The long trek to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's

Today I made my occasional trek to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Usually, I have to do all my grocery shopping at Safeway or Giant, since that is about all we have in my area. I also like to buy fresh produce from the local farmers during the warmer months when you can find them selling peaches, tomatoes, corn and more at the roadside stands.

Now that the weather has grown cold, I can still find a few stands that offer apples or pumpkins, but no where near the selection offered during the summer. Oh how I miss peaches. They were wonderful in this raw peach cobbler recipe. Even my some of my nonraw family members enjoyed it.

The nearby grocery stores are lacking in their organic produce and other raw ingredients, so from time to time, I make a special trip to the closest Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, which are more than a half an hour away (but well worth it).

The best thing about shopping there is the variety of organic greens. I only buy organic greens for my smoothies, and the selection is limited in my area. I can only find spinach, mixed greens and romaine.

But, at Whole Foods, I can find so much more. There is rainbow chard, kale, arugula, watercress, and the list goes on. Today, I got the usual spinach, mixed greens and romaine, with the addition of chard, kale, parsley and cilantro. I can barely fit all those greens in my fridge. What a wonderful way to get some protein and calcium.

Speaking of protein and calcium, I've been meaning to buy some raw tahini for a while now, but every time I look for it, there isn't any on the shelf. Lucky me; today I got my hands on some. Now, I just need to recall what I wanted it for.

I also got a wealth of other treats, like goji berries, agave, dates, raw pumpkin seeds, Lara bars and more. The only thing that was missing from my list was young thai coconuts. I used to be able to pick them up all the time from Whole Foods, but they haven't been there for months. Could I have been looking for them in the wrong spot?

Well, it seems that may have been the case. I found one lonely coconut nestled in the corner of the precut fruit fridge by the floral section. Why would it be there? I don't know, but it turned out to be quite the tease. Can you imagine my disappointment when I picked it up and found the discoloration on its bottom, signaling its spoilage? Well, at least I know where to look next time.