You Can't Always Get What You Want - Grocery Shopping in Oxford, Mississippi

So, I don't think I've mentioned Larson's Big Star.

I avoided Larson's Big Star for six months before I finally went in there. Driving by it frequently, I didn't even realize that it was a grocery store. Despite the lettering next to the sign, "Deli, Seafood, Bakery," as far as I could tell, that sign was all part of the Fred's next door. (And I have yet to set foot in Fred's.) So basically, I had no idea what the Big Star was selling.

I have, perhaps unfairly, neglected the Big Star, and as part of my New Year's resolution - I intend to make up for that mistake. I want to support my neighbors, the small businesses in Oxford, and according to one employee at Larson's Big Star, another employee has been working there for 37 years. So the Big Star, in fact, preceeds the Kroger AND the Walmart. It may be the oldest, "mom and pop" style grocery store left standing amongst the few retail giants.

This quote from insiderpages.com:

Big Star is the only locally-owned and operated grocery store in Oxford, and their commitment to great service and low prices is a testament to that. Always interested in the community, the store donates to many fundraisers and allows bake sales and other fundraising events to take place on the premises. They also have the best hot lunch in town, bar none. Excellent store.

If you're looking for organic options - the Big Star is not the place to find them. As far as I can tell, they do not carry any organic foods. They do offer the Greenworks brand of cleaners, but that seems to be all. For the past week, the Big Star has had a sale on the Kretchmar brand of Virginia Ham - $2.96 a lb. Head over there to get your deli on!

If you are spending a fortune on chips, crackers and other snacks for your family like I am, and your family does not care about organic brands or even name brands for that matter - you have just struck gold at the Big Star. They carry the Always Save brand, and literally everything is 99 cents. For the same NET WT you would pay close to $3.00 - you can get "cheese crackers" or "wheat crackers" for the same price. I cannot review a taste test for all of the Always Save products that I buy, because I do not eat them - but I have tried the "wheat crackers" and to me, they taste exactly like Wheat Thins.


In the local weekly magazines in Oxford, you will sometimes see a big ad for the Big Star, boasting the best lunch plate in town. They do have a full service deli and lunch bar, serving up what looks like your standard greasy delights: fried chicken, potato wedges and mac&cheese. It all looks delicious for what it is, but I have yet to try it. I am actually much more taunted by the 99 cent cake table.

This cake table may be the demise of my #2 New Year's resolution one day, but the styrofoam packaging is a big turn-off for me. This cake table will be comepletely cleared after lunch, and the little ladies behind the cake counter will no doubt begin refilling this station for the dinner rush. The Big Star has their own little eat-in area at the front of the store, and they have an entire shelf of tall styrofoam cups containing iced tea, strategically placed at the end of the lunch counter, just after the cake display, so one might grab a tall tea on their way to pay for the lunch plate. I've been there once at lunch time, and I've seen the line to get a lunch plate, so it must be good!

If you are new to Oxford, and are concerned that Kroger and Walmart are your only grocery options, fear not! My personal favorite is the Farmers Market, located at 274 County Road 101. If that place sold toilet paper and deli meat, I would never shop anywhere else. But, you can't always get what you want. So you get what you need - and don't forget to patronize Larson's Big Star - they've got everything you might buy at Walmart or Kroger at comparable prices. They are also frequently less crazy at rush times than Kroger or Walmart.

Larson's Big Star of Oxford, Mississippi
1936 University Ave Oxford, MS 38655
(662) 234-3217

Heart Disease: the number one killer of men and women in the U.S.A.

Last night, when President Obama addressed our nation, he mentioned that health care reform would be fully addressed in 2009, and that a cure for cancer would be found in his lifetime. He also, and most importantly in my opinion, hightlighted the PREVENTION of cancer. Cancer rates could increase by 50 % to 15 million by 2020, according to the World Health Organization. The 'World Cancer Report' also suggests that healthy lifestyles and government initiatives could prevent as many as one third of cancers worldwide.

A healthy diet and frequent consumption of fruit and vegetables is identified as one of three prime areas, (along with reducing tobacco consumption and early detection through screening) where action is needed to cut the growing cancer rates.

However, it is heart disease that is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. This doesn't mean that you have to accept heart disease or cancer as your fate. Although you lack the power to change some risk factors — such as family history or age — just as steps can be taken to prevent one third of all cancers - there are some key heart disease prevention steps you can take.

Make a change in your daily life and take steps to avoid heart disease — don't smoke, get regular exercise and eat healthy foods. Avoid heart problems in the future by adopting a healthy lifestyle today.

Visit Go Red For Women for more information on heart disease and prevention.

Act Better to Feel Better to Get Better

Eating alone will not keep a man well; he must also take exercise. For food and exercise, while possessing opposite qualities, yet work together to produce health.

-Hippocrates, fifth century


If you're like me, New Year's resolutions aren't serious until the day after Valentine's Day. All the days before that one are still feeding on the leftovers of the holidays, all those goodies that we got in our Christmas stockings, all those chocolates, peanuts and cheese straws. The post-holiday depression sets in with the gloomy weather, lack of sunshine, and the brittle, dry surroundings of winter. Everything on TV seems bright, colorful, and comforting in a time where everything outside the window looks dead.

But as Winter draws us inward, we are given the opportunity to reflect and evaluate the way we feel about ourselves - mind and body - in the most realistic sense.

When we decide to make a personal change to our life, we must agree to make a permanent change. If, in our minds, the change we are making is not permanent, the change will not hold. We will fall back into our old patterns. The change cannot have an expiration date.

Take active steps to make a change in your life. Stay motivated. Search for motivation everywhere. Seek out friends and family who support your decision to change. And reward yourself at least once a week, in some form, to stay motivated.

Every year, a day before or after January 1, I make a New Year's resolution. I try to stick with it - it doesn't always work out - but I try. No one is perfect. But everyone can make an effort to think about it, write it down, and stick with it.

My list usually consists of 5 things I want to change. This year, my list only amounted to 2 things.

1. Boycott Walmart - (and other, huge, life-sucking chain retailers)

2. Be Healthy - at all costs

So far, I'm pleased to report that I have not spent one cent at Walmart in 2009. This may seem like a small feat, but if you live in small town America, like I do, you might agree that avoiding Walmart is nearly impossible.

So that leaves me with the Be Healthy part of my list. That has not gone so well. I am not the kind of person who throws away food or candy. I try my best to give excess food and candy away, but many times, if something is SO good, I will save it. And if it's within my reach, at any given moment of weakness, it may suddenly be in my mouth.

So what I'm talking about here is how to get healthy. How one must act better to feel better to get better.

On July 18, 2008, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention posted their annual findings on obesity in our nation. Mississippi ranked highest as the number one state suffering from obesity - with 32% of Mississippians determined to be in this category. However, no state was immune. In fact, the CDC found that NO STATE reached what the Healthy People 2010 objective hopes to attain: a nation-wide decrease in obesity. They are hoping that each state will reach the goal of only 15% percent obese.

But what is obesity? It is associated with reduced quality of life, development of serious chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, increased medical care costs, and premature death.

If one is not obese, should they still worry about fatty foods or exercise?



This from Superfoods Healthstyle:

A Nation and a World at Rest

... We were born to move. That's literally true. We are here today because many generations ago our ancestors were running around procuring food. The equation was simple: Move or die. In fact, it's been estimated that Paleolithic man burned approx. 1,000 calories a day and consumed as much as 3,000 calories a day. Today, in affluent Western nations, we consume approx. 2,100 calories a day and burn only about 300 calories in daily activity. A little quick math will tell you that we burn less than a third as much as our ancestors did in daily calories...

Statistics highlight the facts: Nearly 30 percent of American adults are entirely sedentary and another 46 percent don't get enough exercise. That means only a quarter of Americans get sufficient exercise.


Start moving people!

When so much of our focus on going green concerns the abstract ideas of pollution, recycling, and taking the bus - we may forget that while we must clean up our world, we also should maintain a healthy body.

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (Feb 22 -28, 2009). I would also encourage everyone to take a look at their patterns of eating - how much do you put on your plate? Are you eating nearly the same meal every day? Is there a diversity of foods in your diet? Are you binging, over-eating? How frequently do you consume sweets, soft drinks, and alcohol?

There are many food pyramids out there, and if you haven't looked at a food pyramid since health class in 7th grade, you may be shocked to notice some big changes. This is the latest "New Food Pyramid" from the Washington Post.




In any case, THINK about making a change or two, one for your MIND and one for your BODY. If you chose to act on that change, you will thank yourself next January when you're staring out the window at Winter 2010, re-evaluating your life once again.

Waste-Not, Want-Not: Woodfire at Professor Matt Long's studio, Oxford, MS

Professor Matt Long invited students to participate in firing ceramics in a woodfired kiln at his home last weekend, February 13th-14th. Long received a MFA at Ohio University in 1997, and a BFA from The Kansas City Art Institute in 1995. He is currently an Assistant Professor at The University of Mississippi, teaching ceramics. He has been a potter for 22 years, and currently resides in Oxford, Mississippi where he teaches and has a studio at home.

Graduate students, professors and friends stayed up late to continually push chopped wood through these tunnels under the kiln. The woodfire itself lasted for about 48 hours.

Long also took the time to show us how to make handmade deer-tail paintbrushes. Of course, he did not demonstate how to kill the deer, however, after one gathers the fresh deer tails, they must be split open and cured with rock salt.

After the curing process is complete, Long fashions these bristly tufts into brush tips.

Waste Not, Want Not! I was thrilled to witness yet another way that Mississippians use as many parts of the animal that they hunt as is possible! It was fascinating.

Thanks Professor Long!!

Valentine's Day 2009 at Ravine in Oxford, MS

If you missed the aphrodisiac menu at Ravine on Valentine's Day - you really missed out!

The cool ceiling at Ravine

A little Prosecco for something sweet

A gift from the chef - a heart beet salad. Shaving of heart-shaped beet with braised fennel and carrot salad

Perfect Oysters - not local of course, but fabulous! Plain - on the half shell - sauce on the side, just the way WE like them.

Strawberry and crabmeat salad with toasted pecans and mixed lettuce, strawberry vinaigrette

Rack o' lamb with polenta

Thick steak with mashed potatoes and green beans

Heart-shaped brownie dripping with strawberry and hot fudge sauce, raspberry/white chocolate sauce on the side with sliced strawberrys and real whip cream.

Yeah - I bet you missed it.

Click to donate to The Animal Rescue Site

The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'feed an animal in need' for free. It's in a purple box in the middle of the page. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use thenumber of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals inexchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know. http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

6th Annual Oxford Film Festival promotes local and regional businesses

The 6th Annual Oxford Film Festival was a fantastic example of an organization utilizing small, local businesses and regional vendors. The gift bags that filmmakers received were full o' goodies: cookies from City Grocery of Oxford, MS, baked goods from Sugarees Bakery of New Albany, MS, bottled Mountain Valley Spring Water from Hot Springs, Arkansas and many more treats.
By the way, Mountain Valley Spring Water is the first bottled water company to utilize FDA approved recycled PET resin in its bottles.

The filmmaker's luncheon, held at City Grocery, was fantastic. Chef John Currence served up all of my favorite things:

Mixed greens with red onion, tomato, toasted Mississippi pecans and toast rounds

Wasabi sesame encrusted salmon on a bed of potato salad with zucchini and squash

A very rich chocolate pie with raspberry sauce

If you ever visit Oxford, MS, you should definitely hit City Grocery. It's my second favorite restaurant in Oxford and it's definitely the best restaurant on the Oxford square.

Thanks, John!

The Oxford Film Festival Is Here!!!

If you support the Oxford Film Festival, you support the local economy of Oxford. Many small businesses, restaurants and vendors are involved in making this event possible.

The tentative schedule of events has been posted for filmmakers and sponsors of the festival.

Tentative Social Schedule: An OFFICIAL social schedule will be included with Filmmaker's/Festival go-ers badges, but here's what you can plan on:

Thursday: Festival begins at 7:00, after our local radio show, Thacker Mountain Radio, finishes taping; official party, 9:00pm-12:30am, unofficial party, 12:30am until?

Friday: Media Panel, 10:30am at the Overby Center; Filmmakers-Only Luncheon, 12:00-2:00pm; films at Malco, 12pm; official party, 9:00pm-1:00am; unofficial party, 1:00am until?

Saturday:Films at Malco starting at 10:00am; Award Ceremony/Official Party, 9:00pm-12:00am; unofficial party, 12:00am until?

Sunday:Films at Malco, 1:00-7:00pm; official schedule to be revealed after the award ceremony.