frustration and triumph

As I have mentioned previously I have not noticed much difference in my grocery budget by using fresh, natural ingredients exclusively. What I have noticed is the complete dedication it takes to stick with this in time constraints. Last week K and i decided to make pizza for dinner. We got off work late and I realized after making a couple other stops that geographically made sense to do first that there was one major error in my plan. The 2 local grocery stores that make shopping this way easiest are NOT 24 hours. in fact they would both be closed by the time i could get to them. With a determined 3 yr old adamant that I "promised" we would make our own pizza I went to the closest "regular" grocery store to buy sauce, and toppings. I left the store infuriated! Most of the items I needed were available only in brands that I had been avoiding. I read labels and tried to find alternatives. Eventually we left with "toppings" of sauce and cheese because the selection of meats, cheese, pineapple, ham etc. were all off limits for varying reasons. I was frustrated for my time but ultimately what made me the most angry was thinking of the families that want to avoid the items and have NO alternatives to the typical american grocery stores. The fact that many people can not avoid some of this boggles my mind!

The next day I drove to my local PCC natural market and they happened to be hosting a fair to encourage healothy living. I changed my plans for the day and spent a couple hours walking around and talking to the many vendors that were there. I asked my questions, found some great leads on premade food that was still free from the growing lists of foods I am avoiding and sampled some great stuff. It was such a nice change from the night before and made me realize that perhaps my solution is to be better prepared and plan to do ALL my shopping at the stores that focus on and support healthy options.