Trader Joe's

I needed some more color into my blog, so i did some sidebar cleaning and switched the template, just FYI.

I went grocery shopping at Trader Joes... [i'm really starting to like that place more and more btw.] I had a partial gift card from my boss for picking up a few extra shifts so it cut 12.00 off my grocery bill. I bought a few things to try that are new, including ORGANIC and FREE TRADE items. Part of me is really wanting to make an effort to be healthier [cause my body always seems to work better when i'm in the healthy mode] and to be better to the enviornment and the world around me... i'm kind of in one of my "mini proactive" stages.... so i figured i'd try some new things and branch into the organic and free trade stuff... I asked a guy in the store and he pretty much said if its sold under the trader joe's label and made in the USA its free trade, but they couldn't guarantee the rest of the produce from other countries... but everything was labeled where it was from. Most of the organic produce is considered free trade as well because they grow it differently and laborers are paid better! I always heard it tastes different, but other then appearance, i tasted nothing funky. but i will admit, it costs a little more so well have to see how it fits into my budget. The nice thing about it is the smaller portions... i don't have to worry about stuff going bad (cause of huge quantites... Costco) and so i can pick out a few different things in the same market trip. yeah!

So my staple stores are: Costco and Trader Joes but I still shop a bit at Ralphs and Pavillions too, but that's mainly for one or two items that i can't find elsewhere or can't beat the price for on most days.