Blogging may be more unhealthy than working the West Virginia mines. At least that’s what I imply whenever my doctor gives me that look —- you know the one —- after I step on the scales in her office.

“You should start exercising,” she’ll say, moving the thick black weight further and further to the right, my heart sinking with every little divot she skips over.

“I know, I know,” I respond, then proceed to plead my case. Who has time to jog or ride a bike or work the weights when this damn blog has to be fed? And you know how this blog gets fed? I have to feed myself!

It’s a vicious cycle.

Which is part of the reason why I stopped at Glut Food Co-Op in Mount Rainier today on my way to the City Paper sweatshop. I hadn’t been to the neighborhood since a friend told me that Quest for Fresh, that mysterious multi-cultural vegan restaurant, closed up shop.

Glut leans so hard to the left with its dirty-stinkin’-hippie selections and socialist ethics (“Glut is democratically managed by staff members [the collective] who share equal responsibility for the store. You might say there is no manager or better yet – every collective member is a manager”) that it makes Whole Foods seem like Dittohead HQ, which, come to think of it, it probably is.

Glut is so funky that it apparently refuses to fix the sign affixed to its squat brown-brick building on 34th Street. Or maybe the “collective” managers just can’t come to a consensus over whether to add the ‘t” back onto “Glu.” I do dig Glu’s ultra-crunchy vibe, even though, I have to admit, I always feel the need to go feed the homeless or shoot out my car tires whenever I leave there. There’s something about the place that makes you feel like an ugly American consumer.

Which I most certainly was this morning.

Given that the bosses insist I blog my way through the day —- often relying on Adams Morgan take-out or, worse, City Paper vending machines for lunch —- I decided to stock up on some (relatively) tasty and healthy snacks to keep at the desk while I look for items to steal for the Y&H blog. With its ample selection of bulk items (including what may be the most impressive collection of spices and herbs anywhere), Glu(t) was the perfect place for foraging.

I bought sulphured apricots ($1.20 for almost one-third pound), lightly sugared papaya ($1.24 for nearly half a pound), bulk Brazil nuts (which I adore despite its $6-plus-a-pound price tag), and a bag of Michele’s Granola, a hand-blended product made in small batches in Baltimore. I bought the “Ginger Hemp” blend ($5.99 per 14-ounce bag), which lists “hemp seeds” as the fifth ingredient (after rolled oats, unsweetened coconut, sunflower seeds, and pure cane brown sugar).

I was pleasantly surprised by my hippie granola. It’s not hard and/or sticky sweet like commercial granola bars; nor is saturated with honey or maple syrup like about every other granola out there. Michele’s golden snack has a light, airy crunch, and it prefers to emphasize its seedier elements —- pumpkin and sunflower seeds —- over the fruit and other sweeteners that dominate many granolas. The brown sugar sweetness of Michele’s ginger hemp is noticeable, for sure, but it prefers to play a background role, which may not please those who want a fructose/glucose rush with their “health” food.

My only complaint? I didn’t taste so much ginger, which is a problem with a product that advertises it as a featured ingredient.