One Perfect Tomato

When I was in college I had a French professor who told me she went to the market every day and bought “one perfect tomato.” I asked her why she didn’t just buy a few at the beginning of the week and save some time. She told me she wanted her food to be as fresh as possible and she didn’t mind the extra time it took to go to the store everyday. I am still unclear how she ever found a perfect tomato at our local Bi-Lo, but I digress.

In almost every book I read about life in France the authors always mention that the French don’t shop for food like we do in America. They have much smaller kitchens and limited storage space. They buy enough food to last for a couple of days and end up shopping several times a week, many times in smaller specialty shops and open air markets. Here most everyone I know shops once a week at the local grocery store,Wal-Mart or bulk stores like Costco and Sam's Club. Only occasionally do we visit the farmer’s market. Most cities here don’t have the open air markets like they do in France. I recently read that in just one week in Paris you could shop at 58 different markets, how amazing.

When I was in Atlanta I did most of my shopping on Saturday at one grocery store. I worked so many hours during the week by the time I would pass my local grocery store on my way home I was too tired to shop. Forget about the farmer’s market, it was too far. I would always end up throwing out a lot of food at the end of the week because by Wednesday I wouldn’t really like what I chose on Saturday and ended up eating out for the rest of the week. This was not good and I gained a lot of weight. I also developed high blood pressure from the combination of stress, poor eating and lack of exercise.

Now that I have more time on my hands I have started shopping for food every couple of days. I discovered a small open air fruit and vegetable stand about 5 minutes from my house. I found a local meat market, wine shop and bakery. I started buying smaller portions of cheese and nuts at my local Fresh Market. I have lost a little weight and am feeling much better. I buy only what I need for two days so I am not bored with my food and won’t be tempted to eat out as often. Most importantly I am not wasting food.

I still need go to the grocery store for some things, but I use my french market basket and buy only a little at a time. This “one perfect tomato” way of shopping has now become a part of my life that I really enjoy.