Sprouts. The store, not the vegetable.
A grocery store is really an extension of your kitchen, so it’s important to find one that you like, that you can call home. I know this can be difficult for some, depending on where you live. What I recommend is to move as close as you can to a Sprouts Natural & Organic Grocery Store. If this means leaving your job, your loved ones, your social circle, and possibly breaking a lease, it will be worth it.
Sprouts is what I would come up with if someone said “Erin, design the grocery store you want to shop in.” There are many things that make Sprouts the haven that it is:
The bulk section. When most people hear the word ‘bulk’ they think massive quantities or Costco. But the real beauty of bulk is that you get control over how much you buy. What you get at Sprouts are aisles and aisles of bins, filled with everything from dried fruit to grains to chocolate covered walnuts to jasmine rice to spices to seeds to flours to sugars and about 18 different blends of trail mix. So instead of buying, say, a cannister of Quaker Oats that costs $2.99 (or more) you can pay by weight and fill an entire bag of oats for mere cents. Buying packaged products can be very wasteful and expensive. You also run the risk of buying oats that have snuck sugar or other trashy ingredients into them if you buy branded oatmeal. I buy all of my spices for recipes from the bulk section. I buy walnuts, organic oats, jasmie rice, dried apricots, chocolate covered almonds, flour, the list goes on and on. I think above everything, the reason I gravitate towards bulk is because of how much money you save since you only need to buy what you need. That doesn’t necessarily mean you are buying small amounts. Hell, I buy like 3 pounds of oats but I pay half the price and then when I get home I put all my dried goods into mason jars and my kitchen looks like it could host a Free People photo shoot. Plus, it’s very trendy to avoid big brands.
Sprout’s Produce section has allowed me to grow as a person. Due to the variety of their inventory, I have been able to explore new lettuces (endive!), new fruits (mineola tangelos!), and even new mushrooms (baby bellas!). I have developed so much confidence in the kitchen and in life based on the ease at which I have been able to introduce new fresh foods into my life. Another aspect worth mentioning is that Sprouts stocks very fresh and very ripe produce. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone into Trader Joes in need of an avocado and they have a very small selection of tiny and rock hard ‘cados. I need ripe avocados today, not 2 weeks from now.
Sprout’s prices are right. I cannot shop at Whole Foods anymore because I am aware of the nauseating premium I am paying the moment I pull into their god awful parking lot. And Trader Joes has good prices, sure, but their selection is bland and their proprietary products are packed with canola oils and sugars and syrups that I don’t want to ingest. No thanks, Joe.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit the aesthetics of Sprouts wasn’t a factor. The decor is very rustic and barn like, with high ceilings and a lot of cedar planks (a wood I find particularly soothing). The lightning is rather flattering, and I have never seen so much as a grape out of place. I know that Sprouts takes a lot of pride in their displays, and I for one appreciate that kind of attention to detail.
Their butcher counter will personally ground me up a pound of pork on request. If ever I can’t find the meat that I want in the already packaged section, they will happily prepare me my meat of choice. That’s Service with a capital S.
Their products are curated with intention and are highly nutritious, but they aren’t obnoxious like Whole Foods. Whole Foods feels so shady. There’s no conceivable reason why a small container of pineapple needs to cost over $7.00
*Sprouts is not paying me to promote them (but would love to negotiate something if they are interested).