Trader Joe's

I have lived in Norwalk, CT for almost 7 years now with access to not ONE, but TWO Trader Joe's stores. I have never shopped there regularly and am now kicking myself. Just recently I have taken the time to peruse their aisles and check out all their goods and noticed one unmistakable fact.....their products are not only good.....they are really, really inexpensive!

I have been scouring the weekly fliers that come in the mail for savings to the stores I tend to frequent, like Stop & Shop or Shoprite and while they my have some decent deals depending on the week, they really can't beat Trader Joe's on certain things. Just last week I was at Trader Joe's with my son when they were going around with cereal samples for their Gourmet Flakes and Chocolate Cereal. Kellogg's has a similar product, in a smaller box, for almost twice what Trader Joe's is asking!!!!! It's amazing what a name brand can do to a price. And that's just one of their products that I have allowed myself to indulge in now that I can justify buying it again. They also have almond butter their which I have to buy for my daughter since she is allergic to peanuts and they charge around $4.00 for theirs where Stop & Shop has an almond butter for $10.00. Uh, no brainer! They also have their own verson of Pirate's Booty in a bigger bag for a whole lot less!

Not only does Trader Joe's do wonders for my budget, but they also offer a HUGE range of products that are ORGANIC!!!! Now that I've been scared into consuming mostly organic foods after reading Skinny Bitch, this is a mecca for me. The Trader Joe's I've been going to in Westport, CT is a small store and they don't offer fresh cuts of fish or meat (only frozen fish).....not that I should care since Skinny Bitch pretty much scared me into being vegetarian as well, so I'll have to check out the one in Darien, CT to see if that TJ's does things differently and offers a different variety.

All the same, Trader Joe's has great products and offer them at such competitive prices that I wish I'd taken the time to notice a long time ago. I was under the impression that it was high end health food store that only those who live in Westport and Darien could afford to shop at. I was way wrong. In fact, the staff as well couldn't be nicer! They all seem to enjoy their work, which makes the store feel so welcoming. They are so helpful and are so sweet to the kids. My son is sure he leaves with at least 2 balloons for both he and his sister whenever we go. Today he not only copped two balloons, but snagged two sets of mardi gras beads from one of the employees.....again, one for him and one for his big sis. What a nice little brother.

So, if you haven't yet discovered Trader Joe's, you must go! You can thank me later.

Until next time......

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

Skinny Bitch

Have you seen this book???? I have to say that I borrowed it from the library simply because of the title and figured it had to be a sassy read with a title like that! I was right! The authors were shamelessly dropping F-bombs all over the place in between moments of informative concern.

One would think that with a title like Skinny Bitch that this book would primarily be about diet and exercise, but no. I was shocked to read the things they were writing about. The major motivation for this book is to inform the readers about the greed, corruption and overall lack of concern for the public within the food industry. It relays graphic accounts of the horrible abuse the animals suffer for the sake of being food for the American consumer. The book outlines the corruption and conflicts of interest that go on within the FDA, USDA and even the EPA. Oh my God, the EPA even!!!!!!! Aren't they supposed to oversee our organic food handling??? YES! Apparently they can't be trusted!

The book makes an EXTREMELY strong case to go vegan. Afterall, the meat we eat is being injected with hormones to make the animals grow faster and fatter for slaughtering and antibiotics to keep them from getting sick......and being sprayed with pesticides to keep the bugs off of them. So now you know why 8 year old girls are growing breasts and getting their period. And this also explains why people are becoming immune to antibiotics or developing allergies. Also, contaminated meat still gets a passing grade because it's all about money and greed....and if the meat doesn't go to market, there's no money to be made. This information was making me sick......and I don't even want to go into what they do to chickens or how milk is handled! Basically, the food pyramid is BS and was only put in place by the FDA so each food category could get their fair share of the profits to be made. Even the sugar industry has their hand in the cookie jar. Did yo know that when ASPARTAME gets ingested, a chemical reaction occurs that turns it into formaldahyde?? This product is not fit for human consumption and yet it got passed through corrupt means. It's sickening and disheartening. It makes me want to buy a huge piece of property and grow all my own food so I know what I'm eating.

I'm still on the fence in terms of whether or not I'll go completely vegan, but I have made significant adjustments to my diet that include A LOT more fruits and veggies and organic foods from trusted sources(which they tell you about in the book). In fact, it's changed my thinking so much that I definitely make sure to wash all my fruits and veggies now (espeially if they aren't organic) before I eat them. The food industry doesn't care about our health and if the chemicals they use on the meat and produce lead to cancer, alzheimers or a host of other horrible diseases.....allergies included! I used to think the produce industries would go that extra mile and clean the produce to ensure that their food was completely safe for human consumption right out of the packaging. Nope, that was a silly thing to think. Why do you think there has been such a significant rise in allergies over the past years? Duh! Think about all the crap we have been ingesting into our bodies! It makes me angry that our food industry is so corrupt and that the government would allow such things to go on.

Yes, this book will make you think about food, government and our country in a whole new way. It opened my eyes and now that I know what goes on, I can't turn a blind eye to it anymore. I'm aware and will make every effort to see to it that I and my family eat only the best foods that are handled with human consumption in mind. If you want to be informed, read this book. If you don't want to give up your meat group, don't read it! This book will change you!

Until next time.......

Thanks for reading!

Kristen