Day 1 of My Break

I'm starting off my stay-cation spring break on Long Island quite strong. I have already checked one item off of my list of things to do this week.

Today I took a ride with my parents to the new Whole Foods in Lake Grove. If you are unfamiliar with Whole Foods, they sell fresh, organic and natural foods in a comforting and modern atmosphere. The store is huge, but the aisles are slim. Maybe that is because they expect the patrons to be skinny as well, but this is not always the case (I know this firsthand). There are employees peppered throughout the store preparing samples for shoppers. I tried a Cajun tuna steak today that was so delicious. It tasted like a Filet Mignon, no lie. I also tried some apple wheat grass drink and if you could taste the color green, this drink is what it would taste like.

They also had recipes hanging from hooks randomly throughout the aisles. I am a big fan of the free take-away, so I obviously took a few of those. However, they do not have a frequent shopper card, which I also love, but I did get advised by customer service to sign up for e-newsletters and sales on their Web site (Check!). I will pay-it-forward and advise you to do the same. The products aren't the cheapest because you are paying for quality and purity, so you should, and I will, try to save money wherever you can. You can also sign up to have recipes sent to your inbox, an added benefit.

After walking around and enjoying the variety, I finally left the store with a few items in my newly-purchased reusable bag. Those items were:

• cold cuts: turkey, ham and yellow American
  
• two loaves of fresh Jewish rye and organic Italian bread, sliced by the baker
• German mustard
• a bottle of hard cider
• 1/2 lb. of chicken salad
• 1/2 lb. of potato salad
• 1/2 lb. of pasta salad
• cocoa butter lotion

I spent a little over $40 but am very happy with the result. I just wish I had a $100 gift card so I could give a few more things a try, like that seasoned tuna steak. Mmmm...