March 24: Whole Foods

I used to visit the Whole Foods in Lynnfield every once in awhile when I happened to be in the area, mostly when I went to Beer & Wine Hobby in Woburn to buy beer ingredients. Well, I stopped brewing beer, so I stopped going to Woburn so I stopped going to Whole Foods (not to mention that Beer & Wine Hobby moved to Danvers!). Then the pandemic hit, so I severely limited my shopping trips, which included all visits to Whole Foods, even after a new one opened in Beverly, not 20 minutes from my house (which I remember very much looking forward to, but then never actually visiting). 

But after my volunteering time with Meals on Wheels on Wednesday, I needed to go grocery shopping, and since I was already in Manchester (even closer to Beverly) and one of my friends had just mentioned the Whole Foods recently so it was on my mind, I decided to finally check it out. And it was like a food paradise, an Eden of variety. The produce section is superb... with the biggest leeks I have ever seen, orange AND purple cauliflower, all kinds of fancy mushrooms, yellow AND pink dragonfruit, and so much more. The colors, the variety, the leafiness were delightful. As everyone knows, the cheese area was amazing, and I bought ingredients for a cheese platter to enjoy for lunches, including this delicious goat cheese covered in almonds and fig jam. I also found a ton of great keto snacks in the packaged food section, including roasted chickpeas that are seasoned like an everything bagel. 

I am the kind of person who needs variety in my meals, and because I am keto and now have other dietary restrictions, I easily and quickly get bored with my cooking and am always looking for new recipes, new ingredients, and new ways to spice things up (literally and figuratively). Every aisle at Whole Foods was a delightful inspiration: produce, fresh seafood, butcher, cheese shop, etc etc etc! I can't wait to go back and get inspired to find new things to cook and to learn how to include a fun new variety of veggies and ingredients to my meals. 

With delight,

♥Jamie