ISSUE 25: WHAT I ACTUALLY BUY AT EREWHON
Groundbreaking journalism.
What’s up, gang. I’ve been traveling a lot and honestly really tired and haven’t had anything to say. But here I am, with some updates! I was just in Palm Beach last weekend and will likely do an issue on that SOON, so stay tuned.
HOW TO SHOP AT EREWHON
I have outed myself countless times as an Erewhon shopper, nay, an Erewhon MEMBER, yet also in some ways, its biggest critic (btw Kendall Jenner just came out with an Erewhon smoothie (with maple syrup.))
I love Erewhon, but I also get annoyed by it. (A Balenciaga collab, are you kidding me?)
The strategy to shopping at Erewhon is to not be a dumbass.
To me, that means not buying a jar of marinara you could get at Whole Foods or elsewhere for a whole $2 less (or more). They really do mark-up their packaged products, and in a way that I’m like “oh no, this is like shopping at the airport” aka overpriced for no reason, other than the fact that you’re there. (That said, it is my dream is for Erewhon to open a location inside a terminal at LAX, but that’s another story.)
However, the strategy to shopping at Erewhon (if you want to) is buying things that you cannot buy elsewhere. Treat it like a true specialty store. For me, this includes the hot bar / pre-made food items for when I want something healthy and tasty but do not want to cook. It also includes items that I legitimately cannot find at any other brick-and-mortar store near me and would likely have to order online.
Here’s what I recently bought from Erewhon:
Going clockwise, we have:
Steelhead trout (which tastes like salmon). Before you @ me, let me tell you that I have found 4, yes FOUR, parasites, yes PARASITES in fish that I’ve bought the last few months. (I am going to be writing an issue on this soon). These incidents have basically driven me far away from fish, which is sad because I love fish. This particular day, I really wanted fish, but I was too afraid to buy it at Whole Foods because that was the last place I bought a parasite-infested salmon from (hell.) For the most part, I have faith in Erewhon’s fish sourcing (until it breaks my trust, we’ll see), so I bought this. It was delicious, and there were no parasites.
PureEncapsulations PureDefense w/ NAC. I’ve been traveling a lot, and I picked up this supplement which I usually take if I anticipate going somewhere with a lot of people and germs (I traveled to a big wedding the other weekend). It has Vitamin C, D, Zinc, NAC, Elderberry, and some type of yeast that’s supposedly good for your immune system. Normally, I have to order this online, but they stock it at Erewhon. (Pure Encapulations is a supplement brand that a functional medicine practitioner recommended to me, and I trust it! I normally have to order it from Fullscript, so I love that they have it at Erewhon. I use multiple products from them.)
One Degree Sprouted Brown Rice Crisps. These are like less-processed Rice Krispies (and they use coconut sugar instead of cane sugar). They actually do sell the chocolate version of these at Whole Foods, but not the plain version. I really was wanting to have some cereal on hand (you know, for emergencies), so I bought this. I love night cereal.
Young Kobras Gluten Free Sourdough. This is probably the best gluten-free bread I have tried, which is unfortunate because it costs $12. I originally heard about this brand because my favorite lunch spot in LA (Honey Hi) collaborates with them on a buckwheat loaf that they sell at the café. It’s really good bread (you have to toast it though), and I’ve been topping it with Miyoko’s non-dairy butter. Heaven. I’m gonna go toast one right now.
Goldthread Green Minerals drink. I love this drink. It’s basically an herbal infusion you want to make at home yourself, but you’re absolutely not going to go buy a bag of nettle and alfalfa to have at home. You’re just not. Stop kidding yourself. This flavor is grassy but sweet. It makes me feel like I have a live-in herbalist to make me fresh herbal tonics all day. Her name is Camilla, and she has a passion for flute. I also really like the Elderberry Defense version which has rosehips, cinnamon, and hibiscus (and more!)
Applegate Oven Roasted Chicken Breast. Ok, this is actually sold at Whole Foods (I bought it there yesterday), but in my defense, I had never seen it there before and during this particular trip to Erewhon, I had to go home and make lunch after so I bought this. But you can buy it at Whole Foods. Don’t yell at me!
Epic Protein (my fave protein powder!!!). Shoutout to everyone who has told me they’ve bought this protein powder because of me. If I am an influencer, it is of this protein powder. I’d like to thank everyone who believed in me along the way. They sell these in travel-sized packs at the Pasadena Erewhon (not all other locations, not Silverlake at least!). I bought these because I was out of my big tub, and I actually just found out they sell it at the packaging-free, bulk refill store re_grocery, so I’ve been waiting to do a full restock on the powder there. It’s way more affordable and I’m tired of ordering from Amazon. (It’s way too overpriced to buy full-size at Erewhon IMHO.)
Pique Tea BT Fountain Electrolytes. I’ve talked about these before. They’re like, nice electrolytes that also make you look hot. That’s what the marketing says. Or beautiful, whatever. I bought them because, like I said, I was traveling and it’s good to HYDRATE because PLANES. And to look hot.
Hu Chocolate Chips. I was actually so pumped to find these at Erewhon. This brand (Hu) sells bars and little chocolate-covered nuts at Whole Foods, but the chocolate chips (which are sweetened exclusively with date sugar) are usually only sold online. Well guess what, folks. They’re at Erewhon, and I bought some. I love that they use date sugar and not any other type of sugar or sweetener. I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with them. Hell ya, brother.
That’s everything from the photo above, but I also really enjoy Erewhon’s pre-made soups which are about $15 dollars for a liter jar and probably last me at least three meals. I’d argue that’s a good deal for a high-quality ingredient soup that you don’t have to make, aka wash and prep a ton of vegetables which is the worst part of making soup (in my opinion). My favorite flavors are the coconut red lentil, the vegan Thai basil tomato bisque, and the mighty greens.
I also really do love the hot bar. I am pretty sure the combo plates are a scam though, so I try to get things a la carte so I’m not paying like $26/lb for rice on the side.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of what I will or won’t buy at Erewhon, but I hope it lends some perspective. I’m pretty confident that what I’ve written here is going to change the world, and that the information I’ve provided is absolutely life-saving to people of all walks of life worldwide. It’s really hard to do the work like this, but I was put on this earth to be a martyr. To shed light on what truly matters.
-typed from my burner phone in an undisclosed location
LJ