Not to be overly dramatic, but last weekend my life changed.
It changed in a way that hasn’t happened since early 2017… back when the Davis Whole Foods closed.
Amazon to the rescue!
Ever since they acquired WF I have been waiting for the day that they would deliver to our town. And now they do! And I can literally order a week’s worth of my groceries FROM MY FAVE STORE – IN THE COMFORT OF MY HOME – and they will be on my doorstep in whatever two hour time range I select.
What a wonderful world we live in.
This is actually a big deal for a more important secondary reason, which is how much I have come to despise grocery shopping. It is a chore that I do only because it needs to be done, but I perpetually procrastinate, putting it off as long as possible and dragging my feet throughout the entire process. And it’s never ending! I swear I feel like I get $$$ worth of food and then I blink and the fridge is empty three days later! Thank goodness the kids are in school most mornings, so I can usually manage to go solo, because bringing them along is annoying for a variety of reasons (suffice it to say it’s not how I want to spend family time).
And yet, all that pales in comparison to the real reason I avoid going. Which is my anxiety. I’ve touched on this in the past, but over the last year or so it has worsened, and the grocery store seems to be the place that it is at its very very worst. It has caused far more breakdowns than I care to admit to, and once I am all worked up, it infects the rest of my day. It’s a problem.
Which is why the bold statement I opened with was not actually that far from the truth. Ordering groceries by clicking buttons will legit change my life.
And FYI the groceries arrived in paper bags without any additional plastic or packaging. The produce was mostly loose and the waste was negligible (all concerns I had before trying this). Also, I didn’t order anything that I would usually buy from the bulk bins, so I will still have to go to the store every once in a while for grains and nuts and dried fruit and whatever. Plus I still have imperfect foods.
So here are some of the dinners I made with my WF groceries.
Starting off with a cold soba noodle salad and teriyaki chicken thighs.
I massaged Brianna’s ginger mandarin dressing into red cabbage while sautéing cauliflower in tamari on the stove top. With enough lead time, cabbage breaks down fine, but raw cauli would have been too much cruciferous stuff. So I cooked the cauli and the noodles and then added them to the bowl with a little more dressing.
Then I tossed it all together, added a bit of cilantro and let it chill in the fridge until it was time to eat.
Oh heyyyyy…365 organic chicken.
I cooked the thighs in teriyaki sauce (not the Brianna’s dressing) on high heat, so they got a good caramelized thing going on, and then I let them simmer until the sauce reduced and thickened up.
Then I topped the salad with more cilantro and roasted almonds.
Everyone wanted seconds, so there were no leftovers for this meal!
Next up was salmon and roasted veggies.
Kyle requested this meal. Actually, he chose the entire menu this week (sometimes I get burned out on coming up with meals, so I like when he steps up with his requests).
I can only imagine the surprise on the amazon/WF employee’s face when they saw my order of Brussels sprouts.
I had to use up every single baking sheet I own for this meal because I roasted the salmon in the oven too!
I aimed high in the amount of salmon hoping I would have leftovers to use in my own lunch later in the week. 😛
The price wasn’t too bad either! AND they didn’t use any plastic wrapping it up! Just the paper! Well done Whole Foods.
I melted coconut oil on top of it all for serving.
Last dinner I have to share is Kyle’s fave ever…
LASAGNA
I think he’d probably be ok if I made lasagna once a week.
He loves it so much. And the best part is, I make a whole pan of it so his lunches for the week are taken care of as well. I really should do more casserole types of dishes for that same reason…
This was a simple lasagna. No frills or anything crazy. I used Barilla oven ready lasagna noodles, Newman’s Own organic marinara, ground beef, ricotta and mozzarella cheese.
Layered on up!
And baked for 45 minutes at 350.
Winner winner lasagna dinner.
The kids devoured this too. I can’t recall the last time they had lasagna, but now they know they love it well enough to request it again as well, so Kyle’s foodie dreams may just come true.
I don’t know if you are willing to open up but would love to hear more about the anxiety… similar problems over here! Do you know why it manifests in the grocery store? Anyway you don’t have to talk about it or answer this comment even… just in the same boat. Also, I love WF and there is actually one near me – lucky me!!
I wish I had more insight to answer this in full, but I *think* what it comes down to is my anxiety stems from a place of wanting (needing) control. And so when I lose control (or whatever I perceived to be as control) that manifests in weird ways…
The grocery store is a big trigger for me because spending money and producing waste are big areas that challenge me. Anyway. I’d probably be more willing to share if this weren’t a public domain and we were talking in private, but it is a little scary to divulge too much on the internet. I’m an open book in person, but it’s not always safe to put everything out there in this kind of forum.
Sending you good vibes too. It’s a challenge for sure. What kind of things do you struggle with? Are there specific things that set you off repeatedly?
I think it’s a lot about control for me too. My brain just needs to worry away at something (not really, it’s ridiculous! But I seem to be “stuck” in worry mode, especially at night). I have a chronic digestive problem that the universe seems to have thrown at me specifically designed to be something i CANNOT control no matter what I try. It’s maddening.
Understand about the internet! Thanks for your reply. 🙂
YES! I have nearly given up trying to sort out my GI system. It’s great for 80% of the time and the rest is out of my hands despite all my best efforts so I think that’s just the best I’m going to get. Sigh. I feel you.
Thank you for sharing about your anxiety. I too have many issues with anxiety and it usually manifests in much difficultly in leaving the house in the morning and feeling stuck (like in a car – I’m nervous for some family car trips coming up). It’s nice to know that there are others in the same boat. I’ve been trying some homeopathy to help and it does calm my nervous system down, but I haven’t gotten to the root cause so this is just a mask. After I’m done nursing I’m hoping to see a functional medicine doctor to do some testing and hope that some of this stems from nutritional deficiencies, leaky gut or some other issue that I can hope to control.
Hey Moira! I’m so glad you shared and I’m so sorry you are struggling too. My hormones definitely did a number on me after I stopped nursing and while I hesitate to give any advice, I would recommend something like therapy rather than food testing. I know it’s SO TEMPTING to want things to be quickly fixed (and food is such a manageable option so it’s so easy to hope that that can flip the switch – I have been there!), but dietary stuff doesn’t usually address the root cause. Be kind and patient with yourself during this exhausting period of motherhood and make sure you have someone you trust who you can confide in. Or put it down on paper and force yourself to find the time to journal! I have found these are good proactive steps that can let your brain wander into areas that are in need of growth. For me, it is a control issue. And recognizing I don’t have control and probably never will can be terrifying and freeing at the same time. I just have to force myself to lean into it. [and no food I eat will change this source of anxiety]