"Whole"-Hearted Grocery Shopping

I'm not ashamed to admit that I get wayyy too excited about Whole Foods. Seriously.

The atmosphere, the clientele, the variety, the exciting foods I've never seen before.

I'd outfit my entire grocery supply from Whole Foods if it weren't so freakin' expensive!

Saturday night, my aunt Judy, my cousin Eric, his wife Mary, and their daughter Meredith were staying with us after Meredith's baton twirling competition. Judy was itching for a trip to Whole Foods for some of their DIY cashew butter, and Meredith wanted to tag along, so I was super stoked.

 I nervously tried my first Pom. I've been eyeing them for months because they're 100% juice, and that entices me. It was absolutely delicious! But not worth $4 or 260 calories, in my opinion.

 Mom wasn't exactly thrilled that I insisted we stop every 10 feet for photo ops, but I've been looking forward to this healthy living post for days!

 As many of you know, I'm gradually experimenting with various meats to determine whether I want to incorporate them into a (possible) new omnivorous diet. I'm still a sucker for soy and whey protein "meat" -- Whole Foods makes the best General Tso's "chicken" and "chicken salad," hands down. At all costs, I was going to get my hands on each of these. I enjoyed the General Tso's over brown sugar garlic rice last night. Mmmm!

 I've developed a mild obsession with Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butter ever since a good friend blogged about White Chocolate Wonderful flavor. I bought a jar on a whim, and I was not disappointed. I put it on everything -- oatmeal, cereal, sandwiches, Fig Newton Thins, and more. It's that good. I left it with my parents for their dining pleasure, and I decided to try a new flavor.

 I'm always, always, always on the hunt for a scrumptious new cereal. I look for several factors: fairly large serving size (like, not half a cup), low fat content, wholesome ingredients, and of course, fantastic taste! There will always be a special place in my heart for Multi-Grain Cheerios, Kellogg's Crunchy Nut, and Special K Chocolatey Delight, but I'm inappropriately excited to try Indigo Morning.

This is the type of breakfast I'm looking forward to getting back to accompanied by my new Whole Foods stash -- fruit and grain muffins, fresh fruit, and exotic flavors of Chobani Greek yogurt. I discovered low-fat Apple Cinnamon and Passionfruit flavors at my local Kroger today! WIN!

 My complete haul: cereal, bread, peanut butter, chicken and chicken salad, granola bars, guacamole, pita chips, granola, and flax seed (which I've been wanting to try for awhile). My mom is a savvy shopper, and she saved $20 on a $50 shopping spree using Groupon and LivingSocial deals.

I had two goals for this Whole Foods trip: try new foods, and purchase foods with nutritious, pronouncable, wholesome ingredients. Preservatives don't excite me as much as Whole Foods's natural guacamole or whole flax seeds.

Unfortunately, my aunt Judy had read an article in Reader's Digest just that morning stating that the human body cannot digest whole flax seeds, but rather passes them as it would other whole fiber. She didn't catch us in time before we acquired a small bag of the pour-it-yourself, non-refundable whole seeds. I had noticed the bags of ground flax seed as we entered the store, but never having tried it before, I didn't want to buy a large bag not knowing whether I'd like it.

Oh, well. You live and you learn.

Happy Monday!

P.S. Do you have a passion for a particular grocery store or market? Are there certain foods that especially excite you for a shopping trip? Whole Foods or Trader Joe's?