Coming from Canada, we knew it would be a bit tricky finding the particular health foods that we were used to buying at home. We eat a lot of organic, and fresh produce and it's everywhere. In coming to Korea, we expected it to be a little more difficult to find the stuff, and variety that we're used to, at the prices we're accustomed to paying. We knew it would be difficult, but because we're in a rural town, it's even more difficult. Frozen blueberries cannot be found, avocados are $3+ each, apples are $1.50 - $2.00 each... Produce (unless locally grown) is expensive here, if available at all. We're slowly developing a strategy for food and supplements that allows us to get what we need / want.
Our current strategy is 4 fold.
1 - Hwarang Mart - Our local grocery store. We get basics there like lettuce, seaweed, eggs and a few others.
2 - The local market - we get some produce here also, but still not a 'write home about it' value. Every 5 days there is an extra big market day with a TON of vendors selling pretty much the same stuff. We get fresh fruit and vegetables there often also.
3 - iHerb has been a lifesaver. The prices are pretty good. We make at least a 4 or 5 purchases a month through iHerb for everything from vitamins and fish oil to protein powder, flours, nuts and seeds. Here's a short list of what we buy fairly regularly.
Greens –
http://bit.ly/1SNOwrO
Great ingredient profile and I trust the brand. Taste is mediocre, but it's greens.
Omega 3 – http://bit.ly/1OPKy1u
Can't go wrong with NOW foods brand. They source the oil from small, cold water fish and it's molecularly distilled, so we like.
Vit D – http://bit.ly/1DaCBCS
NOW Vit D. For the winter mainly, but still good to take here and there throughout the summer.
Chia – http://bit.ly/1Mx6al5
An absolute staple in our diet. We go through a lot of this so we always buy in bulk for extra savings.
Probiotic – http://bit.ly/1glb9s8
Mercola brand is top notch. These probiotics are not cheap, but they are incredibly good quality. Neither of us have gotten sick while here (first 5.5 months) and I attribute that in large part to these beauties.
Pea Protein – http://bit.ly/1U86CaO
Julia's plant protein. Good value and she loves the taste.
Enzymes – http://bit.ly/1LYQC9N
We use some digestive enzymes on occasion if we're going out for dinner or eating something out of the ordinary.
Stevia – http://bit.ly/1DQuQwM
I prefer stevia to sugar. :
Whey – http://bit.ly/1DaDfR5
Brian's protein. No bells and whistles, just the basics.
Cocoa – http://bit.ly/1DaDivW
Straight cocoa. No sugar, but nice to add to chia or smoothies.
Coconut Oil - http://bit.ly/1LSfDSs
If you don't fry your food with coconut oil, check yourself.
B Complex - http://bit.ly/1IrsHIM
B Vitamins - energy, stress etc... Good stuff.
If interested in any of these products (or anything else on iHerb) and you're a new customer, go here:
and use coupon code JKM400 at checkout to save $10!
4 - GMarket. GMarket is like amazon / ebay. You can buy just about anything. We've been finding more and more stuff on GMarket that we're going to start buying. Frozen blueberries and avocados are a couple of examples. Avocados are 11 for $22, so a definite savings there! We can save by buying some things in bulk.
Below are some random photos of the products we've bought through iHerb and GMarket as well as our local market / street vendors:
