I buy organic catnip (right in my grocery store) and

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and the best thing I saw come through line very late one night was a roll of duct tape, a bottle of wine, and condoms. The customer was one of my professors at school, I was the only checker open, so he had to come through my line. Ended up with an A in all 3 of his classes I was in, hopefully by smarts and not fear of blackmail!

I wanna vomit as well and hubby really has no concept of how high food has gotten.....

Still have 2 kerosene heaters that I won't part with in the event of a gas outage....but K1 is $3.50 a gallon.....I know what you're talkin' about trying to fill the tank with oil (I'm originally from the NE). We've got enough quilts and long underwear to make it through...And, I found insulated coveralls, Carhart (your winter uniform) $7...I hit the consignment stores and lucked out on that one!

A lotta people take for granted things like heat and food and have never chopped wood. In any event,it's great to know that you're okay.

Cat

What you want to buy is a "city" ham, not a "country" ham. City hams have less salt. Smithfield hams are good. I've also tried Cooks' and Hatfield. Don't know if they sell those in your part of the country.

I get a catalog called Burger's Smokehouse and those hams look absolutely fantastic. I would love to order from there but I'm strapped for cash right now.

The past 2 years, we have gotten a 1/2 pig from a local butcher. DH loves them. I'm not crazy about them.

I find it in the pet food aisle near all the kitty toys etc.but I'm in upstate NY so I'm not sure about Publix. We have Price Chopper and Hannaford here.

However, I know places like PetCo or PetSmart sell it also and also Wal-Mart - near all the cat food and kitty toys. I have also found fresh catnip at local nurseries growing in little pots.

Do you try to buy them wherever possible, or only if you happen to pick them up in error? If you intentionally buy them, why? Do they taste better, are they better for you, do you believe you're helping the environment?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/04/13/cl.organics/index.html

Organic vs. conventional: What do experts say?

By Amy Spindler
CookingLight.com

The organic market is growing at a steady pace of nearly 20 percent annually, and that translates into organic alternatives in nearly every grocery aisle -- from snack foods to frozen meals to baked goods. "Everyone wants to be healthy and these foods convey an aura of health," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and author of "What to Eat." Here, experts compare some of the benefits and drawbacks of going organic.

Are organic products more nutritious?
A few small studies have shown that some organic foods contain higher nutrient levels than conventional ones. For example, a recent study showed that organic ketchup had 57 percent more of the antioxidant lycopene than regular ketchup. But the wholesale claim that organics are more nutritious than conventional is ahead of the science. "More research is needed before it can be stated that organic foods provide more nutritional value," says Connie Diekman, M.Ed., R.D., director of university nutrition at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Organic foods may have other benefits, though. Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., chief scientist at The Organic Center, asserts that some organic products are less processed, which means they may contain fewer chemically adulterated ingredients (think hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives).

Bottom line: "Read labels and look at each product in its own right," Benbrook says. An organic potato chip may contain as many calories and saturated fat grams as a conventional chip. "The price premiums associated with processed organic food are not as great as the premiums charged for organic whole foods," Benbrook says.

Are organic products healthier for the environment?
What's best for the environment is hotly debated among experts. "There is no scientifically accepted evidence that organic foods are better for the environment. Organic production allows natural pesticides, which can be toxic to humans and wildlife," says Alan McHughen, Ph.D., professor of botany and plant sciences at the University of California, Riverside. Organic fertilizers may also contain harmful bacteria, such as E. coli. Plus, organic farming yields only 75 to 90 percent of the crop of conventional systems, meaning that more land must be planted in order to have an equal return.

Organic advocates counter that chemicals used in conventional farming spread far beyond the fields where they are applied and have unintended consequences. "Synthetic pesticides have been linked to developmental and neurological problems," Benbrook says. "Organics eliminate synthetic pesticides and the damage they do to farmers, land, and drinking water."

Organic regulations also prohibit the use of genetic modification -- another thorny issue with as-yet unclear implications for the environment.

Bottom line: Focus on foods' benefit to your immediate environmen -- i.e. your body -- first. "A good diet means variety, balance, and moderation, regardless of the farming method that produced the food," McHughen says.

To my family, the price is a concern. However, when we can, we like food out of our little garden best.

We serve nutritious foods with what we can provide. This week we ate strawberries and canteloupe because they were on sale. We've been using bell peppers in about everything for the same reason. However, next week might be broccoli everything. We are big bean eaters around here; they're cheap, nutritious, and good. Only Cargill a couple blocks away from here smells worse than us.

I don't really buy into the organic hype, but I've bought organic things, usually if they were cheap. I could read studies until I'm blue in the face about how the pesticides will give me hemorrhoids and foot fungus and whatever the study is about; I revel in the thought that my chance of death is eventually 100%.

Don't mind my ramble. Thank you for the article, though. I found it informative.

I haven't done any baking in almost two years, but decided to try to get going for this Christmas. So, I get my list all ready and get my fanny out the door and to the market.....just to give myself a heart attack!! A small jar of honey, store brand, $6.00, a large can of Crisco, almost $7.00!! Flour, $3.50! I wanted to make some Italian annisette cookies, almost $5.00 for a small bottle of anise flavoring. forgetaboutit! Holy Cow!!! How the heck do families with kids manage?

On our news last night, they said here in RI, where the unemployment rate is 9.3%, they said that 1 in 6 kids will go hungry....that just makes me sick.

I think I won't be doing much as much baking as I had planned on. This is just nuts! Oh, and have you seen the price of them lately?!!

You won't shop in any stores that have gay/lesbian items but you shop in your stores of your choice - where there are probably plenty of gay employees!

Don't you see the hypocrisy? I'm just trying to make a point. You cannot presume to know in a shop who is a gay/lesbian employee, correct? So you're defeating your own purpose I do believe.

Me? I think there's not enough love in this world and so if 2 people find each other in a loving way, it's okay by me. I really don't care who is *doing* who as it is none of my business.

I'm much more of a political shopper as another poster just said.......the poster who posted ALL that info towards the end of this entire thread about all the details about Wal-Mart including the dissatisfied Wal-Mart employees in China....being very careful where I spend my $$ for political reasons. In this light I have a problem with Target......so much of their $$ is given to a party I am not affiliated with, but, on the other hand, I just heard that Target gives so much back to the communities and charities and is a huge *giver* to the communities and charities - and that's a GREAT thing so I'm in a quandry about Target. *lol*

(Thank you to that poster who posted ALL the Wal-Mart problems information - that was TERRIFIC info, especially the stuff about China!!!)

In any event, we all do not need to be spatting about this - I mean it is the Holiday season and we should try to be kinder to each other.

We eat out for dinner once a week (usually on Friday nights when my husband gets back into town) and then usually end up eating lunch out on Saturdays and maybe even Sundays (fast food). I/We really need to cut this expense from our budget or at least just greatly reduce it! Would love your suggestions.

For those of you who don't eat out very often (think I read a grocery posting about just eating out once a month or for birthdays), what do you do on those nights that you are just so tired and really don't feel like cooking, serving, and cleaning up?

My husband won't cook unless it's to grill (too cold to do that now) and then my son is okay to help clear the table some but not to actually rinse the dishes, wash pots and pans, etc.

I would only see him on Sundays, usually every other, and I would look for him when I was on my breaks or lunch. Our offices and breakroom were upstairs with large picture windows and you could see most of the store. If I would see him wandering the aisles I would run down and open my checkstand for him. He came through my line one time and we made small chit chat. I asked him about a current event that was going on in our state that was pretty big news and he knew nothing about it; he had been on a 2 week business trip and hadn't heard the news. He then told me he was going sturgeon fishing for a couple of days; I acted interested and the next time he came through my line he brought me some smoked sturgeon. I hate fish, but of course took it anyway, thanked him profusely, and gave it to a neighbor (and my cats!). From then on for about 2 months I would see him every other Sunday. I scoped out what he bought, and determined he wasn't married (you can tell a lot about a person by what they grocery shop for).

Then, one day when I got off work, I had to do some grocery shopping. I was talking to a customer of mine in the produce section when all of a sudden here comes Mr. Sunday, who happened to work with the customer I was chatting with. Mr. Sunday said hi to me, general chit chat, and our mutual friend said that Mr. Sunday was a great guy, we looked cute together, maybe he should ask me out. Awkward moment, much laughter, customer leaves. Mr. Sunday and I are standing by the magos (he loves them, I hate them), he picks one out, asks me if I like them, I say yes (have lied twice now about food), grab one and buy it. My teenage daughter asked me when I got home what I was going to do with it and I said I didn't know; the neighbor got the mango too.

Finally, after not seeing Mr. Sunday for 2 weeks, I was gettng ready to go home on a weekday when all of a sudden who should come in but him. We literally bumped into each other. He asked me if I got the messages he left at the store for me. I told him no. He then looked at my nametag and said, "No wonder you didn't get the message, I thought your nametag said Sandra." Not my name....Apparently he called and left 3 messages for Sandra. They told him no one by that name worked there, hence I never got the messages. He gave me his phone number, told me to call him when I was free for lunch, and the rest is history. I found out he only came in on Sunday because he lived rurally, came in to go to church, only had to shop every other week because he was single (actually newly divorced). He worked in town but did 12-hour shifts, so if he came into the store at all to shop I was already off work by the time he came in.

Ten years later, he has since learned that I hate fish and mangos and what my REAL name is. We have an absolutely wonderful marriage, he makes me laugh every day, and he is a wonderful man. All because of the grocery store.

I know for some here they've said it's Walmart.

There's a chain of stores here in NJ, not sure if they're anywhere else though. It's calles SixthAvenue Electronics. We had a bad experience with them many years ago (they sold us a reconditioned piece of electronics without telling us it wasn't new) and to this day I won't even look at their flyers. I just throw them away.

Where won't you shop?