West/Cent Nebraskan's eating habits and diet? (Omaha, Lincoln: buy, incomes)

[noduleman]

Hi,
I may plan a move to one of the many beautiful remote small towns in
Western or Cenrtal Nebraska....towns like Valentine, Imperial, Gordon,
Rushville, McCook, etc.
I an a very healhy person and maintain a healthy diet. Im wondering if
in these areas are there good healthy food available? Food like fresh
fish(salmon, flounder, talapia), chicken breats, fresh fruits and veggies.
Do most folks in remote West/Cent NE east mostly slop like gray and
potatoes, greasy food?
What exactly is the diet like of most of West/Cent remote towns?

Thanks!

[mattpoulsen]

Ya, most central/western Nebraskans just east slop. You know, just like all Californians eat only tofu and rice cakes and all Philadelphians eat only philly cheese steak sandwiches.

[itsMeFred]

lol


Though that is a good point-- What kind of a question is this??

[Gunluvver2]

Most people in the rural ares you mention work hard and require lots of calories and red meat to keep going. Very few of them need to go to a gym to get exercise. The life expectancy of the folks living in Western & Central Nebraska was among the highest in the nation last time I checked.

GL2

[noduleman]

So, are there food stores in Cent-Est NE where one can buy fresh fish, fruits and veggies??

[IsThisOneTaken?]

Since we started in the central/west, here is what I know: If you are looking for a "natural food" type store, which offers more organic and/or fresh fare than Walmart or chain grocery stores, then your choices are somewhat limited. You'll have to travel to the larger towns like Scottsbluff, North Platte, or Kearney.

If you want a Whole Foods or other chain big box natural food store you'd need to travel to Denver, Ft. Collins/Loveland or Cheyenne.

Safeway grocery stores in western NE try to offer a better selection of organic and fresh foods. Even the Nash-Finch affiliated groceries like Sunmart are trying too.

On the east coast (Omaha/Lincoln), I'm sure you have many more options.

[roots'nbulbs]

I can afford to be critical because I have seen extraordinary health, here, in So. Central NE. Actually, the problem is opposite--what to do with the growing number of centenarians. I am laughing at my sibling in CA who trashed our diet, but now needs to share the care of Mom..who lived on red meat and buried her garden vegetables in Ranch dressing. Hm-mm, how extensive shall we pay for dental care in her 100+ year old mouth? :-)

On the other hand.........Plan to make your own coffee. You will rarely find anything that passes for more than light, brown water, out here. It is awful and someone will be yelling that it's too strong. LOL

Grocerie stores vary. Our little town is excellent as we sit on the Harlan Reservoir. The manager goes to food shows in Las Vegas-(where she has a great time!) and comes back with new foods for us to try. She carries salt water and fresh water salmon, tilapia, pollock...et c. Even though, recreationists fish for their own. The fruit and veg selection is very good. CA just happens to have extremely good fruit, by comparison. But you can get it shipped here. Just ask the grocer for what you want. It's a lake/farming culture, here. The beef is extraordinary. You just have to know how to cook or, like everywhere, you're looking at the Schwann's truck and the convenience store.

BTW, if you end up close to GI, the Hy Vee store will blow away any misconceptions about the availability of good food...and wine. Don't forget to try Nebraska's wines. They're winning awards, internationally.

[itsMeFred]

Originally Posted by noduleman

So, are there food stores in Cent-Est NE where one can buy fresh fish, fruits and veggies??

Every grocery store carries fresh fruits and veggies...

They won't usually be organic (or local) unless it's in season, but it's fresh. And the smaller the store, the smaller the selection. Ie, starfruit might be hard to come by or kolrahbi...

Fish is usually fresh-frozen as Nebraska is a land-locked state afterall and in this part of the world we tend to eat things with hooves.

Originally Posted by Gunluvver2

Most people in the rural ares you mention work hard and require lots of calories and red meat to keep going. Very few of them need to go to a gym to get exercise. The life expectancy of the folks living in Western & Central Nebraska was among the highest in the nation last time I checked.

GL2

The latter part is probably true. But the former? I'm going to disagree a bit... Most people out here don't do that much manual labor anymore. At least, not enough to keep a cheap, starchy diet off the waist. And while a lot of us are fortunate enough to have home-grown beef in the fridge, most middle-lower class incomes know that ramen noodles and mac n cheese can be expanded a hundred different ways...

[Grammy Linna]

Ya, most central/western Nebraskans just east slop. You know, just like all Californians eat only tofu and rice cakes and all Philadelphians eat only philly cheese steak sandwiches. this just cracked me up..

[GraniteStater]

The diet of Nebraskans has to be better than Indiana. We have an obseity epidemic in these parts along with way too many chain restaurants.