Raise your hand if you love grocery shopping

I needed almond milk and Whole Foods had some one day sales do I made my list and went after work.

What I wore to work

I recently read on somewhere about tips to save money at Whole Paycheck, most importantly,  to pick up the flyer in store for coupons. I did find a few coupons that were worth using!

I have so many veggies coming up in the garden that I skipped the produce section. I asked the meat counter guy about the fish special, a paiche which he said was in between the flavor and texture of a whitefish and other strong fish. I got some and some chicken breasts.

My finds included the elusive but occasional Way Better chili chips. My Earth Balance mayo and So Delicious coconut milk creamer were on sale. I used coupons for a Kit's Organic "brownie" bar, Pacific baked beans, and some So Delicious Almond Milk ice cream bars. They had a different Food for Life bread (than Sprouts) that doesn't say egg-free on it but doesn't have eggs; it is also gluten-free, yeast-free, and all that good stuff. They no longer have the oatmeal bars I was getting (so sad!) but they had these Simple Squares I will try. And today's big find: RAMEN! Okay, it's not like your ramen since there isn't a seasoning packet (actually, they had those but I couldn't have the seasoning so....) but it is 5 "squares" of ramen noodles made with rice instead of wheat. I'm going to make ramen. I'm going to make ramen. I'm going to sing this while I make my ramen. I'm going to make ramen...

And Buckwheat "frosted" flakes in the back!

Alrighty, are you tired yet? What?! We've worked all day, we went to Whole Foods and read a hundred labels...let's keep going.

Trader Joe's is next door, so I went there next before heading home. Trader Joe's can be hit-and-miss but certain things are on my list there: quick cook rice, rice tortillas (the Food for Life ones at Sprouts are pretty similar but MIGHT be slightly better), some of the nuts, the coconut milk ice cream (the only strawberry version I have found!), unsweetened dried cherries, and that artichoke antipasta stuff.

I got Mick some "real" ice cream too...

Today, I also found coconut milk yogurt (blueberry and vanilla only), some tapenade, pitted kalamata olives, and some frozen leeks. Because who ever has fresh leeks when a recipe asks for them?

You're not exhausted yet, are you? Now, let's drive home. And make dinner. I made fish tacos using some guidance from Mark Bittman, How To Cook Everything, including the sauce. Then I mixed some cabbage and avocado for a "slaw." Mick didn't have that part; he used cheese instead. And some canned refried beans (these are Amy's brand; TJ's has some good ones too) on the side; I just added some salsa for more flavor. Mick doesn't really like fish tacos but the fish itself was very good.

paiche tacos