I try hard to eat vegan. If I do eat dairy or eggs, I make sure the animals are raised free range. I also peruse online newspapers daily, and
CNN seems to be making a fuss about food prices going to way of gas prices. As a poor college student, I am used to scrounging for money to buy food. So if any of you are also trying to eat vegan, veggie or just plain healthy and eco-friendly here are a few recommendations:
These are easy to find in almost any city. Living in the midwest, one of the first things I do when I move to a new city is check out where the farmer's market meets. In Madison, WI it's easy because the farmer's market is in the middle of the city. Fresh produce is available here at inexpensive prices and since it comes from smaller farms the animal products are almost guaranteed free range.
Here's my strategy for shopping there: either go really early or really late. The pro of going early is that you get to pick the best and freshest of the produce. The con is that the prices are steeper and haggling is more difficult. Not to mention that you have to wake up at 5 am. If you go late, farmers are very persuadable haggle-wise because they just want to pack up and drive home. (I presume to sleep since they must get up at 2, 3 am to start the drive down.)
Co-ops:
To find a co-op near you, listen to word of mouth and do some research online. I find being a member has quite a few benefits if you plan to shop there often, not the least of which includes lower prices.
These aren't everywhere in the US, but if you live on the coasts or the central midwest you may be in luck. Not only do they feature many ethnic foods, but it's also quite inexpensive. Another bonus is that you don't have to join some store club or coupon hunt, it's the lowest price they'll make it. One of my favorite features is the three dollar bottles of wine, known as 3 buck Chuck.
I hope you find this article helpful!
Recently I dug out an Urban Outfitters giftcard from the depths of my purse. It had about $30 on it and while I have stopped shopping there, I would hate for them to earn any money from me so I figured I'd best spend it. I picked out this lovely feathered headband at the exorbitant price of $18, I also snagged a pack of 5 headbands. Now don't get me wrong, I love the look, but it seems pretty easy to replicate. You can pick up some authentic looking feathers at any craft store. Hot glue gun or tape can be used to secure the stems then wrap thread around the base of the feathers to cover up the tape/glue.
When I was about 5 or 6 and visiting my then-alive great grandmother (dubbed G.G.), I would always love to play with her collection of pillboxes. They were all beautifully detailed and the perfect size for my minute hands. Now that I'm finally taking my own medication (birth control, allergies, etc), I figure rather than have cumbersome (ugly) plastic pharmacy bottles around, I should dig up some of GG's old pillboxes. I find them wondrously classy and stylish. Any thoughts?
The weather was divine saturday, the perfect day to hit uptown and window shop. Unfortunately, though my budget can ill afford it, I was seduced by a pair of red leather pumps. These saucy vixens were made in Paris by Charles Jourdan. They carried me all over Uptown and into the discount movie theater later that night. Possibly my favorite feature is the 3.5 inch heels which push me to a solid 5'5"!
This afternoon, after I had finished watching Australia's Next Top Model on Youtube, I felt like rolling onto my stomach and falling asleep. I nearly did, but I remembered I have work in an hour. With Minneapolis weather so dismal and depressing lately, finding energy to do all the things I want to do has become increasingly difficult, so I did a bit of research and figured I'd share my finds with you.
