I’ve never kept it a secret that I’m not loyal to one grocery store. Before Hailey I’d go to 3 different stores to get the best prices. I’ve also sung the praises of Charlotte’s new Whole Foods, but on a weekly basis, I can’t make it down to South Park to shop there and it wouldn’t make fiscal sense for me to by ALL our groceries from there. That’s why I shop hop.
There is a Food Lion close to where I live and a few months ago they revamped it into a really nice store. It’s a Carolina company, starting it Salisbury, NC and their prices can’t be beat when I need to pick up some basics.
…like wine. Their private label cabernet was delish!
Last night, I was invited with several other bloggers to a Food Lion Cook Off Challenge hosted at Flex and Fit, an amazing fitness facility in uptown Charlotte. Yes, we call it uptown… sounds a little pretentious, huh?
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the event was SO much fun. Ever watch Top Chef and wish you could be a part of it? Me too!
They divided us into teams, then gave us our scenario: we had to create a dinner for 4 in under 30 minutes and under 15 dollars using the Food Lion stocked pantry and fridge.
Chaos erupted in the kitchen as we all scurried to the burners and started to prep.
It was hectic, but everyone worked really well together, sharing the crazy equipment, including the fancy microwave I couldn’t figure out how to work. I literally pushed random buttons until it turned on.
My awesome teammate, Alessandra, were quite impressed with ourselves for pulling our dish together with only two of us (the other teams had three members), and most importantly had so much fun!
Chicken and mozzarella roll up with a mushroom cream sauce over sautéed mushrooms and onions in a white wine sauce and baked curry apples.
Enough to serve 4 people for $13.01 (!!!)
We then presented our dish to the judges, had them taste, then sipped wine and mingled while waiting for the results.
Though we didn’t win first place, we made off with a haul of goodies, a $100 gift card and the experience of meeting the amazing people of Food Lion.
With Kelly and Katie, two of the WINNERS!
Everyone there was incredibly personable and welcoming. I love chatting with Cathy, president of Food Lion about her surfing injury. Surfing? Yes, she is cool.
Oh, did I mention my mom and dad were there too?
I think I was the only blogger who brought my parents 
– haha. They just arrived in town. My dad has a conference to attend and mom is helping me prep for Hailey’s party, so on that note, I’m off to go meet her!
Do you shop at Food Lion?
Let me know, because I miiiiiight just have a little something to give away to you from the awesome folks of Food Lion!
Erica says
What an awesome activity! I don’t work well under pressure though so I would have just caved and burned everything!
Kathy says
Wow! What an awsome experience for you. I know my mind would just freeze up trying to come up with the meal in 30 min. in a kitchen I was not familiar with. Great Job Brittany!
emily s says
Look like so much fun! And congrats, Kelly 🙂
Emily Watson says
What fun! And yes, I shop at Food Lion, like yours, they recently re-vamped our local store, and it’s very nice! Easy to stop in and grab what you need, and good weekly specials!
Whitney says
Yes! Hubs and I shop at Food Lion. We have one very close to us! 🙂 Looks like you had a lot of fun!!
Susan @ Real Life Travels says
How fun! As for shopping; I WILL be 😉
Katie says
What a fun experience! I split my grocery shopping between Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and Target/SuperTarget – depending on where the best deals are! Food Lion is my ‘go to’ spot if I need something and it is not on sale at Harris Teeter!
Jenny says
Looks like so much fun!! Nice work on te dinner and the price can’t be beat. I alternate between grocery stores but Food Lion is in my rotation. Their price are very reasonable and honestly I usually have good luck when looking for something like canned pumpkin for a recipe(went to 3 stores looking yesterday with no luck. Stopped at Food Lion as my last resort and voila. They had it!!)
Bobbie says
I shop at Food Lion do often that my little daughter claps her hands when she sees the lion. Good luck on your 10k this weekend 🙂
Christie says
How fun! I would love to participate in a Top Chef style challenge, but definitely as a judge 😉
I have always shop hopped as well for best prices and quality. I visit everything around my home- Harris Teeter, Lowe’s, Walmart, Food Lion, Fresh Market, Healthy Home Market & Earth Fare. I definitely have those I prefer and those I prefer to avoid, but am all about saving money when I can.
Glad you had fun! Oh, and love that dress!
Christie says
Oops- top! I thought it was a dress =)
pavana says
Looks like it was fun! I do shop at Food Lion…great deals! Happy birthday to your sweet little girl!
Jen@HealthyFoodandFamily says
How fun!!!!
Amanda says
I managed to stop by 5 different grocery stores yesterday so I know how it is! Gotta keep up with the sales and save some money! 🙂
Maria says
I grew up with Food Lion (in our one horse town, it was the only option we had!) and miss it here in California. But, I do shop there when I go home to VA, so I’d be down for a giveaway 😉
That looks like so much fun by the way and your dish looks delicious! I need to experience a fancy Food Lion!
Tiff (@LoveSweatBeers) says
Wow – that’s so awesome! I’m so happy they reached out to the blogging community like that. Although I have shopped at Food Lion in the past (love their My Essentials basics like canned tuna, veggies, etc.), I quit since I could never find all that I needed there.
Colby says
I am the same as you with my grocery hopping.. however Food Lion is great for staples, especially pantry staples. My favorite Food Lion is down on Shears Rd.. I have even witnessed them filming a commercial there before:)
Hopefully I will see you at the race this weekend…doing my first 5K…EVER…3 1/2 months AFTER having a baby lol.
Presley @ Run Pretty says
I shop there occasionally, but ours hasn’t been updated like that!
RhodeyGirl says
This looks like so much fun! What was the winning dish?
kristi says
I shop at Food Lion, Harris Teeter, and Whole Foods. Luckily all 3 are close to my house so its not too terrible to hop around. I do wish they’d revamp my Food Lion!!!
Elizabeth says
I went there while at the beach last weekend and was happy to find a decent organic/natural food section 🙂
Sarah says
This looks like so much fun! We shop at Food Lion a lot. There are a ton of them around here, but one is less than five minutes away. Very convenient!
lindsay @ fuelmyfamily says
i have recently started shopping there more actually. They have their own brand of organic milk that is pretty cheap
Ali Macaluso says
This was SO MUCH FUN!!! So happy to have met you. Love that our inner “Monica Gellar”s got to come out! Great pics!!