Maria Makes Muffins * Minneapolis Clean Eating + Living *

Target Practice

As you already know, we shop at Target a lot – and not just for general household items, we also purchase most of our food there.

We were Target go-ers long before Mister Peters started working as a Senior Art Director in their corporate InHouse agency. Not only do we prefer the in-store experience, we also love the plethora of organic and natural food choices along with the low prices. Many items are much cheaper then their counterparts at the co-op, Whole Foods, Cub, Rainbow or Wal-Mart. Especially now that they offer 5% your entire purchase if you use a Target Red Card. It’s definitely a win-win situation.

Many people are very surprised when I tell them that the bulk of our grocery shopping is done at Target. It seems to be a common misconception that Target does not offer many of the products that you see featured on MMM. Today I am going to walk you through the highlights of shopping organic, natural and clean at Target. Please excuse the guerilla-style iPhone photos below. I was trying to get good pics, but not get caught in the process.

Produce

I love that SuperTarget carries the Dirty Dozen + organic!

Organic veggies

organic carrots, baby carrots, green onionc, celery hearts, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and romaine

Notice the little green tag above the price tag, this denotes that an item in the produce department is organic.

organic spinach and other boxed leafy greens

If the produce that is on the shelf doesn’t look fresh or well stocked, don’t be afraid to ask a Team Member if they have additional, fresher produce. Usually you will be greeted by a kind smile and fresh off-the-truck produce. Our Target received new shipments of produce and dairy on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Matthew and I try to shop early (around 8 or 9 AM) on these days to get the freshest produce.

organic cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, red and green bell peppers

Organic Fruit

five varieties of organic apples

Organic berries

Organic grapefruit, oranges, lemons and limes

Unpictured: organic peaches and cherries

Organic Root Veggies

Organic potatoes, onions, cherry tomatoes and tomatoes

 

Natural Meat

Just BARE Chicken – I don’t usually purchase this variety of chicken, but in a pinch it works. We usually buy chicken breasts in bulk (3-4 lb) containers at Whole Foods or the co-op, because it’s cheaper, local and guaranteed to be humanely-raised.

Tip: if you visit the Just BARE Chicken website, you can answer a carbon footprint question and get a $1 off coupon.

Local Thousand Hills Cattle Company 100% grass-fed beef, including 92/8 ground beef and lean steaks.

Unpicutured: the deli carries several varieties of Applegate Farms pre-packaged lunch meats and pepperoni.

Dry Goods

Organic and BPA-free canned beans

Several varieties of organic ketchup

Unpictured: organic and natural BBQ and mustards

Lots of organic and natural nut and seed butters

Also, the top shelf boasts agave nectar and local honey

Organic, natural and all fruit jams and jellies

Unpictured: organic applesauce

Lots of organic and natural salad dressings

Many varieties of nut and seed oils in addition to several different vinegars, including some organic varieties of each.

Several styles of 100% whole wheat noodles

Organic and natural spices and extracts

Lots of oats, including Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free oats and individual purse-packets of Raw Rolled oats with flaxseeds already added in. I like to grab a box of these for weekends that we are traveling away from home. They are so easy to grab-and-go. The packets even have a built-in convenient water measuring line to ensure that every bowl is perfectly cooked.

Organic lunch-box treats for days when you are in a bind and don’t have time to make homemade snacks.

Unpictured: Larabars and Green & Black’s organic 85% dark chocolate (my favorite chocolate)

Organic and natural chips

Unpictured: several Food Should Taste Good varieties along with Angie’s Kettle Korn

Organic juices and coconut water

Unpictured: several organic and natural teas and coffees

Dairy

Grass-fed milk, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, unsweetened soy milk, unsweetened coconut milk and organic milk

Cage Free liquid egg whites

Local, organic eggs

Organic eggs are $1 more expensive at Target than at the co-op, so I only purchase these when I am desperately in need of eggs.

Daiya vegan shredded cheese and Organic Valley shredded cheese.

Organic Valley sliced cheese (monterey jack cheese and unpictured provolone)

I do wish that they still carried Horizon Organic string cheese, because I have to make another stop to pick up string cheese for Allan and Matthew’s afternoon snacks. I would also love if they carried blocks of organic cheddar cheese.

Tons of varieties and sizes of organic and natural yogurts.

Vegan Earth Balance and organic salted and unsalted butter

Frozen

Organic veggies

Unpictured: Stahlbush Island Farms veggies.

Organic berries

Unpictured: organic strawberries and frozen mango

Gluten-free baked goods on top shelf

Sprouted Ezekiel english muffins

Organic and whole grain frozen waffles and pancakes (we do not buy these)

Gluten-free and Ezekiel sprouted breads

Alexia natural potatoes and fries (we do not buy these).

Unpictured: frozen wild salmon and tilapia

In case any of you Minneapolis locals are wondering, we shop at the Richfield SuperTarget off of Cedar and 66th Street.

I hope to do another similar post that highlights other ecofriendly, clean living household items that we purchase at Target.

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Would you like to see more posts like this where I walk you through specific clean products that we regularly purchase?