Supermarket organic food has an odd reputation. I have heard stories of supermarkets playing some pretty nasty tricks on us with their version of organic. Examples would be the practise of growing organically but throwing away any stock that looked non-standard therefore wasting perfectly good harvest just because we have got used to the uniformity of EC mass produced style fruit. Another example is the fact that the best organic food is locally produced organic food. Supermarkets have a way of swallowing up local producers and ditching them if they don’t fit mass market requirements.

So, thank goodness I found ‘Out of this world’ which judges every product it sells on criteria in categories in the areas of Fair Trade, Healthy Eating, Community, Environment and Animal Welfare. You can find lots of locally produced products like the fabulous Stephen Morris pies from Loughborough which my boyfriend goes mad for. It is located opposite a Sainsbury’s supermarket which up until recently displayed a big banner outside it’s store saying ‘Organic Retailer of the year’ which I agree with on principle in that it does stock an impressive range of different goods, however I question how much it deals with local producers.

I would recommend you take along your own shopping bags – to save getting carriers – however they do often give out Co-op bags which are those fantastic degradable ones that degrade in 3 yrs. Also bring a quid if you need a trolley. They have them outside the store attached to a lamppost. They also sell reusable shopping bags made of fabric. Recently they have installed a computerised till and chip and pin card reader. This is a great step forward and means the queues move faster. They are obviously much busier recently and you will be surprised how many people buy there weekly shop here. Listen out for the mad siren noise that goes off when the till doesn’t recognise a price!

At the front of the store you’ll find the fruit, eggs, veg and chilled sections. The eggs they sell are Hi Peak Soil Association standard and aren’t too bad on price. See below for transcript of my receipt. Unfortunately, ad this may be totally to do with the nature of organic produce, I don’t often find I can get my full compliment of fresh produce at Out of this World. Sometimes some of the tomatoes have actually been moldy - I’ve had this in Tesco too mind! You have to get used to things not being uniform in size and shape. This is something that wouldn’t have bothered most of us twenty years ago but since the EU straightened our bananas it can be quite a culture shock! You can get very good bananas, incidently, with the Demeter mark on them. Also good are the apples, avocados and giant grapes. Much of this produce does come from abroad although the joy with this shop is that they have regular specials which have been brought in from local producers. This adds some usual variety to the selection on offer. Vegetables like potatoes and onions are also absolutely fine from here. Don’t miss the fab range of houmous and salads in the first chiller. Most of the fresh produce can be weighed and wrapped in paper bags, rather than that awful cling wrap we get even on the organic stuff in regular supermarkets.
Next is the Dairy aisle –or should I say non-dairy! Firstly you do get non-vegan stuff here – great brands like Rachels’, Yeo Valley and Lye Farm which you can get in many other supermarkets. In addition to the organic produce are again locally produced cheeses together with innovative non-dairy cheese substitutes. If you are vegan or vegetarian you’ll be amazed by the product ranges you’ll find here. For your weekly shop you can get locally produced milk, smoothies and treats like some very naughty but delicious chocolate mousses.

There is a stunning meat chiller up next. This is where I buy the pies and meat products my fella adores. You can get a full range of cuts of meat here and the prices get more reasonable every time I go. In fact it’s worth checking out the bargains and reduced items here at non peak times. You don’t really get conventional packaging – just thick plastic pockets, again though this is just a convention you can soon get past. You also don’t always get glamorous labels – but you’ll find them factual and non fussy. You do get to find out the origin which again will be closer than in any other supermarket!

Also down this aisle are gluten free breads, biscuits and Cripsbreads including the pioneering Glutano brand and others such as Trufree. You can pick up St Paul’s cobs and bread which are organic. They have a range of pittas, naans and international breads too. The availability can change and you may not get the same brand/product available each week. It might be best to ask about when deliveries come in.

The biscuit aisle and aisle-ends are very tempting with Duchy Originals and organic goodies a plenty. I don’t spend too much time looking here as I am trying to diet but would recommend anything with Green and Blacks on it if you love dark chocolate. There are gluten free cakes, goodies for the kids and also Co-op own brand products. Again the link with Co-op becomes apparent here and you will find their products amongst the others on the shelves.

Further up are the Veggie products – Cauldron, Quorn and many little known brand are stocked here with products like Fish free fish fingers, sausages, slices and savoury products like pies, samosas and spring rolls. These allow veggies to grab and go at lunchtimes if they get chance to pop in. There are more products for Vegetarians in the freezers which also contain hemp ice-cream. Again my favourite Green and Blacks are lurking here with the biggest range of luscious dark chocolate ice-cream varieties I have ever seen!

Next up are the baby products and many folk are now taking organic products very seriously especially when feeding their little ones. Here you can get not only organic products but environmentally friendly ones too. These extends to a range of baby foods, nappies and accessories for tree-hugging mums!

At the back of the shop are cereals, seeds. pulses, dries fruit and nuts etc. This is where the Out of this World own brand has really taken off. They have prepared their own bags of dried goods which are all organic. I regularly buy the rice, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and nuts from this section where they frequently have special offers. You can also find books here to help you understand more about ethical consumerism.

One particular aisle where you will find many unusual items is the household cleaning/toiletries aisle. Here are those clever laundry balls that last for 1000 washes, organic toothpastes, the fullest range of Ecover products I’ve seen anywhere, degradable bin bags, lovely aromatherapy products and toiletries all developed with ethical principles. One of the biggest lines they supply is the Dead Sea Magic range. You can find all your standard products in this range but all with innovative versions – like the tiny toothpaste/mouthwash combo product all with natural ingredients. I recently bought some of the Natracare range which is more expensive than the likes of Always and Tampax. I’ve yet to see how they compare but the packaging is convenient as with other brands.

The sweets and confectionery aisle has a very different range of snack such as brands such as Jonathan Crisp, more Green and Blacks, Whizzers (one of my favourite gluten frees), Panda, Gillian Mckeith (if you’re a fanatical dieter). At the top of this aisle are the Out of this World own brand snacks together with soy snacks, Munchie Seeds and some quite standard health food style products.

The grocery aisle contains a lot of Co-op products, Blue Dragon, Granovita and Duchy together with products like soy based pate’s, sauces, tinned beans, luxury jams, baking products, egg replacements and all the key ingredients that can be hard to find in regalr supermarkets. I think this is the aisle that really makes the difference. Staples like rice, pasta, noodles, jar sauces are all available here in organic or fair trade versions. Even the wines and spirits in the last part of this aisle are unique, organic or fair trade products. I love Fentiman’s Dandelion and Burdock. Cannabis Beer and the collection of Fair trade wines. I also buy the Soy banana milkshake which they do in handy 3 packs. At the checkout you can find copies of magazines like New Consumer which can further aid your search for products.

I often find my organic shop costs more but brings great peace of mind. I also buy less things in bulk but buy small quality items. Some things taste better, some things just plain make you feel better because you haven’t given your support to an oppressive regime or eaten eggs of chicken fed their own poop! Here’s the transcript of my bill to give you an idea of prices:

New Consumer magazine £3.00
Smoked Back Organic Bacon £2.34
Stephen Morris Organic Chicken Crème Pie £2.44
Stephen Morris Organic Steak Pie £2.81
Yeo Valley organic low fat yoghurts £1.99
Organic Bananas £1.17
Organic Apples £1.36
Dandelion and Burdock £1.05
Natracare Ultra Pads £1.99
Wholewheat organic gnocchi pasta £0.99
Geobars x6 £1.69
Wholewheat organic spaghetti £0.99
Basmati organic rice £1.99
Organic Blue Dragon Egg Noodles £0.75
OOTW Sunflower Seeds 500g £1.19
OOTW Sesame seeds £0.89
Pumpkin seeds 0.99

Other than the branch in Beeston, you can also find OOTW stores in Leeds and Newcastle.

Beeston Store details:
Unit One, Villa St, Beeston NG9 2NY
Open 9am-6pm Monday – Wednesday and Saturday
9am-8pm Thursday and Friday
0115 943 1311

Newcastle store details:
Gosforth Shopping Centre
High St Gosforth
NE3 1JZ
Open 9am -6pm Monday to Saturday
0191 213 0421

Leeds Store:
20 New Market Street
LS1 6DG
Open 9am -6pm Monday to Saturday
0113 244 1881

You can become a member of OOTW and gain shares if you wish to support the stores although they say in the main that regular custom is the best way to get involved.

Take a look at the website at: www.outofthisworld.coop.