Best West Coast Markets

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Written By Nikki Bostwick

Seasons change and so do our patterns. As we get deeper into fall with winter right around the corner, our lives tend to slow down and we go into nesting mode. Shorter days and longer nights have us spending more time at home, with family, and inside, which also means more time in the kitchen. More indoor time can occasionally drive us crazy, so we find excuses to go out, like more frequent trips to the grocery store, planning dinner parties and daydreaming about all the hearty soups we’ll be making.Since we’ve spent so much time on road trips up north and as we get grounded and prepare ourselves for a time of hibernation—we made a list of our favorite markets along the West Coast to stock up. Whole Foods is awesome, but nothing beats the local markets in your city and usually these spots offer way more lifestyle specific, local foods than a big chain like Whole Foods. We want to share with you places that meet or exceed our standards and bring a smile to our faces when we walk in and smell that natural-food-store smell that we love so much.  1) Erewhon Market//Los AngelesWhen you’re in LA, or near Calabasas, stock up on clean foods, or just take a peak at the beautiful Erewhon for yourself. Everything here is organic—their salad bar is organic, bakery is organic, flowers…okay maybe not the flowers, but you get the picture. This market is as high-end/luxury/clean-food as it gets—no joke. This is the place to shop and also to run into celebs like Owen Wilson, who we happened to run into at the Calabasas location the other day. Erewhon’s house-made paleo bread is to die for. We love being able to add avocado halves to our salads straight from the salad bar, plus they have the best selections of dressings around—all are free of processed oils and artificial ingredients (you know how we feel about that). Their tonic bar serves bulletproof coffee and makes nutrient packed “Green Goddess Superfood Ice Cream.”Things to stock up on:

  • Bone Broth-organic and freshly made-a definite staple in their cold section + sometimes you may be lucky enough to ask for some while it’s still warm in the crockpot.
  • Apricot Lane Farm Eggs-they sell out within hours-make sure to go on Saturday at 10am.

  2) Mother’s Market//Orange CountySince their humble beginnings as a group of yogis searching for more natural foods, Mother’s Market has expanded throughout OC. We like to custom order our organic green juices (way more veggie options than Whole Foods) and grab a raw hummus and sunflower seed wrap from the deli. Right now they have a special Philosophie smoothie with cacao and bananas—SO GOOD. This market is a vegetarian’s dream-come-true, and if you missed your weekly trip to the farmer’s market, this is the place to go for produce.Things to stock up on:

  • Raw Green Dream Soup-from the deli, an insanely delicious and nutrient dense creamy avocado base soup with lots of greens, lime and a hint of red bell pepper for sweetness. Take it home, top it off with Parma + raw sauerkraut, and you’re in clean foodie heaven.

  3) Rainbow Grocery//San FranciscoThis worker owned co-op has the biggest and best bulk section ever. All sorts of wild dried fruit with no added sugars, a raw bulk kimchi/kraut section, raw local cheeses—everything we want and more. We found at least seven varieties of almond milk here and couldn’t decide which one we liked best, so we bought a few (The Living Apothecary + Pop & Bottle took the final win). Because it’s a worker-owned, worker-run co-op, any money that we spend here doesn’t go to some big corporation—it stays pretty local and we love that. If you’re ever in SF, this grocer is a must.Things to stock-up on: 

  • Bread SRSLY-this bread is the winner of Poppy and Seed’s favorite gluten free vegan bread. It’s the best—and no added yeasts! You can enjoy it at restaurants around SF, like Nourish Café, or buy it yourself and make a bomb avocado toast-Nikki’s ridiculous avo toast is topped off with sea salt, lemon and cayenne.
  • Marin Living Foods Almond Milk- for the days we want plain almond milk and are too lazy to make our own. Made only with raw sprouted almonds and water.

  4) New Seasons Market// Portland, OregonWhenever we go to New Seasons, people are literally dancing and singing—shopping isn’t usually this fun. It’s obvious why these stores are spreading like wild-fire, they’re a positive force in the world offering so many health-conscious foods and operating at 92% zero waste—is this for real? We’re obsessed with the build your own wok station: grab a bowl, fill it with your favorite veggies, add sauce (we usually go for the vegan coconut curry), top with noodles and shop around while they work their magic.Things to stock up on:

  • Stirs the Soul raw chocolate-awesome flavors like orange goji & cayenne cinnamon Pixie Retreat  raw food in the grab and go section-super convenient and clean-we like the kale salad with mac nut cheese and the bakn’ cheez burger collard wrap.

  5) Lazy Acres// Santa Barbara + Long BeachThe OG Lazy Acres is in Santa Barbara, but we just discovered they have another one in Long Beach! If we’re in SB we always stop by incase we forget our growing collection of superfoods. They do a good job with curating raw, vegan and paleo foods and of course we love that they also support local businesses like our friends at Sunpotion-a transformational foods company that started in the hills of SB.Things to stock up on:

  • Sunpotion’s PRASH-a super healing blend of Ayurvedic herbs based in ghee and sweetened with honey-we like it on coconut yogurt in the AM.
  • Grazier’s raw sharp cheddar cheese-a definite upgrade from traditional processed cheese-all you need are some crackers + wine and you’re ready for a picnic at Butterfly Beach.

  6) Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op// Sacramento, CaliforniaOne of our favorite spots in Sacramento is the natural foods co op. Their produce is really fresh, obviously because we are near farmland, so when they say local, they mean it. They have awesome microbrews, a great deli, and lots of specialty products for us picky foodies.Things to stock up on:

  • Sugar Plum Vegan’s paleo/vegan/grain free/ insanely delish baked goods. Snickerdoodle cookies and chocolate coconut paleo prints- we are in heaven
  • Obis one black garlic cloves: peeled, fermented and highly addictive- not to mention like really really good for you.

  7) Jimbos//San Diego, CaliforniaJimbo-you stud you-we can’t think of anyone else as dedicated to the natural foods industry as you. Jimbo literally started his first job working at a co-op for 13 years, then went off to start his own—and not to mention, with loads of intention. An outspoken advocate against GMO’s from the beginning, he is definitely on our list of heros. Jimbo’s stores have popped up all over San Diego.Things to stock up on:

  • Back to Life raw, organic, vegan foods-our favorites are the raw sprouted falafel and raw basil arugula pesto-usually devoured in the car, before we have a chance to take it home and share it with anyone else (shhhhh).

  8) PCC Natural Market// Seattle, WashingtonPCC is another member-owned co-op that is another go-to when in the area. Their West Seattle store has a full kitchen inside for demos and classes and we love their deli-with loads of organic roasted veggies, green salads and quinoa tabbouleh. When we were amateur vegans we would stop by and grab some baked vegan Mighty-O-Donuts and although they are still made with soy-flour and canola oil, we must admit we like to buy them for the fam as a somewhat healthier version than the regular store bought kind.Things to stock up on:

  9) Berryvale Market// Mt. Shasta, CaliforniaA must stop right off the 5 freeway for those long road trips-Berryvale’s vibe takes us back to the days Nikki lived in Oregon and daydreamed about being a hippy (not in a million years). They have all the staples to get you through a long drive: kale chips, water, juice bar, deli, and coconut kefir.Things to stock up on:

  • Castle Rock Spring Water-One of the first places we discovered this insanely pure water- it was only available to purchase at Berryvale, right by the water’s Mt. Shasta source. The glacier to glass promise is huge for us and we like to support that mission as much as possible—so load up.

  10) Nature's Health Food and Cafe// Palm Springs, CaliforniaWe love that they carry so many different flavors of raw food guru David Wolfe’s Sacred Chocolate here. Anytime we head over to the desert, we start the weekend with a stop at Nature’s.Things to stock up on:

Nikki Bostwick
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