Our local health food stores

Ok are you sitting down? 2 blog post from me in one day!!! yahooo! ok well really I wanted to talk about my recent shopping adventures. The previous post was about our love of Trader Joe's and how we have no popular chain health food stores in our area. We live in Albany, NY. We have major colleges (Union, RPI, Skidmore) all around us where students come from these cities with Trader Joes and Wholefoods, so why don't we have any yet? Anywhoo.....

This post is about my recent adventures to our local "natural food" stores as they are referred to. We do have natural food sections in our major local grocery stores, but not much of a picking.

The main store I check in time to time is called The Green Grocer. Sorry, no picture on the net, but a banner from their site below.

This store is on a main road I travel often so I think of stopping here since I pass it so much. Still though, not a big store but not small. I wouldn't go to do my normal grocery shopping here. I stop if I'm looking for something unique or feel like just browsing to see what they have. I'd give them a C+. Some unique items but alot I can find in grocery store.

Next week have a brand new store (to me anyways) called Wilde Thyme Whole Foods and Tea Co. We randomly drove by this store in a town north of us a few weeks ago, so we checked it out yesterday. I was in heaven. VERY small, but had many things I have not been able to fine. Plus had a loose spice section which I loved. I'm planning on making some granola and didn't need huge bottles of some of these spices. Perfect. I'd give them a B-. Many items I'd travel to buy were available here but only if they were a bigger store. ....

And finally, our local food co-op. Honest Weight Food Coo-p. WHY or why have I never been here? My best friend is a Vegan and shops there often. It is towards downtown Albany which I don't venture to often cause I always get lost and afraid to drive in the city. Also, you'd never know it was there. The front of the store and the parking lot is in a random kind of alley way. I had the GPS to tell me where to turn today.

As you can see from the picture below, not the most appealing store from the outside. The store in general not the cleanest but it is a co-op. I know they are going to be building a brand new store in the near future which is exciting. This place rocked. I walked in and was immediately excited but all the items I saw. So many random things I'd been looking for and couldn't find anyplace else. Plus lots of local dairy and meat and produce which I like. Then I found the bulk area! yay! so many choices. I luckily today just grabbed a hand basket and picked up one of this and that to try. I picked up a small bag of cloves, some organic chia seeds, dates, a new Greek yogurt, another type of yogurt, local drinkable orange creme dairy drink and I don't even know what else! Plus a new sling reusable bag. I was so excited leaving there today. This will be a staple and worth the drive to shop now. I just need to remember to hit it up early morning not late afternoon on a beautiful Friday!

Don't worry Trader Joe's. You are my first love and I will still drive to visit you as often as I can :-)

What we do for our favorite stores

As some of you may know, we do not have a Trader Joe's (gasp) or Whole Foods anywhere near where I live. Oh and I live just north of Albany, NY, go figure. Not like we live in the middle of no where! There is a group locally who has a Facebook page, WWTJ (We Want Trade Joes) and the head of the group is very VERY active in touching base with Trader Joes, knows people know by their first names, and let's say they are very aware of how much one is needed here! Apparently they've been here looking at spots and its in the very near future..... I won't hold my breath just yet.

My husband and I make day trips just to go to a Trader Joes and also IKEA (loooovvee IKEA). I guess Albany isn't such a bad location because we have a few TJ's we can get to. We were first driving down to New Jersey. We could hit up IKEA and TJ's right down the crazy main drag from each other. But they are not open Sunday's (old school laws) so that puts a damper on the easiest day for us. Recently we found another in New Haven, CT that actually was a little bit of a closer drive. It's actually a beautiful drive, mostly back roads through MA and we end up in CT driving through the Yale campus, beautiful. IKEA is there also, that's where we hit up first, basically on the ocean. Then a 10 minute drive to TJ's. Last week when we went, we were taking another adventure to find Crate and Barrel and what do you know.... a WHOLEFOODS! ah we'll hit that next time. My in laws also came along for the trip this last time, and I'm not sure who wanted to scream first, my husband or father in law. A day of way too much shopping for them!

The one chain store that is making it's way here is The Fresh Market. We drove by one of those in CT also but didn't have a chance to scope it out. Anyone have one near them? They are building one locally and it looks huge! I'm really eager to check it out. And it will only be a 15 minute drive for me..... not 2 hours!

I'm a bad new blogger!

I was so excited to start blogging about my health, weight loss, every day things... and what do I not do, BLOG!

Well where did we leave off. On the weight loss end, i'm doing fairly well. Down 11.6lbs. I've been up and down and up and down, I need to get my chit together and keep it going. Last week was pretty stressful and I couldn't concentrate on anything.....

Health wise, I am doing OK. Still not a huge difference in ME. I can't explain it. I feel OK, a bajillion times better than I did when I was pulled out of work, but still not me. I am still having the shakes, randomly. Last Friday we took a trip to IKEA and Trader Joes (yes we need to travel unfortunately to go to these wonderful stores) and in the midst of my glory at IKEA, I start shaking and couldn't talk to well. Then it went away. Anxiety my ass! Since then, I saw yet another doctor last week. I am being tested for Lyme disease again. The first time was just a basic blood test. This time I am having 2 other tests done, a little more in depth. I should find out these week. And the thing is, even if it comes back negative, I am still going to take the antibiotics. He said it won't hurt to try since it could still be there but not showing.... so we shall see. I went to the Psychiatrist today and out of work for the rest of the short term leave, 4 more weeks. And I'm going to make the best of it!

So there is the cliff notes version of my life in the past few weeks..... I promise! I'll keep up!