Bob

Bit tougher in winter, but you've got a pluck shed ton of farmers markets within a half hour of there for fresh fruit/veg/fish and to a lesser extent meat in the summer.

Does mean venturing with cash and buying from some really weird looking people though

Speedwell

Being a food snob is, I think, about making unnecessarily detailed choices.

A food snob gets upset because they were making Hungarian goulash but ran out of Hungarian paprika and has only Spanish smoked paprika in the house, and refuses to use the spice grinder to grind the fresh dried chilies because "they aren't the right variety".

A food snob prefers the biryani place two hundred yards from her apartment complex entrance to the biryani place fifty yards from the entrance because the first one makes more authentic goat curry.

A food snob has five different kinds of cooking oil, three kinds of sugar, four kinds of flour, three kinds of salt, three kinds of natural non-sugar sweeteners, eight different kinds of curry powder organized by the dish they go in, and three different kinds of flower water for flavoring. She's capable of making Dobos torte from scratch and a Roman lasagna that would make you weep, and her husband won't let her buy potatoes unassisted because HE is picky about potatoes.

A food snob is anyone who routinely refuses to eat dishes at a restaurant on the grounds that "I can make it better myself at home".

A food snob is someone who likes making ramen by first going to the Asian grocery for the noodles, then making miso broth at home with the chicken stock she always has on hand.

I am a food snob. It's a disease of prosperity, but it's also a reaction to having been poor. Well, I don't know; when I was poor I was still picky about things like proper food prep and having fresh things. Heh.

Southy_SWFC

I think they're called Mainers

Karrie72

have you ever been to the market in Portland, Deering Oaks Park? Worth a visit in April through November for all kinds of stuff. It's a fun atmosphere too.

Bob

Yes, but some of them were particularly special

E17Avenue

We can't keep chickens in the City of GR (local ordinance) but don't need to, the farm fresh eggs we get are sometimes laid that very day (sometimes they're still warm!)

I actually used to have what I called an "egg limit", where I would only be able to eat 1 or 2 per meal. Now I can eat as many as I fancy.

E17Avenue

So is going to the doctor's. And as far as affording it, it's a question of making choices. We don't have a $200/month triple play cable bill. We don't have a car. We have a PAYG mobile phone. Not saying you have the choice, it's often a question of priorities though.

robin1234

Difference in farm egg prices in different places is significant. Where we are, remote rural area with many small producers, we pay $2.70 - $3.00 for a dozen large farm eggs. Bought direct from the farm, some folks charge just $2.00. On Cape Cod, with a larger population of wealthy people and fewer producers (and higher feed prices) the price is more like $6 or $7 a dozen.

Bob

Yes, easier said than done, when one's grocery budget is $65 a week.

paul32x

It's funny, but we've become more 'picky' since we emigrated; we do notice that labels on products here give information in a more readily understandable (to us anyway) sense than they ever did in the UK. What we would really like though (we live in Orlando) is a decent butcher and a good farmer's market would be nice, but I'm afraid like the cultural desert that is Orlando, it's also bereft of proper shops!

Southy_SWFC

No I haven't been there. I'll try and remember next Spring

Leslie

The fact that you cook your own food puts you miles ahead of most people in the US! I've seen the stuff you make/eat and you have nothing to apologize about. Luckily most of the healthy stuff I love is cheap --- beans, eggs, potato, seasonal fruit and veg. I will splurge on the better eggs but even those are a relatively cheap source of protein in comparison to meat. It's the people that are living entirely on processed sugary non-food garbage that are killing themselves and their kids.

Steerpike

OK, I have a question ... spotted a trend here ...


What's with all this dairy?! Especially Eggs? Now, my g/f is Asian, and she has the classic 'lactose' issue so our 'household' doesn't tend to be big on dairy, but still ... I have a bit of milk in my morning coffee, a hint of butter once a week on a slice of toast, and eggs ... can't remember when I last had an egg! I thought milk/eggs/butter were sources of fat and cholesterol? I'm not criticizing, I'm just confused/surprised. Is it for baking / desserts? I have cut back a lot on meat, and maybe I should be more concerned about protein ... how does one know if one is not getting enough protein, by the way? I started eating peanut butter for that reason ...

Again - not trying to be contentious here, just trying to learn ...

ETA - reading now about protein deficiencies ... I think I'm ok but I will pursue further ...

Speedwell

Ingested fat and cholesterol are not the problem (outside of known problems with the gall bladder or other pathologies). Elevated levels of fat and/or cholesterol in the body, whether from overeating in proportion to what the body uses, or from one or another metabolic disorder (such as a fatty liver damaged by drinking), are the problems. Fats in the diet are required for the body to properly use fat-soluble nutrients, and cholesterol is produced and metabolized in fairly large amounts by the body to make hormones.

There are good and bad fats. Eating chemically changed fats with the breakdown products from overcooking or being used to fry too many times can be a problem, but a small one in comparison with other compounds in food that could potentially harm the body. There is said to be a certain kind of fat in the fish called "escolar" (sometimes called 'white tuna" in sushi restaurants) that is not properly metabolized by the human body. Rotated fats such as the compound Olestra (used in "diet" crisps and such) play hell with your digestion. The fat in butter is more easily used by the body than the fat in hydrogenated margarine or polyunsaturated oils. The lauric acid (a type of fat) in coconut oil can aid healing and metabolism. Don't worry about the small amounts of fat you say you use.

Eggs contain lecithin, which actually aids in the metabolism of both fat and cholesterol. So long as you don't eat so many of them that you neglect the rest of your diet, and they are free of disease, recent research indicates eggs are safe.

So long as you are eating enough food, and eating a good enough variety, you are sure to be getting enough protein. I got plenty when I was a vegan, from eating a good combination of grains/breads/pasta, greens, other vegetables, legumes, and nuts. The problem in our Western diets is not a lack of protein, but a tendency to eat so much protein that we tax our systems. Don't confuse "protein" with milk, meat, and eggs alone. Peanut butter is great, especially on a good sturdy bread. Keeping in mind the principles of combining different kinds of "incomplete" protein to make "complete" protein is useful, but they don't have to be eaten together at every meal, just within the same day or so. Seek additional sources of protein if you are an athlete or you use your muscles a lot.

Keep up with important macronutrients such as fiber and water. Don't panic!

steveq

...and retard the absorption of certain vitamins.

Moderation in all things.

Steve