Mini Whole Foods Haul

I made a quick trip to Whole Foods today. I wanted to get some baking supplies and some snacks.

• mixed berries
• spelt flour
• organic apple sauce - plain and cinnamon
• organic butternut squash soup
• Lemon Zest Luna bars
• Peanut Butter Pretzel Cliff Mojo bars
• Chocolate Peanut Cliff Mojo bars

I try to get only produce and items that I can't get elsewhere at Whole Foods, because everything is soooo expensive. However, their 365 line is pretty affordable.

I'll be using the spelt flour and plain apple sauce in some baked goods. Instead of gorging on processed or other unhealthy desserts, I'm going to be baking some of my own over the next few weeks leading up to the holidays. :)

~ Susan

WIAW #3

It's Wednesday, here's the stuff I ate on... Tuesday. :) Thanks for hosting, Jen!


For breakfast I ate some hard-boiled eggs that I made the night before.

Does anyone else ever have trouble remembering how you're supposed to make these? I always have to Google the correct technique (i.e., am I actually supposed to boil them?) and the correct time before I make these. For the record, I let the eggs sit in warm water that was an inch higher than the eggs in the pot for about 30 minutes so that they wouldn't go through the temperature change as quickly. Then I brought the pot of water to a rapid boil. As soon as the water started boiling, I removed the pot from the heat, put on a lid, then waited 15 minutes before removing the eggs.

I think I may have let these boil for too long (I didn't really stand around watching them) because the shells were a bit hard to get off.

For a morning snack, I had a serving of banana chips. Pretty good. I've never tried banana chips before; I picked them up on a whim during my trip to Trader Joe's earlier in the week. I actually wanted a real banana, but we didn't have one.

I ate them while enjoying my free Redbox Rental... "Magic Mike." My friend told me to fast forward through all of the portions dedicated to plot development, lol. It felt like a slightly naughtier version of "Step Up."

It was kind of funny - I didn't realize Neil Caffrey, Eric Delko, and Sam Merlotte knew each other. ;p

I didn't feel like eating lunch around my lunch time... a huge mistake because I was ravenous by the time I got off of work at 9 P.M. During work I ate two Granny Smith apples.

I also ate two mini Midnight Milky Way bars from the candy dish at work.

I was starving by the time I got home, so I quickly made a green sandwich.

So delicious! But I was still hungry, so I made a slice of Coconut Vanilla French toast for dessert.

Then, to top it off, I had two mini gingerbread men.



I obviously have a raging sweet tooth. O.o I need to figure out how to keep my craving for sugar at bay.

~ Susan

MIMM: Back to Basics

I hope you had a great weekend and a Marvelous Monday!

Today I enjoyed my Favorite Breakfast: Coconut Vanilla French Toast!

I tried out these cute little sample sizes of Sweet Leaf Liquid Stevia Sweet Drops I got off of Amazon:

There are four different flavors:

Vanilla Creme, Lemon Drop, Chocolate Raspberry, and Valencia Orange. I used the Vanilla Creme in my french toast... I'll have to think of ways to use the other three. Any ideas?

I've tried NuNaturals Liquid Stevia in the past. The Sweet Leaf Vanilla Creme didn't seem as sweet/flavorful NuNaturals' vanilla liquid stevia. I'll just use more next time.

Then I went to the gym to get in a good work out. I didn't gain any weight over the Thanksgiving holiday, but I don't feel as light as I did before. So it's time to really kick it in the gym and to get back to a more fruit and vegetable-centric way of eating.

I'm trying to eat the ABCs every day:

A is for apples

B is for bananas

C is for carrots (and coconut oil!)

These are just my favorite fruits/veggies, so they're the easiest for me to include in my eats. By snacking on these throughout the day, I don't ever feel crazy ravenous or crazy stuffed. I'm sure in a couple of days I'll feel light on my feet once again. :)

What are your favorite fruits and veggies?

~ Susan

WIAW #2

It's Wednesday and I ate some stuff!


Thanks, Jenn, for always hosting!

I had a bunch of stuff to do this morning, including going to the gym and walking the dog, so I ended up skipping breakfast. O.o

For lunch I had a banana and cacao coconut butter. One of favorite combinations recently.



 My banana was a bit under-ripe. I used to HATE any spots on my bananas, and preferred them slightly green to what I considered "over-ripe." Now, I like my bananas spotty. :)

At work I had a Cashew Cookie Larabar for a snack.

I also gave into temptation and had two Fun-sized Snickers from our Halloween stash. An excellent reason for eating breakfast - it helps you make better choices throughout the day. Surprisingly, we still have a bunch of candy left from Halloween even though my kids seem to eat tons every day.

I got home and has a pasta bowl for dinner. The bowl contained some pasta, tomato sauce, smoked mozzarella, and a whole bag of spinach. I like to bulk up my pasta with spinach because it adds nutrients, it tastes just as good, it keeps me full for longer without the heavy feeling one gets after over-indulging in carbs.

I'm still hungry, but it's really close to my bedtime, so I'm turning in. I'll definitely eat breakfast tomorrow!

Do you always eat breakfast?
 
How do you like your bananas? Spotty, yellow, or green?

~ Susan

 

My Trip and the DietBet are Over!

I got back from San Francisco a couple days ago and have been dealing with some major jetlag... I'm sure it wasn't helped by the fact that my friend and I stayed out until 3 A.M. most nights (6 A.M. my time)! During the day I visited museums.

Cute Frog at the Aquarium

Alcatraz

I really enjoyed the city. I feel as though there's a much greater emphasis on green living - most of the food I saw in grocery stores was organic, there was a lot of public transportation, and tips about going green were posted EVERYWHERE!

Here are the top tips:

• Use public transportation or walk to work
• Shop locally and eat organic whenever possible
• Keep toxic substances out of storm drains
• Pick up litter before it gets carried into the water
• Buy recycles products and choose items with minimal packaging
• Bring cloth bags with you when you shop
• Use a stainless steel water bottle
• Eat sustainable fish and seafood
• Always recycle
• Plant a tree - well-placed trees around your house can reduce energy use
• Buy CFL light bulbs
• Unplug TVs, computers, and other electronics when they're off

Luckily, all of the walking and biking we did around the city helped me keep the weight off that I needed to in order to win my DietBet!

I also got to see some lovely houses. :)

It seems that more people were able to reach they're goals this round, because the payout was less than last time. This time, I concentrated on eating clean throughout the DietBet and I was able to reach my goal early on. Sarah says that there will be another Bet starting January 1. I'll probably join in for that one too!

~ Susan

October 2012 Eco Emi

Eco Emi is a monthly green product sampler service. Each month, for $15 (or $30 for non-U.S. residents), members receive between five and ten samples of organic makeup, skincare, candles, food, and/or other items.

I like the orange and black packaging. The confetti pieces are cute too. Here's what this box contained:

Star Anise & Coffee Handmade Natural Soap by Dew Puff.

ZenSociety Tea Tree Facial Cleanser.

SheaRadiance Maximum Curl Defining Cream.

The All Natural Face Vegan Lip Gloss in Copper Kisses.

Get Clean Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate.

Ola! Vanilla Almond Granola.

Organic Smoothie Fruit Snacks by Tasty Bite.

Today was also the first day of POTM! I walked 9 miles today!! :) I'm visiting my friend in San Francisco - it is crazy hilly here!!! I'm positive my glutes got a good work out. Tomorrow I'm going to try to find a slightly flatter area to go for a jog.

Crazy hills!

Mileage today: 9 miles

Total mileage: 9 miles

~ Susan