Vacation Treats

Mom loves to check out grocery stores when she travels. I have no idea why she likes doing this, but she tells me that there are always so many cool things to discover in local grocery stores. Yeah, right.

Last week when we were in Asheville, Mom and Dad stopped at an Earth Fare store. Mom thought she had died and gone to heaven! Dad too, because they had the largest selection of hand-crafted cheeses he had ever seen. I, of course, was back in the cabin, catching up on my sleep, so I didn't personally witness the cheese, but I'll take Dad's word for it. Oh, and if you're wondering, no cheese was brought back to the cabin. Nope, none.

Earth Fare has stores in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. They are a full service supermarket that doesn't sell any bad stuff. They were one of the first supermarket chains to eliminate added trans fats in the form of partially hydrogenated oils from its foods, they do not sell sucralose, and you will never find high fructose corn syrup on their shelves.

Check out their food philosophy, which is posted on their website:

We sell foods as close to the ground as it gets. Products with these ingredients/processes WILL NOT BE SOLD at Earth Fare :

• NO hydrogenated or partially- hydrogenated oils added trans-fats
• NO high fructose corn syrup
• NO artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners & preservatives
• NO antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones or animal by-products in the feed (fresh meats & milk)
• NO bleached or bromated flour
• NO irradiated single source spices, produce or meat
• NO animal by-products in pet foods
• NO inhumane treatment of the animals providing us with dairy, meat and eggs

Only good stuff at this store. All produce had a little sign indicating the state or country of origin. This helps consumers to eat as local as possible. Mom wishes that we had an Earth Fare store close to us, but all we have are the more well known natural supermarkets.

While Mom and Dad were checking out the store looking for cool new products, Mom came across this:

I normally get a Mr. Pugsley treat or two each day, but these caught Mom's eye because of the little blue sign in the middle of the box: Buy 1 box & we donate 1 meal. She grabbed a box, saw that the flavor was mac & cheese (finally some cheese for me!), and threw them in her basket. Yeah! More treats for Stubby!

When Mom got back to the cabin, she turned on the computer to see what the deal was with the new treats. They are made by Castor & Pollux, a company that makes the highest quality organic and natural pet food. They are also the founding sponsor of freekibble.com, and they've provided freekibble shelters with more than 55 tons of pet food and financial support. Wow! A company that cares and gives back. How cool is that?

I was so excited when Mom told me about my new treats that I knew that I had to tell you guys about them. If you're wondering where you can buy them, check out http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/ to find a store near you or to buy them online. They are super delicious and what dog doesn't like mac & cheese?

You can even sign up to get a free trial bag of Organix dog or cat food on their website. Click here and just give them your name and e-mail address, and they will send you an e-mail with instructions on how to get your free bag. I signed up on a few days ago and I am eagerly awaiting my new chow. I love my Bill Jack, but I'm always up for trying new kibble.

And don't forget to vist http://www.freekibble.com/ to play their daily bow wow trivia. For each correct answer, they donate 10 pieces of free kibble to shelter animals.