Englishmum

The problem with Wholefoods is that it is extremely expensive....much more so than Trader Joe's and the bakery and meat prices there are daylight robbery.

There is a 'Wholefoods' in our town (they even have UK Heinz baked beans and Neal's Yard Dairy (Covent Garden) and other niche UK cheeses but although I do like the quality of the produce I can't really do a proper family shopping trip there; for example if you want toothpaste they tend to focus on brands like 'Toms of Maine' and not Colgate, Aquafresh etc. and they have very limited selections of things like washing detergents, shampoo, toothbrushes, bin liners, pet food etc. so you end up taking another trip to another supermarket.

Our local 'Wholefoods' has an enormous selection of various Vitamin and homeopathic supplements....I guess most of their targeted customers want to live 'forever' LOL!

Woodsey: I'm astonished that the quality of your fruit and veg is so poor in California, as that seems to be where most of the produce is from which we're getting here in the North East. I reckon most of the produce is not exactly 'fresh' but has been in cold storage for some time...I'd love to know how much food is irradiated here. I remember the big public outcry in the UK when the large supermarkets wanted to introduce irradiated fruit & veg, especially soft fruit such as strawberries, and in the end they didn't implement it. However, I'm sure a lot of the food over here is irradiated....also I don't like the look of the 'monster' sized (and tasteless) forced strawbs here.

I think that Monsanto has a lot to answer for with all their bloody genetically modified food in the US.

Bob

not all bad then

Bob

Though that random green shite isn't alway bad, the laundry detergent we got, $13 for a tub, but it has lasted over a year, i ain't kidding..but then again, only the two of us...but it does a great job, so worked out really cheap...

snowbunny

You're right: you can't get Coke there or non-organic/freetrade/etc mainstream brands of food. You'll be presented with biodegradable bin liners and organic pet food. You do have to separate your shopping into "mainstream" and "Whole Foods."

If we went shopping every day or every other day as if we truly were living in a town with a market, we'd doubtless get fresher produce and meats. But without preservatives and other additives, that food has a short shelflife. Given that the average American wants to shop for enough food for a week all in one go, is it any wonder that the fruit/veg/meat/cheese has to be genetically modified or mummified in order to last that long?

We would be much better off with smaller shops that sold these perishables, with many of them near to neighbourhoods, and bigger shops that sold things with a longer shelf life, but fewer of them. Pity suburban America wants all shops well away from houses in a ghetto of their own.

FlyergirlUK

Am I eating healthier here? No, I'm eating just the same foods/meals I was in the UK. Hubby's eating habits have improved since I've been here though.

I get to blame pregnancy for my extra weight gain - I was doing so good up until then.

Re. the high fructose corn syrup - I will never again have to endure a revolting, sugary loaf of bread - I got myself a breadmaking machine a couple of days ago, omitted the sugar and dried milk from the recipe and am thoroughly enjoying yummy, decent-tasting bread! Love it!!

As for Wholefoods - don't ever buy their dishwasher liquid - it sucks!! I don't tend to buy too much in there but will pop in there for some decent cuts of meat and decent veg/salad, just as a bit of a change to the norm. It's also the only place where I can get smoked haddock to make kedgeree.

Celtic_Angel

a $13 tub of laundry detergent lasted you a whole year?! :scared: damn bob i know it's cold over there but damn you guys must be ripe!! *lol*

AdobePinon

Yeah, but it took me 12 years of eating crap before I decided to do it! LOL! (Because it does take real effort.)

Bob

cheeky...it's actually a huge drum of detergent...got it at the green store...

Guelder Rose

Eat a more healthy diet in the US after moving from the UK? You've got to be kidding?

In the UK I rarely ate out as it was just so expensive, but salad was always in plentiful supply and I loved those Danone coconut yoghurts too (can't get them here)!

In the US the salad produce is always limp and disgusting within a couple of days of buying it. I once paid an exhorbitant price for a European cucumber (so much nicer than the US equivalent) and it was totally rotten three days later. Also, I just don't get why they have sprinklers on the salad and vege sections ... does it really need watering? It just really irritates me that all the produce is soaking wet and I don't get why they do it!

Anyway, IMO the food in the stores is total crap, but I guess the average American would probably say the same about food in the UK. In fact, my family say that British food is just too bland, as we tend to eat produce without drowning it in seasoning and oil first!

My diet here is total crap ... we eat out as a family all the time ... and whilst the food might be cheap, it's always the wrong type of food - and there is rarely an option to have any type of vegetables with a meal as you would in the UK. I really worry about the children here who are being raised on burgers and fries with unlimited quantities of sugar laden soda ... surely there is going to be a price to pay for that in terms of health when they get older?

Guelder Rose

I'm also in California and, yes, the fruit and vege is disgusting. Jeez, we even bought a sack of grapefruit from the small stores they have right beside the trees where they grow them - a dozen for just a $1 - but all of them were rotten within a week. Just doesn't make sense.

neil

I actually do walk most places - I live in a college town; right in the centre so will always walk to restaurants and bars. I even cycle to work once or twice a week (when the weather allows it) and that's 10 miles each way. I'm working every other week in Cincinnati and the office I go to is 10 minutes walk from the hotel as are many restaurants so I make sure I take the opportunity to walk then. Maybe it's more to do with the fact I'm settling down (I've lived with my fiancee for 2 years now) - I heard that's supposed to contribute to putting on weight.

snorkmaiden

God I wish we were eating more healthily but no. As most people have said, the fruit and veg is pretty naff and finding a yoghurt that isn't loaded with all kinds of artificial colourings etc; is next to impossible. I really miss Rachels Organic Yoghurt from back home.

My children's diet is much less healthy. At home they loved cheese and yoghurt and beans and wholemeal bread etc; but here the yoghurt is bright pink or blue, the cheese is rubbery or tasteless and the bread is more like cake.

We've been trying to lose the weight we gained the first year recently by eating out less, cooking as healthily as possible and torturing ourselves with exercise - hubby bought himself a bike to ride to work which is a health risk all on it's own here in Garland, and hubby has lost 23 lbs now but I'm finding it a real challenge.

Woodsey - I had to get the powdered drinks that you mix with water for our kids. Not the Kool Aid - Crystal Light and Country Time are the two brands we use. The diet versions - no sugar, but they do have artificial sweetener which is really controversial now, so I really limit the amount of flavoured drinks my children have and they will drink water if I let them stick loads of ice in.

My local Kroger has a few of the Robinsons cordials and they are cheaper than you are paying - somewhere around the $5 mark I think but they don't very often stock the low sugar or sugar free. I wish they'd get the Ribena Toothkind.

Celtic_Angel

well i wasn't refering to you personally and by the sounds of it you get plenty of chances to exercise...down here, further south it's near impossible, no wonder Houston is THE fatest city in the country there's nothing to do but go to a resturant and shop, really nothing out doorsey to do , you really have to make the effort, no green areas etc so on a good day you either shop or go and eat

luckily i have a okay metabolism i guess so i've never been over weight really but if i want to exercise i either have to consciously go to the gym or make the effort to ride my bike on the bicycle trail , there's no riding your bike to get somewhere you need to drive on main roads and highwqys to get anywhere

effi

I am guessing that most of the people on here writing about this are either in their 20s or 30s. How can you say that eating out is cheap? Where are you eating, I want to go there? I find the standard of fruit and veg and most of the stuff I used to buy in the UK that I buy over here is way cheaper. Sure McDs is cheap, but is absolute shite. We do not eat out much, and never have fast food. I cook from scratch, but then that is how I was brought up, I am a fair bit older though than most of the people on here. If you are all anything like my sister who is 36, then you don't know how to cook, I know she doesn't.

Bob

Could try checking out the booze section, I've seen a few bottles of cordials for $3...lime is big...and then a few others, grenadine, and raspberry...