Tienda Super Naturista, A Lifestyle Game-Changer!

Bienvenido, loyal reader. Please join Bruce and Mary as they discover, what is in their experience, a very unique store, in the heart of Merida. As usual for those of you who prefer to view these posts from the original blog-site, please click here.

We are walking towards Lucas de Galvez when I happen to spy a tienda, store, across the street that looks to be an organic foods store. Now we have walked into many organic foods stores (there is even a small organic foods section at our Walmart) and walked out pretty disappointed. Now we don’t have a great desire for organic foods so much as vegan foods. You see two of our kids, Sammy and Helen,  are pretty strict vegans (but Joe still loves his burgers) so this makes Mary a vegan wannabee and the party line for me is that if it tastes good, I’ll eat it, vegan or otherwise. Over the years I have chowed down on a number of pretty tasty vegan dishes. And of course I am well aware of the health benefits (and yes, green/political benefits, Helen) of vegan eating. So we are compelled to cross busy Calle 56 and check this place out, fully prepared to be disappointed once more.

Tienda Super Naturista, Calle 56, 61 y 63.

OK, we’ll go right to the game changer, and what we spot first off (Mary practically swooned), is Nutritional Yeast, or Brewer’s Yeast, or in this case, Levadura de Cerveza. This is a key ingredient in so many vegan dishes, as it adds an important nutritional,  taste and texture factor. Our vegan friends have been bringing this back from the States and Canada.

Agave syrup, the vegan sweetener. Funny that here in the land of Tequila, Agave is so hard to find.

Organic cereal and high fiber cookies. Say, General Mills readers, are any of these products yours?

Another home run, soy burgers and more!

We hadn’t seen almond milk since the States.

We are very pleased to see gluten-free foods as gluten intolerance is an issue in our family.

Soy flour for all your gluten-free baking needs.

Organic tea.

Attention body builders! Here is a huge selection of protein powders, MRPs, and other supps.

For your fiber needs.

Finally, reasonably priced, high quality fish oil. I can stop hauling mine from the States.

Organic shampoo.

Organic hair color.

Organic soap.

Organic sandals?

They even have Colloidal Silver! Our friend Jaromey will be thrilled as she has been hauling this anti-bacterial agent from Canada all the years she has been down here. Mary decides to buy some for the next time we are fighting a bug.

A view from the back of the tienda.

And a view from the front.

Bernabe and Rosy are very helpful.

Year long memberships are only 150P and give significant discounts on already low prices for every product in the store. Mary signs up with Diana on the spot.

And here are the ingredients for our first creation utilizing our new found goods: Tahini Spread. And here I will let Mary take over, supplying you with the recipe as these things are way over my head: 1-12 oz. block of Tofu (oddly, Super Naturista does not carry tofu, yet, but you can find it, and Tahini at Pacsadeli) 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast; 1/4 cup Tahini; 1/2 tsp. Turmeric; Salt and  Pepper to taste; 1 stalk Celery, chopped; 1/4 cup chopped Onion; 1/4 cup Walnuts, or Pecans, chopped; 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped, (or microplaned if you are so fortunate, and for this I thank you Sue!) Here is where you can add what you have on hand, anything goes at this point! We added chopped Wild Caperberries, another Pacsadeli find. Drain the tofu and mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in the refrigerator. This is a delicious, high protein, low fat, very nutritious sandwich spread and we are so thankful that our son Sammy turned us on to this years ago.

Tada! A super healthy and tasty Tahini Spread sandwich. This will be replacing my lunch time Pavo Virginia sandwiches so you  just might have to put up with me a few years longer. Cheers!

Thanks for visiting gentle reader. As you know Bruce loves commentary and acknowledges all, in what he used to call “real time”. Hasta proximo Domingo!