Note: Contest is over. Please see the bottom for the winner!
As I mentioned in a previous post, we recently moved from the Southwest US to the Southeast. I was very set in my ways in the Southwest with Sprouts and Trader Joe’s. I was devastated that my new location had neither of these stores and worried that grocery shopping would never be the same again.
Then I met Earth Fare.
What is Earth Fare, you ask? It’s like a small Whole Foods, which makes it more my style. I tend to get lost in the giant Super Markets that have become America (Wal-mart, Publix, Safeway, etc). So much food that isn’t really food, but rather chemical concoctions made to look like food and fool us. I don’t need any of that nonsense. Now, don’t get me wrong, Whole Foods is a great store with great products. But it is big, too big for me.
Earth Fare is perfect for your weekly grocery shopping. It has an excellent produce section, most of which is local and/or organic. They have a bulk section for grains, nuts, and legumes. Also in the bulk section is freshly roasted coffee, with the roast date. A must for any coffee lover. And for the tea lovers, an entire wall of tea, plus a bulk tea section. And, to my delight, an excellent selection of King Arthur Flour products, including bread flour, AP flour, and cake flour, all at prices comparable to places like Publix, and even a good supply of their gluten free products! Finally, my most favorite part on the grocery side: the cheese section and olive bar. Right next to the great wine selection. It’s my little slice of heaven! (You may think I only do desserts but I am a huge fan of wine and food that compliments wine.) This is just a sample. They also have a huge herbal remedy section, dry goods, a meat counter, dairy (aside from the speciality cheese section), olive oils, etc. I’m wondering how they cram so much good stuff into a little store!
Now, if all that wasn’t enough, they also have an excellent deli, salad bar, and bakery section. They’ve got who knows how many hot foods to chose from, paninis, and I don’t even know where to start with their bakery section! Great place to pick up a healthy dinner on the run, or to sit and enjoy breakfast.
Oh, and I almost forgot the most important part. Earth Fare does not sell anything with high fructose corn syrup (sorry, don’t believe those corn commercials sayings sugar is sugar!), artificial sweeteners or preservatives, animal by-products, and a really long list of bad, artificial things that you don’t want in your body. You can find that list here. If you eat like I do, you avoid these kinds of products which is very hard to do if you shop at places like Wal-mart or other gigantic stores. If you’ve never looked at the ingredients of the items you are buying, give it a shot. You will be blown away. Bread does not need 50 ingredients. Pasta doesn’t need anything but flour, eggs, and water. Yogurt doesn’t need a list of 20 things I can’t pronounce! We need real food for our bodies. Earth Fare makes that easy. Now to hop off my soap box.
As you can see, I like Earth Fare. So much so I think you should give it a try. For the awesome $50 gift card giveaway, tell me why eating healthy is important to you and what you’ve done to make changes in your life in the comment section.
Rules:
1. You must live within 100 miles of an Earth Fare.
2. You must make a comment in the comment section regarding healthy eating.
3. Contest ends on Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 11:59pm.
4. Winner will be chosen at random and announced Monday, February 28, 2011.
Good luck, and happy shopping!
Contest is over!
Thanks to Random.org, the winner is:
Hoppy!
Congrats and please email me at lets.talk.cookies @ gmail.com to claim your prize!
Thanks to everyone who entered – really great responses and so glad to see everyone making an effort to be healthy and support their local Earth Fare! Keep working towards a healthier you!
