CLOSED: Local Fare at Vintage Grocers

box of groceries

Vintage Grocers opened last fall in The Promenade at Westlake, offering a huge choice of groceries and fresh food, with an emphasis on locally sourced items. Those are not limited to fresh ingredients for the cheese or poke bar—Vintage Grocers also sources packaged and non-perishable items from nearby farms and artisans. Some of their local growers will be at the Westlake store this Saturday, April 1, from 11AM to 2PM so you can meet them, learn about how they make their food, and sample their products!

Vintage Grocers truly is a market for the community, by the community

I was amazed to see what you can get at Vintage Grocers that is made locally. My family and I enjoyed a sampling of these products recently so we could share them with you, too.

Breakfast

Trail mix with bowl of oatmeal

I’ve been getting up early during the week, and to make breakfast easy and quick I’ve been whipping up large batches of quinoa oatmeal and freezing it ahead of time. I pop some in the microwave to heat while I’m fixing my coffee and feeding the cat, and when it’s hot I toss some Perfect Balance Trail Mix on top.

trail mix closeup

I love the mixture of flavors from the unusual (for trail mix) ingredients: including pistachios, organic goji berries, cashews, Canadian farm fresh cranberries, walnuts, organic mulberries, Hawaiian macadamia nuts, and more. The company is based in Venice and they use mostly organic foods. There are little cubes of raw cacao that melt in the hot oatmeal and I forget that I’m eating a healthy dish.

Snack

granola bites

I’ll admit it: I don’t have a lot of time or patience when I get hungry and I get the munchies in the middle of the day. I will literally reach for the closest food at hand that is ready to eat. That’s why when I found Lark Ellen Granola (from Ojai!) bites in my Vintage Grocer bundle, I was excited and I knew that I would devour these bites. And I wouldn’t get a stomach ache or feel guilty, because they are made of sprouted seeds and nuts and full of taste. I spent the weekend decluttering, and I was annoyed every time I had to stop to eat because I was on a roll. Once I started grabbing a few chunks of granola bites, though, I could continue and snack at the same time. These are perfect for kids’ (or parents’) lunches!

Dinner

eggs tortillas salsa

We got this adorable little package of Kaliko Farms Eggs and we simply couldn’t wait to try them, but it was dinnertime. Easy solution: eggs for dinner! We have breakfast for dinner at least every two weeks, and in general we consume a lot of eggs, so the whole family was eager to see how much better or different these would taste. Kaliko Farms is based in Malibu and their animals are treated humanely, because “happy, healthy birds will produce top-quality eggs.”

boy eating eggs

The verdict: each kid basically inhaled his eggs with no tortilla or salsa needed. My husband and I opted for taco-style eggs, and we loved them. So there is something to the idea that local, organic eggs from happy birds taste great! Kaliko Farms will be at the event on Saturday, so you can meet the people behind the eggs!

Dessert

Beachy Cream Ice Cream

Since summer is coming and we’re already getting nice warm days and evenings, ice cream is on the menu at our house again! This Beachy Cream Ice Cream from Santa Monica is made of organic ingredients using dairy from a creamery in Marin County. Local farmers’ markets supply the ingredients to make flavorings from scratch.

boy smiling at ice cream

boy eating ice cream

happy boy with ice cream

My husband loves bananas and ice cream, so he definitely enjoyed this banana-flavored ice cream, even more because I topped it with Malibu Honey, from bees that gathered nectar from flowers in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains. And if you’ve ever glanced at this website before, you know I am a big fan of the Santa Monica mountains. I asked him how it tasted together and he said “Good!” (He’s not a man of many words, so I can embellish by adding my own opinion: it’s delicious.)

beachy cream ice cream and malibu honey

This is a small sampling of locally-sourced products you can get at Vintage Grocers. I encourage you to visit their new store in Westlake and see what strikes your fancy. The store is huge and roomy, so you won’t even bump into other shoppers while you are perusing their shelves. You might find a new favorite thing for your pantry.

Hey! What About Mom?!

I got to the end of this post and realized there are no pictures of me in it, so here’s a selfie with an Apricot Lane avocado.

woman holding avocado

It looked so good and it was perfectly ripe after sitting in a basket for a few days so I put it on a salad. Bonus! These avocados will be at the store next week!

ripe avocado cut in half
salad topped with avocado
Head on down to Vintage Grocers (and come this weekend to meet with local growers!) to see for yourself!

Vintage Grocers Meet the Growers flyer
Special thanks to Vintage Grocers for sponsoring this post. All opinions are our own.

Dunkin’ Donuts in Town

moms at dunkin donuts

That’s me in the hat. Shawna dressed up for the occasion!

It’s no secret that I am a huge Dunkin’ Donuts fan, and that I’m overjoyed to have a Dunkin’ Donuts location move in right here at Lindero Canyon and Thousand Oaks Blvd. (They’ve been here for a few months now and I will confess I’ve only walked there once but I’ve driven plenty of times.) I actually stood in line at 4:00 am waiting for it to open with a girlfriend who was crazy enough to drive there with me that early morning!

vanilla cupcake swirl and fudge brownie swirl coffee

Are you as excited about Dunkin’ Donuts being here as I am? Actually, even if you’re not local, but you have a Dunkin’ Donuts near you, you should be excited.

ButcherBox For Meat of the Month

ButcherBox is your monthly box of meat.

butcherbox delivery
Ok. I was wrong. Subscription boxes are awesome…but only if the box is filled with something you love and need. Like meat. A meat box. A box of meat on your doorstep once a month! ButcherBox is the new monthly subscription box that’s just like a farm box or a produce box or whatever, except it’s filled with frozen meat of the best variety. If you’re like me and you don’t have a giant extra freezer to share a 1/4 of a side of beef with a neighbor, this is perfect, better than shopping for your organic meat at the local health food store, even. Everything is organic and grass fed and pasture raised. For $129 per month you get 7-10 pounds of meat. You select the mix – beef, chicken, or pork or a mixture of two or all three.

My sample box included beef tenderloin, ground beef, the juiciest pork chops, beef tips, and our favorite, breakfast sausage. Everything is vacuum sealed and arrives at your door in a cooler with dry ice so you don’t have to worry about it while you’re at work. Delivery is free!

butcherbox cooler
butcherbox bag and recipes
butcherbox frozen meat

The box has recipes in it, too. I made cranberry meatballs one night, simple beef sirloin another night, pork chops on a rainy Wednesday, and the best — I thawed and browned the breakfast sausage and stirred it into some homemade marinara sauce and then served that over penne. There were barely any leftovers which is unusual for pasta night at our house.

It’s easy to get started with ButcherBox and you can even order it for someone as a gift. Just go to GetButcherBox.com and put in your zip code to see if it’s available in your area.