Nicole Eats!

* Sometimes a company does things really wrong, so wrong that you hold it against them for for days, weeks, maybe even years. These transgressions could be justified or ridiculous (I mean come on, you know you get a little excitable sometimes, it happens to the best of us). You tell everyone about this awful experience and you run their name as far into the ground, down into the dirt, as you possibly can. You attack the service, the employees, the cleanliness, the timeliness, etc. Somehow, that little problem you had that one time has now morphed into a huge ordeal. And now, with the jump forward in technology, it’s not just the few people you have face-to-face contact with. No. Instead it’s the whole world wide web. Yelp, Google reviews, and a whole slew of others, are just waiting to hear about that experience and sink that business even lower than before.

This is not one of those stories.

This is the story of a triumph. In the face of critical, untrained reviewers who believe their opinion and their experience should be held up in the highest regard, Whole Foods Market stands tall. From the products they carry, the people they employ and the atmosphere of love and compassion I am constantly and consistently stunned by what a great business they are. Are they perfect? No. Is one location better than another? Perhaps. Do I believe they are without sin in all regard? Certainly not. But what I do believe with my whole heart and with every dollar in my pocket, is that they are working to be the best they can.

Jason and I went in on Tuesday evening for dinner. I felt lazy and he likes the food. Additionally I needed a few items for my vegan bake swap that Meg is hosting. I decided to go for a sandwich. Just a sandwich. Nothing fancy or exciting. The following (and this is word for word how I sent my customer review via their website) is how my experience went down:

I have been shopping at this  location for nearly two years. In the last year I have gone vegan and rely heavily on your products ranging from sweets to your hot bar on the nights I don’t feel like cooking.

Well, last night was one of those lazy nights. My boyfriend and I stopped in for a hot, delicious, veg meal. I opted for your sandwich counter (which I do fairly regularly with the addition of the Gardein chick’n patty). I rolled through my order until we came to the dreaded, “Do you want any cheese?”

I sighed, sadly, as usual. “No, thank you,” I said, “I don’t eat dairy.”

The gentleman behind the counter glanced up surprised and said, “You do know we offer vegan cheese…right?”

I seriously caught my breath and my eyes went huge. I have been eating these sandwiches forever and no one has told me that- and I said so! “What?!” I exclaimed- “How did I not know this and how has no one said so?!”

He smiled and laughed saying, “I guess because I’ve never made your sandwich before.”

I know this seems like kind of a dramatic reenactment of how it happened, but it’s truly not. ****, the guy that was working, laughed through it with me. Instead of giving me weird looks or shrinking away (like people tend to do with my huge personality) he simply said, “Indeed we do have a vegan cheese- and now you know! So the next time you come in, whether it’s me or someone else here, you can definitely ask and not miss out!”

Now, I have worked in sales for most of my life and often have found that it’s the mistakes that get remembered, but I want you to know that this experience (like so many that I have there) was superb. The staff is always friendly and helpful, but last night was one of those times that I felt truly appreciated and respected as a consumer. I was treated like a friend rather than a dollar sign.

So please keep up the great work. You continue to be my go-to health store, I participate in your charity donations and do all of my national/international vegan-swap shopping inside your doors.

I will sing your praises via every social networking site I’m on and will also be blogging this particular event.

Thank you for being the great business you are, it is truly, truly appreciated.

It’s a little hard for me to explain exactly how it felt. I am an exceptionally animated person. More than words can ever say on a computer screen. You kind of have to see me in action. When I say things like “my eyes went huge” I mean it. I get bug eyed and make loud gasping sounds. I am used to people being a little put off or surprised, but this guy took it all in stride. Not only that, but he laughed with me! Often, when someone thinks you should know something, people get a little condescending. I know this from experience, but not in this case. He was happy to share with me, he was happy to help me and he was happy to assure me that in the future it would be no problem for anyone to accommodate my request.

Honestly, I felt like a friend, not a customer. He was looking at me and interacting with me like I was a real person, there were no dollar signs in his eyes as I am so used to dealing with in this product driven environment. He saw me there with my boyfriend so don’t even try the, “I bet he just wanted to sleep with you,” line, I see where your mind is, haha.

But more than all of this, and the recount of this single (though there are many) great experience Whole Foods is just a good company. Supporting and promoting healthy lifestyles, compassionate charities and an all around better way to live. I will continue to shop here and I will use every ounce of social networking juice I have to let people know that they’re a company worth being a part of.

Additional perk, if you have one in your area, take a look at their cooking class schedules and other events- like I said- healthy lifestyle! ;)

The first photo below is the sandwich in question for the other night. I also added two photos of other meals I’ve had there for lunches and dinners. Enjoy!

* In this week’s get-to-know-me edition we have the final installment of Jason’s birthday events! Just a quick note, I do want to preface this post with the following: it’s only in the last two years or so that I have developed a taste for beer and Jason has liked it for an even shorter time than that. So this entire post, this whole excursion, was going out on a limb. It was a risk to be sure, but it’s a risk that’s paid off. So onward! Into the heart of things.

For the last of Jason’s birthday outings I got him (read: us) passes to a beer making instruction class at the local Booth’s Brewing. We had an absolutely fantastic time. I was surprised by how much fun it really was to be honest. I mean, instructional courses never seem like they should be really enjoyable. If you’re teaching me to do something I should have the ability to actually do whatever it is you want me to learn, but with a group of nearly forty people that’s not really possible.

Even through all of that I did get some great photos, we tasted some delicious home brewed samples, against all odds we actually did learn how to make beer and thanks to Erika and Jared we already have a home brew kit! We have one or two more pieces of equipment that will be necessary to start but hopefully by next weekend we will be able to start the brewing process. The fermenting does take about two weeks (and in many cases much longer!) so it might be a while before you hear about this project again, but I am so excited. When you calculate the costs it’s a billion times cheaper to make your own (okay, that’s an exaggeration) and Booth’s offers clone kits in some of my favorite flavors (including Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA and Punkin Ale!). Overall it should be a fun thing to do and I look forward to sharing the results!

Photos 8, 9, & 12 taken by Jason
Photo 11 taken by Erika
Photos on Flickr and Google+

* Super simple: I ate a lot of good food this week, let me tell you. And I’ve got plans for even better nomz (if that’s possible) coming up!

Just a note: these weekly Tasty Tuesday posts have become some of my favorites. It’s neat to revisit my week and see where I was and what I ate. Also, honestly, I make quite a few more unhealthy choices than I realized, haha!

Here’s to hoping this week will be equally as delicious but infinitely healthier. :)

Fajita night: bell peppers, onion, diced tomato, fresh jalapenos, green onion, lime, cilantro and Tofutti better than sour cream with Taco Bus salsa verde
January 22, 2013

Indian/Thai inspired tofu “scramble” with Yves breakfast sausage
January 27, 2013

Spicy Mac and Chreese with sauteed asparagus (blogged for Meatless Monday)
January 28, 2013

There’s something super simple about boxed macaroni and cheese, you know? One thing going vegan has meant is that I am now constantly checking labels and coming up with dairy products ranging from milk powder, whey, butterfat, etc. Sometimes it’s overwhelming and frustrating, to be honest. American companies put milk stuff in absolutely everything. Sometimes I just want a simple dinner out of a box. Fortunately, as the vegetarian/vegan movement gets bigger, as awareness of what we’re putting into our bodies and the consequences those choices are having, there are more and more readily available options.

This box of macaroni and “chreese” was something I had been meaning to try for a while. I have a childish love of boxed mac. It was something I did not get a lot as a child so when I got out on my own I got excited about finally having the option! Getting it “back” since I quit cheese was just as exciting as the days I knew I could make it any time I wanted (in my dorm room microwave of course!).

That said- I like to spice up my food. So here is one simple way to make something as easy and inexpensive as boxed mac into a dinner worth having! It may not be the healthiest, it may not be something I should have every night, but ladies and gentlemen, sometimes you need something that’s just a little bad.

Boxed Mac and Chreese, a surprising delicious dinner

Serves 2- and calories should not be counted ;)

what you’ll need

° 1 box of mac and “chreese” (and everything the box calls for, i.e. milk, butter, etc.)
° 1/4 tsp paprika
° 1/4 tsp cayenne
° 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
° 1/4 lb trimmed asparagus cut into 1″ pieces
° 1 tbsp butter
° 1/2 tsp minced garlic

what you’ll do

- Prepare box mac to package specifications with the following exception:
° Add paprika, cayenne and mustard seeds to cheese mixture and prepare as normal
- Sautee asparagus in butter and garlic
- Stir asparagus into finished mac and serve with hot sauce

For week two of my 52 in 2013 project I chose to read Flowers For Algernon. In one word the book is spectacular. It’s sad, moving, enlightening and really it’s just so damn human I can hardly stand it. I cried through the last ten to fifteen pages and didn’t even try to hide it. When Jason asked why I couldn’t explain it. The main character, Charlie, clearly shows everything about the human condition and it’s revealing to see myself, my friends, my family and everyone else in my life so clearly reflected.

The story centers around a mentally challenged man in his early 30s. His IQ is in the 60s area and he lives alone while working for a local bakery that’s owned by a family friend. He is approached by his teacher, Alice, who instructs a mentally retarded adults class, about being part of “an operashun” to “help [him] get smart”- and operation that has already been “proven to work” in the mouse Alegernon, Charlie’s lab-animal counterpart. What follows is the “progris riports” of Charlie as he survives the surgery, with his IQ soaring into high 180s range. He faces the challenges of becoming intellectually superior to everyone in his life while struggling with the immaturity of his emotional state. He becomes selfish and hard to tolerate straining the relationships of what he used to cherish as friendships. The humanity of his story is overwhelming.

It surprised me to know that it was originally published in 1959 (over 50 years ago!). The author, Daniel Keyes, was so insightful, guys, seriously. As we reach an age where medically and scientifically we are on the cusp of being able to synthetically create life we need to start evaluating not only our intellectual and emotional maturity of ourselves individually, but also as a nation and species. Are we ready to handle the awesome power that comes with the ability to negate retardation, increase our IQs limitlessly, and become the gods of our world taking on the responsibility of creating our own life forms?

This book causes you to take a good, hard, long look at where we are and what our next steps should be. I highly recommend this one and won’t stop singing its praises any time soon!