I had the chance to go to Trader Joe’s this weekend and I declined! Yep, can you believe it? I rejected Joe! 
At first I wanted to go trade with him, but after being slightly more than stressed after Friday night’s news, I didn’t feel like making the 75-mile (one way) trip. So, I opted for a trip to Nature’s Pantry in Newburgh. Not exactly like Trader Joe’s, more like a miniature Whole Foods. They have an itty bitty produce department and even smaller everything else, but it will do when I need a “health food” hippie-yuppie store fix. heh
I only filled my cart about 20% of the way, but everything was super expensive, so that’s a GOOD thing—according to Dustin, haha.
Highlights of my loot:
Dairy- and gluten-free AND lower in sodium (310mg) than most boxed mac ‘n cheese. It’s basically rice and nutritional yeast. Can’t wait to try it!
After my success with the black bean spaghetti, I was excited to find another type by the same maker: Mung bean fettucine
I don’t even know what mung bean is! LOL But I’m hoping it’s as good as the black bean spaghetti, which I totally love. This also has 20g protein/serving. Sounds good. Oh, and it was half the price as the black bean. I may be onto something… have to see how it tastes. Anyone try it yet?
Another bottle of my beloved coconut aminos aka lower sodium soy sauce substitute.
Confession: I collect flours. Seriously. I have like 20 different types, half of which I have never even opened. 
This bacon is awesome. The serving size is 4 slices for 100 calories and much lower in sodium than traditional bacon.
Inherently gluten-free (warns of potential cross contamination) hot dog buns—in shape only. They are very dry, just like all of their other breads I have tried. I’ll probably chop them up for croutons. I was hoping they might be different than their other rolls, but with the same list of ingredients, I shouldn’t have expected such a thing, lol.
Overpriced, in my opinion. I think I can do better in my kitchen. New challenge: Create gluten-free hot dog rolls, try to not spend ten times more on project. 
I read nothing but rave reviews about this stuff: Peter Gillham’s Natural Calm magnesium supplement
I read everything from gives you the best night’s sleep ever to makes you feel relaxed to muscle relaxation to depression relief. After reading dozens of testimonials on unrelated web sites, I told Dustin about it and he thought it sounded worthy of trying. So, we bought a bottle. They had 3 flavors: original, lemon, and raspberry. They are sweetened with stevia, and the taste is not bad at all! I put a teaspoon of it in a glass and pour about 2oz of hot water on it and drink it like a warm lemon drink. Honestly, I think it’s a bit too sweet and would be much better with just lemon flavor, no sweetener, but it’s not bad. In fact, the only bad reviews I read about it complained about the flavor. I don’t mind it too much, it doesn’t make me gag or anything, lol. It’s tolerable, but I think I’ll try original next time. It says that it’s a 7-10 week supply, but Dustin and I are sharing it, so it will probably last about a month—or less? It’s pricey at $21, but I think it is doing some magic. It makes me very sleepy when I drink it before bed, but my muscles seem to feel a little less tensed throughout the day. I’m sure it’s a good idea for me to take, especially because I take prescription diuretics. I’ll report back how I feel with it after a few weeks. Hopefully it will have even more of a positive effect. 
We just had lunch (dinner) a little while ago. The bacon I just bought was a good excuse to grill something… you know, with Memorial Day weekend coming and all. I need the practice! *giggles*
Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger and Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Beef burger, 1 slice Hannaford cheddar cheese, 2 slices Heartland Meadow bacon, white onion, butter lettuce, tomato slices, and “special” sauce on a fluffy grilled bun.
It’s ok to drool a little. I am and I just ate this about 30 minutes ago.
Dear Lawd, I LOVE roasted brussels sprouts!!! This was my second pile; I had another pile like this while I was assembling the burgers! 
LOL
Roasting brussels is so easy, you’ll wish you did it sooner! Wash them, preheat oven to 425F degrees, cut them in half, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic sea salt + black pepper, spread on baking sheet (lined with nonstick foil for easy cleanup) and bake on 425F degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until browned and soft. I like to wrap them in the foil I roasted them on when they get out. It keeps them warm and cooks them a bit more. SO YUM!
This meal was well-deserved. Dustin decided that he wants to start a daily running routine, and today was his first day! I joined him—not to run—but to walk, of course, LOL. 
I’m a walker, not a runner, remember? Dustin ended up doing a mix of running and walking, but he still did really well for someone who hasn’t run for longer than 60 seconds since the high school track team. He went a different path than I did, but I stuck to my hilly walks and covered about 4.5 miles in 1.5 hours. We met up for the last half hour and walked home together. Even though it was drizzling out, I’m glad we went. Oh, and I was fantasizing about the roasted brussels sprouts while I was taking a shower. That’s totally normal, right? 
Time to go take some more Natural Calm and begin winding down for the day. Yes, I know it’s 1:30 in the afternoon, but it’s almost bedtime for us! We’ve been up since before midnight. 
All sorts of “completely normal” in this post, yes? LOL
Do you ever find yourself daydreaming about roasted veggies? I can’t be the only one!
PS. Kind of regretting eating 62 million brussels. 
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