Whole Foods July 4th shopping spree

Over the July 4th weekend I also went to Whole Foods Market for a shopping spree. It's true that Whole Foods is pricey, but after scouring various stores in the Bay area, I've found that for many natural or organic brand-name food products, you find the best bargains at Whole Foods. Going to Whole Foods is like stepping into a candy store every time - there's an overwhelming range of products shouting at you, and I can easily spend more than an hour in the store checking out new and sales items without even starting to get what I set out to buy (not to mention tons of money). Among the items I bought this time were vegan deli meat from Field Roast Grain Meat, Nayonaise (vegan mayonnaise), and the always visually stunning Terra Blues Potato Chips. I felt like scoring a win when I left the store because these items were not only on sale, but I also had coupons to cut down their prices further. Hey, don't frown, I am a guerrilla vegetarian after all!

Shopping booty from Whole Foods

I put together a quick sandwich with some leftover multi-grain bread I bought from Arizmendi Bakery, vegan deli meat, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, Nayonaise and roasted red pepper hummus, and served it alongside the blue potato chips. I know I raved about the bread from Arizmendi Bakery before, but the multi-grain bread was another winner. After a few days on the countertop, it still smelled fantastic, and the molasses in it left me wanting for more like a drug every time I had it. I have a weakness for the Terra Blues chips too - I first encountered it on a JetBlue flight, during which the chips were served as a snack. Kudos to both companies for their great marketing as I now associate the blue chips with JetBlue top-of-mind, and I actually tell people about them, like what I'm doing now. I don't know if it's the color of the chips, slightly sweet taste, or plain good crunchiness, I have since become a devotee and they remain one of my most favorite chips.

Vegan deli meat sandwich served with blue Terra chips

To continue with the July 4th-patriotic-color theme, I made a vegan blueberry coffee cake from Isa's Vegan with a Vengeance. Perhaps because I halved the amount of sugar used, the cake tasted a bit bland. I also substituted applesauce for a lot of the oil, so it was quite dry and dense. I guess it's the trade-off you'll have to make for eating (slightly more) healthy. Anyway, the coffee cake recipe is available from the Post Punk Kitchen site too.

Half-eaten blueberry coffee cake