I had not thought about driving up to Greensboro and having lunch at “Sticks -n- Stones Pizza” until yesterday morning. The thought came to me, and I sort of looked at it askance, processing how I felt (physically & mentally) and then I began to embrace the thought more vigorously. *The age of my car and the health of my tires both play a part when I’m thinking about an extended journey, but this not so much yesterday.

Another piece of the travel puzzle came into place when I couldn’t recall what the name of the health foods store was that I had visited looking for dulse, so I went to my WordPress site and did a search and found that it was called “Deep Roots Market” which is a co-op. As I seem to say each time I write about it (only twice that I recall), you don’t have to be a member of the co-op to shop at the store.

But in the article I noted my stops along the way that day and I had gone to “Ken Chappell’s Peaches” (a long-time road side peach/apple & assorted veggies stand. I have been going here to buy peaches for several years now, and the thought of another visit brightened my thoughts. I was online so I did a search for a web site and found one (another WordPress site) and I read that their first day open of the 2025 season was… yesterday. So, I would be visiting on their second day open, and I even asked the girl when I was there, “So this is your second day open” and her reply was, “yes” with a smile.

Okay so now I knew that Ken Chappell’s Peaches was open for business, and that they were supposed to have three types of peaches for sale this week. “Desiree” was one of them, and the one I ended up buying an $8 bag of peaches. It was a good flavored, first peach of the season, but I didn’t think it finished well. Not sure if I should let them ripen another day or so, to have that finishing sweetness I’m looking for.

I had a quick shower, and I fried some bacon and apples for breakfast and I think I had a cup of Earl Gray tea before leaving.

The trip to the road side stand took about an hour and sixteen minutes. That sounds like a long time, but since I am self entertaining, a good chunk of that journey was spent talking to myself, or rehearsing previous events. Oh, I did stop at “Dunrovin” which is a country store located next to U.S. 1 near Vass, North Carolina. It is uncomfortably near the highway and the fast moving traffic which whizzes by are all rushing to get to Southern Pines or Pinehurst. If a car ever veers off the highway it will be a mess to the front of the store… or death to anyone standing or walking there.

I did a slow tour of Dunrovin half way looking for seeds to sprout, or non-wheat pasta, but eventually only bought one stick of a Horehound hard candy. I’ve bought that at this store before, and it has an odd flavor. I like the odd flavors, and also have some Claey’s Clove drops that I bought several years ago and still eat one about every two months or so. The young man behind the register asked me if I might like to try the Claey’s Horehound candy and walked back to where it was and showed me. This puts him in that “sharp young man” category for me. Not just performing a “brain dead” work day. I asked how much, but told him I would just stick with what I had. It cost a little over a dollar. *The pharmacy in Newton Grove carries the Claey’s brand of candy also. I’ve seen it when I’m sitting eating an ice cream there.

After Chappell’s Peaches, I headed up Hwy 220 and it was a relatively quick trip up to Greensboro, passing by Asheboro, along the way. I went directly to “Sticks -n- Stones” and it was probably just a little after 12 noon when I parked.

Several groups sitting about the restaurant, it is dark and comforting. I was given a menu and told to sit where I would like. I sat at a table next to the front window.

When the waitress came to my table to get my drink order, I told her “water” and before she left I said I knew what I wanted, if they still made it. She stopped and took my order. A “To Be the One” Margherita style pizza with some jalapenos (not pickled).

After a while, not too long a while she brought my small pizza to the table. It looked good and I already had a game plan figured out if it did not meet the standards of it’s former glory. My last two visits had been disappointing. Nothing to write home about, and far from the exceptional pizza that I’ve experienced there through the years. If after my first slice, I was disappointed for the third time, I would ask for a “to go” box, and leave… with the thought of stopping in Asheboro at No.1 China Buffet for a late lunch. But, the first slice was delicious and distinctive enough for me to stay and finish the whole thing.

After lunch I went looking for a cigar store, as I want to find someone who sells the “Avanti Cafe Mocha” small, cheap, coffee flavored cigars that I tried at JR’s (Smithfield), but that JR’s no longer sells. I did visit one cigar store, but it was obvious that there were no cheap cigars in this place. Not enough room so only higher end cigars on display. The store owner, I presumed, was in an extended conversation with a customer, I presumed, but since he never finished that conversation, I did not stay to be disappointed by the answer I knew he would have to give me, “No we don’t carry that brand.”

The Greensboro Cigar Company is located about where the Allstate office is shown in this Streetview.

I did call another store, which I later found was a short distance away, I think on the other side of the street and a few blocks down. I asked about what I was looking for, and the man said they didn’t carry that but he mentioned something, coffee flavored, that they did carry. I thanked him and hung up. *I either will have to find them online, or get lucky at some cheap cigar shop along the way, someday.

At some point, I recalled that I wanted to visit “Deep Roots Market” although the name wasn’t clear in my mind, but the previous pleasant visit was. It’s was a relatively short meander to the co-op’s parking lot and then into the store.

I went to the back where there were the various seeds, nuts, dried fruits, coffees and teas in either jars or bins. I actually bought several things that I had to bag up, and put the dirty little, shiny cast iron scoops in a tray. I bought some fenugreek powder, some dill seeds, dark mustard seeds and some nutritional yeast, and a reddish pungent powder (Berbere Seasoning) that I think might go into some curry or Mexican dish. Not sure if it was a ground pepper, or a mixture of other spices. (I don’t think it was paprika & cumin, but who knows?) *I later googled and got the following, that it is a mixture of the following spices: coriander seed, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, fenugreek and allspice, with chile peppers, paprika, ground ginger, garlic and onion powder.

The young man asked if I wanted a box (they had previously used boxes of varying sizes near the register). I had forgotten to bring in my grocery bag. The five things I had bagged up fit nicely in the box and I walked out to my car.

Nothing else in Greensboro that I wanted to visit or revisit, so I headed back down Hwy. 220 to Asheboro. Getting to Asheboro and needing gas, I stopped at a convenience store, that I had previously gotten gas at, my last visit to Asheboro. The pump is grungy.

I’m not sure why I decided to eat another lunch in so short a time after my first one (less than 3 hours) but I did. I went to No.1 China Buffet and had another lunch. All good, and even a little more Wakami Salad which is surprising that they offer this. The oriental waitress was talkative, but it was welcome by me, and although I did not always understand (or hear) her, a pleasant talk, even about the rainy weather.

There was a dark sky over part of Asheboro and I even drove through some of it, a hard rain, on the way to the Main Library. And, one the way I began to feel the need to defecate. Yep. The pizza with jalapenos must have been pushed down by the chicken on a stick and the Wakami Salad. I opened my small FSU umbrella and walked up the parking lot, past the impressive water fountain, and into the large sliding glass doors of the library. There are no bathrooms available on the first floor, and you have to find the elevator hidden around the corner at the end of a narrow hallway. You could walk up the impressive marble staircase, but I don’t think that would be pleasant either going up or down with my stiff knee.

By now I really needed to use the bathroom, and I saw both stall doors were open so I went in the smaller stall, the other being for handicap use. I put my folded umbrella down and then noted that the toilet seemed to be clogged with toilet paper. I flushed, and yes, it was clogged. I quickly went around to the handicap stall and went in. I immediately noted that it too was clogged with toilet paper, but I needed to go. So, knowing full well that putting a load of smelly shit on top of a clogged toilet wasn’t going to be pleasant for the janitor, I had to go. It was smelly, and I did mention to a male employee that both toilets were clogged and that I had left a mess. He thanked me for giving them a heads up, and I went on to find something to read.

I didn’t see any new books that interested me, so I found a New York Times Magazine with Bill Gates on the cover. I read some of the article which the jist of was, “Odd, but I’m going to be ending my Charitable Fund, in 20 years, even though Donald Trump has recently ended a bunch of humanitarian aid to Africa and abroad, and yes… a half million children will probably die due to his decisions, but aid, in some form will go on, even without the Gates Foundation. *I don’t fault Bill Gates for this. He seems to have a game plan for doing the most he can with the enormous wealth he has been given and since neither he nor his wife will be around to continue making the decisions for the foundation… and not wanting to burden his children with that task. End it, not tomorrow, and spend it well until it ends.

Before I go. Why would you put white text on a white background? And, yes this isn’t the most flattering picture of Bill Gates. He looks old, and even heading toward fragile, but I think that speaks to why he would be announcing the end of his Foundation at this time. Aware of his age, and wanting to tie up loose ends, and not bound to the poor decisions by any other rich assholes.

I need to fix breakfast and I’ve written a ton, but before I forget, or not come back to finish the rest of this daily journal.

This morning I weighed myself and I weighed 245.4 lbs. I looked, and asked myself, “How could that be.” I had a whole small pizza and a large Chinese buffet afterwards. And I’ve lost a couple of pounds? And then I came in and tested my resting blood sugar level… 102. 102? How, I had a whole small pizza yesterday, and some noodles from the buffet later. How do I lose weight and keep my blood sugar in the great range? But, I did and that was the impetus to write about all of yesterday’s journey. Who wants to write about a crappy experience at the Library? Not me, but it was all part of the story.

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This has nothing to do with the above story, but I was temporarily captivated by Facebook and saw this.

This might be useful to me in the future. Recently I had a screw fall out of my glasses and I had a repair kit that I found a replacement screw, and a small screwdriver. But then it took quite a while for me to get the screw in the slot, and then get the end of the screwdriver into the screw to tighten it. I was almost to the point of going to the eyeglass store in Walmart where I had purchased several pairs of glasses, just to have them replace the screw. But I finally got the job done. Still the replacement screw was longer than needed, but it will have to do.

I have about four or five eyeglass frames that are exactly the same. It was a good idea because there are little plastic pieces on the temples (arms) that curl out with wear. At some point the frames need to be replaced. My problem has been that my original prescription works better than any updated one, and so I would take the old lenses and put them in the new frames. But, I am getting to the point that they don’t make those frames any longer. And, the new lenses aren’t right in that some parts of the view are blurred. I think it might be that in an effort to make a cheaper lens, the entire lens is not ground for magnifying.

I’ve listed these spices, and vinegar, because I have read that they are instrumental in controlling blood sugar levels.

CINNAMON

• Cinnamon on fried apples.
  • I’ve made a mix of the warm spices, including cinnamon (and coriander) to put on my fried apples.
• Caramelized walnuts, with cinnamon & sugar free syrup
• Cinnamon on cantaloupe or peaches
• Ground cinnamon on Kiwi or Raspberry puree in plain Greek yogurt.
• Cinnamon, butter, sweetener on sprouted bread toast
  • This is making a simple cinnamon bun.
• Peanut butter, cinnamon, Agave Nectar on sprouted bread
• Cinnamon, sweetener, butter & sour cream on a baked sweet potato
  • I’ve had this with a steak at a restaurant, but not lately.

FENUGREEK

I have started putting a little fenugreek in various items I am fixing.

GINGER

TURMERIC

Several years ago, I must have read about adding turmeric and vinegar together and then adding sweet bell pepper, onion & tomatoes. I liked the acrid flavor it gave these veggies. But, I’ve also added sweetener to the turmeric & vinegar to make a simple pickle.

VINEGAR

I combined turmeric and fenugreek in a vinegar solution, along with ginger and some sweetener to drink several times a day before each meal. I don’t always do this, but I try.

I drank this combination for a while and then got out of the habit. It depends upon whether the flavor are all working together or something is off. *I made some vinegar using a cheap wine from Aldi’s (probably about $3 for the bottle) and then added maybe 1/3 more water. When you do this, and it is necessary, not just to extend the liquid, you end up with a product that may be worth making at home instead of buying in the store. It takes about six weeks to complete the process. What I came up with was a dark vinegar. I don’t recall if the color of the original wine was dark to begin with.

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from a cookbook I looked through at the Asheboro Library.

Spicy Black Bean and Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 cups (1.5kg) salt-free black beans, home-cooked or from BPA-free cans or Tetra Paks, drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5-ounce (400g) BPA-free can or Tetra Pak (400g) salt-free crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons white miso paste
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder, or to taste
• 4 cups (1L) Vegetable Broth 2.0 (page 2) or water
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup (80g) chopped celery
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground black cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pippali or black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Use a food processor or blender to puree 2 cups of the cooked black beans with the tomatoes, miso paste, and chipotle powder. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, heat 1 cup (235ml) of the Vegetable Broth 2.0 over medium heat. Add the red onion, celery, and garlic. Cover and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in the black cumin, oregano, pippali, remaining broth, pureed bean mixture, and the remaining cooked beans. Bring to a simmer.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are incorporated and the soup is hot, about 20 minutes. Serve sprinkled with cilantro.

Spice It Up!

Want to kick-up the heat? I used to search for no salt-added hot sauces or settle for low-sodium ones like the original recipe Tabasco, but straight dried ground chiles have revolutionized my spice life. At home, I have a variety of ground chiles for every occasion in shaker bottles, including powdered peri-peris, poblanos, or chipotle peppers. My favorite when on the road, which you’ll find on my person at all times, is a 1:1 mix of powdered Aleppo pepper and Thai bird’s eye chile. Another bonus of powder over sauce is the lack of leaks in my carry-on.

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It looks like the Walmart Great Value Brand of Frozen Chopped Spinach has the least amount of Sodium and is the cheapest of the three brands listed above. The calorie count per serving is slightly above the other two. The Bird Eye Brand at Target is the most expensive, because it is more expensive and the number of ounces is only 10, instead of 12.

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I had left a “holding place” for Creamed Spinach & Otherwise. Not too long ago I made some good creamed spinach at home. Unfortunately, I don’t recall which ingredients I used. I think I used creamed cheese, some butter, garlic powder and the frozen spinach. I may have used some type of shredded cheese. Maybe an Italian blend.

But the thing that got me updating this spinach section was that I was looking through a cookbook that I bought at the Scotland County Library in Laurinburg yesterday. It only cost a dollar (plus whatever donation I gave for all the books I bought at the same time).

The book was Mr. Food “Every Day’s a Holiday Diabetic Cookbook.” As I started to look through the book, I was amazed that they didn’t seem to pay attention to the amount of sodium in their recipes. I saw a 300 mg and a 644 mg sodium amount. I was looking at a “Creamy Spinach Soup” recipe on page 44. It listed the Sodium in this soup as 499 mg.

Creamy Spinach Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cans (14 ounces each) vegetable broth
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 cups low-fat (1%) milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

When I saw the almost 500 mg of sodium in this recipe, I looked closer at the ingredients, wondering why so high. The only two items that might have high sodium were the vegetable broth, and the frozen spinach. That got me looking for the sodium listed in frozen spinach. Now that I see that you can get frozen spinach for under 100 mg per serving, it makes me think I should try to find “low sodium” vegetable broth (I prefer chicken broth.) or try to make it at home and use less sodium.

Also when I looked at the above recipe, I thought, “this looks like a recipe for creamed spinach.” I then went to my AI and asked for a creamed spinach recipe and what… yeah, they are pretty much the same.

I wonder if tarragon would be as pleasant as nutmeg?

I was in the Fresh Market the other day and saw some small eggplant. Normally they are at least a third bigger, but I don’t need that much, and I’ve never had that good of fortune with frying eggplant and making it like some of those delicious fried eggplants I’ve had at a few Italian restaurants. I picked one of these up, and weighed. The small eggplant weighed a half a pound which would make it cost about a dollar.

I’ve looked up several fried eggplant recipes online, but I’m feeling like combining some of the processes into a single process.

I think I will not cut the outer skin off the eggplant, but first cut into thin slices. Then apply salt to both sides of the sliced eggplant and let sit, covered until some of the moisture is leeched from the slices. Pour the liquid off. *I think I recall that someone explained that applying the salt would leech out both moisture and some of the bitterness.

I’m now thinking of adding an extra step and soaking the desiccated eggplant slices in buttermilk. And, I’m going to make my own buttermilk by adding a slight amount of vinegar to milk.

After the slices sit in the buttermilk for a while, I’ll dredge them in a mixture of panko bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese and some herbs as marjoram, and Italian Seasoning, and garlic powder with some S&P.

Then I’ll fry in a pan, on the stove top, the slices turning after they brown on each side. Let them drain on paper towels after they are done.

I’m thinking I might use RAO’s Marinara sauce as my dipping sauce, although I might want to sneak in some fresh basil (which I currently do not have) or some ground basil into the sauce. Maybe making a horseradish sauce, and/or a version of the Cilantro-Lime Dressing. Funny how I seem to want to sneak in cilantro into this recipe. I’ve also added part of a package of powdered Ranch Dressing into the Cilantro-Lime Dressing and it was pleasing.

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It’s 4:32 am and I just finished cutting up my small eggplant and salting it. Even this small eggplant is way too much for one, or maybe even two helpings and I am going to have to throw away some of it, but it looks good and I made the slices about a quarter inche wide. I started cutting at the small end and when I got a little over half way, I cut that pience in half and made the rest of the slices “half rounds.” I then took a big Rubbermaid bowl and salted the slices. They were moist, although I hadn’t rinsed them so the salt stuck wherever it landed. Not sure of how to salt them so that the salt is evenly distributed, but I’m pretty sure there will be a good amount of liquid after I’m through.

An AI definition of homemade buttermilk:

Adding a little vinegar to milk creates soured milk or a homemade substitute for buttermilk. The acid in the vinegar causes the protein in the milk (casein) to curdle and thicken. This gives it a slightly tangy flavor and a thicker consistency, making it useful in baking recipes where buttermilk is called for, as it helps with leavening and tenderness.

It’s 10:04 am and I’ve just drained the salted eggplant, made a little homemade buttermilk (vinegar & milk). I didn’t recall that the leeched moisture would be an amber color, but it is. I poured the leeched water off, and then ran some tap water over all and then poured that water off immediately.

I then decided to only cook about a third to a half of the eggplant slices in this “first go around.” I guess, if they turn out well, that would be incentive to fix another batch. If not, into the can they go.

So, I’m about to pour the homemade buttermilk into the first batch of eggplant slices and that will give me at least an hour to marinate them before I dry them off and then coat them with a mixture of Panko bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese and Italian herbs and S&P. I did add some onion and garlic powder to the mix, and some marjoram.

I fried the first batch on the stovetop and they turned out good. Probably the best I’ve ever made at home, but not the best I’ve ever had in an Italian restaurant. *I froze the second batch and left it in the buttermilk. Hoping to thaw it quickly, bread, and cook it tomorrow or the next day. Used the Rao’s Marinara sauce out of the jar and it was fine.

I was in the Fresh Market a few days ago and happened to see some small eggplant that were smaller than most, but just the size that I think is “right.”. I took one of them and walked over to a nearby scale and weighed it. It was about a half a pound. Since they were $1.99 per pound, I thought it was worth a dollar.

I love a good, battered, fried eggplant with a little tomato sauce, but I’ve never been able to fix this at home and I have tried several times. It has turned out bitter, or mushy, but nothing like the good experiences I’ve experienced a few times is a few different restaurants (I guess mostly or all Italian restaurants.). Salting the cut eggplant is supposed to leach out some moisture and reduce the bitterness and it did, but the finished product still turned out limp. *I have put the cut eggplant in a blender and made a sort of eggplant cake, and that was good, but it was also “heavy.”

One thing I noticed were some bright packages of “Garden of Eatin'” corn tortilla chips. I recognized the brand because I had bought some “Garden of Eatin'” Blue Corn Tortilla Chips at Wegman’s. Sorry, I may have been thinking of the Wegman’s “Get Dippin’ Blue Corn Tortilla Chips” that are actually shaped like little scoops. I didn’t see any blue corn chips or taco shells at the Fresh Market.

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There are several other items I like from the Fresh Market.

One is the “Wasabi Soy Cashews” and I bought a package of these, but the Wasabi Soy flavor packet I get from Amazon is more pungent so I buy the cheaper cashews at Food Lion and add the powder later.

I also like the Okra Chips. These are the actual okra pods which have been processed by cooking them at low temperature at high pressure for a time. The process removes most of the moisture and you are left with a brittle, dry, flavorful pod.

And, I also like the “Mixed Summer Vegetable Chips” which are probably produced similarly to the Okra Chips. They have a few okra chips, some tomato chips (my favorite) and both green and yellow squash chips, although the green chips might actually be zucchini chips. This mix doesn’t include beet nor green bean chips, and I don’t think either of those are as flavorful, even though I like sliced or whole beets in a sweet vinegar base.

Not this time, but in the past I’ve seen and bought some really good looking Red Swiss Chard and put it into a soup or cooked it up with some Borlotti/Cranberry/Roman beans. Some grocers have even labeled it as “Ruby Chard,” which I think is more poetic.

Oh, and I’ve bought Nueske’s Smoked Liver Pate, assorted cheeses, and I like several items off the olive bar. Roasted garlic, Castleveltrano olives and assorted pickled peppers.

ANNASSIDE: I fixed some red cabbage slaw, with onion and Mung bean sprouts (Dukes Mayo & some Half-n-Half & Splenda). I also made a simple dish of diced English Cucumber with Spicy Chili Crisp, Toasted Sesame Oil and Red Wine Vinegar & Splenda. I love the flavor of the Spicy Chili Crisp with a little sweetener. It makes a bunch of different things really interesting.

I finished the diced English Cucumber, but was left with the Spicy Chili Crisp liquid so I mixed in a little of the red cabbage slaw. It was good. I mixed in a little more cabbage slaw, and it continued to be good. This is something that I would repeat.

Oh, and I had these two sides with some of the HT Rotisserie Chicken that I had heated up in the microwave.

I have put the Spicy Chili Crisp on steamed green cabbage and steamed cauliflower, and like it that way. Originally, I was looking for something to spice up my stir fry meals, and when I found this, it took control. I love it straight out of the jar, and I like it on many, many, many different things. [end]

I was watching a YouTube video this morning before going out and the doctor that was presenting, listed several of the things I’m already doing.

• cinnamon
• fenugreek
• broccoli sprouts
• avocado
• nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts)
• garbanzo beans (hummus)
• fatty fish
• chia seeds
• beef

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This might have been the video that got me to try the “sprouted grains'” breads and I really liked the “Knock Your Sprouts Off” bread from Aldi’s, but the Ezekiel Bread was also good (but not quite as much for me). And, I still like the sourdough bread that I get from Publix, but I haven’t bought that in a while.

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I stopped at Harris Teeter and bought another bag of the Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, and a couple of cans of their low/no sodium black beans to compare with the other brands I’ve already bought. Before coming back home, I also stopped by the Natural Foods Store and bought a small bag of fenugreek seeds and have put some in a small glass of water to see if they appear as in the above video.

I broke down and bought a Rotisserie Oven Roasted Chicken at Harris Teeter today, although I didn’t have room for it in my refrigerator. I ate a drumstick and some of the thigh meat and then broke the rest of the chicken apart and bagged up 5 good meal portions in zipped sandwich bags. One bag went into the fridge and the four others went into the freezer. I was surprised to get six good meals from this one roasted chicken and that only $7.99 plus tax.

But also, I took the frozen veggies that I had stored to make homemade chicken broth, out of the freezer and put them into some water, along with the leftover carcass of rotisserie chicken, into my large stock pot. I added a few herbs & spices (garlic powder, bay leaf, S&P) and let them cook on low for about an hour and a half. I’ve removed most of the non-broth items and am letting it cool down before straining the broth and putting it in my empty “Greek Gods Plain Yogurt” containers. I can get about 3 or 4 helpings of broth out of each container and they fit easily in my freezer. I think I’ll have about four of these containers when I’m finished. *No, I ended up with six of the yogurt containers and still am trying to find space for the last two in my freezer. I’ve also got enough broth left over to fix some lima beans tonight.

Earlier today I was trying to find some organizer containers, via Walmart web site, to store all the canned goods I’ve recently purchased in an attempt to overcome the effects of the Trump tariffs. It finally came to me, why not ask Aldi’s (or LIDL) if I could have some of the empty cardboard trays that they display their canned goods in on the shelves. Sure enough, the Aldi employee I asked said they threw them away, and that I could have them, but it would be better to come back at 6 pm (they are open until 8 pm) when there would be more empty trays. I stopped at the Aldi’s nearest me, and got about 5 of these trays. Then I thought to drive across town to the other Aldi’s and boy, they had way more and the young man said I could have all I wanted. I probably got about 7 or 8 empty cardboard can trays. One thing is that the can sizes are not consistent. Some cans are smaller than others, but I think I’m going to be more able to organize my cans, by categories (bean types, tomatoes, and salt or no salt, etc.) and just stack them. There will be about 9 to 12 cans per tray, so just about perfect.

Categories:

• by date of purchase
• vegetable types
  • beans
    • black
    • cannellini
    • garbanzo
    • pinto
  • tomatoes
    • diced w/ green chilies
• salt or no/low salt
• meal style
  • Chinese stir fry
    • toasted sesame oil
    • soy sauce
    • spicy chili crisp
    • sesame seeds
  • Indian
    • Patak’s curry paste
  • Mexican
    • diced chilies

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Sprouting Broccoli Seeds

I stopped by Bell’s Seed Store in the old part of town this morning (Friday before Memorial Day) after having my haircut and before driving up to Smithfield. I wanted to see if they had broccoli seeds for sprouting but I didn’t have much hope… but to my surprise, they had 3 varieties of broccoli seeds and I got an ounce of “Italian” Something. I bought an ounce for $4, but an ounce of broccoli seeds takes up little space.

I was also reminded of how okra seeds look and they are quite similar in size and shape to Mung beans. Small, round and green, like BBs.

As my first test I’m going to try to sprout a tablespoonful of these seeds, which may be close to the whole ounce. It should take about five days. The basic process is soak the seeds in water overnight, then rinse them twice a day to clean them and provide them with moisture, but immediately drain off the water, and let them air dry. *[05/28/25]: Well, I finally started the broccoli seeds for sprouting, and I used a 1/8th cup of the seeds which appears to be over half (Maybe 2/3rd of the seeds I bought, and that small packet cost $4 plus tax. So it looks like my first jar of broccoli sprouts is going to cost about $2.50.). But, if I like the flavor as much as I do the Mung bean sprouts (and I have another batch of those in the fridge), it will be worth it. I just added some Mung bean sprouts, yesterday, to my homemade guacamole and they were delicious. Provided a extra crunch. All that green stuff (avocado, tomatillo, cilantro & sprouts) working together.

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I drove up to Smithfield to see if JR’s had any of the Avanti Cafe Mocha cigars. They are cheap and small, and I first bought them at JR’s, but then they discontinued selling them. That was about the time that Avanti changed the packaging from a greenish package to a reddish one. Nope, none and I didn’t want to try the licorice flavored version.

I then headed to Goldsboro, but made a detour to drive through Princeton and then out to the Nahunta Pork Center. I had never been to this butcher shop, but had seen it advertised for years, and it is out in the wide open farmland, but there were quite a few cars, both in front of the shop, and off in a parking area that I took to be for employees, of which there were quite a few staff both packaging items and waiting on customers. Since this is Memorial Day weekend, I’d imagine the Center is full of BBQ items for all the “get togethers” that people will be having with their families and friends. *I almost forgot. Near the head of a long counter stocked with assorted pork products, there was a whole hogs head, frozen and staring face up at you. And, I don’t recall the exact price, but it seemed very reasonable, if you ever needed a whole hogs head for some purpose.

*Don’t park in front because when you start to back out, if there are cars beside you they block the view of any traffic that may be coming along the highway.

I didn’t come prepared to buy anything, no ice chest or ice to cool things for the long drive back home, but I just felt the need to buy something. I first thought it might be some country ham bits, but then I focused upon the Liver Pudding and then the Souse that was beside it. The souse was vacuum packaged in approximately $5 portions. I took one package up to the register, of which they had two registers and were quickly waiting on those shoppers ahead of me.

As I handed the package to the clerk she asked if I wanted a second package for $1 and after a micro-thought I said “Yes.” I hesitated because I already knew I couldn’t keep the one package cool for the drive back, and was planning to stop for lunch in Goldsboro & maybe even the Library. so two packages of souse would be even more of a problem.

Not being the first time I’ve faced such a situation, I walked out with my two packages of souse and was almost immediately followed by a woman who had her packages with her. She walked quickly past me, but I called out to her and asked, “Would you like a package of souse.” I then went on to explain that I had come unprepared to cool the meat, and that I had accepted the deal of a dollar for the extra package. I asked if she liked souse, and she said something about a relative that liked it. She took the souse from me and thanked me and went on to her car, and I walked on to mine.

I found a plastic knife, in the car console, and then proceeded to cut through the plastic and a small corner of the souse. I tried it, and it was perfectly good. Not overly seasoned and I even tried another bit, but knew that I would be eating lunch shortly so I rolled the opened package up in the plastic bag and put it under a sweater on the seat beside me. Hoping to keep it as cool as possible. I think I did, but we shall see. I put it in the fridge as soon as I got back home but that was several hours later. The package still felt cool to the touch. *I tried some souse later and it still tasted good and many hours later I’ve had no negative reactions, so it must have remained cool enough without ice.

I said this wasn’t the first time I had faced a quandary of having too much of an item and wanting to gift it to someone, not necessarily someone that I knew. The time previous to this was when I was at Lee’s Fresh Market in Benson several months ago. I had seen that they had a 2 for 1 sale on chicken livers and I bought two containers. I didn’t need two, or couldn’t use two packages in a short time and didn’t want to freeze one, so I asked a couple of customers and at first no one wanted the chicken livers. I then found a black man who said he liked them, and I gave the extra package to him. *This kind of thing is you need to find someone on the premises because it might be questionable if you drove somewhere and then asked someone else. They might question if the package had been tampered with.

[NOTE]: The following segment is a rabbit hole that helped me explore a few North Carolina highways that I am familiar with, but never saw the “big picture” of each. Hwy. 24, Hwy. 42 and a little bit of Hwy. 70. [end NOTE]

The drive on to Goldsboro had two interesting sights. I think I was passing under Hwy. 70 and there was an extended overpass that was interesting to me. *No, I just realized that this couldn’t be Hwy. 70, and I now see it is Hwy. 42, and depending upon whether you look at the Google Street View or the Google Maps, in maps the highway isn’t completed, and in street view you can see the finished overpass and drive along the finished highway. This reminds me of a segment of Hwy. 70 near Havelock. Some of that is finished, and I’ve driven on it, but on Google Maps you can still see the overhead view and only the overpasses are nearing completion (no paved segments between the overpasses). That segment is a by-pass for Havelock, for people coming down from Raleigh and going on to the beach (Atlantic Beach & Morehead City). I am familiar with some parts of Hwy. 42 but I don’t know how far it actually runs across North Carolina. Hwy. 42 has one end in Colerain about 20 minutes southeast of Ahoskie, North Carolina. One segment passes the Smithfield’s Chicken -n- BBQ where it crosses I40. And the other end of Hwy. 42 is in Asheboro, North Carolina, of which I’ve become very familiar in the past year. **I think it was Ahoskie High School that beat Swansboro High School in the football playoffs (maybe basketball), back when it counted for me. Not really. I do recall riding the Trailways Bus through Ahoskie, and hearing the bus driver on his intercom repeat, “Ahoskie, Ahoskie.” So, I would guess that Hwy. 17 goes through Ahoskie also.

I grew up near a segment of Hwy. 24 which ran from Jacksonville, NC through Hubert, and Swansboro, and on down to Morehead City and eventually dead ending on the Coast. * I just read online that Hwy. 24 is the longest state road in NC going from the Coast to Charlotte. I know there is a segment of 24 through Fayetteville. So, 42 and 24 meander across North Carolina.

But there was also a business of some type, “Benson Bros.” or some such (Benton & Sons Fabrication) and the strange thing was there were a large number of metal sculptures of dinosaur type creatures in various sizes from about the size of a man to about the size of “a dinosaur.” Not sure why, or if they sell these commercially, but from the looks of the quality, they could easily. Shiny metal sculptures.

In my brief reading on their web site, I see that the owner gave his employees projects to create these metal dinosaur structures during the economic downturn in 2008/9. They continued to hone their fabrication skills and were getting paid to work.

I enjoyed my lunch at Longhorn Restaurant. My usual. The cheeseburger special, medium with all the fixings, and as a side, the Lobster & Crab Chowder. Coke Zero this time, and yes, their appetizer bread, with a dollop of butter.

I left “The Men We Became” (about JFK Jr.) at a LLL in a nice neighborhood in Goldsboro. I’ve left other books at that location previously. This book, I found at a LLL in Benson, and I realized that I must have left it months ago and no one had taken it, so I took it to try and find somewhere else that might appreciate it. This is one of the biographies that I’ve read in the last several years that I really enjoyed. “Becoming” by Michelle Obama was the most enjoyable, then maybe the Dick Van Dyke bio and also the Tim Rossert bio, but that one was mainly told by friends and acquaintances speaking well of him.

I stopped at the Pharmacy in Newton Grove and had an ice cream cone. One scoop of “the most chocolaty” ice cream they had. I also stuffed a business card, from the No. 1 China Buffet in Asheboro, on which I had written on the back the request, “Bring Back Roadrunner Raspberry, please!” along with a $1 tip. Their one scoop of ice cream on a regular cone is still only $2 with no tax.

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This morning my weight was down by .2, which isn’t great, but with all that I ate yesterday, that’s almost miraculous. And that I snacked on souse, late night, amazing. My resting BGL was 131, which is high, but because I snacked, and had an ice cream yesterday, that’s just nature taking it’s course. Don’t eat healthy and you will suffer the consequences. But, yesterday was an exception to the way I eat. I don’t eat a cheeseburger, chowder and an ice cream every day, or even once a week (usually). My trip to Goldsboro, or Asheboro might be once a month or less. Goldsboro would be a cheeseburger, seafood chowder and the whole loaf of appetizer bread at Longhorn, and in Asheboro would be breakfast at David’s (which might include part of a pancake with low sugar syrup) and the lunch at No. 1 China Buffet which might have some noodles.

This focus on lower sodium started a few days ago when I was in the mood for a Mexican meal and not thinking about salt or sodium at all. I’ve watched my sugar in the various products I buy and consume for a while, but never thought much about the NACL.

I was in Aldi’s and as I came to the end of an aisle, and rounded it, there were several items on shelves. They were in pretty cans and one was refried beans and the other was diced tomatoes with chilies (regular sodium). *I quickly noted that it is almost impossible to buy refried beans that are low sodium. Salty smushed beans, sell! So, I decided to buy low sodium pinto beans and smush them myself. Easy to do. *I also bought a small bag of Iceberg Lettuce Salad.

• Lower Sodium “Knock Your Sprouts Off” 7 Grain Sprouted Bread (Aldis) 70 calories per slice @ 19 cents. 21 slices per loaf @ $4.
  • I haven’t tried the low sodium version yet, but the regular version has good flavor. I rarely eat more than one slice of bread now, but might eat a slice with peanut butter and Agave Nectar.
• Lower Sodium Oven Roasted Turkey Breast (Hillshire Farms) 70 calories per serving. About 2 oz. Four servings in an 8 oz. package that costs about $4, a dollar for one serving.
  • This has good flavor and makes a good sandwich, with French’s mustard, creamy horseradish & a little sweetener (Agave Nectar, Splenda).
• Blue Corn Street Taco Tortillas (Walmart) 90 calories per serving (2 tortillas – @12 cents) $2.24 per package (18 tortillas).
  • Heat it in the toaster oven, and put some good refried beans, ground beef and diced tomatoes w/ green chilies on it, and it is good. But, don’t eat one of these, unheated, with nothing on it. It tastes awful. Close to flavorless, and they are a soft taco.
• Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Simple Truth -HT) 140 calories – 13 chips (@ 31 cents per serving) @ $2.79 and 9 servings per bag.
  • These are delicious with the refried beans & ground beef/diced tomatoes & green chilies.
• Diced Tomatoes w/ Green Chilis – No Salt – LIDL (@ .95 per can – @ .24 per serving)
  • I used half a can and then only ate half of that for one meal. Is that 10 calories total per meal?
• Pinto Beans – No Salt Added – LIDL (@ .86 per can – @ .43 per serving)

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I don’t see the info here, but somewhere I determined that the whole, full sodium version of this meal (including the original refired beans from Aldi’s) came to over 1,400 mg and the reduced sodium version was only 84 mg. But, the 84 mg was the base amount if I added no salt while cooking, and I do add some salt to all.

Mexican Meal (Low Sodium)

Let me guestimate.

• 3 oz. ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 1/4 can diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
• 1/4 medium sweet bell pepper (red, yellow or orange)
• 1/2 diced jalapeno
• 1/2 medium avocado
• 1 medium tomatillo
• Splenda & Agave Nectar
• 1/2 can low sodium pinto beans
• 1 teaspoon bacon grease
• 13 blue corn tortilla chips

$2.50 + .50 + .25 + .40 + .25 + .50 + .20 + .30 + .50 + .10 + .31 + .75 = $6.56 for this meal, with no drink.

Until yesterday I had never been to Kick Back Jack’s, in Fayetteville, or anyplace else for that matter. The old FSU IT crew had decided to meet there at 1 pm on Saturday. There have been many times through the years that I would be sitting at the traffic light across from this restaurant waiting for the light (from Cross Creek Mall) to change. A few times, I might drive across the intersection, with Jack’s on my right, but I wouldn’t turn in there. Instead I might turn left into the Kentucky Fried Chicken, or left and a little further to the “Bed, Bath & Beyond” (I think that was it’s name. ). That store was there for many years, and I bought many things from there, and did a bunch of window shopping in that store. It was a comfortable place to browse.

Old age keeps me from recalling another store (or even what they sold) that was located on the corner, up near to where Boston Market was located. It too has gone out of business. I loved their roasted chicken, and those various sides, which one favorite was the creamed spinach.

*I’m not in the mood to write in detail, but wanted to get started about this.

I had a Combo Lunch, “1/2 Cranberry Turkey Wrap, with a garden salad and White Balsamic Sweet Onion Dressing. Oddly, while sitting there waiting for the waitress to come around to take my order, I had gas pangs. I tried to ignore them until she got to me, but unlike the drink order, of which I was first, I’m guessing that I would have been the last food order for her. But, I had gone online earlier and found what I might like to order and eat. I changed out the french fries for the salad. And, I did eat the whole wrap. What I ordered was delicious and I would order it again if ever.

Surprisingly for this day and age, Kick Back Jack’s does not offer any nutritional listing for their various entrees, sides nor desserts, nada. But, I was attentive to the customers, both going and coming, and of note, there were a whole lot of fat bellied and assed men, women and children coming and going. It didn’t surprise me that with the menu items I saw online, that fat people like the place, and the place encourages fat people. Not saying the food isn’t delicious. But most of it isn’t healthy either.

Between my lunch at Jack’s and my Mexican Aldi’s dinner, my resting blood sugar was only 97. That’s extremely low for me. My weight was 247.2 lbs., up just slightly from the day befroe, but the scale was fluctuating like it does some mornings. I normally weigh, and then step off and reweigh and if the two weights are the same that is what I write down for the day. I’m not sure of what causes this, because it’s not the battery. I’m not sure if it is barometric pressure. But the scale will not show two of the same weights in a short period of time. And it’s not always lower, or higher.

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Years ago, in 1975 when I was attending Campbell College for a year, to recover from my first two years at Carolina, a school buddy who had a car (a dark blue Camaro, I think) drove us down to Fayetteville and we went to Cross Creek Mall. I say Camaro because there wasn’t a lot of room in the back and I think “the third guy” had to lay across the back. There were still a few stores in the new mall that were not completed yet. That’s funny. That would be 50 years ago, this year.

Now that I’ve had a few moments to think about it, the guy laying across the back was probably in a different friend’s little MG Midget type car. His name was Bill, from Raleigh, and a few years later I heard that he had been killed in a car crash. I think alcohol was involved.

I don’t recall the Camaro guy’s name, but I think he was also the guy that made a ‘tennis ball cannon’ out of a drink can & a tennis ball can. You tape the two cans together and put a pin hole in the bottom of the drink can. You then put a few drops of lighter fluid in the pin hole and shake the cans to vaporize the lighter fluid. Drop a tennis ball in the tennis ball can side, light a match and put it to the pin hole in the drink can. The lighter fluid will ignite and pop the tennis ball out, with force. We were standing between Saul’s Hall and Murray Hall and when the cannon went off the tennis ball was shot clear over Murray Hall, landing on the other side of that dorm. *Not sure if the drink can was made of aluminum or a thicker metal, but now that I think about it I’m surprised that the end of that can didn’t blow out.

I heard on TV yesterday that Walmart would be going up on prices (due to tariffs) at the end of the month. I went out early this morning to Walmart to do my Trump Proof Tariffs shopping. I know you can’t prepare for something this devastating. What an idiot! And he’s going off to Qatar to get “bought off” with a multi-millions dollar jet. Hell, if he can say that little girls only need 3 dolls and not 35, then how in the hell can he get all the toys he wants for Christmas? What a useless fuck.

I asked one of the in store shoppers where an item was located, or if they even had any in stock. It was the Del Monte “Zucchini in Italian Style Tomato Sauce” which I have eaten for over 30 years. Not sure if I ever bought it at Walmart, but it’s been around that long. *And I once cooked some zucchini & onions at home with a little tomato and it came very close to being as pleasing as the “store bought.” She said they didn’t have any in stock, and wasn’t sure they ever had. She also said she hadn’t heard that Walmart was supposed to go up on prices at the end of this month.

So, I’m out shopping and visiting several grocery stores, and Pate’s Farm Market, and one thing, I’m at Food Lion across town and ask a couple of FL employees if they had the Del Monte Zucchini. The woman found it quickly, and even noted that it was on “Closeout.” I think it was $1.89 so I bought about four cans there. Later, at a different Food Lion, I found a couple of cans but they were a little more, but still less than $2 a can so I bought one more can. Hoping that I will find another Food Lion that has a good deal on this. I’ve found I can open a can and eat the whole thing and be very satisfied. *And surprisingly today, I went into another FL to buy an avocado and happened to look at the Del Monte Zucchini, and they were on “Closeout” for only $1.19, so I bought six cans. Wow!

Oh, the other thing and I think it was at an ALDIs, I bought a can of refried beans, and a can of diced tomatoes with chilies. I also decided to buy some ground beef (at FL) in order to make some tacos for lunch. I knew I already had a few blue corn tortilla shells left from my earlier “Black Bean & Quinoa” meal (with homemade salsa & quacamole). *The Wegman’s Blue Corn Taco Shells are a dark blue, like most other blue corn products. They are not the rosy red shells shown on the box above, and they have good flavor. I heated a couple of taco shells in my new toaster oven and I think this did make them less likely to break apart while eating.

I mashed up a half of an avocado with one chopped tomatillo for a simple guac. I cooked some ground beef in a small skillet, adding some chopped onion & cilantro, and some of the “diced tomatoes with chilies” and some taco seasoning and a little sweetener. And after I removed the ground beef mixture, I put some of the refried beans in the pan, along with some bacon grease.

So, now I had the warmed blue corn taco shells and I put a layer of the refried beans along the bottom of the shell, then the ground beef mixture and finally the guac & tomatillo on top. The warmed tacos didn’t break apart. I had some of the ingredients left over in a bowl and I added a little Ranch/Cilantro/Lime dressing. *I’ve added Ranch Dressing dry mix to this dressing and it’s good.

This meal was delicious and I would like to repeat it sometime.

NOTE [05/18/25]: ‘Sometime’ ended up being the next day, yesterday, but I couldn’t find an avocado. And after I had warmed the taco shells, I saw that one of them wasn’t spread apart, so I ended up breaking both shells and putting the refried beans and the ground beef mixture on top of each of the four halves. They held up well. Still need the guac mixture and sour cream, or the “Cilantro-Lime Dressing (w or w/o Ranch Dressing). *I think the red cabbage slaw, with onion & Mung bean sprouts would work well with this meal also. **But who needs another 172 calories added to the already 809 = 989… That’s almost like eating at Hardees or Smithfield’s Chicken -n- BBQ.

It takes about a week to grow the Mung bean sprouts and I just put the latest batch in my refrigerator a day or so ago. I start with 1/8 of a cup of beans and that produces enough sprouts for a week or so… if I put them in my cabbage slaw or in a stir fry or two.

I have just enough of the refried beans and the diced tomatoes with chilies to make a third meal. If this meal doesn’t affect my blood sugar, or weight, it is definitely worth repeating. [end NOTE]

[06/06/25] I made my Mexican Meal again, but used Black Beans to make my refried beans and it looked and tasted great. After I blended most of the beans, the smooth paste was almost purplish. I left about 20 beans out of the blender, and smushed some of those with a fork to give the overall look of the refried beans as more rustic. I used a little sour cream on the refried beans. I scooped out about half a large avocado. I added some chopped cilantro to the ground beef & diced tomatoes w/ green chilies. I broke up several blue corn tortilla chips. Oh, I also threw in some Red Cabbage Slaw (with the Mung bean srpouts). This is just a very pleasing meal. The flavors all work together, and it is multi colored and multi textured, some of it smooth, and some of it crunchy. And, I have enough leftovers for a whole ‘nother meal. [end]

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Items In This Meal	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
ground sirloin – Ground Beef, 4/1 ounce	200	0	11	22	75	0
Onion, 3/1 tbsp, chopped	12	3	0	0	1	1
Olive oil, 1/1 tsp	40	0	5	0	0	0
Wegmans – Blue Corn Taco Shells, 2/1 shells	130	15	7	2	0	0
Casa Mamita (Aldi’s) – Traditional Refried Beans , 1/1 cup (130g)	220	36	3	12	960	2
Aldi’s – La Masa Rica – Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, 1/2 cup	25	4	0	1	380	3
Avocado, 1/2 avocado	120	6	11	2	5	0
Tomatillo, 1/1 medium	11	2	0	0	0	1
Cilantro Lime Dressing – Dressing, 1/1 tsp(s)	12	1	1	1	0	0
Animal fat, bacon grease, 1/1 teaspoon	39	0	4	0	6	0
Total	809	67	42	40	1427	7

Okay, I know that 800 calories is pushing it. Anything over 700 would take a second look. And the sodium level is exorbitant. Maybe refried beans with much less sodium. But, the sugar levels seem to be spot on.

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So I went looking for low or no sodium refried beans, and to my surprise there are almost no refried beans that don’t have a bunch of salt, even when they are labeled as “low-sodium.” *And now early in my research, I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be best to buy the canned low-sodium pinto beans and make the refried beans myself. I see that Target has “Organic Low Sodium Pinto Beans – 15oz – Good & Gather™” for $1.19 for a 15 oz. can [120mg sodium 5%].

For a serving size of 1/2 cup (130g) of Good & Gather Organic Refried Pinto Beans:

• Calories: 110
• Total Fat: 0g (0% Daily Value)
  • Saturated Fat: 0g (0% Daily Value)
  • Trans Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 0mg (0% Daily Value)
• Sodium: 120mg (5% Daily Value)
• Total Carbohydrate: 21g (8% Daily Value)
  • Dietary Fiber: 5g (18% Daily Value)
  • Total Sugars: 1g
    • Includes 0g Added Sugars (0% Daily Value)
• Protein: 7g
• Vit. D: 0mcg (0% Daily Value)
• Calcium: 40mg (4% Daily Value)
• Iron: 2mg (10% Daily Value)
• Potassium: 460mg (10% Daily Value)

The label also indicates that there are about 3.5 servings per container.

Seasoning ingredients for the “Casa Mamita (Aldi’s) – Traditional Refried Beans“: Salt, Tomato Paste, Lard, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Spice, Natural Flavor, Paprika. I liked the flavor of these refried beans, so seasoning the pinto beans similarly should give similar pleasing results.

ADDENDUM [05/19/25]: So, I stopped at LIDL to get some orange juice and while walking up one aisle to the checkout, I happened to see some low/no sodium pinto beans, and then some no sodium diced tomatoes with chilies. I think both cans were under 90 cents each. I bought one of each. I then drove over to Target and found the “Organic Low Sodium Pinto Beans.” They also had diced tomatoes with chilies, but they weren’t low salt.

If the flavor is there for the LIDL items, plus a little salt on my part, I should be able to greatly reduce the sodium from the ALDI items.

I used about 1/2 a can of the low/no salt Pinto Beans, and 1/4 can of the low/no salt diced tomatoes with green chilies. The calorie count was still 800, but sodium was reduced to 84 mg (+the salt I added back), and 10 g of sugar. The original sodium was 1400 mg and 7 g of sugar. That’s a whopper of a drop in sodium. *It’s almost impossible to buy the already prepared “refried beans” with low/no salt, but it’s easy to buy the salt free pinto beans and make tasty refried beans.

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This looks promising:

La Banderita Blue Corn Small Street Taco Tortillas, 14.9 oz, 18 Count $2.24 [Walmart]

I tried these and if heated and tasty food is put on them, they are okay, but unheated, and eaten by themselves they are almost tasteless. I prefer the more salty blue corn tortilla chips, or a blue corn taco shell (split) and heated.

The surprising health benefits of blue corn tortillas

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*I did buy a bag of milk chocolate chips, but later noted that they charged me $1.10 more than the listed price. I had taken a picture of the bag and the price and it showed $4.69 but on the ticket it was $5.79. Have to go back for that refund.

They applied the refund to my credit card at my request, but when I told the clerk that I was planning to go get another bag of chocolate chips, she told me they would correct the price at the register, but I would not be able to go back for more. I noted that all the Ghiradelli chocolates were priced at $4.69. Earlier this week I heard WRAL say that some persons who were told they would get a refund at Harris Teeter, did not get the refund, so this is something to keep track of. Just because they say they have refunded you, you need to make sure.

[end]

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• Goya Low-Sodium Refried Pinto Beans 240mg 10%
• Amy’s Beans Refried Traditional Low Sodium Organic 190mg 8% $5.06 15.4 oz. can

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