2010 January 08

I’m excited to report that we went to Trader Joe’s in White Plains the day before yesterday! I so wish they had one closer to us, but we always make the 75 mile trip worth it. I’m crossing my fingers for one to open up in our well populated *hint, hint* neighboring cities that would be so convenient. I’d definitely go there once or twice a week — maybe more! haha

We had a quick breakfast before we left. I bought these Pepperidge Farms 100% whole wheat deli sandwich thins last week, and while I’m not crazy about the list of ingredients (sucralose aka Splenda and soy bean oil), I’m willing to tolerate a bit being they are just 100 calories each and delicious, not to mention those ingredients are such a small amount, it’s not that harmful. It’s when they make up a large portion of your overall diet that you should scale back. Everyone knows that I’m not a purist anyway, I’m all about the balance.

I made a well-done fried egg (no runny yolk) without any cooking spray or fats added in — risky, I know, but it didn’t stick, so YAY!

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1 Pepperidge Farms 100% whole wheat sandwich thin (100 cal)
1 extra large egg (80 cal)
1/2 of a plum tomato (10 cal)
A few fresh Haas avocado slices (40 cal?)
A medium-ish Golden Delicious apple (90 cal?)

Calories: ~320

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SO GOOD! Avocado is an excellent cheese substitute. So creamy and filling — MAJOR YUM!

Right next door to Trader Joe’s just happened to be a Haagen Dazs store, that was open… in the middle of January… in NY. Just HAD to have a little taste! hehe

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We ordered “regular” sized cups, which I thought was their smallest one, but it ended up being HUMUNGO half pints! So we ended up having just a few bites and left at least 80% of it. I had Mocha Chip and Dustin had some kind of Brownie. Heavenly, but too rich to eat much of. Moderation is definitely key.

Then we headed home, but stopped in Middletown on the way home for some fresh produce at Shop Rite. We were hungry by then and I had to tinkle REALLY bad, and I HATE using public restrooms. Being home was still 20 miles away, we went to The Park for sushi rolls (and a meticulously clean + pretty restroom). I didn’t have my camera with me, so insert a Philadelphia roll and a KC roll here —-> <---------- Delish!

When we got home with 200 bags of groceries, I couldn't wait to dig into my favorite TJ's purchase:

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Again, moderation because these are verrrrrrrry calories dense (190 cal per serving), but so crunchy and yummy. Truthfully, the macadamia nuts are my favorites, so maybe I should just buy some macadamia nuts and roast them at home? But then I wouldn’t have an excuse to go to Joe’s! *giggles*

Some other highlights from my TJ’s loot:

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A 2 lb bag of Honeycrisp apples for only $2.49 !! They are usually $1.69/lb in other stores. SCORE!

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Lots of nuts <3

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LOTS of breads! This is only a few of the loaves we picked up. I also got sourdough rolls, ciabatta rolls, and more loaves of sodium free bread and Naan. I love using their garlic Naan bread (240 cal each) for pizza, it’s SO awesome!

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15 cans of no salt added tunas and wild Alaskan salmon — LOVE it.

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Several cans of low sodium minestrone soup — 200 calories per can.

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Dustin got 2 bags of their ‘Lite popcorn’ and I got a bag of this popcorn that’s made with just popcorn, olive oil, and sea salt; 130 calories per serving and 170mg sodium.

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Fun haul for sure.

Yesterday we went to look at the house that we fell in love with. We didn’t meet with the real estate agent or anything, we just drove by. We love it!! Before we left, we had a warm, hearty breakfast. I’ve been craving oats with chia seeds for awhile now, and I finally made them.

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AMAZING!!!!!

In the bowl:

1/2 cup (40g) Quaker 100% rolled oats (150 cal), cooked on the stove top with 1 cup water
1 medium banana (110 cal), mashed up and cooked with the oats
6g chia seeds (30 cal), also cooked with the oats + banana
Topped with: 1 TBSP (16g) MaraNatha no stir almond butter (95 cal) and 7g Nestle Tollhouse mini chips (35 cal)

Calories: 420 calories

When you cook the chia seeds, they get creamy, gel-like and they pop in your mouth a little. So, so, so good! Very filling, too. This satisfied me for about 4-5 hours.

Now today I have my menu planned and my cupboards, fridge, freezers, and pantry is well-stocked up. I’m back on the grind and feeling GREAT! When I wake up in the morning, I am ravenous, so I need something right away or else I’ll eat the whole house when I do eat. Today my “wake up” snack was tuna on crackers:

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