Grocery shopping doesn’t change much when you’re in another country, you have to make a list and walk the aisle. In Fernie we buy, eat, drink and enjoy!
There are mainly two grocery stores in Fernie; Overwaitea and Extra Foods. Overwaitea is much closer to home and we earn points there, so it’s where we do our weekly groceries shopping. Like most people in Fernie the staff is super friendly and helpful.
The store is very clean and neat, light and bright. The fruits are shiny and of good quality and the veggies very fresh, we buy about 30 apples and 20 bananas a week! Some products have the same look, but there are a lot of unfamiliar products, to me at least. Good old pampers are on the shelves, so that’s no brainer! Justinus and Jano loved the Maltezers (chocolate balls), and we’ve bought a lot of those!! Other products we love are the lemonade and flapjack ready mix (it’s called pancakes here). The liquor store stock fine South African wines and beers and we’ve also bought a bottle of Amarula, divine with crushed ice. It seems that Christopher is over his diary allergy, so buying food has also become a bit easier. He is just on soya milk, lactose free yoghurt and margarine.
Converting Canadian dollars to South African Rand….. At first glance prices sounds like a bargain, 3.49 for bread, then thinking about it R35! My goodness, everything seems very expensive, especially the cheese. I guess we will go back home and be thankful that things are so cheap! At the moment, I’m buying were we get points, sale prices, marked downs and comparing like mad, but I guess it won’t take long before we are used to it, like everything in life.
Buying bulk definitely saves a lot of money, many products come in bulk. And after a week of consuming food, we’ve already opted to buy the 2kg peanut butter, 1.5 liter tomato sauce, the biggest cereal packs, 2kg mince pack (looks like a big roll of cold meat) and 4litres of milk as it’s much cheaper per unit, hooked already!
Our menu hasn’t changed much. Justinus and Eunice make the big breakfasts three times a week. Lunch is a sandwich or we eat on the ski hill. A personal favourite is the chilli soup in bread bowl at the Lost Boys Café (just as you get of Timber Bowl Express chair lift). We’ve also enjoyed scrumptious pork ribs and burgers at Kelsey’s on the hill.
Chilli Bowl another way to Buy, eat, drink and enjoy in Fernie
Dinners are basically fish, rotisserie chicken, spaghetti bolognaise, tuna pasta, readymade lasagna, and since Kerry made her delicious fettuccini, it has been incorporated in our menu. I recently bought a readymade beef roast which was very yummy, the meat was so tender it fell apart! The pork chop recipe I googled was also very good. We combine it with veggies and/or salad that Eunice makes; either a chef’s salad or juicy carrot salad.
Friday nights have always been our family night with Nando’s, popcorn and jelly babies and a movie for the kids. Since there’s no Nando’s here (in Calgary though!), we’ve been eating Boston Pizza’s BBQ Chicken and Pepperoni pizzas, it is bursting with flavor! The other alternative, McDonalds, was Christopher’s request (just because he gets a kids toy)! Hot Chocolate with cream is also a big favourite!
We eat a lot more here; we assume that it is due to the colder temperature, being very active and being in a holiday spirit. Whatever the reason, eating has always been a pleasant experience!
Cheers for now from Ankie – Go buy, eat, drink and enjoy!