Plant-Based Shopping News - restoring the Starling Avenue Triangle

Ever since I started writing about the Starling Avenue Food Shopping Triangle, things have been changing. In particular one of the three supermarkets that form the triangle, the Pioneer at 1345 Castle Hill Avenue was closed for renovations and when it was almost ready, we had the Covid lockdowns... and now they are open again and they just had their grand opening.

 

I did a quick survey of the aisles from a Whole Foods, Plant-Based perspective and I found some good stuff, so I'll post some of my findings here. I might do more some other time.

 

Massive area for fruits, veggies right when you come in. Breads on the right, was not great. (no Dave's Killer Bread, which is the only bread I buy, short of Ezekiel).

Some more pics:

 

Pretty good selection here...

    Great selection of herbs as well as things like red leaf lettuce, which I love...

And Wasa crackers, which are delicious and totally fat-free.

Tons of berries.

College in broth was on sale at 2 for $5.00 so I nearly cleaned them out.

And a good selection of grains, including Quinoa and so on...

I did not see too much whole wheat pasta, but at least they had some.

And a decent selection of herbs.

 

And, I should not forget, a whole section of Bob's Red Mill products, which is also a welcome addition. Key foods has some, but this is a pretty extensive selection!

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, that is it for now. Definitely worth a visit. In my book the Wasa bread in particular is a great find. Other crackers may be low in fat, but Wasa proves it can be done without fat altogether, and taste-wise it has always been one of my favorites, ever since it started to appear in Holland in the 1960's.

I am happy to see that the Starling Avenue Triangle is restored to its former glory, and this store is a darn sight better than the old one was.

Update on Whole Foods Plant-Based shopping in the Starling Avenue Triangle

This is just a very practical list with some recent items from local stores that are worthwhile:

Chang-Li Supermarket:

Braggs Liquid Aminos on the shelf in aisle 3 at Chang-Li

 

• 4lb Himalayas Blessing Brown Basmati Rice for $8.99. That is a good value.
• Braggs Liquid Aminos. Right now, Chang-Li carries Braggs Liquid Aminos again, albeit only in the 16 Oz bottle for now. I have asked them to stock the 32 Oz bottle again also. I have also asked them for the nutritional yeast.
• Their selection of whole wheat pasta is growing and recently, they also have whole wheat lasagna.
• The fruit and vegetable selection remains great.
• They have some Hodgson Mill Milled Flaxseed, which is a great option if you're in a hurry. Ideally you should mill your flax seed in a Magic Bullet or some such, as flaxseed does lose some nutritional value when it's milled, but sometimes convenience wins out...
• They have quite a selection of Dunya Harvest Organic grains and pulses - including rice, quinoa, lentils, peas, and various beans. And there's another brand, Heartland, which provides some good staples as well.
• Lately they also have raspberries occasionally, which is a great addition to your morning steel cut oats. Sometimes they have steelcut oats from Dunya Harvest.

On of these days, I will do a more extensive survey.

KeyFood on Unionport:

There is a lot to like in this KeyFood, including:

• Steel cut oats: they sometimes carry Bob's Red Mill, and sometimes Quaker Oats. Stock up for it is not always in stock and steelcut oats are sooo much better!
• A great selection of balsamic vinegars, and some good deals!
• A regular supply of great products from Bob's Red Mill, grains and legumes. This section is always worth a stop.
• A great selection of whole grain pasta.
• Often a good selection of berries in the produce section.

Pioneer on Castle Hill:

Supplies at this store can be erratic. One day they have a great selection of whole wheat pasta, and then they are sold out for quite a while before they get restocked. It is a bit of hit or miss.

• Produce dept. is usually worth checking out.
• A small section of organics is worthwhile.
• Whole wheat pasta. In spite of the irregularities noted above, they still have a decent selection most of the time.

  That's it for now. I will periodically do an update on the changing selection. For many of the staples, the Good 'n Natural healthfood store on 2173 White Plains Road by Pelham Parkway is a good option, and there is a great green market across Pelham Parkway also, as well as a well supplied C-Town at 640 Pelham Parkway, and the green market is across Pelham Parkway on Boston Road. Be sure to hit all three when you have to go that far.

Rogier's Black Bean Salsa

This recipe is based on Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr.'s book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, where on page 161 is his recipe for Best Black Bean Salsa. I wrote about some of my variations on the recipe before, but here it is in full:

Using ingredients from the neighborhood:

1. 1 lb. Wild Harvest organic black beans (from Pioneer at 1345 Castle Hill Avenue)
2. Optional: one 15 Oz can of Corn (Goya, other).
3. 1 17.6 Oz. Jar of Green Salsa (Pioneer, Key Foods and Chang-li all have it _ Goya or other brands).
4. 1 7 Oz. or 12 Oz. can of Chipotle peppers in adobo saus (La Morena, La Costeña, at Chang-Li, Pioneer or Key Food)
5. 1 can of sliced Jalapeño Peppers
6. 2-3 limes
7. One bunch of fresh Cilantro
8. Chunk of Kombu seaweed, sheets, or knots (from Chang-Li), alternatively use Savory (either summer or winter variety of Savory is good). Note: either kombu seaweed or savory is very helpful for the digestion of beans, and either adds depth to the flavor.

Preparation:

• Sort and rinse the beans and the seaweed.
• Cook the beans with the Kombu, or Savory about 45 minutes on a slow simmer after you bring it to the boil.
• While it cooks, squeeze the 2-3 limes (depending on size), chop the Cilantro leaves, and chop the Chipotle peppers. Drain the corn.
• Drain, remove Kombu, if you used it.
• Add in the chopped Cilantro leaves, the lime juice, chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce. 
• Mix, put away in the fridge. Best served next day.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve on puffed rice crackers, or you could use corn chips, but I don't like them because they are made with oil, and often it is canola oil, which I believe is unfit for human consumption and should be reserved for axle-grease, even aside from the no-oil directives of Dr. Esselstyn.