am paying $3.09 at Woodman’s for anti-junk milk with no antibiotics and stuff in it.

I forgot about Woodman’s. They are a WI chain, big store, but they sell stuff like organic milk and probiotic yogurt. There is one right at Highway 50 and I90/94.

I am a north side girl who now lives in the western 'burbs (Lane Tech '75- yes, the original 400 girls).

 

[maria29]

The groceries thread and the fruits and veggies thread, got me wondering if anyone else is in the predicament I am.

I CAN"T FIND DECENT FOOD!!!

I live in South East Wisconsin, about 25 miles from Milwaukee in a medium sized suburb. We have 2 grocery stores; Sentry and Pick 'n Save. Both stores have scant selection, nothing really out of the ho hum bland American diet type stuff. Processed cheeses, sugary cereals, cold cuts and hot dogs, lots of frozen. When it comes to fresh meats, dairy, and especially produce, forget it. One Sentry I actually reported to the health department after I had bought BAD nasty chicken from there 3 times in a row. The beef is obviously injected with that new red food dye they use when it starts to turn brown. It looks like they colored it with a magic marker.

Not only is the selection horrible, the prices are high. Way high, in comparison to what I’m used to in Chicago and PA/NY. Dairy is especially high surprisingly since we are the dairy state. Shouldn’t it be cheaper??

I find myself buying things I wouldn’t normally, simply because we need to eat something! I’ve tried exploring suburbs as far as 40 miles from here and still no real deviation from those two stores, and no better selection or quality.

So, I’ve been looking into other ways to get food.

So far I’ve come up with farm shares for dairy and fruit and veg, and I’m looking into buying a years worth of organic meat and chicken from a farm up north.

I cook a lot. I just want to be able to find fresh edible wholesome unadulterated food. Meat and chicken,fresh veg and fruit, and quality oils and other staples. I buy ingredients for meals, not too much processed stuff,and like to make it simple and nutritious, but I also like different and unusual ingredients, which are all but impossible to find here.

Anyone else in this boat and find any creative solutions?

Why wouldn’t you just go to Whole Foods in Milwaukee if you only live 25 miles away? I love Traders Joes too, and will shop there for certain things. Whole Foods I like too because of the fact that none of their products contain certain indgridents (HFCS being one of the biggest).I also like having a bulk section which Trader Joe’s doesn’t have.

 

[SeekerJen]

Why wouldn’t you just go to Whole Foods in Milwaukee if you only live 25 miles away? I love Traders Joes too, and will shop there for certain things. Whole Foods I like too because of the fact that none of their products contain certain indgridents (HFCS being one of the biggest).I also like having a bulk section which Trader Joe’s doesn’t have.

I also really like Whole Foods. Their meats are wonderful. They’re also one of the only stores that carries our favorite Brown Cow whole-milk yogurts (and will give a case discount if you buy 12 cups), as well as the full line of Fage Greek whole-milk yogurts. Their store-brand organic OJ is the same price as mass-market OJ at Kroger. In fact, they’ve got a full line of in-house organic stuff that is really good quality and reasonably priced.

We don’t have Whole Foods or Trader Joe in my county, but I commute to Ann Arbor daily and stop in at those stores before I drive home. I’ve never had a problem transporting the cold stuff on the 30 mile drive.

 

[danimay]

I’m from the south east and we enjoy lovely, generally well-priced produce/groceries. But, while visiting a friend in South Dakota, I noticed their produce selection/quality/price really bites! They paid much more for groceries, as a whole. She said a lot of it was due to the fact that, while South Dakota produces agriculturally…it doesn’t have many processing facilities. Everything must be trucked out, processed and trucked back in.

 

[shannyk]

Why wouldn’t you just go to Whole Foods in Milwaukee if you only live 25 miles away?

I would gladly go to Whole Foods in Milwaukee if it was a ‘normal’ Whole Foods. It has very little groceries; I’d say 1/2 the usual selection. This Whole Foods is in the ‘trendy’ east side of Milwaukee; all UWM students. So they have a coffee bar, a sandwich bar, seafood bar, bakery/dessert bar, and even a chocolate bar. The wine and spirits section takes up a good 1/2 of the store. The bulk section Whole Foods usually has is 1/2 the size there. They have none of the gluten free stuff that I need, and the dairy section is tiny. It just doesn’t pay for me to drive 25 miles at 3.29/gallon for gas to get just a few things that they have for me there.

I used to live right next door to a Whole Foods in Evanston downtown. It was bliss! I’d ride the elevator downstairs, walk about 20 feet to the front door of the store and find everything I needed. Spoiled!

I forgot about Woodman’s. They are a WI chain, big store, but they sell stuff like organic milk and probiotic yogurt. There is one right at Highway 50 and I90/94.

Yeah I think Woodman’s might be my best bet. Driving there 2 x a month and loading up is probably the best bet.

Still, I would love to petition some store to come here to Waukesha. Everyone is talking about it here lately that the stores quality is just SO bad. I’m also looking into the farm share thing but it seems like a big commitment and maybe more fruit veg than we can eat, and I hate for it to be wasted. Maybe I can find someone to split it with.

I am a north side girl who now lives in the western 'burbs (Lane Tech '75- yes, the original 400 girls).

My hubby went to Lane for a year, then Quigley North class of '90.( I can’t believe it’s closed!!) Can we get a woot woot for the North Side?

 

[MooCowSteph]

There are some good places online to order fresh, organic foods. You’re going to pay, since it’s organic, but if you can afford it, yum! I can probably dig up some links if you’re interested.

Shannon, you are scaring me when you say that about the beef. How can one tell if ground beef has been injected? I hate to think about what I am eating here at College.

I don’t think you can tell once it’s been cooked, and it seems they don’t have to label the packages, either. I bought a pound of ground beef at Aldi’s once, thinking man, look how fresha dn red it is! It was in my fridge for two days and still looked just as red. Made me wonder. Then when I went to cook it it looked like red koolaid was spilling out. I don’t really go to Aldi’s anymore. It’s not really in a convenient place, anyway.

I am paying $1.99 at Aldi’s for milk. I am paying $3.09 at Woodman’s for anti-junk milk with no antibiotics and stuff in it.

You’re lucky. I think most of the country is close to $4 a gallon. It’s $4 a gallon here except at the wholesale club where I pay $3.35. I pay $6 for organic.

 

[Dandelion_Wine]

Shannon, I’d like to help you but the way you’re disparaging Wisconsin in favor of that flatland…

Just a couple of ideas:
My son has allergies so who buy stuff at

• Health Hut on Bluemound (near Chuck E Cheese) and the one on Hwy 100 & Lincoln in West Allis.
• Outpost at 70th & State
• gfessentials.com/ They have gluten free products. One can also find their stuff in stores (can’t think of the store in Milwaukee off hand) but we bought it bulk from the website and I think it was either the same prices or slightly better
• Sendik’s now has stores in Franklin & Elm Grove (may be closer than traveling to Milw)
• Ray’s Butcher on Loomis (Hwy 36). Phenomenal meat, but pricey
• Possibly V. Richards on Bluemound & Calhoun? I’ve really never bought produce or meat from them but they might be worth checking out sometime.
• We found this organic farm through a homeschool link where one can buy meat. I don’t recall where this woman’s farm is but she delivers to the milwaukee area every so often. I’ll post the link when I get home.
• We have friends who do organic dairy farming up north. I keep bugging my dad to split a cow with me. Maybe we should talk?
• I want to get in on a co-op. Do you have a recommendation?

 

[MomaMary8]

Shannon, I’d like to help you but the way you’re disparaging Wisconsin in favor of that flatland…

I’m a transplant here, and I must say I love it here! I’ve lived in larger and smaller communities and this is “just right” as Goldilocks would say.

Even stores from the same chain can differ in quality of produce etc, even w/in the same city. It just takes time to find the one that serves the food you like.

I know their are co-ops around for fresh produce, so that may be an option you can look at. There are even co-ops for dairy products. It may just take some time for you to find what you are looking for.

 

[jc-servant]

Not sure if anyone said this, but milk and bread can be frozen too. We used to go to the commissary on the military base only once or twice per month for major grocery shopping. We had a freezer 1/2 full of milk and bread. You just need to shake the milk up after it thaws because whatever fat is in it has sunk to the bottom.

 

[mschrank]

Small note: Beef that turns brown is usually due to oxidization (gets a kind of metallic/brown sheen), not dye. The dyed stuff looks like someone just ripped it out of the cow, it is unrealistically red for meat that has been dead for awhile.

 

[Dandelion_Wine]

I had emailed the woman from Gluten Free Essentials (the website I listed above) and she gave me 4 locations in Wisconsin where one can buy their products:

C’s Specialty Foods – 462 Commerce Drive, Suite A, Madison, WI 52719
Gluten Free Trading Co. - 3116 S. Chase Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207
The Country Seed – 210 E. Anderson Street, Rhinelander, WI 54501
Back to Basics – 175 N. Lake Ave., Phillips, WI 54555

Like I said, I bought them online.