This post is sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market. All opinions are my own.
I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a media tour at the new Sprouts Farmers Market earlier this week. For almost the last year I have been patiently waiting for a huge, now defunct gym, to become something wonderful. Something new to the community. A Sprouts Farmers Market, that’s what! What’s that you say? You don’t have Sprouts Farmers Market? Well not to worry, while they currently have 277 stores in 15 states, they open approximately 30 new stores a year.
This is not your run of the mill grocery store. Sprouts Farmers Market is known for their produce. Their produce prices are typically 20 to 25% lower than other grocers. The produce is located in the center of the store. You can see the section from the front of the store when you walk in because the shelves are lower. This also allows you to see around the entire store. This new store in Palm Harbor, Florida is well lit, light and bright. Not claustrophobic at all. You can easily see signage from around the store to determine where dairy is, where the bakery is, the deli, etc.
The philosophy behind Sprouts Farmers Market is healthy living for less. They leave it up to their customer to determine what is the “right” healthy living for them, realizing it’s different for everyone. Their offerings include organic, vegan, gluten-free among others. Those Sprouts shoppers following a gluten-free diet can easily find those products because they carry an orange shelf tag.
Sprouts Farmers Market offers a wide variety of grab and go items, a salad bar, which is new to stores, take and bake section with prepared foods like pizza that are uncooked and you prepare at home plus a deli where you can get a sandwich made to order. Beyond the prepared foods, of course they offer beef, pork and poultry. The butcher will also create custom cuts. Need a super thin pork chop, just ask. Their custom cuts of beef are fresh and never frozen. Sausage and beef are ground fresh daily.
I think what I love most about Sprouts Farmers Market, trust me it was hard to pick, is the bulk offerings. There are bulk spices, nuts, snack mixes and even coffee. If you just need one or two cinnamon sticks for a recipe, you can pick them up in the bulk spice section, rather than buying a bottle. Making a recipe for the first time and only need a small amount of a spice you’ve never tried before. Grab just what you need.
Now for a few, possibly little known, facts about Spouts Farmers Market. They have an open sample policy. Wondering how the melons taste? Ask a team member and they will cut it open for you to try. There is a mobile app that includes digital coupons, weekly specials, store locator and the ability to create a shopping list. You can also view the current flyer. They also have double ad Wednesday. That means the previous weeks ad overlaps the coming weeks ad allowing you to shop with more savings.
I’m so happy to have this wonderful new Sprouts Farmers Market in my backyard. As a treat we were given a goodie bag that included their private label lemon snaps which are a delicious lemon cookie. I challenged myself to make a recipe using some of their private label items.
I thought and thought but couldn’t get those lemon snaps out of my mind. So I went back to Sprouts Farmers Market to peruse a little longer. What flavors go with lemon? Well a lot do but I settled on raspberry because it’s a favorite of my husband. So, the result? A no-bake raspberry swirl cheesecake with lemon cookie crust.
Ingredients
- For the Lemon Cookie Crust:
- 1 14 ounce package Sprouts Farmers Market Lemon Snaps
- 10 tablespoons Sprouts Farmers Market butter
- For the Raspberry Coulis:
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons water
- For the filling:
- 2 (8 ounce) blocks Sprouts Farmers Market cream cheese, softened
- 1 14-ounce can (1 1/4 cups) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- To prepare crust for an 8-inch springform pan:
- In a food processor add the Sprouts Farmers Market Lemon Snaps. Pulse until fine crumbs.
- In a medium bowl combine cookie crumbs and butter until all crumbs are moistened. Press, evenly, into 8-inch springform pan. Freeze crust for 2 hours.
- In the meantime prepare raspberry coulis:
- In a small saucepan combine fresh raspberries, lemon juice and sugar. Heat until raspberries begin to break down and a sauce begins to form.
- In a small bowl combine water and cornstarch and add to raspberry mixture. Bring raspberry mixture to a boil, stirring, until thickened. Once thick, strain through mesh strainer to reserve liquid and discard seeds. Set aside.
- To prepare cheesecake filing:
- Using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. Beat in the condensed milk a little at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl, as necessary. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice until well combined.
- Fill prepared crust with cheesecake filling. Spoon raspberry coulis over crust. Using a flat sided knife swirl the coulis into the filling. Smooth top of cheesecake and refrigerate 1 1/2 to 2 hours before serving.
