About three weeks ago, I found a recipe for chocolate chip peanut butter cookies that were clean (yes, they really are!) over at DeliciousWisdom.com. (Website is no longer available, sorry!) I’m not going to post the recipe here because, number one, the cookies aren’t technically the point of this post, and two, you can find a ton of clean recipes over at DW, so be sure to check out the entire blog! 
The focus of this post is where do you buy the ingredients or foods you need when you don’t have a health food store? I used to have one about 10 miles from me, so when I saw that the recipe called for whole wheat pastry flour, I decided to make a trek to the health food store the day after I saw the recipe. Much to my surprise, when I pulled up – no sign on the door or the window, no window coverings at all. It didn’t register in my brain until I actually walked up to the door and looked inside at all of those bare shelves that the owner went out of business. Just like that! I was just there a couple months ago! I feel bad for her losing her store, I really do. This economy is tough.
So now what? The next nearest health food store is 40 miles away. Well, I didn’t want the cookies that bad to travel that far. I held out hope that maybe my local Wal-Mart would carry the whole wheat pastry flour since it’s become a “hot item” recently…but no luck. So I tried what I always try when I can’t find something local…I went to Amazon.
Outrageous Shipping Charges
Of course Amazon had what I needed – I actually needed maple syrup in addition to the flour, and so I proceeded to place a 3 lb. bag of flour, a pint of maple syrup, and just for good measure, a box of 24 oolong tea bags in my cart and went to check out. WOW, what a shock! What had been a $30 order suddenly turned into $51! Are you kidding me? $21 for shipping? That is outrageous! Of course these were independent sellers, so I thought since I do try to support small businesses that maybe I could buy at least the flour and the syrup from 1 seller to lower the shipping. Nope. I’m sorry, but I refuse to pay those kinds of prices for shipping!
Go to the Manufacturer’s Website
I knew King Arthur sells specialty flours, but I thought their products were only sold in stores; however, I decided to stop by the KA website and much to my surprise, you can order from there! I ordered up a 3 lb. bag of whole wheat pastry flour, a pint of maple syrup, and some oatmeal pancake mix and my shipping came out to be $8.00. Now, I didn’t get any tea, obviously, but that was just for my own self-indulgence. I really didn’t “need” it, but I did get oatmeal pancake mix instead, so it evens out. I actually saved $16.
Online Health Food Stores
If you live in a rural area, like I do, and you do not have a local health food store, try the manufacturer’s sites first. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, try online health food stores. There are plenty out there that won’t charge an arm and a leg for shipping!
Protect Yourself When Shopping Online
I pay cash for everything, but when I shop online, I try to use my Paypal account because my bank doesn’t offer any protection for debit card purchases. Also, make sure that sites use encryption so you’re not vulnerable to hackers.
By the way, these cookies are absolutely awesome! My kids loved them, even the picky eater, and I noticed this morning after my husband had gone to work that there were quite a few missing. I asked him when he got home from work if he liked those cookies and he said he did, which is a major accomplishment around here! Of course mine aren’t as “pretty” as Nicole’s from DeliciousWisdom, but they taste great and that’s all that matters!
I know what you mean. I just posted a recipe for clean eating chocolate chip cookies in which I use grain sweetened chips, and I had to drive all the way to San Francisco to get them because my local health food store stopped carrying them. Such a bummer. Thankfully, I only have a 30 minute drive to SF, so it’s not the end of the world. But still a pain.
On the other hand, I don’t have chocolate chips in the house very often, so maybe that’s a good thing? lol