PB&Co wins again

Last night after dinner, I need a snack, so I had the other half of the banana I used that morning…

Sorry if that pic offends you, I just sat the banana on the plate and it did that and I thought it was funny but looking at it now? Hmm…oops.

I split the banana in half lengthwise and spread it with a new PB I picked up (because I cannot be down to 1 jar of PB in this house apparently)!

I had been hesitant to buy PB&C0 anymore since I know most of their varities contain added sugar, but this jar of Crunch Time has just 3 grams per serving, the same amount as most of the other PB’s I eat, so I went for it. This was on sale at Whole Foods for $3, regularly $5.99!

So…freaking…good!

I hadn’t had crunchy peanut butter in a long time, so this was a welcome change. I’ve decided to use it for things such as this and my smooth peanut butter for oatmeal, since it will get all melty, hehe. But who knows, I may try this one in oats too?!

Be back real quick with today’s eats…hope you all are having a great night 🙂

The Fresh Market

For some reason, I always forget that I have a Fresh Market store near me. In fact, it is so close, that I could walk there (its somewhere between 1-2 miles away). Hmm…

On Thursday, I had a little time to kill before I met my friend for dinner. And since I am a self-professed foodie now, I spend most of my free time walking around grocery stores or the grocery section of stores like Target and Walmart!

I thought of Fresh Market because I hadn’t been there in a while and I’d heard they had Barney Butter, which is huge on the blogs these days. My parents go there every so often because they have pre-made foods like stuffed chicken breasts and chopped veggies, that are easy to throw in the oven or on the grill and include the directions!

I had avoided it because I had this impression in my mind that it was more expensive than Whole Foods or the other places I shopped. I was so wrong! At least with most of the products anyway. Some things there were more, but not by much.

Here’s what I walked out with:

I had remembered reading about Ryvita crackers on another blog and wouldn’t you know…this whole box was only $1.83! Cheaper than my normal Wasa. I’m excited to try these!

And, oh my gosh, I found The Bee’s Knees from Peanut Butter & Co! I have wanted to try this one for a while after hearing a good testimony from a friend of mine. You can find this one at my Whole Foods but its $5.99; this baby from Fresh Market was $4.49, woo hoo! Let’s hope it is what it claims to be 😉

What’s this?! Honest Foods products?! Whoa…I still haven’t located the granola planks I’ve been searching for forever, but I did pick up these two whole grain country squares in Cran Lemon Zest and Apple Ginger Spice. While I’m really excited about these, there was a blank spot where Choco-Peanut Butter ones used to be 😦 Hopefully they’ll get restocked! These were $2.29 each, which is a big high, but I’ve wanted to try them for a while so we’ll see if its worth it!

And lastly, I’ve been craving hot cocoa at night and haven’t sat down to do some research on the healthiest kind yet (which I would want to be free of most artificial sweeteners and partially hydrogenated fats, which most boxed mixes have one or both) and I stumbled onto this little packet:

Ghirardelli Double chocolate hot cocoa powder…just needs to be mixed with 6 ounces (or 3/4 cup) of milk and you’re set. It does contain some funky ingredients, but not partially hydrogenated, aspartame or sucralose, which are my big no-nos to myself. So I’ll give it a try!

I grazed through the milk and yogurt aisle and what did my eyes see?! My beloved Fage and CHOBANI! I have found Chobani at Meijer but it was only the peach and blueberry. Fresh Market was fully stocked with all flavors, so I will be going back to get some plain and vanilla, yes 🙂 Their yogurt selection is pretty reasonable, about the same price-wise as Whole Foods, except Fage is about 10 cents more there.

I’m just glad because this place is actually more convenient to me than Whole Foods so I will be coming here to get my yogurt stash from now on I think.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed seeing my shopping experience, I sure enjoyed being there and I will definitely be going back soon! What a great excuse to get out for a walk and vice-versa.

Stay tuned for a mini-marathon recap coming soon…

Return of oats

Feels like I hadn’t had oats in forever! Well, today I actually had oat bran, but still. It was 37 degrees (!) when I got up this morning so I knew a warm bowl of something great was in order!

This bowl contained…

• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup Libby’s canned pumpkin (because no other kind will do)
• 2 tsp milled flax
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
• Topping: 1 tbsp pecans, 1 tbsp Naturally More peanut butter

The Naturally More is so good! I think its quickly becoming a favorite. What I like about it, besides the taste and texture, is that its lower in calories/sugar than regular peanut butter and it contains  more protein and Omega-3’s which are good for me trying to raise my HDL. I can’t wait to go back to the doctor later this year to see if my efforts have paid off 🙂

Its also satisfying enough to have 1 tbsp, whereas sweet ones like Peanut Butter & Co have me running toward the jar with a spoon! Boy, I sure do miss that White Chocolate Wonderful though. I still can’t believe I have a jar of Nutella in my house and no desire to eat it in mass quantities like before. I’ve changed?!

Lunch and Snacks

Lunch today is some leftovers: chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), the other 1/2 of my sweet potato (with sour cream) and an orange. Oh and a pita pocket 😉

Snacks are an apple + cheese stick and a miracle Fage 2% with peachiness…

Tonight is girl’s night potluck and I’m excited because I will be making Black Bean Soup for the first time! I found a good recipe but I’m making my own modifications to put my own personal spin on it. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I get pretty lucky with soup recipes most of the time so I’m confident it will be good. Courtney is making her famous banana pudding tonight, so I can’t wait for that as well!

Exercise

I don’t really have anything on the exercise agenda for today mostly due to lack of time. At lunch, I’m going to a stress management class, which has been really relaxing. It has taught me deep breathing, how to have a “vacation” in your mind, and just in general relaxation techniques.

The best part is the envisioning your ideal life. I’ve really been able to take hold of this and I’m starting to see what I want to do with my life, which has been really eye-opening. I love it so far and can’t wait to see what else we learn!

I wore tennis shoes to work today on purpose, so I’m thinking I’ll get in a few short walks over the course of the day to add up to 30 minutes or so hopefully. Then, I plan to do some planks or other strength moves while my soup is simmering later. You can fit it in guys, no excuses! 😉

Weight

I haven’t talked about weight on here in a while, mostly because I’m concentrating on maintaining and toning up my body, plus relaxing more and de-stressing my worn out body. I’m not running as hard as I was because it was really starting to take its toll and I’m making a good effort to go to bed earlier or set the alarm for later when I can.

I’ve also started planning my meals out in advance, to save time in the morning and to make sure I’m getting all the necessary food groups and nutrients each day as best I can.

Its paying off because today I weighed in at 147, which is the lowest its been in quite a while. It was cool to see but that number alone does not equal my happiness (nor should it yours),  it was just an added bonus of what I’ve already been feeling, which is rejuvenated, healthy and energetic!

Have a great Wednesday blog friends, thanks for the support.