I really enjoy grocery shopping. Most women head off to their favorite retail store to grab a new bag, some stylish shades, or a sexy pair of heels. After a rough day at work you can find me wandering through the aisles at Trader Joe's. Sometimes I worry they are going to ask me to leave because I have spent around an hour and a half there on numerous occasions.
Food comforts me. I grew up in my grandmother's kitchen helping her cook my grandfather breakfast, preparing lunch, getting the supper ready, and almost every holiday and Sunday I would put in extra hours learning to cook like her. I know it may sound cliché, but ever since she passed in 2007 I cook more often because I feel connected to her when I am in the kitchen. My grandma was allergic to milk products and I think now about how I use almond milk to make so many delicious desserts and how she could have enjoyed food so much more if I had known about it then.
Anyhow back to the shopping, something about looking through foods, touching and smelling fresh produce and imagining what amazing meals the raw ingredients can turn into really inspires me. Sometimes I think I enjoy the grocery shopping almost as much as I do the actual cooking.
Today I thought I might let you in on a few things I almost always include on my weekly grocery list. Also as a side note...Forrest is a human garbage disposal, so all of the things I will list here I usually buy in doubles and sometimes triples. For example: there are 2 1/2 dozen eggs in our fridge right now...we will clear through them in approximately 6 days (and that is if I do no baking...which I cannot promise!)
I am a huge bargain shopper...so I do compare prices between stores, but some ingredients I can only find at Trader Joe's.
The Casita Cory Grocery Favorites:
cage free eggs (sometimes Organic)...like I said, when you go through 2 dozen in a matter of days organic starts to get a bit pricey so I try to alternate weeks...one week organic the next simply cage free...and check out this note on eggs
almond milk here are two articles: the first is a comparison of soy, almond and rice milks the second is about 10 Benefits of Almond Milk
almond Butter we here at Casita Cory really use both peanut butter and almond butter...so here is a comparison...I actually prefer the taste of almond butter with my mom's homemade strawberry preserves :)
almonds are you starting to notice a trend? haha Almonds are my mid morning snack and here are some of the many health benefits of adding almonds to your diet
onions I usually buy a bag of sweet red onions and a bag of yellow. Onions add so much flavor to everything and also are good for your health...read here about how
garlic again an ingredient I add to tons of dishes to add flavor and see how it works for you
spinach we add spinach to our omelets in the morning, salads or sandwiches at lunch, and often add them to pasta dishes or serve sautéed as a side for dinner...now here is what spinach can do for you...
tomatoes I always buy a few vine tomatoes and then a pint or quart of grape or other miniature tomatoes. Here are 10 Health Benefits of Tomatoes
mushrooms Throw them into an omelet, a salad or a pasta dish and find out how they are good for you here...
greek yogurt We started replacing our regular yogurt with greek yogurt just recently. Read why you might want to here...
frozen berries Forrest makes a PowerSmoothie every morning. Frozen and fresh berries work hard to fight those free radicals reducing your risk of cancer and other diseases...read here about it
frozen yogurt Forbes.com writes about how it is all the new rage in desserts...Trader Joe's has a great nonfat plain frozen yogurt...just add your favorite fresh berries and some melted dark chocolate for a delish and healthy dessert...
honey add to a hot mug of green tea or a peanut butter or almond butter sandwich...or top some of that greek yogurt with it for a snack...and while you are at it read how it's working for you!
avocados Obviously this is a guacamole staple, but slice it up into salads or on a sandwich, or take that guacamole and slap it on a turkey sandwich...and here is why the avocado is making a comeback...
Well I think that is it for now. Believe me...that's never all I buy at the grocery, but those are some of our favorite things to throw in the cart :)
greek yogurt mixed with kashi is my new go-to breakfast. it's pretty much the only thing that keeps me full till lunch:) and have you tried trader joe's creamed honey? it's basically honey that's been whipped i think so it's a little more spreadable. really love it! also i always try to buy cage-free, but are all organic eggs also cage free?
ReplyDeleteYummie breakfast idea! I will have to try the creamed honey...I picked it up one day to buy it but stuck with the regular honey instead. You know there is still quite a bit of controversy over the whole cage-free vs. free range vs. organic eggs. Also I read an article about how Trader Joe's is not revealing the third party they purchase their eggs from, so there is no real way to track just how cage-free and organic the eggs are than to believe them. If you have a way to buy eggs at a farmer's market or from a friend in town with chickens (my personal choice) you know exactly where your eggs are coming from. From what I have heard and read sometimes cage-free can mean for 15 minutes a day they open the cage and give the chickens a choice for freedom. So just do your research and ask questions...and if you can buy them locally!
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