In Review: Fresh & Easy

About a month ago, the first Fresh & Easy Market opened in Riverside. This is a market chain that Tesco (UK) has created. Troy was looking forward to the opening for quite some time, and checked it out before I had the chance to go with him. So, I went to check the store out myself. I have been in Tesco Markets in the UK. Fresh & Easy markets are nothing like Tesco. They really aren't meant to be. I believe the point of Fresh & Easy is the convenience. There are pros and cons to the shopping experience there. There were several things I didn't like about the store. I didn't like how "fresh & easy" doesn't mean healthy. For example, their brand of frozen shepherd's pie has well over 1000 mg of sodium. In fact, most of their frozen and fresh meals are very high in sodium. Another thing I didn't like about the store was that they have everything to make a great pizza...except for pepperoni. The store in Riverside is very small, so other locations may carry pepperoni.
On the other hand, there are also several things I like about the store. They have name brand items for a great price. An Arrowhead 24 pack of bottled water is regularly priced at $3.99. That is the sale price everywhere else. For the most part, the cereal is pretty decently priced. The Hot/Lean Pockets are only $2.18, which is cheaper than Stater Bros. Their baby food products are also pretty cheap. I also have to give Fresh & Easy credit for making Self Check-Out so simple. To be honest, I'm always annoyed by those machines, but the ones at Fresh & Easy live up to their name...they are very easy to deal with.
Troy and I have tried many of Fresh & Easy's brand name items. To sum this review up, I'll just give you the scoop on those items.

Fresh & Easy Wild Blueberry Muffin Mix- I really got my hopes up on this one. The mix comes with a crumb topping, so I was excited to make it. Well, the muffins had no blueberry taste and they were dry. Two thumbs down.
Fresh & Easy Dark Chocolate Bars & Milk Chocolate Bars- These candy bars proved to be delicious and quite a deal at $ 0.38 each!
Fresh & Easy Whole Wheat Pizza Dough- This dough is fresh and easy...seriously. It tastes great and it is really easy to roll out to make a pizza. Its also a great deal at $1.18 each (although, just a month ago when they first opened, they were only $0.99)Fresh & Easy Spanish Rice- This rice had absolutely no taste at all. It's an insult to the Spanish.
Fresh & Easy Canned Olives, Corn, Green Beans, Peaches, Pears, etc. - All their canned veggies and fruits are great tasting and most of them are only $0.79 -$1.49.
Fresh & Easy Fajita Veggies- These veggies are in the "fresh" produce section. They are already cut up and slightly over $2...worth the price if you don't have much time.
Fresh & Easy Strawberry Lemonade- WONDERFUL! You can taste the real strawberries in this! It is pricey though. It is $2 for a small bottle (it serves about 2).
Fresh & Easy Lemonade- After taste the Strawberry Lemonade, it is nothing to write home about.
Fresh & Easy Roasted Garlic Sauce- Great taste and price (I think it is $2.79) If you like garlic, this sauce will suit you!
Fresh & Easy Pizza Sauce- This sauce is a great price ($0.99), but has no taste and it is somewhat bitter. Troy added sugar to it when using it on pizza.
Fresh & Easy Peppermint Water- This water has no sugar in it, just mint and water, and it is very, very refreshing. It also works great to soothe a sour stomach. The price is great too...only $0.79.
Fresh & Easy Mozzarella Cheese (Shredded, 8 oz)- Although I prefer my mozzarella shredded a bit thicker than this package of cheese, it is a great price at only $2.18.

So, there you have it. After looking at this list of food reviews, I think I liked more than I didn't like. I hope you all found this review interesting! Tesco is opening up 48 Fresh & Easy stores, so there is bound to be one opening up by you sometime soon if you live in California. I encourage you to try it for yourselves!