the grocery game....

I have often been asked what I buy and where I buy it.  I'll be honest, I'm not as good as I used to be about finding a good deal.  In my defense it's hard to find a deal on fresh, organic, real food.  There are probably 1-3 coupons (usually store coupons) for things I buy, as opposed to when I was a huge coupon clipper, buying all kinds of processed, GMO filled, chemical crap storms of food. 
Anyhow, here's where I buy what....most of the time.

Meat:  I have several local farmers that I get meat from or have gotten meat from in the past.  They are:

• Probst Family Farm - located in Bluffton, Ohio.  They are my go to for soy free chickens and eggs.  They also have other amazing products, so check them out!
• Luginbill Family Farm - located outside of Pandora, Ohio.  I have gotten beef and pork from them in the past.  They have a variety of pork products that I haven't been able to find other places.
• Yellowbird Foodshed - They are my go to for beef and pork (and produce, but we aren't talking about that right now).  Love, love, love what they are doing!!  Connecting amazing farmers with consumers who care about the food they eat with local and sustainably grown food! #whogrewyourfood
• When I buy fish, I usually buy it from Kroger.  We are not big fish eaters, mostly because somehow I often forget it exists, it's weird.  When we do eat fish we typically eat salmon.  I've experimented with other fish, but it usually is less than delicious.  Fish buying tip-- always buy wild caught fish.

Produce: 

• Yellowbird Foodshed - The CSA boxes this summer were amazing! 
• Grocery Store - I buy organic 98% of the time.  However if I can't find organic produce from the store I will utilize the dirty dozen list. 
• Farmers markets - unfortunately these are seasonal :(

Other groceries: (I apologize in advance for this portion-- no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't organize it, quite to my liking)

• Coconut milk or almond milk, can be a great dairy free replacement.  However, many of them contain additives that are not so hot!  Thickeners such as guar gum or xanthan gum can be bothersome for some people.  Other additives like carrageenan are inflammatory, so you may not be doing your body any good by using these dairy replacements.  When I'm looking for coconut milk for recipes I organic canned coconut milk (I like to buy this one which is BPA free- Natural Value ).  This milk in my opinion would not be good for just plain drinking.  The cream separates to the top and is a not smooth because it does not contain additives.  There are also lots of resources out there with recipes to make your own nut milk or coconut milk.  I personally have not done this, but if you want to try, you totally should!  I'd love to hear about it.  Maybe you'll inspire me!
• My kids love cliff kids fruit snacks, and I'll admit I eat about one a week as a treat.
• I also buy nuts, nut butter, plantain chips, dried fruit, organic applesauce, baking supplies (organic vanilla, nut flours, tapioca starch, coconut, etc.) from various places. If I can't find it locally I will check amazon, or I also order thru a co-op several times per year. 
• I love Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.  Unfortunately, or fortunately for my bank account, there aren't any within an hour and a half from me.  I do visit them when I am near, however it's easy to buy junk food at these stores too.  Sometimes you can get good deals on produce and meats here, and I almost always stock up on things like organic pickles, coconut milk (we use Trader Joe's Light Coconut Milk for coffee creamer), nuts and some organic frozen veggies to have on standby at home.    

I sure hope someone reads this.  Sadly it took me a long time to write this post....like 3 months!  Kidding-- I really just started it two days ago, but I've clearly had writers block for quite some time. 
My goal for 2015 is to blog regularly, so let me know what you'd like to read about.  I'll see what I can do!