Mariano’s Health Key System [Recipe: Vegan Lemon Quinoa Salad]

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love grocery shopping the way most women love shoe shopping. Most large cities are notorious for having slim pickings when it comes to grocery stores — I remember shopping in New York City at a corner market where the produce barely looked edible. In Chicago, in my neighborhood alone, there are five grocery stores, including Mariano’s, which is basically a wonderland for someone who loves the grocery store like I do. Not only does Mariano’s offer a produce section that would make any farmer jealous, they offer a health key™ system, colored tags that are placed under products through the store to indicate whether that product is organic, local, gluten free, low sodium, heart healthy, whole grain, vegan…you get it.

Although I have probably spent an above average amount of time in the grocery store, the Mariano’s health key system is perfect for the shopper who doesn’t choose to spend their time circling the salad bar or lurking at the cheese counter hoping that the cheese monger just happens to be slicing up a triple creme something to give you free samples.

So, that’s beside the point.

When Mariano’s moved into my area a few years ago I fell in love with the store. Fun fact: if you need a cheeseburger at 10:00 a.m. for a television segment prop, they can help you with that. If you live in the Chicagoland area you have probably been to a Mariano’s and you have probably left with something healthier than what you even intended to by (the aforementioned triple creme cheese counter indulgence not withstanding).

One of my most recent Mariano’s purchases was so simple, that I almost shouldn’t admit that it’s taken me this long to fall in love. Quinoa. It’s been a trendy ingredient for quite some time now, but until recently, my consumption had been limited to the Quinoa Chicken Chili at Protein Bar and the occasional salad bar splurge. Like most healthy foods, it was a cinch to make at home.

via:http://ingoodtasteblog.net/in_good_taste/2014/01/marianos-health-key-system-recipe-vegan-lemon-quinoa-salad.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ingoodtasteblog%2FgeTG+%28In+Good+Taste%29