What’s in My Bag: Grocery Shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes

Thank you so, so much for all the support on yesterday’s post. To say I was blown away is a huge understatement. Opening up like that was something I was so nervous to do but something I felt really compelled to do in case it could help someone else. I always want to keep it real on here and I think we learn so much by sharing our experiences. I’m looking forward to taking time tonight to respond back to each and every comment. They all touched me so much. After that heavy post I thought I’d keep it light today. Who doesn’t love a what’s in my grocery bag post?

I’ve added a fun little tradition to our Saturdays here in Omaha: grocery shopping! It may sound silly but I love grocery shopping. I look forward to heading out west to Whole Foods and Trader Joes and stocking up our our kitchen for the week. Saturdays are sample days at Whole Foods which means sipping on wine and munching cheese while shopping. It doesn’t get better. Also, shopping at two stores that I went to back East (I need a new word to refer to it now that it’s not “home”) keeps a bit of the homesickness at bay. I’m so behind the times but I never used to use reusable bags. Now I love bringing them to the store and filling them up, knowing I did something to make the Earth just a tiny bit better. Here’s some of the things that were in our shopping bags this week:

WF: Rice chips! My stepmom first got me hooked on these when she’d buy them from Wegmans. I’m so glad Whole Foods carries them, and bonus, they’re 75 cents cheaper here! Josh and I both love them.

WF: I’ve become obsessed with Ezekiel bread and tortillas. I love making peanut butter and banana sandwiches and breakfast tortillas. I also got some baby carrots for a healthy snack at work to try and keep me from snacking on the chocolate that’s always floating around. If it wasn’t so good I wouldn’t have this problem. ;p

TJ: I got the berry medley and pineapple frozen fruits for green smoothies. The eggplant cutlets are so easy to make and taste absolutely delicious. We like putting them over pasta and topping them with tomato sauce. I haven’t tried the roasted veggie lasagna yet but it looks really good.

WF: Stonyfield Organic Minty Chocolate Chip frozen yogurt. I got this when I saw it was on sale and I had a coupon. It is so so good. It’s almost gone.

WF: Peppers and an onion! Josh is making chili this week!

TJ: Bananas! (I can’t not say this in a Minion voice.) I love that Trader Joes bananas are 19 cents a banana. I always make sure to get really big ones! haha #bargainshopper They’re hanging in our new banana hanger. It’s dorky but I’m so excited to have one of these things. They’re supposed to keep your bananas fresh so much longer.

WF: Josh and I picked up some peaches on sale for work snacks, and an apple, raspberries, and spinach for lunch salads. We normally get the huge salad tub but I’m traveling for work this week so we opted for the smaller tub. Did you know peaches are best stored on their shoulders and placed apart from one another? It helps keep them from going bad faster than you can eat them.

TJ: The Trader Joes Basil and Tomato hummus is probably the best hummus in the world.  I could go through tubs of this stuff. I also love putting their fat free feta on my salads and breakfast burritos. Josh is really excited to try this cilantro and jalapeno hummus.

WF: I tried the chicken breast tenders during a Saturday sample and thought they’d be perfect for salads. I don’t feel comfortable cooking raw chicken so I thought this would be a good item to have on hand. I’m also excited to try Amy’s veggie shepherd’s pie. Josh loves the evol enchilada bakes and Gardenburger is his favorite veggie burger brand. He got so happy when he saw them, apparently they can be pretty hard to find. These will be perfect for quick and easy dinners on the go.

And those are some of the things we stocked our fridge with this week! Hopefully you enjoyed taking a virtual peek inside my grocery bags! 😀 How adorable is that artichokey bag? As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it.

Question of the Day: What’s a grocery store product you’ve been loving lately?