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<\/a><\/p>\nThe one advantage of going to the Altabrisa branch at around 6:00 PM is I could take advantage of Sushi Nights at Sushi Co, where for pairs of eligible items, you only pay for the more expensive ones. Not quite two-for-one, but almost!<\/p>\n
The first Sunday of the month, I did my first really big, multi errand run. I went for a swim, then headed up to Decathlon to get a backpack and then Chedraui for groceries, as well as some clothes shopping in the plaza.<\/p>\n
In this pic, you can see the black insulated backpack that arrived at the end of the day, too late for this grocery run, but which has served me well since. It’s fantastic as it has a ton of compartments, so you can securely stow and organise all your food without squishing anything.<\/p>\n But more significant are the other two backpacks. I wanted a little nylon one like the purple that I could use as a purse, as it would not take up any space in my U1S basket. Such a backpack was like $500 on Amazon. I came out of Decathlon with the two backpacks and new swim goggles for about $400. This was my first bit of evidence that the U1S was going to save me money.<\/p>\n The folks at Pilates have been super thoughtful and leave the gate open so I can park in the entrance, avoiding me having to street park and fiddle with a lock.<\/p>\n I don’t just get produce from the fruter\u00eda. Once a week, I like to pick up some pancakes (that come with honey and sweetened condensed milk) to have with some sausage or bacon. I used to order from a restaurant once a month, and that was like 5 times the price of this tray for practically the same thing.<\/p>\n There were a couple of days without fruit trays, so I special ordered one:<\/p>\n Here are the caimito I went out for on my first night of freedom:<\/p>\n Dodger decided to become a proper lap cat in March.<\/p>\n One Tuesday late morning, I was sitting at home thinking that I really wanted a BBQ chicken, then remembered it was Tuesday, when there is a promo. Not even 30 minutes from that thought, I was tucking into some chicken, after a short ride that is a very long walk. There’s no wait at the restaurant as it’s basically a chicken assembly line and they have your order packed by the time it’s paid.<\/p>\n Mid March, the much anticipated Fresko market by La Comer opened across from Costco. This is a high-end store similar to the old Superama that is now a Walmart Express. It is easier to get to on the U1S than Walmart Express, but the parking lot was unfortunately designed by someone who has never parked a car in their life. So that adds a bit of friction to shopping there, otherwise, wow, M\u00e9rida really needed this store. It still will never be the kind of store one would expect a city of this size to have, but the population that would shop here is small. They’re banking on getting some of the Costco traffic, for sure. This is why the reports on the produce section have all been one of disappointment. I certainly wasn’t expecting any improvement over any of the other stores when the Asianmart stopped stocking produce like bok choy because restaurants weren’t buying it since “the local palate doesn’t support it.”<\/p>\n So I was not surprised by the lack of basil in the fresh herbs fridge.<\/p>\n But I was very pleasantly surprised by the carefully curated international cheese selection. I’ve only captured a small sample.<\/p>\n Between Asianmart and Fresko, I’ve got everything but produce covered for international flavours. Asianmart has taken to stocking Indian ingredients, but I’m still going to be supporting G-Spice<\/a> for that, as long as they keep delivering.<\/p>\n Like all supermarkets now, even my neighbourhood Super Aki, there is a section for specialised diets:<\/p>\n Fresko even carries some Costco items!<\/p>\n The cashews were a bit more expensive than Costco, but not enough to go across the street to pick them up.<\/p>\n These sacks of potatoes were perfect for one person who is happy to overdose on potatoes for a couple of weeks and not have potatoes again for the next year, and much, much less expensive than at Costco. They took up a lot of my precious cargo space, but were worth it! A friend had brought me poutine sauce packets from Canada and I get a fresh squeaky cheese from the fruter\u00eda that is close to cheese curds, so I made poutine one night, such a treat!<\/p>\n The selection of fresh pasta was a bit posh, certainly more inspiring than at Walmart:<\/p>\n I bought a lot of these marinated, individually packed, chicken thighs, which eventually inspired me to copy the idea with milanesa-style chicken breast bought in bulk, and at the time of writing on May 4th, I have like 55 portions of chicken breast in six marinades in the freezer, ready for quick meals.<\/p>\n I appreciated that they had small carts, keeping me mindful of my cargo capacity. You can see some items from the deli, which is the kind of thing I was really missing at other stores, and which I pair with my chicken. I had a busy work week where I picked up things like mixed rice, beets with orange, and pasta to put together quick but still relatively homemade meals. The dog food was for some guests I enjoyed spoiling. \ud83d\ude09 You can also see some pumpernickel bread. The bakery at Fresko is like a dream. The Walmart bakery is decent, but the selection is small and you really have to watch the dates. Fresko had so many options, and the best part is they will slice your bread for you. I get several kinds and then freeze for future use.<\/p>\n Here’s a meal from their fresh-prepared items, a lemon pepper chicken thigh with mixed rice. I’ve bought this item several times. It’s not seasoned, so I can finish it to match whatever I’m making. I love the raisins in it!<\/p>\n Fresko has these very convenient veggie trays. Definitely more expensive than the same thing at the fruter\u00eda, but I still grab one if I’m there. The carrots promptly go into a five-spice beef stir fry, with the cucumbers and jicama becoming fridge pickles. This is the kind of thing I needed to make feeding myself well at lot less overwhelming.<\/p>\n My girls respect each other from a distance.<\/p>\n I was heading home from Pilates one morning and thought, ooh, I have some good bread, cheese, bacon, and vegan mayo. Then I had another thought: surely the fruter\u00eda has a tomato that would make a decent sandwich. I would never have gone out of my way for a tomato, now, it’s easy to just pop in and get one. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a tomato sandwich and, let me tell you, they are going back into the rotation!<\/p>\n At the end of March, I rode up to Galer\u00edas to see the delightful “Project Hail Mary,” having my customary giant margarita and ribs at Chili’s first. I’m always impressed by how the margaritas look just like the marketing materials.<\/p>\n I usually go to the Platino theatre — the recliners are worth the extra money! I did something new on this visit. I almost never get food at the cinema since I eat before or after as cinema food is way too expensive for what you get. But I really wanted a coffee and was willing to pay the premium to have it delivered to me while I was sitting comfortably. \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0Aren’t my shoes adorable? I bought them last year, but they pinch a bit when walking, so I never wore them. They’re very comfortable for wearing when riding, protect my toes, and have since stretched out and are comfortable. Glad I didn’t donate them! I’m learning that my chancla size is not my closed shoe size — I had bought sandals by this brand that fit me great, so I never thought that the closed toe variety wouldn’t fit.<\/p>\n I came out of the movie feeling melancholy, on a bit of a high from the optimistic story, but also wishing that real life could make me feel that way. Little did I know, I had a week to go before my spirits would be lifted.<\/p>\n Walking home from a friend’s house one night, a neighbour called me over saying she had fruit. I got the last four caimito of the season for only $25. This is how I used to get caimito, from a neighbour on my Pilates route selling fruit from the tree in his backyard, but he moved. I’m glad to now have two sources!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n