I Love-Hate Our Local Organic Market

I have been ruined by Whole Foods.  I really wish that I was one of those people that preferred to shop at a small, local grocer.  But, I'm not. I love that there are many different kinds of organic choices at Whole Foods.  Don't like these pickles?  Well, here are some other pickles.  Don't like this cut of meat?  Well, here are 17 other cuts of meat you might like, half of them grass-fed, of course.  Anything you fancy, you can buy a healthier version of it at Whole Foods.  Yet, even when we're eating very basic foods, we struggle to find the healthiest foods at this local organic market.  We still have to travel to Whole Foods to buy a bunch of stuff anyway.

When we moved into this house, a Whole Foods was supposed to be going in down the street.  That is, until one of the local municipalities decided to unnecessarily stall the process.  Good news yesterday that there was a ruling in the most recent set back. 

Why our local organic market drives me nuts:

1. The meat section smells a little rotten.  We've bought meat there that has gone bad within 12 hours before.  They don't carry whole chickens or organ meat, so we can't buy the healthiest foods there.  The meat selection is very poor. 
2. They only have one organic "no sulfite added" white wine, and it's one I don't like.  They don't carry chardonnay, and the pinot grigio they do have is green or pale yellow.  They have one bottle of golden yellow pinot grigio, which is one of the only bottles of wine in the place that doesn't make me sick. 
3. They were out of diapers sizes 3-5 for more than a month. That's basically a year range of diaper-aged kids for which they didn't have diapers.
4. I didn't even know they carried diapers for four months, because they were behind a pillar in between the bottled water and paper products.
5. They don't have any grass fed filets.  Most of their grass fed meat is from Australia, which has most likely been frozen.  I don't like my food to have been frozen.  And, I wan to eat local cows, preferably, but I'd even settle for cows that didn't have to cross an ocean.
6. ALL of their baked goods are vegan (save the breads).  As in, soy products are used and they are milk/butter/dairy free.  I don't eat vegan stuff.  I want real food!  I want cupcakes, cakes, and cookies made with real butter and real milk.
7. They don't stock up on the popular items.  If you're not in there on delivery day, you're not getting it for two weeks to a month.
8. They didn't have organic blueberries, so I was going to just suck up and buy the conventional.  But, there was a sign in front of the blueberries stating why you should only by organic blueberries.  There weren't signs in front of the other fruits.  Just the blueberries telling you that conventional blueberries had 50 different chemicals on them.  Yet, the store didn't have any organic blueberries nor did it appear there was an empty space for any on the shelf.
9. They stopped giving a military discount.  Let me tell you, 10% off of a bagillion is a lot of money.  Like a trillion dollars we were saving.  
10. People say Whole Foods is more expensive, but that's not true.  It's more expensive to shop at this organic market.  You have to do the math when it comes to how much you're getting for what you pay.  Sure, the organic meat costs the same, but I'm getting 1.3 lbs at Whole Foods for the same price.
11.  This is where I bought that horrible face wash that had parabens in it.  I complained to the manager, but it's still on the shelf!!!!
12. They routinely put out avocados and sometimes bananas that take more than a week to ripen.  I mean, if I wanted to wait until next week to eat my banana, I will buy it next week.  
13. I saw an employee take lettuce out of a retail plastic container and fill the bulk salad container.  If you're selling me bulk salad, I expect that you didn't get it out of a box. Some folks stay away from the pre-washed boxes and bags of salad because of bacteria.  It isn't clear that salad is not washed and prepared at the store.

Why I love our local organic market

1. The staff is awesome.
2. It's hardly ever packed.
3. They have raw cheese.
4. They have low-temp pasteurized, grass-fed, organic milk in glass containers. 
5. They give credit when you bring back the glass milk containers.
6. They have grass-fed ice cream!
7. They have hot, organic coffee.
8. They carry Bandit wine, which I like a lot! And my favorite champagne, though that now makes me sick.
9. They have these awesome gluten-free frozen pizzas.
10. They have many items from local farms.
11. They sell organic broccoli heads; at WF I usually have to buy the whole stalk and it's by the pound.
12. They carry organic peanut butter cups.
13. Thank goodness they carry beer and wine.  The Giant down the street doesn't have it!
14. The manager responded to my crazy email with some feedback.  And, they still haven't chased me out of the store, which I have been waiting for.
15. They remind me to bring my reusable bags, which I rarely remember to do.  I need to remember to do that.  Note to self.