Nuts Can Be Bad For You

I love nuts - namely shelled walnuts and pecans. I could eat them as a meal, but they are very costly. Let me explain.
I buy nuts from Whole Foods because I can buy them in bulk and they are super fresh. So yesterday I stopped in after my regular juant to the supermarket and decided all I needed was nuts. Now if you've ever been to a Whole Foods store you know that they carry a huge selection of EVERYTHING ever made, or grown on this planet. It's always fresh, always wholesome, meaning no preservatives, curatives, chemicals etc. When I enter the store I am in the produce department and in order to get where the nuts are I have to circle around the whole store. Well, I don't HAVE to, but I do. The produce is not only crisp and gorgeous, but every veggie, fruit and berry known to man is in this department. I pass the lettuce, just having bought some and stand in front of the awesome mushroom display. I count 15 different varieties of mushrooms and envision my fabulous "Wild Mushroon and Sherry Soup" that I love so much and decide to pick a few varieties. These mushrooms are so unusual that I have a hard time deciding and at 18 to 27 dollars per pound I finally bag a few and move on.
I notice the produce guy stacking red, gold and striped beets and knowing how much I love roasted beets, I bag a couple of each color, and a huge bunch of fresh basil - and I move on. This brings me to the Seafood/Fish section which in itself it a feast for the eyes. Every edible fish and seafood you've ever seen (and a few you've NEVER seen) is in this counter. Some of which looks downright spooky but the clams and mussels catch my eye and since I love my clams and mussels in spicy tomato/garlic/lemon/basil broth, I decide to buy some for dinner tonight. While deciding, I notice the huge stack of Fanny Bay oysters in the shell. Now raw Fanny Bays are probably the best thing you can put into your mouth so I shelve the clams idea and buy 8 oysters, and try to ignore the 9 varieties of smoked fish - and I move on. Moving on brings me smack in the middle of the cheese and wine section. Now wine is pretty much wine, but WF cheese bins are awesome. Cheeses from all over the world and this is my weakness. I buy a double cream brie, an imported from Spain blue cheese, and reluctantly I move on. Next to the cheeses is the hot food section. Everything from smoked ribs, chicken, double smoked spiral cut ham, roast beef and pulled pork and it's made right there. The guy hands me a sample of the smoked ribs, and tears come to my eyes. I can't eat ribs. Not yet anyway. And besides, my son makes the best ribs ever. So I move on and come to the pizza section, they make pizzas there too and sell them by the slice or the whole. They're hot, fresh and look heavenly. Maybe just one slice? No, can't do it. I try not to look since I'm already bumming about the ribs so I move on. The Mexican Food section is next, burritos, tacos, Mexican Tortilla soup, incredible beef enchiladas etc. Now remember this is Whole Foods so there are no junk items in these foods. Still, time to move on. Here's something I can't pass up and I just happen to need it. The artisan breads - again baked right on the property - so I grab a warm loaf of crusty whole wheat/6 grain bread and , you got it , move on. I can pass the 9 counters of salads of every description, southern fried (baked) chicken, pot roast, 12 kinds of imported olives and several other brined and pickled things, another weakness of mine, and an array of homemade soups. Wow, what will power. Surprises even me. I have to see what's new in the oil and vinegar aisle so I just take a peek. A peek gets me a bottle of sherry vinegar from Spain and a jar of some great looking tapenade made with sun dried tomatoes and artichokes. The label says, "great on pasta." Okay and I move on. I pass the huge display of prepared foods, salads, appetizers, veggie dips and spreads and stuff like that. I move on but some thing catches my eye and I back up. What is that great looking spinach thing? I buy a small container and block out the other things. I start to go to checkout and have to cut through the Italian food section. Am I kidding? I need to restock on San Marzano tomatoes from Italy and I put a couple cans in the basket. This reminds me that I'm low on Parmesan cheese (Reggianno only thanks) so I double back to the cheese counter. Dangerous thing to do but I made it without incident.
Now WF has a practice of allowing a restaurant to come in, set up a huge "sample our fare" display and passing out samples. This time it's RAO's. So I get a sample or two, a couple of coupons for money off if I come in to the restaurant and I MOVE THE HELL ON. But not before buying a jar of Rao's pasta sauce. Anyone who knows me knows that I make my own sauce but this one is awesome to say the least. Nine bucks a jar, is that nuts or what? and worth every dime. Look up Rao's on the internet and learn about this fabulous New York restaurant opening here in a couple of weeks. I figure I've done all the damage I can do for one day so I head for the checkout. I love this place and $58.65 later I head for the door and this time I MOVE OUT. This is a typical shopping experience for me at Whole Foods but a dangerous one. To top it all off, Trader Joe's is opening a new store less than 2 miles from my house. There's another blog. Hope you all have a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's where you live, but maybe you have more self-discipline than I.

BY THE WAY: DID ANYONE NOTICE THAT I FORGOT TO BUY THE NUTS???????