Shopping for produce on an empty stomach

Day 2: Stocking up
So it's the morning of day 2 and I wake up not as hungry as expected. For breakfast I decide to just do apple juice. It takes about 6 apples and it's pretty simple. You can add a bit of ginger, lemon, or some carrot if you want to vary it up. I had taken the day off because based on the movie I knew I would have some strange things happening to my mental focus, energy levels, and digestive system. Plus it helps to not hear people talking about food all day like typically happens at my desk.


I was running out of the vegetables my friends gave me so I decided to go to the grocery store and stock up. To figure out what I needed I went to jointhereboot.com and browsed all the recipes there to see what ingredients were used regularly and whatever else I could find that sounded good. 


Here's my list: Watermelon, Ginger root, Tomato, Carrots, Apple - Red, Apple - Green, Kale, Spinach, Squash, Cucumber, Celery, Basil, Mint, Lemons, Grapes - White, Grapes - Red, Blackberries, Sweet Potatoes, Oranges, Red Bell Peppers, Beets, Grapefruit, Broccoli, Limes, Pineapple, Peach, Lemongrass, Banana, Blood Orange, Strawberry, Plums.


So now that I have my list i need to decide where I'm going to get all this stuff. I decided to go to the 3 major options in my area to see who has the best prices vs selection. My first stop is Kroger. They have everything on the list including the rarities like fresh mint, basil, lemongrass, and blood oranges. It feels weird sticking to only the produce area but it's a good thing because browsing the rest of the store would not be good with only apple juice in my stomach. I write down all of the prices and move on to the next stop. 


The next stop, Costco. I don't presently have a membership to Costco so I had to weigh the added $55 cost of the membership with the cost of the produce. I have had a membership before so I use my old card to get in and look around. Costco obviously isn't the standard grocery store and it shows. The have about half of the items on the list. What they do have is definitely cheaper and in bulk which would be good for juicing. If  you have a Costco or Sam's Club membership already I would definitely get what you can there but I don't think it's worth it just for the produce alone, especially just for one person. 


Final stop, Walmart. Blech... I am not a fan of Walmart normally but I know living on fresh produce can be expensive so I gave them a shot. Much to my surprise, Walmart had all but 8 of the items on my list and all of the items looked to be decent quality in addition to being less expensive. I decided to give them a try and make my purchase. To be honest however, the price difference between Walmart and Kroger wasn't that much on most items so I will probably shop at Kroger for my future purchases.


In addition to my produce I also needed to get some supplies to help with the juicing. Here's what else I got. Bottled Water - you need to drink a lot of water while juicing. Coconut Water - This is an excellent filler for juices or good when you want something to drink other than plain water. It has a ton of potassium, magnesium, and Vitamin C. Juice containers - You want to make sure to get containers that won't stain easily and, if you plan on taking them to work, to go type containers. Walmart had a variety to choose from for less than $5 each.




I got a couple of each of these. 20oz. to go for breakfast, 32oz. to go for lunch, and 24oz takeout style cup. My initial purchase wasn't as much as I thought it would be. For the produce alone I estimate i probably spent about $90 and I'm thinking that will last me from 1 to 2 weeks. Considering I wont be eating out or eating as much i think I may end up spending less overall. I'll cover how long each item is lasting in a future post.


So there you go. I'm stocked up on supplies and ready to go. Here's my fridge and pantry after i emptied them out and replaced everything with produce. It certainly looks more appealing than normal.



Up Next: Beginning Recipes: What works, what doesn't, and how I feel.