This totally made my day! I was at the grocery store stocking up on staples and so of course the bill was crazy high ($91). The check out woman said, "Oh, it's so expensive, you don't even have much!" and I agreed with her. But then she said, "Well, at least it's all healthy stuff."

Woohoo! And it was, all the staples I was buying were things like olive oil, balsamic vineager, beans, etc. I knew it would be a lot of money, but this stuff lasts me a long time. I was so happy that she commented on how healthy my food choices were! It made me feel even better about eating healthy!

Wooo! It's always nice when we get a little boost of encouragement from someone without them even knowing it

I still catch myself thinking I don't have enough in my cart when I pass up the chip aisle and all the processed comes-in-a-box aisles. Then I hit the fruit aisle at the end of my trip and suddenly my cart is full! It's a little surreal.

Yep, I did the same thing today, my cart was full of healthy stuff. I bought extra virgin olive oil for the first time ever today, and seeing that my life long motto is, "every thing worth doing is worth overdoing"... I ended up buying a whole gallon of it for $20. I justified it by telling myself it was the most cost effective because just one of the small bottles was like $8-$10. I probably wont have to buy it again until it goes rancid. The only thing in my cart that wasn't good was my daughters beloved frozen chicken nuggets.

I was just going to suggest buying the olive oil in bulk. It is the BEST investment one can make. It doesn't go rancid. Just store in a cool dry place. It's actually better because it comes in a tin can (rectangular shaped)... at least mine does... and that's much better than the glass bottles that let light in.

OP, may I ask which grocery store you shop at? I'm in the Midwest as well.

wooohoooo! way to go!

That is wonderful! It is always amazing to see myself just shop the perimeter of the store. I had NEVER done that before I started my new way of life. It is more expensive, but totally worth it!

I had the same kind of thing last week. I was mentioning to my neighbour that I needed to get back to planning ahead and packing the healthier lunches etc.
"What do you mean 'back' you're the healthiest eater I know"

That's a true story! My very italian grandmother swore by the rectangular shaped giant cans of olive oil. She kept them in the pantry in the basement. It would only take about 3 months to use one, because... well, we're italian. But she used to say they 'can keep forever if you keep them cool and dark!'

Great job! It may cost a little more but so worth it!

Thanks all! It's totally worth it!

I do find that olive oil can go rancid, although that might be because I live alone and cook only for myself. I shop at Rainbow for staples and for fruits, veggies, meats, and seafood, I go to smaller, local higher quality stores. The produce and fresh products at Rainbow in my neighborhood are not very good quality!

I've never heard of Rainbow so I guess we're not neighbors.

If you have friends that like olive oil, perhaps you can split a tin of it.

If you have a membership at a Costco, Sam's or Pace, you can buy Virgin Olive Oil for really good prices - and it's usually a half gallon or 3/4 gallon size container.