I hate grocery shopping in America. I hate it even more over here. My reasons?
1) Shopping carts. They are too small! By the time I stick my kids in the cart I have 1 sq. ft of space left for groceries. In America the shopping cart back wheels are stationary. Here, all 4 wheels can move in all directions- it's horrible. I can't control where I'm pushing my cart...especially when it's full of groceries.
2) Having to convert everything to the metric system. I miss ounces, pounds, etc. My first time at the deli I asked for a 1/2 lb. of sliced turkey. The lady said they only sold by the gram or kilo. Too much math- I asked for a handful of turkey instead.
3) Packages are small. The standard size of everything is half the size...so I basically buy 2 of everything.
4) You can't find anything...and if you can, it tastes different. Emi won't eat Kraft mac & cheese b/c it tastes different. Emi also doesn't like the hot dogs b/c they have "too many chunks." The cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, Campbells Cream of Chicken soup, mayo, I could go on...it all tastes different. It's not bad, but it's not the same.
5) Everything is expensive! I spend an average of $250 every visit. And there is no such thing as coupons here.
6) I don't think they train the checkers to bag groceries properly. I've had many a fruit & bread squished...and meat bagged with produce...
Ok, now I feel kinda bad. There are some positives. The produce is amazing- our fruit consumption has doubled since moving here. Hmm...maybe that's the only positive. I'll keep thinking.
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7 comments:
Its more expensive, but we sometimes grabbed stuff from here. http://www.usafoods.com.au/
Only the one store in melbourne, but i think they ship. Its where we got root beer, mayo, and pancake syrup.
Yup the fruits are good and so are the daily fresh bread from the bakeries.
yes, I totally use USA foods for random stuff like crisco or when Andrew has a major craving for grape jelly! They do ship!
Often in the department store David Jones they have an international food section where you can find some US stuff. Totally give me a call sometime and I'll see if I can give you some tips....like generally when a recipe calls for a pound of something, I usually just use 500 grams.
And email me your address cause I have a cool little cheat sheet for the metric system / oven temp conversions that you can put up on your fridge...at least that's what I do and I still refer to it and I've lived here for close to 7 years.
PS. It's funny that you made the comment about the produce cause Andrew has always said that he thinks Australia has great produce.
PPS. Yes, I've been super frustrated with the meat being bagged with produce. I pretty much always have to say something to get them to put the meat in another bag.
PPPS...ok, one more thing, check out Chinese grocery stores cause you can often find stuff like Herseys and Rootbeer if you're in the mood.
I TOTALLY REMEMBER THOSE FEELINGS WHEN i WAS IN GREECE. NOW I MISS IT!
Maybe when you get back you will like cooking because it is "easy" now?
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