Monday, June 29, 2009

Where to shop

I'm not one to promote a particular brand or store as being the best, but I have to say that Kroger has yet to let me down in the variety of vegan options they have. Here are the things that bring me to this store every week when I go grocery shopping.
  • Fresh produce - never moldy like Walmart, never crazy expensive like Albertsons (at least around here). Even a decent selection of organics (which I'm leaning more towards).
  • A large selection of vegetarian friendly options.They have the largest variety of any of the "regular" grocery stores around. Specialty stores like Sprouts and Central Market (and of course Whole Foods) have a greater selection, but Kroger's selection is about 10 feet long of shelving from floor to about 6 foot high - however tall the refrigerated section is in the produce area of the store.
  • Lots of ethnic foods - an entire half of an aisle to be exact. Everything from Thai to Mexican to European (British to German) to kosher foods (which is where I find the tahini).
  • Their store brand and their upscale store brand (Private Selection) products are inexpensive and often are better quality ingredients than the name brands. For example, Kroger Whole Wheat Whole Salad Rotini has exactly what the title says - the ingredients list says "100% durum whole wheat flour". Awesome.
  • Organic store brand. Sweet! For example - The words on the can of black beans that I just bought read "Private Selection Organic All Natural Organic Beans Black - Organic Black Beans packed in water - Net wt 15 oz (425 g)". And that's it. Simple. Straight to the point. And organic.
  • The packages that they use for packing the organic baby spinach (and other salad mixes) are made from 100% plant products - no petroleum plastic products. Cool.
  • And, last but not least, Kroger just mailed out a small booklet of coupons called "My Magazine" focused entirely on "budget-friendly vegetarian possibilities". Yeah, 'nuff said.
What stores do you like shopping at for groceries? For cooking supplies? For utensils?
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3 comments:

  1. Drew's AdventuresJune 30, 2009 at 9:25 AM

    My favorite store here (Lubbock Texas) is United Market Street. We have two but I only stop at the one that is clear across town. Why would I drive further you ask? Because it's a brand new grocery store that always has a TON of reusable grocery bags and, no joke, I've never seen a plastic bag being used at this store. They have a great selection of grains, organics and tofu products. As well as lots of Amy's Kitchen products which I just love.

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  2. AbbieJune 30, 2009 at 2:55 PM

    I use United Market Street,too, because we don't have Kroger up here. I have a really good luck finding things that make me happy. :)

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  3. KristieJuly 1, 2009 at 11:56 AM

    I was thinking about writing a post like this! You beat me too it. ;-)

    I went to the Kroger over here recently and they do have a ton of vegan friendly items, I had no idea.

    Also, I agree with the Walmart produce, it's awful.

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