Temporary Foodie--Thanks To Whole Foods.

I am so proud of myself because I now shop at Whole Foods.

Why am I proud? Because deep down I am actually a very razz person and the fact that I have "upgraded" to shopping at Whole Foods is an achievement for me. It is also a testament to my switch from "broke college student" to "working professional". After all, why else would I spend $20 on "gourmet" organic rotisserie chicken salad when I know for a fact its much cheaper at Stop & Shop.

If you are not familiar with Whole Foods, it is a store known for its ability to make you feel good just for shopping there. Its nickname is also "Whole Paycheck" because it usually has higher food prices than local stores.  Yet, I have never been to the store and not seen it bustling with activity.


In my Whole Foods, the bourgeois-ness begins in the parking lot. As I use my legedes benz to traverse the lot I can't help but notice the shiny new Audis, Chryslers, Mercedes, BMWs, Lexuses (sp?), etc that are parked there. In fact, there used to be a bus stop near Whole Foods but the nearby Bloomingdales decided the bus stop was allowing too many bus-riding riff-raff access to the area.

Once you walk in from the parking lot you are assaulted embraced by the scent of fresh organic produce and flowers all year round.

See how shiny everything is?

A lot of things are overpriced in the store but you will probably not notice because you will be blown away by how pretty and healthy everything looks; from the shiny tomatoes to the crisp vegetables. Chances are, unless you are a frequent Top Chef viewer or mini-foodie, many of the vegetables will have strange names to you and you will be ever so grateful to see words like "lettuce" and "cabbage" after reading names like "kohlrabi", "kale", "swiss chard", etc.

The produce variety is amazing for somebody like me who is used to "normal" grocery stores. Did you know there are like 10 different types of peppers? I just thought there were two, hot and not hot. Many a time I have been forced to whip out my phone and Google something just to figure out what it is and what it is used for.

But, as Mogaji said when I shared all this with her, its good that I am becoming "gentrified". Perhaps in the future I will be one of the Audi/Chrysler/Mercedes/BMW/Lexus owners pushing a cart and filling my biodegradable and re-usable Whole Foods shopping bag with kohlrabi and poblano peppers.



I'll probably still visit Whole Foods though. I do like the smell there and now that I have been exposed to swiss chard I think I like it more than spinach.

By the way, in case you were not already aware, Chapter 3 of Lagos School Daze is up. Its been up for a bit actually. Feedback is welcome as usual. I know, I know, the story is progressing a little slowly but its only because I'm doing this chapter by chapter.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

P.S: Verastic's Radio Show will be back this Saturday. The first topic for the show's return is, What Your Mother Didn't Tell You About Sex Toys.  It should be fun. The show airs Saturday, the 18th, at 10AM EST. You can listen to it on the Blog Talk Radio site.