Category: grocery sources

Everybody needs food, but what grocery sources do you choose? In a world where there are national grocery chains, mom-and-pop grocers, farmer’s markets, online grocery options and mega sites like Amazon, figuring out where to source your dry goods, produce and favorite candy bar can be tough. What’s the cheapest option for a can of organic black beans? Is that new Whole Foods worth the longer drive than the local grocer on your street? If you’ve ever asked these questions, the posts in this Grocery Sources category are right up your alley. And if you know about a new grocery resource worth checking out, get in touch via the Contact page.

What’s the Best Olive Oil for Salads to Buy at the Grocery Store?

In a recent Instagram poll, I asked followers about olive oil loyalty. Do you prefer a certain brand? If so, what’s the best olive oil for salads and everyday cooking? Here’s what surprised me: among responses, three names kept repeating—including one that, turns out, has also won at least five olive oil taste tests online.

What's the best olive oil for salads and everyday cooking? / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy

Anyone who buys olive oil—and that’s essentially all of us, according to last week’s Instagram poll—knows the challenge of sifting through shelves of options at the store. How should you decide which one to buy? Is price most important? Or should you focus on source? Are oils from Spain better? What about Italy?

I asked you for your opinions last week, and about 24% of the 200 people polled said yes, you are loyal to a certain brand. Of those respondents, most people gave me one of three repeated answers.

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Let’s Talk about Matcha Tea Benefits

It’s an alternative to coffee, loaded with antioxidants, said to deter diseases and reported to boost metabolism and aid weight loss. So are the matcha tea benefits worth all the hype? What can you honestly expect if you start drinking it—and where should you buy it so you can? Here’s a look.

It’s not hard to understand the mass upsurge in matcha interest over the last few years. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by a beverage that offers 60 times the antioxidant levels and nine times the beta-carotene of spinach? That’s naturally anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial? A morning brew that one writer said “aided my digestion, helped my skin and got rid of jitters”?

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Reviews on Brandless: Part 2, Some Updates

UPDATE December 2019: Brandless no longer sells food! I still recommend their diapers ($11), to-go beverage cups ($3) and kitchenware.

Last January, I posted the first of my reviews on Brandless, the $3 grocery that sells everything from organic coconut oil to disposable paper products sans branding. One year later, here’s a fresh analysis: the company’s added new products, developed a referral program and now offers coupon codes to save you even more dough. Read more below!

Reviews on Brandless: part 2 - why buy from the $3 online grocery (a reevaluation)

It’s been almost a year since I first learned about Brandless, the online food retailer that eliminates unnecessary markups by going without a brand and selling direct to customers. For a company known by ditching branding, its products are remarkably consistent in packaging and style: they all feature the same simple font, white label and essential information that customers need to understand what’s inside.

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Do You Buy All Organic Produce or Do You Follow the Dirty Dozen/Clean 15?

In an informal Instagram survey, a reader recently wanted to know more about grocery sources. Her question: “Do you buy all fruits/vegetables organic, or do you follow Dirty Dozen/Clean 15?” So here’s a look at these labels, which get updated each year, and how you might use them when you grocery shop.

dirty dozen/clean 15 2018
Photo by Sylvie Tittel on Unsplash

In 2018, most Americans know about pesticides, those substances used to kill pests, such as weeds or insects, on plants, as well as the associated risks of using them. Read More

The Trader Joe’s Products That Keep Us Coming Back

If you’re an American who likes bargains, health foods or shopping with a Hawaiian theme, you’re probably already buying Trader Joe’s products. Backed by a long list of items with near-cult followings, this store is the grocery that keeps us all coming back—and loving it. Here’s what readers recently had to say on an Instagram survey!

trader joe's products that keep us coming back

Trader Joe’s has come a long way since founder (Trader) Joe Coulombe first launched it in 1958. At the time, it was just one store, in California, and he called it Pronto Market—but: it was the beginning of an empire. Read More