Which is better? Whole Foods or Trader Joes?

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So, we all know I’m a Trader Joe’s fan. I like Whole Foods, but I just like Trader Joe’s better. Now if Trader Joe’s would put a store in Robinson, I would be the first one in that store. No seriously. I would probably take the day off from work.

I was talking with my sister-in-law last weekend about the Whole Foods vs Trader Joes debate this weekend and then I got an article in my email the Monday after. It was a sign that I needed to write this post. It didn’t hurt that I had to talk Dan out of buying some pre processed sauce with all kinds of crap in it that I couldn’t pronounce when we were at Target this weekend. He was not happy with me. 

“C”lue-My favorite part of the whole article? “Trader Joe’s claims the following for all products under the “Trader Joe’s” brand name (which is a large percentage of food sold there): “The finest quality, natural ingredients.” NO artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, NO MSG, NO added Trans Fats.” Are they all healthy for you? No, but they are a heck of a lot better. I didn’t promise I would only eat fruits and veggies this year, just promised I would eat things that are better for me.

“L”ink-Want to read the full article? Check it out here.  I have mentioned the app fooducate before. It rocks. Again I don’t use it for every single thing, but when I’m looking for a better juice/yogurt/bread it’s the first place I check.

“T”houghts- I had to talk Dan out of buying some pre processed sauce with all kinds of crap in it that I couldn’t pronounce when we were at Target this weekend. He was not happy with me.  I don’t have time to read every single label out there, but I try when I can. And let’s be honest. There are some labels I don’t want to read. For example…I love me some Smarties candies. I don’t want to know what is in there. They are just good.

Making Pierogis…

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So for Mother’s Day, I bought Mom a Groupon for a Pierogi making class and we used it a few weeks ago.  Loved it!  It was a great “Mom and Carrie Date” and it’s really not as hard as you think!  Time consuming, but not hard.

“C”lue- Did you know that you can make the filling for Pierogis about anything you can think of?  Fruit, Meat, Cheese, Potatoes.  Be creative.  She told us just about anything edible.  The ones we made were Potato and Farmer’s Cheese.  What’s Farmer’s Cheese?  Think of it like a very dry ricotta.  It’s Polish and can be only bought at the specialty stores.  They also use Polish flour.  A little lighter than regular flour and no added crap like preservatives etc.  Which I like.

“L”ink- The S&D Polish Deli is where we took our class with Marta.  She was fabulous and fun.  Will definitely go back again for food and maybe other classes (They have Polish baking class and Polish Holiday Traditions class).  She suggested buying a potato press from Ikea.  You can buy here.  Picture below from Ikea’s website.  Saves time and energy!

“T”hought-Ok, I admit.  I was scared of “Farmer’s Cheese”.  Like what happened to cheddar?  I was brave and tried it since it is what most pierogis in Poland are made from they told us.  It’s good!  Mild and very good.  Will use again when I get brave and try these on my own!

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