Comments on: Quick Fix: Warm Sausage Salad à la Trader Joe’s

By: Darya Pino

Darya Pino — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:59:00 +0000

@anon

Are you kidding? Your comments are wonderful! I know many an Orange County reader that will be happy to hear this.

We really appreciate all your input, thank you for not being shy

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Orange county actually has a number of produce markets that supply restaurants; etc, but are open to the public – and are cheap. it’s probably the one good thing about orange county.
I just discovered, and really like, your blog, btw – I hope I haven’t given a different impression!

By: Darya Pino

Darya Pino — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:06:00 +0000

@anon

Great to hear! I haven't lived there in over a decade so it is hard for me to give good advice. I enjoy the Santa Monica market, and I know there are others in LA (Hollywood). Orange County is a little tougher to find a nice big one. Irvine is great, but Santa Ana is *temporarily* closed due to lack of funds. The Inland Empire doesn't have that much either. I don't know about San Diego.

I will definitely look harder next time I visit.

Thanks!!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:09:00 +0000

really? people are complaining about a lack of farmers markets in so cal? I’ve lived all over so-cal and have always had them nearby, and have found them to be much better here than in 99% of the country – I would love to support them all the time, but I just don’t have the financial resources. It’s true that a lot of stuff is cheaper than one would think at whole foods (I regularly stock up on their bulk foods) but unfortunately their produce, while delicious, is also just too expensive

By: Darya Pino

Darya Pino — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:23:00 +0000

@anon2

Excellent point. It is not that I am so surprised that it is possible to eat healthy at TJ's, I know it is. But I get a lot of complaints from people (especially in Southern California) that it is too hard to eat healthy because they can't get all the fancy farmers market stuff that I get here in San Francisco. (They don't have many Whole Foods either).

This post was intended to show them they do have a good resource in their neighborhood.

I think part of the issue is that TJ's isn't a typical grocery store and doesn't have tons of produce and, as I mentioned, it can often be *off-fresh*, which can make it unappealing.

My last 2 bits is that I don't think Whole Foods is as expensive as people say. The produce definitely is expensive (that's why I buy mine at the farmers market), but it is leaps and bounds better than every other grocery store so it is easy to argue it is worth it.

Their dry goods on the other hand are pretty cheap. My favorite example is Flax Plus cereal, which is $4.50 at Safeway, $3.00 at TJ's and $2.30 at Whole Foods.

I'm just glad we have all these wonderful options!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:40:00 +0000

for those of us who can’t afford whole foods all the time, TJs is a good alternative – yes, i’ve spent hours going through every single basket of strawberries trying to find ones that aren’t moldy (my husband does all the rest of the shopping while I complain and look through the produce), but I think it’s VERY possible to have a healthy meal just from TJs – why do you sound so surprised?

By: Darya Pino

Darya Pino — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:41:00 +0000

@Karin

You can totally eat salad for breakfast That actually reminds me of one of my favorite Beck songs called “Nightmare Hippie Girl”. Ha ha, let’s not get that extreme!

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@Scott

You make some great points, and in theory I agree with you. But I think for those of us just trying to be as healthy as we can here and now, any vegetables are better than no vegetables at all.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:31:00 +0000

Actually I think off-fresh hurts us more than helps: we will never be able to get back to pre-industrial diets unless we eliminate fake healthy food like that. People need to commit to a healthy lifestyle, then commit to going all the way and really making a life change. It will be a never-ending spiral of fake-healthy food unless people make the real decision between industrial food or farmed food. I don’t think there is a middle ground…..

By: Karin

Karin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Darya your pictures are great, even at 8 in the morning I wouldn’t mind having a bite of your salad- is it okay to eat salad for breakfast?!
@Anonymous- my favorite off-fresh TJs item is their herbs. They are usually pretty tasty and stay good for up to a week in the fridge, yet there is just something a little wrong with buying herbs that are folded up into a plastic container. But you’re right, off-fresh is better than bagged frozen!

By: Darya Pino

Darya Pino — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:35:00 +0000

@Anon1

I completely agree. Off-fresh is better than processed, by a long shot. For me it is a taste thing...

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@Healthyliving

I love TJ's, but to me it is definitely a place to get cheap, good-quality dried and frozen goods. I'm not so impressed with their fresh stuff, but as mentioned above, it is better than most options.