Gigantic produce

[spyrosmom]

Anyone notice recently how BIG the freakin' produce at the store has gotten? I tried to buy some sweet potatoes yesterday to make pot roast, and they were huge. The smallest one was at least as long as my forearm and twice as big around. It was a Schwarzenegger potato. Needless to say I only needed to buy one. But the grapefruits are bigger than softballs and 1 apple weighs nearly a pound. What the heck? And it seems that the bigger it gets, the less tasty it gets. Huge strawberries are nasty and puckery, the small ones are much better. What's up with the mutant food? Apples on trees in my neck of the woods DO NOT grow that big. The tree would fall over. I want my food tasty, not bigger than me. Unfortunely in the Midwest, I can't grow my own or farm stand all year round, although I'd like too.

Try following a recipe that calls for 3 medium carrots. Um, the store doesn't have a normal carrot. They have huge and OMG!!! Is 3 med = 1 huge? or perhaps just 1/2 an OMG carrot?

But if a "single serving" (one apple) of good for us food is more like 2 servings, its no wonder we all have portion distortion when it comes to the not so good stuff, too. I think I read not too long ago that the gov't actually changed the calorie count in a regular or medium apple because the apples have gotten bigger?? WTF???

Here we are trying to eat healthy and watch calories and so on and so forth and my "medium" orange that is supposed to be something like 100 cals is actually the size of a soccer ball and 1000 cals. Ok, so I'm exaggerating on that one, but what happened to the real food? Why are we farming for size and looks instead of taste and nutrition? Did I miss a memo somewhere?????

This is the stuff that keeps me awake at night. *sigh*

Nan

 

[fitnessangel]

Perhaps it has something to do with GMOs?? Maybe it has something to do with more people eating larger meals.

I have also noticed a difference in my produce. Many meats do not even taste as good as they used to. I guess many farmers believe that increasing size, quantity, and overall yield produces more income. Who cares about the average consumer wanting a great tasting strawberry or tomato? It really stinks. I guess this is why I love growing my own vegetables when it is the right season (stinks when it is winter though).

Have you tried going to a different grocery store (like Whole Foods)?Or, when the stands open up or Farmer's Market, you might be able to get some fresher produce that usually taste much better than the ones at the grocery store.

 

[hiitdogs]

I agree with you!!! That's why I don't buy any produce and rarely buy meat, etc. at the "regular" store anymore.

In fact, I went to the local farmer's market today, spent about $ 60 and got 9 bags full of organic (or at least pesticide free), locally grown, veggies, fruit, herb and eggs. Some of the produce was TINY compared to what you normally get at the supermarket but OMG was it delish.

You will have to make some sacrifices, you can only buy what is in season but boy, does the taste and smell of it make up for it.

We have the local farmer's market here until it gets too hot by the end of April/beginning of May (I live in Arizona), but I am also a member of the local "buyer's club", I get a basket full of organic produce which costs me about $ 35 to 40 a week, I have no say in what is in that basket, I just get what is in season, but I can also special order anything (not only produce but anything that you would get at a Whole Foods, etc) at whole sale price plus a 7.5 % or 10 % surcharge.

I think there is a HUGE difference in taste and quality. Our buyer's club was founded by a single person who wanted to get better food and make it accessible to everyone else, so we get our produce and everything else through a Whole Saler in CA (but they have warehouses all over the US). If you don't have it in your area, it might be something to look into, it is WELL worth it!!!

For example, I bought locally grown daikon radishes that are normally 2 ft long at my local grocery store, the daikon I bought at the market was a couple of inches long but boy, did it taste awesome, I could just cut a piece of and munch on it and I couldn't stop, HUGE difference.

PM me or email me, if you need any info about who we use as a whole saler, etc.

Good luck!

 

[punka274]

" Schwarzenegger potato" LMAO....

I agree,i have to cut my apple in half to enjoy a healthy portion..and your right the taste is almost 'watered down' :-(

 

[dlavie]

America is not getting obese from oversize apples. It's the processed foods that are killing us.

 

[kathryn]

You're absolutely right that producers aren't going for taste and nutrition, but for size and appearance : Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Often, smaller produce has more concentrated nutrients, because it's less hybridized (and most hybridization has been done for the producers' benefit, not for the consumers' health benefits). If you compare the size of wild blueberries (which are much higher in phytonutrients) to domesticated blueberries, the domesticated ones look like giants (or the wild ones look puny).

 

[mrsmel]

I read Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver for my book club--the one where she and her family try to eat locally for a year. It was really interesting.

I also use doortodoororganics.com. They're not nationwide, but they do cover many states, including Michigan, where I live. Every other week I get a box of organic produce delivered. I choose to get a a mix of fruits and vegatables, but you can get all fruit or all veg, and you get a message stating what will be in your upcoming order, so you can log in and make substitutes for anything you don't want. It's great. It's definitely made me eat better and it's pretty reasonably priced, too.

The quality of the produce is usually top-notch. I've gotten a few things that weren't, but that happens at the grocery store, too. And the taste is incredible. The apples, especially, are incredibly tasty.

anne

 

[Miss Lee]

I haven't noticed this at my grocery store, but my grocer is a small, upscale (think Whole Foods but smaller) independent, and he is usually fully stocked with organics and, seasonally, with high quality local produce. I did buy some navel oranges that weren't very good - they were dry and flavorless - but other than that I have no complaints.