Vegetables Life Without Veggies?

[koalamissy]

Tis the season for my veggie suppliers to dry up. All the grocery stores have is wilted and black lettuce that they masquerade as edible. This happens every year, and ever year I worry about my girls. I can still find great bell peppers, but they won't eat them. I guess Odette must've been my pepper eater. Indy and Clemmy will gladly eat carrots, but obviously carrots are not an everyday veggie. So, I'm left with two sad piggies who cry at night for their veggies that will never come. It's been a month since I've found a decent leaf lettuce. Ugh! What do other people do this time of year? I've tried all over town our two local stores, Trader Joes, Wal-Mart and Target. No one has anything I'd feed to my worst enemy. Does anyone go veggieless at winter? You'd think after 6 winters with pigs I would've figured this out by now, but alas I have not.

@ClemmyOddieIndy, I work part-time at Walmart and know that they have lettuce all year round. During the summer months, they do try to use locally grown fruits and vegetables. But now, they are selling Green Giant Green Leaf Lettuce in plastic packaging. Very rarely in my Walmart do I see Red Leaf Lettuce, that is usually during the Summer. Do they not have the Green Giant Green Leaf in your store? You could try asking an associate in the produce (yes, if you can find one, I understand that lol) or try calling the store between 7am-4pm in whatever time zone you're in, and ask to speak to the Department Manager of Produce to find out what time they restock the lettuce in your store. If it's convenient, try to be there when they are putting it out to get the pick of the freshest that they have. Hope that helps. Michele

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

@ClemmyOddieIndy, I work part-time at Walmart and know that they have lettuce all year round. During the summer months, they do try to use locally grown fruits and vegetables. But now, they are selling Green Giant Green Leaf Lettuce in plastic packaging. Very rarely in my Walmart do I see Red Leaf Lettuce, that is usually during the Summer. Do they not have the Green Giant Green Leaf in your store? You could try asking an associate in the produce (yes, if you can find one, I understand that lol) or try calling the store between 7am-4pm in whatever time zone you're in, and ask to speak to the Department Manager of Produce to find out what time they restock the lettuce in your store. If it's convenient, try to be there when they are putting it out to get the pick of the freshest that they have. Hope that helps. Michele

I've seen green leaf at Wal-Mart, but it wasn't something I would've fed. Now, to be honest I rarely go to Wal-Mart, so I could've just gone on a few bad days.

 

[koalamissy]

Or, you could have gone after it had been picked over by everyone else. LOL!!! I'm a cashier and I've had plenty of customers that have come through my line with ginormous heads of green leaf lettuce; huge bell peppers; giant cauliflowers; etc., but by the time I get off at 10pm and go shopping, there's either nothing left or really small ones. I would try switching up your shopping times or try asking someone when they put them out. They really are the cheapest in price than most supermarket chains. I'm not saying that because I work there, they really are cheaper than the other chains around me, and trust me, "cheap" is my middle name!!! lol

 

[sallyvh]

I'm not anywhere near Iowa or Pennsylvania but I can vouch that the couple walmarts that I go to generally have fantastic leaf lettuce year round. It's always a better or comparable price in relation to other grocery stores!

Lettuce is of course more expensive and I find the heads can be smaller in the winter but I can always find acceptable produce.

 

[koalamissy]

@sallyvh - I live smack in the middle of Amish country. There are tons and tons of farms around here, and the further I go, I can usually find better deals. Now that the gas prices are going down, it's worth the trips to the cheaper farmers' markets, etc. But when I'm lazy or don't feel like driving very far, Walmart it is.

 

[Geranium]

Where in the midwest are you from? I'm in Kansas City and there's still plenty of fresh veggies around.

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

Where in the midwest are you from? I'm in Kansas City and there's still plenty of fresh veggies around.

Central Iowa. There are fresh veggies, just not what I'm needing. If I fed romaine I could probably get by, but green leaf and red leaf are difficult to find.

 

[dani_starr]

Is there a whole foods around you? Whole foods has a MUCH better lettuce selection than Trader Joes.

Not sure where you are, but there is one is West Des Moines.https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/westdesmoines

Are there Von's in Iowa? The one here has good red leaf lettuce as well.

 

[aqh88]

I have no trouble finding good fruits and vegetables across eastern iowa. We also grow stuff that can sit for months or freeze. Squashes, zucchini, rhubarb, carrot, turnip.... of course they can't live on those but it's easy to then supplement with store produce or container grown greens. Grasses and herbs grow easy indoors.

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

I had my cousins husband bring me some produce up from his job. We'll see what that looks like.

The Whole Foods is actually not far from where I live. I've never been to it before, but I can check it out.

 

[Rywen]

This thread has me feeling very lucky to have a full sized Asian grocery store near me, the produce section is huge with great quality lettuce and it's all inexpensive. I'm thinking I should FedEx you some lettuce!

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

My cousins husband delivered me perfect green leaf lettuce! His suspicious is that they just are leaving the lettuce out and not taking the time to rotate. He said it happens in larger cities more than smaller one because they are so busy in larger cities with other things.

 

[koalamissy]

If I remember correctly, if you go to Whole Foods, bring your own bags, they do not supply them and if you want one of theirs, you have to pay for it. Now if they've changed since I used to shop at one in Jersey, someone who has been there recently can let you know differently, but I'm pretty sure that is still their practice.

 

[Rywen]

That's excellent news on the lettuce delivery for you and the piggies!

 

[dani_starr]

@koalamissy, you are correct. However, they only charge 10 cents a paper bag. If you bring your own bag, they take 10 cents off your ticket for each bag used.

They switched to this practice when they did a ban on plastic bags, and switched to paper only.
@ClemmyOddieIndy, that's fantastic news on the lettuce! I bet your piggies were very happy to have some fresh lettuce!

I definitely would check out whole foods for the future, especially for other veggies too. The one by me carries cilantro, dandelion leaves, radicchio, belgium endive, curly endive, escarole, red and green butter lettuce, green and red leaf lettuce, wheat grass/pet grass, etc. At Trader Joes, the produce is very slim. They don't have any whole heads of lettuce, except for romaine.

It's all very cheap too, typically $1.99 for a thing of the green leaf/red leaf/butter/dandelion leaves/some endives/escarole/wheat grass.

 

[barbaramudge]

I've been buying the artisan lettuce pack at aldi's. It has Boston bib, red leaf and some other green one that I can't remember the name of. It's 4 separate little heads and my pigs love it. Each package lasts my 4 pigs an one rabbit almost 2 days and it's only 1.99. We haven't had any shortage of good lettuces here in Michigan ever in the Winter. I'm shocked that you're having such trouble.

 

[xanima]

What is supposed to be the problem with carrots? In germany they are not seen as any problem, mine have them available most of the day.
They do get other veggies too, of course. But I feed carrots daily and always have.

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

What is supposed to be the problem with carrots? In germany they are not seen as any problem, mine have them available most of the day.
They do get other veggies too, of course. But I feed carrots daily and always have.

Carrots are high in sugar, especially carrots harvested in the late fall or winter in cold temperatures. Having a diet high in sugar can cause obesity, and/or diabetes. Obesity is dangerous for animals so small, and diabetes can be life threatening (as in humans).

 

[xanima]

Well, I know carrots are high in calories. But obesity- as I said my cavies have them available most of the time. And of seven cavies one is a little fat, the others are not, some could even weigh a little more. And my former pigs had good bodyweights, too. The "fat one" was pregnant very young, when I got her she was very thin (having just nursed three babies)- and I guess that is why she has a tendency to be overweight. None of my pigs ever had diabetes. And I feed apple daily, too. Only 1/2 for all seven however.

I think feeding pellets that contain grain daily is a far greater risk for obesity (and it´s consequenses). Grain isn´t exactly sugarfree either. And with the carrots they at least have to chew a lot, while pellets are quite easy to eat.

I feed dried leaves and wild herbs as dried food, I avoid grain (sometimes they get it in treets) and alfalfa (at any age).

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

Well, I know carrots are high in calories. But obesity- as I said my cavies have them available most of the time. And of seven cavies one is a little fat, the others are not, some could even weigh a little more. And my former pigs had good bodyweights, too. The "fat one" was pregnant very young, when I got her she was very thin (having just nursed three babies)- and I guess that is why she has a tendency to be overweight. None of my pigs ever had diabetes. And I feed apple daily, too. Only 1/2 for all seven however.

I think feeding pellets that contain grain daily is a far greater risk for obesity (and it´s consequenses). Grain isn´t exactly sugarfree either. And with the carrots they at least have to chew a lot, while pellets are quite easy to eat.

I feed dried leaves and wild herbs as dried food, I avoid grain (sometimes they get it in treets) and alfalfa (at any age).

Just because you have not dealt with it does not mean others have not. I have an obese guinea pig who became a healthier weight after I removed fruits and sugary root veggies from her diet. I also have had diabetes scares with pigs. My diabetes scares have never been with overweight pigs. It's my understanding diabetes is something many pigs have and people do not know. I feed a diet based on what my veterinarian recommended.