Cheap Thrills

Totally not what you think- I'm talking about an easy snack that can cure a sweet tooth.

I didn't buy any Girl Scout cookies since I like to control the amount of sugar that voluntarily gets into my house.  If you know me, then you understand.  What I do love is thin mint cookies.  I replicated the taste at home this weekend.

The grand recipe:
Take 1 container of Trader Joe's French Vanilla Mint Yogurt

Plus 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

(picture source)

And you get thin mint cookie yogurt for about 140 calories and $1.00.  I'm freezing it next time :)

Please excuse the rain and dog gear.  It was late and I was hungry.

I'm trying to straighten out the comments issue- they all got eaten, so please bear with me.

Expanding My Horizons

Despite being a blogger and expected to try new brands, recipes, and foods, I have talked about how I eat the same foods over and over again.  Part of it goes back to when I discovered some foods were healthy and others were not and I decided to just pick a few and repeat them over and over again (lame sauce).  Now that several years have passed and I'm into more of a variety, I still rotate the same 5-10 meals every single week.  I also have the same status calls and meetings, workout schedule, and TV schedule every single week so I decided to shake it up this week.

• I have had a mango for a snack every single day.  I know they are from Peru and not organic and not local and good for the environment, but they are delicious and make me feel like I'm on vacation.
• I bought flavored yogurt- crazy right?  I usually like to add my own toppings, but french vanilla mint sounded like a win-win situation.

 

•  I bought granola and ate it for dinner.  It is called Ancient Grains and made me feel worldly 
• I got over my doggie separation anxiety and took 3 classes at my yoga studio this week.  Turns out my dog still loves me when I leave him for an hour
• I wore a skimpy top to one of the said yoga classes and didn't care
• I ate beef for dinner on Monday night and spent the next two days eating veggies because I thought my body was confused
• I left work at 5:00 every day this week
• I switched to gummy vitamins for my multi because even if I'm an adult, I don't have to act like it, right?  Plus gummies are delicious.
• I tried running outside.  I got winded but it felt good.  Thank goodness my dog stops to sniff stuff or I would have passed out.
• I walked out of Target without half of the store's inventory.  Just a prescription and nail clippers.  This is progress

I just came back from a late walk and now I'm off to catch up with Modern Family.  I heart that show and it's staying on my weekly rotation along with my mangoes.

Potatoes Are a Snack Food

Side note: I'm watching Man vs. Food and it's making me gag a little big. This guy is eating 5 pounds of nachos.  Who does that?!

This afternoon on Day 3 of the Vegan Challenge, after a particularly stressful situation at work in which I worked through 'lunch', I realized that I had only eaten the first part of my lunch (a salad with a black bean burger if you care) and was hungry about 2 hours later. 

Luckily I had more food with me in my enormous bag of food but my typical poor planning left me with a sweet potato.  I'm sure my Eastern European ancestors were proud of me for eating a potato for a snack, but I just went for it and it was really good, unconventional but good.  It was sweet, salty, filling, and warm.  Kind of like a chocolate chip cookie, but in potato form ;)

Onto other things- I wanted to share another grain with you- buckwheat.  Does anyone else think of The Little Rascals when they hear 'buckwheat'? (picture source)

Buckwheat (the grain) is a great source of manganese, fiber (~5 grams per cup), and flavanoids, making it really good for the heart.  It also helps to prevent diabetes and gallstones, and is great for those avoiding wheat or gluten.  It's also a fruit seed, rather than a grain and is eaten throughout the world.  (picture source)

I've been cooking up the fruit seed (?) for the last 3 weeks for hubby's breakfast.  He heats it up and drowns it in almond milk- a twist on the traditional serving of buckwheat in Russia minus the full fat milk.  It can also be eaten as a savory food in place of rice or quinoa.


Do you ever have unconventional snacks?  I think a sweet potato tops my list.

Some New Staples

One of the things I was afraid of in cutting gluten from our shopping list was missing out on food- really good food.  I'm not even going to think about things like chocolate chip cookies, chocolate bars, ice cream, or CAKE since those items were usually for the hubby and I broke into the stash when I was extra munchy.  I'm talking about my obsession with pita chips, regular yogurt, and whole wheat bread.

I had to make adjustments and of course my other boyfriend Trader Joe's came through.  Each of these items is affordable and delicious- tested by all the members of my household. Both of us.

Going from left to right, here is my breakdown and description of our new favorites:

Rice and beans chips- these are adzuki and rice flour chips and have just a little bit of bite to them and are perfect dipped in guacamole.

Grade A Goat Milk Yogurt- tangy like regular plain yogurt but with a decidedly different taste.  I add a little bit of honey to mine and stir in some chia seeds.

Savory Mini Edamame Crackers- crunchy, salty, made with soy flour and good with dips. 

Roasted Seaweed- good as a salad topping or on its own.  Just make sure you brush your teeth after eating this.

Brown Rice Tortillas- I found these much harder than regular tortillas so these are best heated.  I top them with almond butter, eat, and then repeat.

Brown Rice Cakes- I know these have a bad reputation as a 'diet food' but these are really good.  The brown rice makes these more hearty and a little nuttier.

Organic Red Quinoa- I love the protein content, the texture, and the color.  You can have this savory or sweet and if you are food combining (or trying to), then you can eat it with protein...which is good!

Another new staple is the gigantor salad that makes its way into my belly at least one meal a day.  I add a little of everything to it- mainly the produce that I buy on a weekly basis and a few fun items.

Arugula, spinach, red quinoa, sugar snap peas, butternut squash, kale and onions roasted in coconut oil, and fresh cilantro on top.

I topped it with some guacamole and it was a filling, delicious meal.

Question for you: What are some new products you have tried recently? 

P.S. I'm adding some pages to try to make this site a little less chaotic.  If you haven't found it hidden in the mess, check out my 'About Me' page.  Also, please let me know if you are not on my Blogroll yet and I will add you as long as you leave your URL.

How to Look Like You are Missing Teeth: Or My New Favorite Snack

There are very few things that I can really do to look less glamorous at work.  We have a very business casual (with an emphasis on the casual) dress code and most days I am wearing nice jeans with boots and a sweater.  I only really dress up for client meetings.  The rest of the time, I put my fro in a bun, put on minimal makeup to not look 'tired' (code for looking like death), and show up.


Today I was enjoying my snack of TJ's Seaweed and minding my own business. 

Have you tried this before?  My roasted seaweed snack allowed me to have some savory salty goodness while getting through the things that stimulate me at work, including status reports and timelines.  The whole package is only 60 calories, contains dried seaweed with a little bit of oil and salt, is on my food plan, and takes long enough to eat to distract even me.  Sea veggies are really good for you!

The only problem?  I got up to use the bathroom for the 37th time today and I had a piece of seaweed covering an entire tooth.  Not just a little stuck in my teeth, but the whole high-school-drama-freak missing tooth look.  I can't remember who I may have talked to after I finished my snack, but I had reached a new low in my casual appearance.  I also had seaweed crumbs on my shirt, so I was looking pretty hawt.

Next time, I'm placing a mirror at my desk when I enjoy my snack.

Snacks- Enjoying Strawberry Season

I have very few memories of my early childhood growing up in Ukraine (the former Soviet Union, yo), but many of them involved going to the market with my mom and smelling, tasting, and experiencing truly fresh produce.  These were the years before we moved to the U.S. and A, before we knew anything except for fresh, pesticide-free Motherland produce. 

True story- this was our first apartment in California and my head WAS bigger than the rest of my body :)
When we moved to the States, we experienced the 'bigger is better' mentality, and although there was more, it was never as good as the natural fruits and veggies we picked up on the trips to the market where little old ladies let me sample their freshly pickled veggies (amazing, actually) or the fruits I ate at my grandparents' countryside home.  In each of these memories, there were always strawberries.  To this day, I still love them and I'm excited each time they come in season.
My grandma used to serve them covered in sour cream and sugar.  Evidently I had a much higher metabolism when I was 3.  These days, beggars can't be choosers.
One of my favorite snacks is fresh strawberries served with Greek yogurt:

There is nothing revolutionary and I'm certainly missing the sour cream and sugar, but it hits the spot and the sweet and tart flavors are perfect together.  Add some almond for a nice crunch, and it's a hearty snack.

Another recent fave is whole grain crackers topped with Laughing Cow and almond butter and more fresh strawberries:

Crazy mix, maybe, but it gets the job done!  The nut butter and cheese made a cheesecake-like taste and I'll take it.
I love the smell of fresh strawberries and it's amazing how some smells can bring me back to childhood memories.  Those memories always include sour cream and salted fish (and perhaps an early appreciation for beluga caviar) but I don't think I can get away with bringing those snacks to work.
What smells remind you of your childhood?

The Good, The Strange, and the Chocolate

Well here I am back at you at only 10:30 PM.  I've been going, going, and going all day long and it's almost time to have a date with my hubby since we haven't seen each other since 7:00 AM this morning!  Let's rewind to some of my eats:

The Good:

The return of the snack platter!  Pink Lady apple, organic red bell pepper, organic sliced carrots, and natural PB.

Different sources of protein- Trader Joe's organic cottage cheese with cinnamon and almonds (love, love, love and had seconds!)

The Strange:

Trader Joe's Natural Jalapeno Chicken Sausage on Sprouted Wheat bread and sugar snap pea fries.  No idea why I ate this, but it was strangely good. 

The Chocolate
Easily filling in for the snack of the day, I had chocolate- um, twice.  First I had these two bite size pieces with a side of calculator:

Then I had another couple of pieces at home with a side of swiffer sweeper in my kitchen:

I can't help it, I'm female and chocolate rules my life sometimes.  I needed the fuel to cook up some meals for the week:

Roasted sweet potatoes with orange chicken stirfry

Roasted Asparagus

My beloved Brussels and more sweet potatoes

Don't forget to enter my contest HERE !

Got a question?  Ask me anything here!

Finally, Starbucks will be sampling free Peeled Snacks this Friday, February 26th.  I'm gonna hit up the 'bucks in my building at work for some!

See you kids soon!

Good Bye and Good Luck

Today my company threw me a little afternoon event since I am leaving the company on Friday. I won’t say much, but this is a good thing for my mental and physical health and I am very much looking forward to moving on. Friday is my last day and while I would love to say that I have been cruising along, those last-minute tasks just seem to take forever to get through.

I started my morning with an almond butter and banana sandwich. The toasted bread made the AB melt and warmed everything right up- A-maz-ing! I used Milton’s Multigrain bread and love the hearty texture.




I had to train somebody this morning and went from 7:30 to 12:15 without any food- a small record if you know me. I stopped for lunch and mowed down this heap of celery and carrots and ate 4 spring rolls. Inside the spring rolls are shrimp, broccoli slaw, and Trader Joe’s Sesame Ginger dressing. I also enjoyed a cup of unsweetened Bigelow Vanilla Chai Tea and an apple to trick myself into dessert. I then proceeded to chew a million pieces (ok- 3) of sugarless gym.

My afternoon snack included a cracker with a bit of cheese, a couple strawberry slices, and a couple of baby carrots (un-pictured since I didn’t want to scare my soon-to-be-former co-workers). When I got back to my desk, I tore open my last trailmix pack and went at it. I am thinking that although my lunch was filled with volume, I should add a little more next time. I definitely missed my AM snack and seem to be compensating for the rest of the day.




Class starts at 7:15 tonight and I planned a protein-tastic meal. I have a whole wheat pita with about 3 oz of curry-spiced chicken that I prepared for future hubby’s lunch. If I get extra protein-savvy, I have a hardboiled egg to snack on…I bet you I will sooooo find a way to get some sugar in me!


Exercise-Free Day and New Location

So far, I have been doing just fine with an exercise-free day. I try to get up in spurts throughout the day, but hope to be more active at my next job. As office workers, we tend to get stuck to our chairs but I have a really hard time getting up and giving myself space away from the office mess. One thing that has deterred me from taking walks at this job is that everything is so far away. We are in an office park, surrounded by other office parks, and a big busy street with absolutely no businesses on it. This has been good for my wallet, but bad for my sanity. I am so excited to be moving to a new work location, right in the beautiful downtown area of San Francisco. I am also dangerously close to our wedding venue- the hotel’s event planner better hold on to her hat! This will seriously save me a lot of time since I can meet with her in person when the time comes down to it…or I can walk by and stare just like I planned to.


Do you take walks at work? What do you do to take a break?

Here is my evening snack:

Enviga drink (just like it for the taste) and a Think Organic Bar. Both were just ok. My classmate also passed out dark chocolate squares- 72% cocoa is what did the trick!

Dare You to Try This...

Thanks for all the comments I have been getting! I'm a novice blogger, so it's awesome to see that I'm getting hits...each one of them puts sunshine in my day. Anyways- back to food!

For my morning snack I ate this beautiful pear chopped up in a million pieces:

Lunch consisted of something I put together last night in my cooking frenzy. This is a Trader Joe's whole wheat pits filled with approximately 2 oz of TJ's fat free cheese, some baked tofu, and 1 Tbsp of TJ's Eggplant Garlic spread. It's safe to say that I went shopping at Trader Joe's last night. This lunch was flavorful and filling, but I will have to remember how salty this is next time. It's hard to see, but here it is. I microwaved this for 1.5 minutes and the cheese got all melty.

Pita with some tofu peeking out:

Next, I moved on to lunch dessert. I decided to have a plain yogurt, but I was craving chocolate. I mixed in some cocoa powder and stevia and made chocolate yogurt. I had this with pretzels...and yes, I did dip them. It was kind of like a chocolate covered pretzel gone wrong, but in a good way. I don't really recommend this, but give it a try if you dare. I bet this would work better with vanilla- I know everyone is excited at this snack.

I'm having a marathon day today- out of the house from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. since today is a school night. I'll be back with some snacks to fuel me through class!

Ciao!