Observations on Grocery Shopping at the Commissary

So we shop on base for groceries at the Commissary. The groceries are cheaper, there's not tax & the selection of produce/products is just as good there as anywhere else I've found. Except for The Fresh Market in Destin, which I'm not allowed to go to without supervision from Chad. And it's across the bridge which has a toll - so it really doesn't make sense to drive down just for groceries...that's what I say to convince myself.

Now there are all kinds of people that shop at the commissary. Yesterday, while in line to check out, a youngish lady pulls up behind me with her toddler in the seat & the rest of the cart filled to the max. She spots her husband coming down the isle & yells "Honey we need SPAM!" I didn't know anyone ate SPAM outside of the Hawaiian Islands.

My favorite are the vets & their wives. I don't know if it's because I'm a dietitian & absolutely love food & grocery shopping or if it's because I'm just being nosy, but I LOVE peeking into people's grocery carts (and maybe passing judgment in some cases...I won't lie!) and seeing what they are stocking up on.

This week's find: a sweet old man & his cute old wife had a roll of toilet paper, soda...I don't really remember the other stuff because I was so taken with what they were stockpiling. They had 6 (SIX!!) boxes of Oscar Mayer Ready to Serve Bacon. Now I have nothing against bacon at all - we Hogue's love our bacon! But there is something not right about taking already cooked bacon out of the box, ready to eat after briefly heating it in the microwave. Which gets me to thinking...how is this really any different than cooking your bacon in the microwave (which I don't condone but have been known to do when in a pinch)? Maybe because I have the luxury of time (being a stay-at-home-wife does have its perks!) so I like to do things the long way...like soaking black beans in a pot instead of opening a can. And how long does it really take to cook bacon in a pan?! Anyways - maybe I'm crazy & maybe Mr Mayer is on to something with that bacon in a box.

Another find from a week or two ago (and possibly my favorite yet). Wait, let me preface this statement with a quick explanation. Every so often, the commissary piles stuff into huge grocery carts & marks the price way down. WAAAY down. Usually batteries, ground beef, mouthwash...cereal... (another story for another time). Anyways, a couple of weeks ago I was strolling by the frozen food/bread isle & saw a woman going crazy. Filling her arms with jars of Marshmallow Creme. She had at least 5. I have never had a need for 1 jar of mallow fluff. What is she going to do with 5?! I was so tempted to ask, but she was in the zone & I didn't want to get between this lady & her jars of sugar.

I think most grocery stores have their crazy shoppers. But for some reason, there is a higher than average number of these people at the commissary. It's like they come out of hiding for one week to stock up for a winter hibernation.

Or maybe I've just got a limited palate?