I wish you all could have been present at last Monday’s lab session—not because of the food principles we were testing but rather so you could have joined in on our conversation. The topic of discussion happened to be about our beloved Whole Foods Market. A new, much bigger Whole Foods location just opened up here in Raleigh this past week, so (amidst curdling sour cream and making tomato soup) my lab partners and I spent a good hour and half prattling about the pros and cons of the various Raleigh-Durham WF stores.

I finally got to see this new foodie playground on Saturday:

I had intended on documenting the experience via pictures, but it was so crowded with people that there was barely room to move, much less discreetly whip out my camera for photo ops. I showed remarkable self-restraint (and bargain shopping skillz) and emerged from the store having spent a mere 10 dollars on grocery goodies:

• Enjoy Life Cinnamon Crunch Granola (on sale for $2.69—originally $5.69)
• Cedar Hummus, Tomato-Basil and Garden Vegetable flavors (BOGO, 2/$2.99, originally $2.99 each)
• Zevia cola, grapefruit flavor ($4.99, using an online $1 off coupon)

[Side note: are you all interested in learning more about my grocery-related couponing/bargain hunting? Leave me a comment below!]

We also grabbed a bite to eat before departing the store, but you’ll have to keep reading to find out more about that:)

Have you ever attended a “grand opening” event? I’ve attended a few in my lifetime, and I always enjoy the coupons and free samples that are inevitably involved!

Now onto the grub!

Saturday

Yesterday’s breakfast was a pretty standard bowl of oat bran.

For lunch, however, I had some out-of-the-ordinary items from the Whole Foods salad bar. This was first time trying fennel, and I think you’ll be seeing it more often in my culinary creations…

I kept dinner simple with a souped up veggie burger and broccoli slaw. Ever since our Asheville vacation, I’ve become slightly obsessed with sprouts.

Sunday

I woke up pretty hangry this morning. Egg whites came to the rescue.

More sprouts, more sunflower seeds. I think it’s apparent what my food jags are these days.

This afternoon, I found some time to make a pre-dinner snack for the two of us, Ellie’s Spiced Mixed Nuts.

My tweaks:

-I halved the recipe to make a reasonable amount for two people.

-I omitted the dried rosemary because I couldn’t find it anywhere for less than $4 a jar. This foodie must be frugal sometimes.

The flavor of these nuts is pretty awesome-sauce. I added slightly more cayenne pepper than required in the recipe, making them extra spicy. However, the hint of maple syrup ensures the appropriate flavor balance.

The recipe is available online: Spiced Nuts

I finally got creative at dinner this evening. After scoring a huge bag of tomatoes at the Teet for just a buck, I decided to put them to good use and made herbed salmon salad to stuff inside the tomatoes. ‘Twas delicious! Seth approved too.

Alright, Bob’s Burgers is on—must go!

Filed under: Meals