Nah, I'm still more of a food slob than a food snob :P

I do occasional shopping at Whole Foods, but I usually just shop at the local chain grocery stores. Of course, I will say that one of my chain grocery stores does offer more natural products than many (Wegmans), but I still buy regular stuff, too. And we eat out a LOT since I am not a big fan of cooking/cleaning. My grocery cart usually contains things like:

• frozen veggies (I don't buy fresh because I never use them all before they go bad)
• Jennie-O frozen turkey burger patties
• boneless, skinless chicken thighs (whatever brand is cheapest)
• eggs (sometimes Egglands Best, sometimes just generic store brand)
• almonds
• an array of cheeses (whatever brands are on sale)
• unsweetened almond milk (but I'll buy Hood Calorie Countdown milk if they don't have the unsweetened almond milk)

I do now buy nitrate-free bacon and Hormel's nitrate-free packaged deli meats, but that's about the biggest change I can think of.
Now, I AM snobby in the sense that when I am visiting my parents or sister, and they claim to be eating "healthy," I turn my nose up at their plates full of whole grain pasta, whole grain breads, homemade potato dishes, etc. So, I guess I'm a carb snob but not a complete food snob.

I'm more of a chowhound but my family thinks I'm a food snob. I'm the only one in the family or circle of friends that eats local or organic food. But when I go out with my friends or family it doesn't matter where we go as long as i can keep it relatively low carb.

This is a great thread!

I'm with Jill in that I still shop the reg grocery stores and buy fresh meats and a combo of fresh and frozen veggies, along with eggs and good healthy fats.

Where I've gotten really snobbish this time around (it's my third) is with where and what I will spend my money on to eat out. This has resulted in me eating out less often, thus saving money and enjoying it more when I do eat out.

Yeah, I am sure years of 'Bachelorone 'n Cheese' and packages of the Raman noodles put many pounds on my frame and still left me craving.

I giggle when I think about this. Heck yeah I am a food snob. I have to almost always hold my tongue when I see someone eat even a smidgen of sin. But I had to eat my words about a month ago.I went to a potluck dinner that was held at the community college and it involved the music department. So I first began with the LC goodies that I brought and put those on my plate. I by-passed the sodas, didn't get any cookies. I saw the lasagna but looking at it was plenty to fill my tummy. Then outta the blue this cute 20 ( ish ) year old saxophinist asked if he could put some lasagna on my plate I said suuuuurrreee!!! So he put some on my plate I took a seat and slowly covered my lasagna with a napkin and giggled ( inside ) for 2 hours. OMG, if my family were there I would have had to say "no" to him. I am still laughing.

If more people read the book "skinny b*&~h... you would either eat no meat or be really cautious of where you get your meat from (natural and local). You learn where your meat comes from.... and if you don't buy from a local source.... you don't want to know where it came from!!!

Wow - I want to live in Italy!

Mmmmm. Cute sax players, of any age! I am married to a musician

I've read the books, watched the documentaries, etc. Is it always ideal? Absolutely not! But it is what it is, and my budget is what it is, so...

I can't count the number of people who seem to be astounded when I say I've watched Supersize Me and still ate at McDonald's frequently. I guess I just never fooled myself into thinking bad things were NOT part of the food there, so watching it in a movie didn't change my perspective. Ditto on everything else I consume, including regular ol' grocery store meat. I guess knowing the "scary truth" doesn't bother you if you've never burried your head in the sand to begin with.

I read Skinny B*tch years ago as well, and found myself really irritated that the authors were basically two self-righteous anorexics preaching that the only way to lose weight and be healthy was to be a VEGETARIAN/VEGAN. Not to mention that if you do choose to eat meat, you are basically evil.

Yeah, and I have no desire to emulate them. I tried vegetarianism and gained 40 pounds from all the carbs.

As we say in Brooklyn; Yeah, right!

I buy grocery store meat when I have to, though I've never been a fan of anything that I had to boil before it would brown.

I have found local, organic ground beef at a nearby gourmet butcher for ~$9/lb. My family eats 1.5 pounds of ground beef in a single meal - and twice that if we have extra (tweenaged) kids over. I simply cannot afford that. I can afford the antibiotic and growth hormone-free stuff at less than $4/lb., so I buy that, even though it stretches my budget.

I have been looking at different options as far as buying a quarter or half a cow from a local farm. I've read so many mixed reviews though. Some say they've gotten a 'bad' cow or something and then they were stuck with that for a year. It would be a huge investment for my family.

jenx- I was listing that book as a generic for-instance book.... not that I believe everything that they say, Heck, I don't believe everything I read all the time even the newspaper! I was using is as an example.... people would be horrified if they saw the conditions of their meat in process. Now a days they have made it so easy to make the right choices....unlike just 5 years ago.

*jenn*- even though my husband and I have no kids at home I still like to "shop the deal" to fill their freezers too, I have bought 1/4 of a beef and it was really reasonable.... came out to $3.50 per pound for all the cuts. I also shop my market of choice when I know that the "reduced" natural/organic meats are going to be put out. For instance... I get 93/7 natural hamburger from a local company at $1.99 per pound and steaks like t-bones for $5.99 per pound, I buy all they put out and stick it in the freezer.

That's really the ticket to save money, these organic/grass fed/free range/all nautral meats are way too expensive unfortunately

We do have several grocery stores in my area that range from standard, to mom & pops types, to gourmet. Between the 4-5 within driving distance to me, I can generally find a good sale on some sort of meat to help offset the cost of my weekly bill.

I would say on average I am spending about $7-8/lb for meat, if I consider the cheaper pork and ground beef, off-setting the chicken and steak, which seem to be the most expensive.

If I had a bigger freezer, I would be in better shape, but alas, that's not possible as I live in a unit with space for only 1 upright.

So you know where I'm coming from Plus he has long dark brown curly hair. He looks good playing the sax. I'm a married woman but being flattered like that is a welcomed feeling.