Crunchy munchy

The sun is shining here in west MI, the sky is a brilliant blue, and the little guy is at daycare... a perfect day to walk up to the health food store! So I pulled on some boots, grabbed a couple reusable grocery bags, and off I went on my lunch break. What a beautiful day! The walk alone was worth it, never mind all the goodies I found.

This is the view from my upstairs window. Look at that sky!

Ohh, the goodies... Guys, I love grocery shopping. Not just love, but obsess over. Daydream about. Make extensive plans for. It's probably a good thing I went by myself today. More than once I caught myself before actually saying, "I *love* this place!" out loud. Today I was armed with a list (my other love!) of specialty ingredients, largely from Clean Eating Magazine and some posts in my Google Reader. Sometimes I flip through my CE Magazine and think, "Really? Now where in the world am I supposed to find THAT?" Ask no more. It's all at this store. And I am lucky enough to have one within walking distance. I think that for those who don't have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's (my closest one is 2 hours away) this is the next best thing. Sometimes, I think it's better, especially in terms of service and price. A ton of things were on sale today!

Here's my haul spread out on the counter:

Today I went in search of sucanat (got it!), mesquite powder (yep!),

cacao nibs (you betcha!), almond butter, tofu (what else would a health food store carry?) and a few other things. In my browsing I also discovered dulse flakes and umeboshi, both of which had been used in CE Magazine recipes. I drooled over the organic dessert selections and had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw the extensive wheat- and gluten-free options in the freezer cases. Wheat-free pie crust. Who knew? The H might be disappointed that I chose not to get chocolate-covered wheat-free donuts, but he'll get over it, especially if I make another batch of almond butter cookies this weekend.

Here's what else I brought home: Food Should Taste Good brand buffalo tortilla chips, millet-flax lavash bread (safe enough for The H to try!), fruit leather, panko bread crumbs, agave bears (for my long run tomorrow),

arrowroot powder, French lentils, Nature's Path frozen flax waffles, and roasted edamame. I realized, as I checked out, that we spend a lot of money on food. This was my third food-related shopping trip in the past week, and not because I simply forgot to get a few things the first time. It's a hobby, a habit. Something I enjoy doing when I read a new recipe and realize I get to purchase new ingredients for it. Some people have shoes or handbags; I have cacao nibs and sucanat.

Nice ingredients, right? I hope they treat The H well. I had one with hummus and tabbouleh for lunch.

This is Samwise. He's pouting because I didn't take him with me:

I must say I felt a tad out of place as I walked the mile back home, reusable bags slung over my shoulders, munching on fruit leather and crunchy edamame. Seems like I'd fit in better in a place like Seattle or Ann Arbor, where perhaps I wouldn't get odd looks from folks in their cars or waiting for the bus. Then again, maybe my little corner of the world just needs more people like me. Grocery obsession and all.