Can you tell I'm watching calories...all I can think about is
FOOD and where to get it from:)
Trader Joes is
my favorite as far as grocery stores are concerned...by FAR. However, they don't sell very much name brand stuff -
most of what they sell is their brand. Which, if you've never shopped there before can leave you (well, at least it did me) feeling a bit uneasy about just what to get. They do offer samples in the back of a few of their food items (different things each time) which are always fun to try and they will give you a
full refund, no questions asked, if you
don't like something. Their staff is always very friendly and accomodating but whoa, is that place packed, at least around here it is anyways. So, I thought I'd just write about what the hubs and I enjoy the most and also mention those very few things we would recommend avoiding. I apologize in advance if you don't have a Trader Joes - as this post will render itself worthless! If you're unsure as to whether or not there is one close to you -
go here and find the nearest location! And if you do have one and have never been - you should totally go - it
changed my grocery shopping life completely. Their
food is very reasonably priced and alot of times you can buy organic foods cheaper there than you can for non-organic at the regular grocer. All pluses in my book:) So - heres my list:
FAVORTIE THINGS - These are the things you
MUST try - like,
don't leave the store without them and unfortunately, don't be surprised if they are sold out of them either.
*
Ridge chips -
Thick and crispy potato chips that are
PERFECT for dipping in your favorite dip. They have ridges in them but almost feel kettle cooked - I don't know how they do it - I just know
they're great.
*
Peanut Butter Cups - As in Reeses will no longer be the 'ish if you try these. The outside chocolate is delish (you can get either dark or milk - both are A-mazing) and the
creamy peanut butter filling tastes like actual peanut butter but better. I wouldn't advise buying these unless you have help eating them...or the
metabolism of an 8 year old.
*
New Zealand Organic Sharp Cheddar - This comes in a block and it is absolutely delish -
perfect with crackers or shredded on top a salad. This has a
strong cheddar flavor but isn't too overpowering. This always gets
rave reviews at parties.
*
Mild party salsa - If you like
fresh salsa - this is for you. All of the salsa staples, with a few extras thrown in (who knew cucumbers went so well in salsa), some seasoning and lime juice make this
a treat. You can find this in the refridgerated section - their jarred salsa is fair.
*
Organic Brown Rice (in the frozen foods section) - If you like the
brown rice at PF Changs - you'll enjoy this. A warning though - the
key to this is getting the organic kind - we tried the regular brown rice and were very dissappointed.
*
Vanilla Almond Granola - Oh my -
add a little plain yogurt and strawberries or blueberries and you have a delicious breakfast. I could just eat this stuff out of the box plain too - but I like when the yogurt makes the granola just a little soggy!
*
Orange, Teryaki, or Tempura Chicken - These are all
super easy and quick meals that
taste GREAT!!! The hubs and I love the keep these on hand in the freezer for those nights when we can't figure out what to make. They go really well with the brown rice and we usually throw in a bag of edamame beans to complete the meal.
Trader Joes also has a
wonderful produce and fruit section that is all
very reasonably priced and comes from non-GMO sources (a little bit about that in a future post). Outside of the canned crabmeat and pickles, which were pretty disgusting in my opinion, we have enjoyed everything else we have gotten from there. We really try hard to do most of our grocery shopping there and only use the other grocery stores when there are "can't miss deals and steals" to be had or if we run out of weekend time to make the 20 minute trek out to Trader Joes (yes, I pass at least 5 - probably more like 10 - other grocery
stores to get to this one). They also have a
beautiful assortment of fresh flowers that are always
VERY reasonably priced and my hubs raves about their
hardwood charcoal to grill with. He claims it has far less ash than the varieties at HD and Lowes and its also very well priced. Feel free to add any of your favorites below!!
Also - in looking around for pictures of the different items I posted about above (because these things DO NOT last in my house:)) I came across this
fun blog that is all things Trader Joes -
some great recipe ideas and favorites are shared!
Seeing as though this weekend marks the unofficial start to summer - I thought I'd start off with a product review of some baby sunscreen, thats also great for us grown-ups (especially if you have sensitive skin) to use as well.
My next purchase was made online at J Crew (currently they are offering an additional 30% off their SALE items - and they do have a lot of mom suits in this category - and free shipping on $100+ orders) where I don't do a whole ton of shopping but their beach/pool stuff is very classy and pretty reasonably priced. From there, I scored a pair of flip flops, 2 new fun tanks, a straw hat, and a beach bag. At this point, you're likely wondering if I've ever been to a pool or the beach - I mean, who doesn't already have these things?! Well, in the past - I was an early morning kind of beach/pool patron - get there with my ipod and a towel to get my tan and get out. I didn't linger and take the salt air in - I was there for the SUN and the sun only...I'm changing my ways and really hoping to make much more of a social event out of going to the pool and the beach. So...I figured I'd at least look the part to start with. 
However, I am missing one....what I currently consider VERY IMPORTANT item...I don't have a towel for Addie! I've found a few that are cute but I'm at a loss and was hoping I might be able to get some help or ideas from ya'll on my little...what I'll call...situation. Most of the beach towels I'm finding are for toddlers and above and would be HUGE on Addie..fortunately I did find a couple of towels that could work but I'm undecided. The first is from the letter tree and its a hooded towel in various animal ensembles. I think the dolphin and turtle are super cute but I've never ordered from this company before, nor do I know anyone that has so I'm curious about the quality of their products. Anybody out there ever used them?
I pretty much follow the rules when it comes to container planting and always ensure my pot has all 3 elements - an upright plant, a mounding plant, and a trailing plant. I usually like to have 2 different types of trailing plants just too add a little bit of interest to the outside of the pot. If you look at the tag on the plants before purchasing, it will usually indicate which of the 3 the plants is so you can plan accordingly. My pots always look a little sparse when I first plant them but trust me when I tell you that they fill in and if the plants are too large when you plant them - they tend to get overcrowded rather quickly. I use the moisture advantage potting soil that is designed to provide a better balance of moisture in the soil so that if you miss a watering or 2 - you don't lose all of your plants. I used it last summer and it seemed to work pretty well so when I changed out the soil in my pots this year - I replaced it with more of the same. After the plants have been potted for about a week, I like to add mulch to the top of the plant to cover the soil and provide my plants with a little insulation from the hot summer sun. I've found it works best for me to arrange my pots in the beginning to mid-May and they usually last me until the weather cools in September. Generally speaking, it takes me no longer than 10-15 minutes to arrange the pots and get them planted and by selecting your own flowers you can definitely save some cash over selecting the already arranged containers at the store. 
Seriously...did I really gain a pound between Saturday and Wendesday despite three trips to the gym and some serious calorie cutting. Talk about a smack in the face - last night after spending some quality time on the eliptical, I jumped on the scale - only to find it read +1 pound of my Satuday weight - huh?! I didn't think it was supposed to work that way...
Seriously...did I really pay $90 yesterday to fill up our truck with gas??? I can think of about 9 bazillion places I would have rather spent that money - I mean, really $90 - that hurts. I'm not even mad about it anymore...just disappointed (remember when your parents said that to you and that hurt more than getting yelled at ?)
The past two Saturdays as I blogged about here and here, I've spent a part of my morning at the local strawberry fields, picking more strawberries than I could possibly eat so I was determined to find others uses so nothing went to waste. I got lots of great ideas (thank you SO much for all of the ideas) on how to use these strawberries and made a few different things but also decided I wanted to freeze some of these delicious berries so that I could enjoy them during the winter in smoothies and sauces. So, I thought I'd share a quick post on the two different ways I decided to freeze my berries!
FAVORTIE THINGS - These are the things you MUST try - like, don't leave the store without them and unfortunately, don't be surprised if they are sold out of them either.
* Organic Brown Rice (in the frozen foods section) - If you like the brown rice at PF Changs - you'll enjoy this. A warning though - the key to this is getting the organic kind - we tried the regular brown rice and were very dissappointed.
* Orange, Teryaki, or Tempura Chicken - These are all super easy and quick meals that taste GREAT!!! The hubs and I love the keep these on hand in the freezer for those nights when we can't figure out what to make. They go really well with the brown rice and we usually throw in a bag of edamame beans to complete the meal.
I try really hard to make most of Addie's baby food but let's be honest here, life gets busy and I don't always have homemade food on hand. SO, because I can generally be pretty honest with myself, I do keep some store bought baby food on hand. I'm a total nerd about the organic stuff and have found that with baby food, if you watch the sales, you can generally get it at the same price or less than non-organic baby foods. So, as I was perusing the grocery store aisles this weekend, I found what I consider to be a pretty good deal on the Earths Best organic baby food jars. At my local Harris Teeter, they are "buy one, get one" and with a $1.00 coupon that I printed from their website, it brings the total cost per jar to $0.15 for the Stage 1, $0.36 for the Stage 2, and $0.45 for the Stage 3. Their website will allow you to print the coupon three times SO, by using the bogo deal and coupon together, you will only spend $3.20 for 21 Stage 1 jars, $7.50 for 21 Stage 2 jars, or $9.50 for 21 Stage 3 jars. A pretty good deal and no "real" extreme couponing involved. I promise you - I hardly have time to clip anything and this literally took me no time to print the coupons and use my VIC (very important customer - which is free) card to get this deal. 
