Trader Joe's Produce: A Shocking Dissapointment

Dear Trader Joe's Produce,

I don't love you.  Last night my fiance noticed the mango for our dessert was from a foreign country.  This morning I hastily picked off the "product of Chile" sticker on the kiwis (I don't want to hear it) and when I got to work I noticed my pear was from Argentina! Clearly this does not comply with my "Buy Fresh ~ Buy Local" mantra.

I don't want to mess around with my weekly organic produce delivery service because last time that happened I had 400 pieces of fruit and not a single vegetable.  Now I seem to be collecting white onions.  I usually shop at Mother's for supplemental fruits and vegetables between deliveries but I had to go cheap this time cause we needed lots. 

I almost passed out when I bought a 16oz can of raw almond butter for 5.99!  Flashback to Rainbow in SF where a 6oz jar will put you back 20 bucks.  That is more than the cost of the produce combined! I got out of TJ's with a 35 bill, 25 of which I paid for in 1's since I was the big winner of LRC at Saturday night's cooking club.

For lunch today I had a salad.  I knew I was going to miss the feta so I was sure to grab my Kale in a Krunch Cheesiyes for some added flavor. If you asked Rumil what those were, he wouldn't know.  For one, they are expensive, and for two, he'll swallow them whole. Other than the addition of the kale chips it was the typical vegetable chop salad: cauliflower, cucumber, tomato on a bed of green lettuce (produce box) with a dash of Salad Sprinkle by Frontier and Bragg's Ginger and Sesame Dressing. 

I'm not going to lie, it was not the best but I am full.  Oh, how could I forget the white onion and garlic I threw in there for added measure.  My favorite part was eating the little pieces of tomato with tiny pieces of minced garlic while imagining I was eating a Caprese Salad on a beach somewhere with a glass of Albarino.  Close, but no dice.

Needless to say I am super psyched to get to Heavenly Acres, a family owned and operated, pesticide/chemical free, organic farm in La Habra Heights this Saturday with my sis and niece.  You place your order by Friday at noon and the children (age 7-17) pick it the next morning while the bread bakes in the oven.  They say they're not slaves.  They like the work.