Riots Over Nutella Sale

There were riots and serious commotion at a French supermarket chain when it slashed the price of Nutella spread by 70%.

In ugly scenes evocative of Black Friday in the U.S., some customers at Intermarché supermarkets brawled in a bid to bag cheap jars of the chocolate-hazelnut spread, according to multiple media reports.

Police were reportedly called to deal with outbreaks of violence after the chain slashed the price of a 950-gram jar by 70 percent, to 1.41 euros (about $1.76) from 4.50 euros (about $5.61).

“They are like animals,” the BBC reported one customer at an unidentified store as saying. “A woman had her hair pulled, an elderly lady took a box on her head, another had a bloody hand.”

Nutella? Seriously?!

Still, it shows one thing. The more we think that we are different, the more things like this shows that we are not THAT different after all. Things like this happen all over the world. At one point or another, we shake our heads at many things happening in different locations.

Zz.

Trader Joe's Hashbrowns

I have a few guilty pleasures. One of them is the potato cakes from Arby's and the hashbrowns from McDonald's. They are so warm and crispy and yummy!

Making them at home is too much work, at least for me, even for someone who likes to make stuff from scratch. That is why I'm all excited when I found Trader Joe's Hashbrowns. I can bake them in the oven, and they come out as crispy as deep-frying them. And they go very well with steaks!

And the best part of it all? You get a packet of 10 hashbrowns for $1.99!

Yes, I have a stack of these already stocked up in my freezer.

Zz.

Supermarket Ice-Cream With No Preservatives And No Artificial Flavors? Are You Crazy?

I'm one of those folks you might see at a supermarket who is standing there and reading the ingredients list on the back of a box or package. I care about what I put in my mouth, and try as far as I can (not with equal success) to not consume any trans-fat, preservatives, artificial anything, etc. Unfortunately, this is not that easy especially when I shop at a regular supermarket here in our area. Oh sure, one can go to one of those organic specialty stores, but who wants to pay that much all the time?

One of the most difficult item to shop for is, believe it or not, ice cream. Pick a typical box of ice cream at a supermarket, and you're buying a chemistry kit. Something as simple as a vanilla ice cream can have an ingredients list consisting of a dozen or more ingredients, often with chemical names that you've never heard of. And more often than not, you'll encounter preservatives and artificial flavors added to the poor ice cream.

It is why when I stumbled upon this particular brand of ice cream, I almost jumped with joy. I had written about the new Mariano's supermarket that opened recently in our neighborhood. On one of our browsing of the supermarket, we discovered this brand of ice cream called "Turkey Hill". Now, there are, unfortunately, two types of Turkey Hill ice cream. One has a lid with red-colored rim, while the other has a lid with a black rim, with the words "Naturally Simple" written all over the rim.

The red-rimmed box appears to be your typical supermarket ice cream, having the same laundry list of chemicals. It is also cheaper, and seems to be on sale pretty often. The ice cream with the black-rimmed box is the one you want, for sure!

We have bought the plain vanilla, the blueberry, and the mango. They were all winners and tasted terrific. That was the first and most important test, because it doesn't matter if the food is clean and healthy if no one wants to eat it. But what impressed me as much was the ingredient list.

This is the vanilla ice cream.

Now look at the ingredient list.

Crazy, right?

Here's the blueberry ice cream.

And the blueberry ice cream ingredient list.

I challenge you to look at these lists, and compare it with some randomly-selected ice cream sold in a typical supermarket. You'll understand why I was astounded that I can get something like this, and this good, in a supermarket.

The last time I saw an ice cream ingredients list that is this simple was on a Blue Bunny Premium ice cream, but either they had change their recipe, or I can't find it anymore. But as of now, other than going to our favorite local ice cream parlor, this Turkey Hill All Natural ice cream is our exclusive brand here at home.

Zz.

Poke Bowls at Mariano's

I mentioned earlier that a new Mariano's opened in our neighborhood. We went there last night for a quick and light supper, since I also needed a gallon of milk. The supermarket was still packed and busy.

I decided to have one of make-your-own Poke bowls (Poke as in the Hawaiian fish/seafood bowls). I had mine with tuna, shrimp, and marinated tofu, filled with brown rice, seaweed salad, masago, and sprinkled with sesame seed.

It was delicious. Just the right amount for what I want, and cost only $13 before tax.

I think this might become my go-to place for a quick, light meal.

Zz.

Let The Supermarket War Begins!

Where I live, a new supermarket just opened today. Mariano's is a well-known brand of supermarket that appears to have a very loyal following, and it just opened about half a mile away today. I did go there in mid morning, and it was a ZOO! I spend about an hour just browsing around and bought a few things.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Within a 2 mile radius of where we live, there are now 5 major supermarkets: Jewel, Mariano's, Fiesta Market, Wally's Market, and Valli Fresh Market.

I do most of produce shopping at Valli Fresh Market. In fact, I'd say that this is my most favorite place to shop. The produce selection is outstanding and covers a wide ethnic ingredients. There is also a large turnover of produce, so they are usually quite fresh.

I also regularly shop at Fiesta Market. It has a more Hispanic-centric items, which is great because I buy a lot of them. It is also where I regularly find my stewing hens when I want to make great chicken stock or my Malaysia chicken soup base.

I got to our local Jewel supermarket here, but it is often frustrating. Half of the time, the produce that I want to buy is either bad, wilted, or not available. I've limited my shopping there only for dairy products and maybe household cleaning items. They have recently upgraded the appearance of the store. However, I think it is merely putting a lipstick on a pig. The problems with the store that I often see are still there.

The addition of Mariano's just adds another option. I think their cafe and baked goods might be the ones I will go for, even though many of their baked items still have lots of preservatives listed in the ingredients. The cafe is certainly a viable option for a quick lunch or dinner.

Should be interesting to see how this works out in the next year or so.

Zz.