My friend Heather from Our Life in a Click regularly posts on her Trader Joe’s finds. But with a 25-minute drive to the closest Trader Joe’s, Sprouts is the winner for my 5 must-have purchases. For me, Sprouts is the runner up for a beauty pageant. They may not get all the press and appearances online, but they are secretly building their fan base one Medjool date at a time.

I included the photo that I texted my husband when I asked him to pick up a container of date rolls. I was tempted to let him wander for 30 minutes just to give me some alone time! #wink

With our boys at college, our shopping cart is healthier and smaller these days. No more 24 snack packs of assorted chips strapped to the top of the cart with boxes of drink pouches.

What I love about Sprouts and other regional, smaller grocery stores is the convenience of limited choices and a smaller footprint.

I don’t have to walk half a mile to grab a dozen eggs.

Sprouts have maybe eight aisles in total.

But over the summer I discovered Sprouts had my favorite staples and with a smaller store, I was not grabbing stuff I didn’t need.

5 FAVORITES FROM MY SPROUTS GROCERY HAUL

So here are my must-haves from Sprouts.

1. Olive Oil  I love lots of fun bottles next to my oven because it looks like I can actually cook. What’s the saying, fake until you learn how to bake it?

But, I don’t want to spend a ton of money on olive oil for my cooking skill set.  An $8.00 16 oz bottle of olive oil is good enough for my kitchen.

2. A close second is the balsamic vinegar. I also shop here for balsamic vinegar which really bothers my sister.

3. Lemon & Lime Juice: I am loving fresh lemon juice in my water in the morning. I pay a little more for the organic, pure lemon and lime juice, but it lasts a good long time.

It is just one of the strategies I used to kick my soda habit.

4. Medjool dates. I never liked dates. Their squishy texture used to bother me. BUT! The Medjool dates, with cocoa powder or almonds squash my sweet tooth cravings at two in the afternoon.

Somedays I add walnuts or almonds with a date in the middle to make an almond date sandwich. #yummy

5. Cleaning products take up half a shelf at Sprouts. That’s it. If you want 12 versions of Pine-Sol, Sprouts is not the store for you.

But if you want this new favorite cleaning product or an all-purpose cleaner Sprouts has what you need.

Sometimes less is more

6. Okay I bought this cleaning vinegar because I loved the name (I buy wine for the same reason) and it has a citrus scent.

Thanks for stopping by today! What are your favorites at Sprouts?

Here are a few favorites for the kitchen too!