I'm Cheating on Fresh & Easy with Trader Joe's

I've been vegan for almost two months now.  I had my moment where I cheated, and I immediately regretted it.  The eggs tasted good going down, but they weren't worth the guilt, nausea, and lingering stench of egg-smell left in my kitchen.

Lately, though, I've been bored out of my mind with food.  I've started running out of ideas, and trolling the Internet for creative, easy, cheap dishes has become a pain in my big vegan behind.  My dear, dear friend, Joanna, is a big fan of Trader Joe's.  Knowing that I've usually stuck with Fresh & Easy (and sometimes Sprouts, when I don't mind going broke for food), she encouraged me to give it a shot.  So I made the trip out there today, and I wasn't disappointed.

I was like a kid in a candy store.  They had a wonderful vegan selection, and the prices were undoubtedly the lowest I've seen.  I found these meat-less items for about $2 less than they usually are.  $3 each for these packages of big, juicy, hot diggity dogs.  I was overjoyed.

I also picked up these amazing cookies.  I had tried the trail mix kind with Joanna, but I love chocolate chip oatmeal. These will probably be gone by tomorrow. 

For the last couple of months, I've also been searching for a solution to dry, troublesome skin.  I keep hearing that tea tree oil is a winner, and Joanna recommended jojoba oil as well.  I'm hopeful that this will finally solve my problems!  

I'm sooper dooper excited about this one.  Salty snack foods are my weakness.  I don't crave sweets too often; I want SALT.  I want CHIPS.  Again, Joanna introduced these to me.  They're bananas, BANANAS, but they taste like chips!  I shall unhinge my jaw and swallow the bag whole.

I'm a nut for autumn.  It might be my favorite season; and I've felt deprived of it ever since moving to Vegas.  Trader Joe's knew this; so Joe said, "Hey Meg, here's an entire display FULL of pumpkin-themed everything."  They had coffee, pancake/waffle mix, tea, cookies, and more.  I chose the delicious Country Pumpkin Spice Granola Cereal.  And then I cried tears of happiness.  

One of my last great finds was this tea tree oil soap.  I'm always on the look-out for all-natural, chemical-free products.  I was so frustrated with the lack of them in stores that I finally started making my own.  Even this has its limits in some cases though, as you might not be replenishing your body of the nutrients it needs.  This one gets an A+, however.  The ingredients were promising, namely because there were so few--as in, seven, most of which I recognized and could pronounce.  (How often does THAT happen?)

I had been putting off this first trip because Trader Joe's isn't exactly a five-minute drive from my apartment; and on weekends, I'm a major couch potato.  After trying it out, though, I'll probably be doing most of my shopping there.  Thanks, Joanna!

Fresh & Easy Might Be Closing, and Why This Sucks Horrendously

If you live in Nevada (or California or Arizona), then you're familiar with Fresh & Easy.  I personally am there every week dropping dough on much needed groceries and snacky items.  It was recently announced that F&E's very existence is being called into question, as all 200 stores in these three states could potentially be closed.  If you're not a complete asshole, you'll see right away why this is a horrible idea.

It turns out Tesco, the British company that owns F&E, is looking for a new owner.  The major problem here is that the store hasn't done so well as of late, marked by their decrease in sales.  It might not be a chain that buyers are going to be dying to get their hands on. 

And if they can't find a new owner, Fresh & Easy is going byesie-bye.

I know that you're on the edge of your seat wondering why this store is so wonderful, so I've compiled a numerized list of all the reasons.  You're welcome.

(1) PRE-MADE MEALS!!!!  Hellurrr.  So many of us are lazy fucks who don't even want to be bothered heating a can of soup, myself included.  F&E has over 100 pre-made meals that are even super duper healthy.  And I'm not talking about frozen Hungry-Man TV dinners.  They're made from scratch every single day by the pretty little hands of the F&E chefs themselves.    
(2) They offer clearly marked products that are organic, kosher, gluten-free, sugar-free, and vegetarian.  
(3) Their brand products (and there are tons, including those pre-made meals I just mentioned) contain NO high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors/flavors, and unnecessary preservatives.  
(4) They use local growers for their produce, helping out small businesses like a mother fucker.
(5) Since it's local, prices are all kinds of reasonable.
(6) Shit's delivered fresh daily.
(7) Items are packaged in smaller portions, perfect for households of one or two, and also ensuring freshness for all consumers, whether you're the Brady Bunch or a single gal cooking for one, like me.
(8) They pride themselves on being a friend to the neighborhood, so their property is kept clean, they keep noise and disruption in mind when scheduling their deliveries, they donate to local charities weekly and monthly (both money and food), and they help the schools in the neighborhood with their Shop for School fundraising program that helps balance budget cuts.

On the other hand, it might not be so hard to see why these stores aren't doing so hot.  America is one giant fatass.  We like chips and cookies and greasy, breaded shit, and sometimes even I can be caught elbow-deep in a bag of Fritos.  We like buying things in bulk or family-size and we like them jam-packed with preservatives so that those Valentine's Day cookies you bought will still be good for Christmas.  We like walking into one giant store and finding everything we need.  Modest, smaller stores like F&E might not attract consumers like *GASP* Wal-Mart does.

F&E is an advocate of a healthy, natural diet.  They care about local producers.  With this place, you know exactly what's in your food, where it came from, and how long you have to eat it before it starts to grow hair.  Do you think your body is loving that shitty dinner you just ate from whatever crap-tastic superstore you shop at?  No.  The answer is no.

One of you shithead buyers better snatch up this jewel.  Like, yesterday.  And please don't change a thing.