A Better Shopping Trip...

So Matt and I have been really getting into eating better (hence all the garden posts), so we've been expanding our regular shopping trips to find local produce and healthier meats.  We were worried about the cost, but have found that it is not as cost restrictive as we would have thought.  So, if you are interested in shopping locally and eating better stuff, here are some places to hit up.

1.  On Fridays :: The Midtown Market at St. Anthony Hospital.  It is open from 2:30 PM to 7:00 PM.  If you are downtown/midtown on Fridays, you can get fruits, veggies, chicken, bread, pizza crust, eggs, mushrooms (EW!), peanut butter, jams, fruits, etc.  It is easy to get to - it's just south of McNellie's :) You can check out here and here for more info. 

2.  On Saturdays :: The OSU OKC Farmer's Market.  Holy cow this place is AMAZING!  Before you even walk in, there is produce, beef, bison, and a truckload of corn.  Inside, there are even more goodies, like every veggie you can imagine, berries, melons, cheese, pork (mmmmm...bacon), eggs, granola, etc.  I could really list out everything they have, but then I would be too hungry to finish the post...

3.  Anytime :: Native Roots Market.  I only went here because I had a Groupon, but it is the closest thing we have to Whole Foods (which will be here in less than two years!).

4.  For everything else, I head to Target.  I'm switching to 7th Generation cleaning products, and I can't go a day without a Clif Bar.

So - what do we buy at these wonderful places?  Well, here is the shortlist of what we buy and what to do with it until you are ready to eat it ::

Grass-fed, Hormone-free Beef - ground beef ($4-6 per LB), fillets (2 for $16 - I can't finish one)

Grass-fed, Hormone-free Bison - ground beef ($4-6 per LB), fillets (I don't remember how much bison steaks cost).  The GREAT thing about bison is that it is super lean.  When browning the ground bison, there is literally no grease to drain.  And the steaks can be cut with a butter knife.

Grass-fed, Hormone-free Chicken - this is probably the priciest of our buys, a frozen 5 LB bag of chicken breast strips or tenders is $22.50

Grass-fed, Hormone-free Pork - pork chops ($7 per LB) - we got 4 pork chops for $16.

The meat comes frozen, but isn't freezer burned like you might expect.  It also re-heats well a day after cooking.

Christian Cheese - for $5, it is the most amazing cheese I have ever eaten.  John Christian and his wife have been making cheese together for 35 years.  And he has samples.  He asked me if I was 18 before he would let me try to the merlot mozzarella :)

Eggs - $4 per dozen

Granola - $5.50 for a big bag with dried fruit in it.  YUMM!

Produce - corn ($5 per dozen), peaches ($8 per basket), plums ($3 per pint), blueberries ($5.50 per pint), cucumbers ($0.50 each), watermelons ($5-$10 each for the biggest melons you have ever seen), cantaloupe ($3 each).  I haven't bought tomatoes since I am in no shortage of those, but they are about $2.50-$3.50 per LB.

Now, why go driving all over town just for groceries?  I won't get into the science or the politics of it, but I will tell you my personal reasons to do it ::

It comes from Oklahoma, not from thousands of miles away

The meat is grass fed and hormone free, and the produce has no waxy coating to preserve it

The prices are reasonable 

And, most importantly, it TASTES BETTER!!