MaxMart

This is for my brother who requested a picture of the grocery store. This is one of four that we go to:MaxMart.

They are all very much like a grocery store in America with rows of shelves displaying their goods, dairy section, fresh meat and cheese counter and a freezer section - usually only one row - always like a chest freezer (not upright). The rows are much shorter than we have at home - maybe 12 feet long. They say if you see something you like "buy it" as it may be "finished" the next time you come to the store. They have many American brands. Cereals like Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes and Raisin Bran by Kellogg - Can't remember all the others as those are the one we have bought. But they are expensive anywhere from $7.50-11.50 a box. We've been able to pick up Krusteaz Whole Wheat pancake mix as well. We buy most of our produce at outdoor fruit stands. It's cheaper that way and in some cases better.I bought strawberries the other day in a market. I asked where they were from and they told me Lebanon. That's why I bought them - they were pretty safe. If they had been grown in Africa I probably would not have picked them up. The way they fertilize the crops and the water that is used on them is generally unsafe - so we have to be careful what kind of produce we buy and we have to treat all produce with water that has clorox in it...though I use Fruit and Vegtable Rinse from Sunrider. The papayas, mangos, and pineapples here are superb! We have fruit salad regulary.

Back to MaxMart - We like this store for its selection of cookies, cake mixes, ice cream, laundry soap and canned goods. Upstairs it has a great household section where you can buy dishes, utensils, towels, etc. The third floor has appliances and electronics. We go to Koaola for cheese, yogurt, bread, butter, bacon, turkey for sandwiches, and flour. Then to Shoprite for their meat. I bought the strawberries at Double Seven - they have Pringles at about half what the other markets sell them and they are good for nuts and meat - but I still prefer Shoprite for meat. Once a week we go grocery shopping - usually hitting at least two of the stores if not three. Groceries for the two of us are about $200/week. I figure if we were to eliminate any sugar products it would probably be about $150/week. It's a thought....

Another great place is Fiesta Hacienda - we knickname it "The Costco" because it carries many bulk items from Costco (including the Kirkland brand) : Large jars of peanut butter, huge boxes of Raisin Bran, the huge bags of chocolate chips (though sometimes you have to chop them up as in shipping they have melted together), cases of rootbeer, etc. It is just fun to go in once a month to see what they have and we buy it if we are interested as the next time we come in it is likely to be "finished"!