Organic Eating and Feeling Better

My wife started me on a strange new diet. I was only on it for three days, and I felt like eating my arm! I’m just not the dieting type, but after a scare at my last doctor’s check-up, I agreed to eat more healthily. My wife googled grocery store near me as we normally just used to go to the local supermarket for our food.

We knew the diet was going to cost more than our usual shopping budget. We had decided to go for it wholeheartedly and source the best food we possibly could and not worry about the money. After two weeks, if we didn’t feel any better, we would just go back to El Cheapo supermarket.

Grocery stores near me are disappearing

I was surprised to find there weren’t very many grocery stores in our vicinity. It seems they had been taken over by large supermarkets near me. I saw a documentary a while back about large supermarkets and their food-sourcing methods. It had put me off, not enough to stop going there, but…

Common sense told me that food that is imported from thousands of miles away would never be as fresh or healthy as locally sourced food. I narrowed down the supermarkets near me to a couple that sold locally sourced food.

I found one called Maloneys Grocer in Surry Hills, Sydney. The first thing that struck me about them was that they were a family business that supported Australian growers and producers. They had been in business for 15 years and had three stores, the original on Coogee Bay Road, another on Crown Steet, and one in Woollahra.

This boutique grocery store near me looked like it had a great range of organic and speciality foods. The reviews we read online seemed mainly positive, and so we decided to go and check it out.

Organic and speciality food in Sydney

The first thing that caught my eye on entering the grocery store was the organisation. The way they stack the fruits up is a work of art! It was really well organised so very easy to find everything we wanted. The staff were also super friendly and helpful. I was also impressed by their knowledge of local produce.

Their range didn’t just include local foods but foods from around the world as well. They had brands and food I’d never even heard of, like Aneto Serrano broth, a kind of Spanish soup.

That’s when I saw the Pacdon Park Pork Pie; my eyes and stomach both stood to attention! As an English guy, I was brought up on pork pies. I haven’t eaten a decent pork pie since I moved to Australia. My wife saw me putting it into the basket and started to moan. ‘But it’s made from the finest free-range local pork!’ I argued. Apparently, it wasn’t on the ‘list’. I spent the rest of the afternoon sulking with my bottom lip stuck out like a petulant child.

After the torture that was called shopping but not getting anything I liked, we got to the till. I was waiting for the bill shock, and seeing as there wasn’t much in the basket I actually liked, I’d already prepared full-on moan mode. Surprisingly it wasn’t too bad, don’t get me wrong, it was a little expensive and more than we usually pay, but I already knew quality organic food wasn’t cheap.

The aftermath

You could have cut the tension in the car with a knife on the drive home. I’m embarrassed to say I was still sulking about the pork pie. I’ve had dreams about it since! Once we got home, my wife cooked a meal from the day's shopping. Mouth-watering smells were coming from the kitchen. I nearly went in a couple of times but knew I better than to enter the kitchen when the other half was cooking.

The food was served, and I’ve got to admit, it was one of the best meals I’d ever tasted. I’d always been a bit cynical about organic food. I used to say it’s from the same soil and produce, but I could taste the difference in the flavours. It tasted more like the food I had as a kid. I even felt a boost in my energy and felt good after the meal.

Locally sourced grocery store near me

Needless to say, we made many trips to Maloneys Grocers over the next few weeks. I’d already conceded that after the first week that eating better was definitely making me feel healthier. I had more energy and didn’t feel quite so lethargic. I know it probably sounds obvious to most of you, but I had been too cynical about the whole, healthy eating trend for too long.

One of the factors that swayed me was my wife bought me a Pacdon Pork Pie as a treat after the first week. Wow! It was worth the wait; it tasted even better than the ones I remember from England.

After a couple of weeks of healthy eating, we knew we wouldn’t return to our old diets. I regret leaving it so long, to be honest. One thing we were worried about was the cost though; we couldn’t afford to eat organically all the time. We researched which were the best organic foods and compromised. We found that this was a way that we could affordably maintain our healthy eating journey.

I found that if I shopped around, quite a few supermarkets near me sold organic food. We found that by waiting for sales, we could get a lot of discounted organic and locally sourced food much cheaper.

Sadly, the grocery stores near me weren’t very good, apart from Maloneys Grocers. However, we found that if we ventured further into Sydney centre, there were some grocery stores that stocked organic and vegan produce.

Healthy living

It has been nearly a year now since our search for a locally sourced grocery store near me. We still use Maloney’s Grocer as our one-stop shop as they have the best selection out of all the supermarkets near me. We also shop around and look for bargains and discounts. By regularly checking certain supermarkets and grocery stores around Sydney, we noticed we could predict when certain products would be reduced. This has helped immensely in keeping our monthly shopping budget down.

As a through and through cynic, I can honestly say I would never go back to regular fry-ups, full English breakfasts, and unhealthy foods. Don’t get me wrong, I still have my treats now and then, but my diet has changed considerably. I have lost weight, started exercising more and feel more energetic and confident. On top of all that, my brain feels sharper, and I don’t suffer from brain fog anymore.

If you are contemplating starting a healthy eating regime – go for it! Trust me; you won’t be disappointed. If you are in the Sydney area and searching for a Grocery store near me, we fully recommend Maloneys Grocers. Their boutique products and regular day-to-day products won’t disappoint. The friendly and knowledgeable staff are always on hand to help. We have had quite a few tips for them regarding locally sourced food that we weren’t even aware of.