What's in Your Local Store

Just went on a quick jaunt to the grocery store, specifically Trader Joe's, to stock up on food supplies for the weekend as well as some basics. I like to shop in a variety of places, I hit up a butcher for my meat, the Chinese grocery for my ground pork, the Lebanese store for my lamb and olive oil, and on and on but as of late Trader Joe's has been quite a nice place to get some great quality basics all in one place for a very decent price when I can't go to all my stores all over the place. They've also been doing some great stuff in the medicinal foods arena. I found Aloe vera cubes in syrup which I've been wanting to make from scratch and post about here as Aloe has so many wonderful medicinal qualities. Besides being high in vitamin E, Aloe has powerful soothing digestive qualities, and is beneficial in treating diabetes (much like nopales which I posted about last month). I'm excited to try the Trader Joe's product and then make it from scratch next time using the gorgeous Aloe tails I bought at Cermak Produce recently. I also got some lovely aged balsamic vinegar for less than $4, which is a steal, I'll have to taste it and see how it turns out. I've been on a big vinegar kick, probably because my liver is calling for it as winter is finally over in Chicago and I'm transitioning from all the stews and hearty foods into a lighter diet. Vinegar is a great detox condiment when you are trying to clean your system out as well as helping in treating conditions of obesity and phlegm.

The mini aged balsamic vinegar, can't wait to try it.

The Aloe vera dessert cubes.