weigh-in #44. grocery haul.

So, today was my weigh-in. It wasn’t pretty. I knew it was going to be horrible, I have been eating horrendously. I have a habit of being perfect, and on point with calories and food decisions up until dinner and blow it all on high calorie binges. This showed in the scale with around a 4 pound gain.

Yep.

I’m not happy about it, I’m not excited. I am ashamed and saddened by it. But, life goes on and this is just a bump in the journey. I’m taking it one day at a time trying to turn it around, and I think that’s all I can do. I’ve also been doing things that I know motivate me. The one thing I can not let myself do is blame myself, to the point I worsen the damage. This is not the end of the world, it’s a gentle nudge to tell me to try harder.

I went to Whole Foods to stock up on things for the fridge. I haven’t really done a proper shop since I’ve come back (I was out of peanut butter and I didn’t even know it) and this was a good start with lots of things that are not only healthy, but have helped keep me in check in the past. I figured a good old grocery haul in image form would be fun, and lighten up the mood in this post.

• Califia Farms unsweetened almond milk
• Califia Farms vanilla almond milk <~ These were still on sale! So excited
• Tofutti sour cream
• Earth Balance

• Bulk popcorn kernels
• 365 ketchup
• 365 crunchy peanut butter
• Mediterranean leek and onion crackers
• Oasis roasted red pepper hummus
• Field Roast meatloaf
• Bulk nutritional yeast

• Grape tomatoes
• Snap/sugar peas
• Baby carrots
• Gala apples
• Cauliflower

I have a lot of pantry items to use and still have some kale and mushrooms from a previous trip, but this I know will help me start getting into a better routine and prepare better meals, along with healthier snacks.

Also, the splurge of the day goes to:

Isn’t she pretty? I loooove glass water bottles (not the price…) and I couldn’t resist because of the size (a whole 22 ounces) and the top. I have a smaller one of the Life Factory bottles with just the screw on top. I love it. It’s durable, the glass is so much easier to clean (and doesn’t start to do that weird scratching/cloudiness that bugs me) and I use it at work all the time. My only problem was the top. I need a water bottle that is a covered top (for safety reasons in the shop), but sometimes I don’t have two free hands so the top was always a nuisance. I think this is going to be the winner in all of my issues with the added bonus of a strap and more ounces. One of the things I’m pushing towards is drinking my water. Now I can leave this one at work, and take my old one home.

Trader Joe’s! Trader Joe’s!

 

Hi!

So normally I would do a video on this, but seeing as I haven’t posted in a while and I do not have the want to fuss with any sort of editing or trying to get my computer to decide it likes me enough to record, I figured that writing a post on it would be the best thing.

Today was the grand opening of Trader Joe’s here in Louisville. As someone who was part of the hundreds who contacted Trader Joe’s store suggestions page, and made many a voyage to Trader Joe’s not within my immediate vicinity this is a dream come true. I knew it would be crowded, and chances are not much left on the shelves but when I got there I found myself pleasently surprise that A) I found a parking spot and B) food was still on the shelves. As an added bonus, there were even shopping baskets!

I had a half day at work today to make up for the fact we’d be going in tomorrow night to strike Tom Sawyer. I know that this played a pivital role in the reason I was able to find that parking spot and food, but luck was on my side today and I wasn’t angry about that. I didn’t want to buy a lot, honestly I just wanted a few things and just to check it out. Get the lay of the land, and see how big it was. It was crowded, no doubt about that, but I was able to make it through and get some things that I wanted.

I decided early on that I wanted at the very least a package of beefless strips. From there I decided that I should actually find some whole meals so I can get some things, not spend all my money on trail mixes (which I got none of, thank you very much). I ended up getting supplies for fajitas/quesadillas. I’ve been in a hotdog mood, and with TJ brand vegetarian packaged foods being a good dollar less than name brand, I figured I would try it out. Especially since I could buy frozen things without fearing that I didn’t pack a cooler enough with ice and the two hour car trip would make it defrost.

I got:

• 3 Cheese Blend
• Beefless Strips (obviously AFTER I opened them)
• Chickenless Strips
• Chile and Garlic Tortillas
• Sour Cream
• Veggie Corn Dogs
• Guacamole Hummus (Not pictured)
• Dried Mango Slices (Not pictured)
• Fire Roasted Pepper Mix (Not pictured)

Am I going to shop at TJ a lot now? No. Trader Joe’s is, and has always been, a treat store. I don’t go there for real whole foods, I go their for packaged items. That being said, the occasional “I’m out of a frozen veggie product run” will always show up, along with the fact that their dried fruit and nuts section by far surpasses anyone in town, means that I will go every now and then. Especially now that it’s just opened up.

I also bought some tofu, which I plan on making a video about. When I first tried to prepare tofu packed in water, I didn’t know what I was doing. I ended with a soggy mess. I figured someone out there will benefit from a video tutorial on how to press and prepare tofu for the first time. Also, I wanted to try it out!

Any TJ suggestions now that I can get them? I’m open to try anything, especially if it’s frozen!

Groceries!

Yay for payday!

So…this week…ya. About that…

Well, I’ll see the damage tomorrow at weigh-in. Last night was beer thirty/sushi day! After a couple of beers at the shop, Heather, Brad, Rebecca, Rebecca’s date, and Mercy headed to a sushi place we haven’t been to yet. The vegetarian menu was awesome! I loooove vegetarian sushi, especially when they have different ones. I got a sweet tofu roll, an avocado roll with mushrooms and marianated peppers on the outside, and this fried ball with crab/avocado/and something else. So good. I want to go back and try some of the other things

Today was arrands day. I had to pay some bills, bring a load to recycling and do some grocery shopping. I decided that today would be as good a day as any other to head over to Costco and redeem my membership that I got for Christmas. I didn’t buy a whole lot (I left a lot of stuff that I wanted to buy, but know is there for the future), but I got a pretty decent haul. I also ended up going to Kroger to pick up some more random stuff that I didn’t want to buy in bulk.

I took pictures!

(I didn’t separate what I bought where, but it should be pretty obvious. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. Maybe next time I’ll remember to actually take the picture during the day when I get the groceries not at 9 o’clock at night.)

Pictured:

• Marantha Almond Butter (5.89 for that huge thing!)
• Bolthouse Farms Green Goddess Juice
• Big bag of pears
• Flat Out Wraps (it came in a package with 4 regular bags)
• Cottage Cheese
• Sabra Pine Nut hummus (FAVORITE hummus of all time)
• Vanilla Soymilk
• Organic 2% Milk
• Sonoma Jack cheese wedges (they were cheaper than Laughing Cow)
• Tzatziki Sauce
• Bruscetta (totally suckered into it with a sample)
• Bananas

• Kale
• Organic Spring Mix
• Sweet Peppers Mix
• Baby Carrots
• Gala apples
• Mozzarella
• Wholly Guacamole

Not pictured because I forgot and had already opened the packages: a box of 24 Kashi bars (pumpkin pie, dark chocolate coconut, dark chocolate raspberry), 2 packages of chicken thighs (they were 40% off, I only spent about 3 dollars on 10), a bar of dark chocolate, a couple of boxes of whole wheat pasta, brussel sprouts, and a huge carton of portabella mushrooms.

I knew the Costco had a lot of organic options but I was really surprised at how much there was! Next month when I have more money to spend on groceries I’ll end up getting some of the other things I found that I really liked but didn’t want to spend the money on it, nor did I have the space for it in the freezer.

I ended up heading to Five Guys because I was in the area…not the best decision in my life, I realize this but it was very tasty 🙂