hello, joe. i’ve missed you.

Despite the peach incident in my previous post, I had managed to pull away from my Rainbow Grocery-induced trance at the banana stand.

It was hard not to.  59 cents a pop, printed on every single label.  Since I eat a lot of bananas, I may have gone for these had I not remembered a piece of advice from a trusted source.  19c apiece at Trader Joe’s.

Ah, Joe.  I fell in love with TJ’s over 10 years ago – the down-to-earth feel, the creative products, the amazing prices.

A decade on, however, it’s a very different affair.  TJ’s has stayed the same, but I haven’t.  Back then, I didn’t blink an eye at loading up on the blistered peanuts.  I thought nothing of the high-sugar content in many of the cute, little packages.  This time, I cast a careful look at the label.  Some things were great: lots of unsulfured dried-fruit, for instance.  Other things were not: a rack full of sugared mints had me wondering where the natural options were.

But Trader Joe’s doesn’t market itself as a health-food store, and that’s a good thing.  As always, I’ve found that the best approach to food shopping is portfolio style.  I’m happy to have TJ’s in the mix.

Next up: one of my favorite SF eats…from Lebanon

© 2009 Jessica Stone www.greenappetite.com