Another TJ's Day

I had the same exact thing foodwise today so I won't bore you with that.  It was mostly an uneventful day.  I went to get my blood tests done this morning and the same sadistic woman who poked me last time, did it again, although this time she didn't rush. 

Anyway, I did get my second workout with the EA Active 2 in.  I am really liking it.  I actually feel great, and my heart rate goes up unlike with Wii Fit.  Although I do like Wii Fit, but I may do that between workouts because I know I need more.

There's not a whole lot else to say.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow after work and I will go over the results of the blood tests with my doctor.  I will let you know how that goes.  Going back to the Bay Area this weekend and I'll be there through Tuesday, BUT I will be helping them get a router and I'll finally be able to get online when I'm with them!

TJ's Kind of Day

Well, I got my EA Active 2 set up and did my first workout last night when I got home.  I thought I could get it set up before going to Weight Watchers, but the workout went longer than I expected so I missed Weight Watchers...  I liked the format for EA Active but 1/2 way through the workout, the heart rate monitor stopped tracking my heart rate.  It couldn't find my heart rate and that was frustrating.  I hope that nothing is wrong with it because I don't want to have to worry about returning the whole thing and waiting for them to send me another one...  I'm going to look at their website to see if I can reset it some way. Other than that, I liked that I felt more of a workout than with Wii Fit.  There are a lot of different exercises and they have 3 and 9 week fitness goals which is nice.  I'm starting out with a 3 week training session to see how I do.  They also have levels of experience and since I'm out of shape, I thought I'd start with beginner.  Another nice feature is that you can track your progress online on their website. 

I had scrambled eggs (1 egg & 1 egg white), a piece of toast and bacon for breakfast and the amazing thing to me is that it was only 6 PP for the whole thing!  Very satisfying too!  I had 1 cup of TJ's Organic Creamy Tomato Soup, 8 Social Snackers, and blueberries for my morning snack.

I had the Chicken Satay skewers and some of the peanut sauce I got both from TJ's.  The Chicken Satay was pretty good, but the peanut sauce wasn't peanuty enough for me.  I added about 1/4 tsp of peanut butter to what I had in my rice to make it a tad more peanuty.  After I use up the sauce, I'll have to try finding a recipe to make my own. I didn't really have high expectations for them because I microwaved the chicken instead of heating it in a skillet (I am at work).  I'm sure they'd taste better if I cooked them at home instead but what can you do.  I had some ready cook brown rice with the chicken. I brought a big container of blueberries but I decided to save that for tomorrow. 

I had a bag of trail mix for a snack around 2:15 because I ended up taking a nap at lunch and I'm not a good nap taker so I felt rummy (as my mom says) and my mouth had a bad taste.

For dinner I ended up heating up the ready cooked pasta and turkey bolognese sauce I bought at TJ's.  I was starving and didn't get a chance to take a picture of it.

As you can see too, I haven't eating much fruit or vegetablewise...  I do have 3 points left for the day not that I have to count fruit of vegetables, but I'll have to go and look for something to fill up the rest of my requirements...

Another Weekend Fail

I got another case of the "F its."  Oh well...  I did get my EA Active 2 which I can't wait to start up tonight after Weight Watchers.  This weekend was very busy.  I helped my mom and brother Nick move to their new apartment, so I got a ton of exercise, but I still ate horribly. But it's a new week, so I am ready to start fresh.  I am going to have these weeks every now and then.
Anyway, I went to my favorite store, TJ's today at lunch with my friend from work. I got a ton of stuff again and ended up spending over 40 bucks!  I am trying some new things that I got to last me through the rest of the week.  I got some turkey bolognese sauce and ready cooked pasta to heat together for some meals, some flavored sparkling water in lemon (which I just tried and is pretty good for sparkling water) and in orange, I got some chicken satay to have as additional protein with the pasta for lunch, and I got some peanut satay sauce too which I hope tastes good.  I still have oranges and I got some more blueberries and grapes so I'll be set fruit wise at lunch.  I also got their Organic Tomato Soup which I LOVE and forgot to add to my I Heart TJ's list.  I think I may just add to those posts for a reference guide then make a note when I have updated a particular page. 
So my plans for the week are starting up the EA Active exercising, plan for meals, and stay on track over the weekend when I go back down to the Bay Area to continue helping my mom and Nick move.

I Heart Trader Joe's

I have decided to make this a series of sorts, any time I find a new food, activity, or whatever comes to mind, I'll make an I Heart... post.

This I Heart post is about Trader Joe's as you can see.  Now, you'll probably hear me talk about them a lot but here are some of my favorites from TJ's.  Granted I learn about new things all the time, and sometimes things go away but I'll post about new things when I find them in my regular updates.

Social Snackers- One of my new favorites, these crackers are buttery and flaky and can be quite addicting so I have to keep them out of site otherwise I will end up eating a whole sleeve.  I have before!

Cracker Cuts Sharp Cheddar Cheese-  These go PERFECTLY with the Social Snackers.  They are just the perfect size.  They aren't low fat, but they are still only 1 P+ per square so it's totally worth it for the real deal!

Jasmine Pearls Tea- I have already mentioned this in the my first I Heart...  post.  It's just a good light green tea with a hint of jasmine in it.  It's not as strong as regular green tea, which I'm not a big fan of.  It's very delicate in flavor.  I also love all of the health benefits you get from drinking green tea!

Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels- Okay, these I never buy because I can't stop eating them.  Literally, I can't!  But if you are strong willed enough to eat a serving, they are really good!  It has the sweet and smooth of the peanut butter, salty and crunchy from the pretzel.  I am what I call a "pick apart" eater, which means I pick things apart when I eat them.  I'll eat the pretzel bottom first, then eat the peanut butter which gets pretty solid from the baking, and then I'll eat the salty top of the pretzel.  They have them in unsalted as well, but I like the salted version best.

Pretzel Thins- They have a couple of varieties but I've only had the plain salted.  They are really good, and I really like using them with their Peach Salsa which I'll mention as well.  Really helps feed a pretzel craving, at least for me.

Peach Salsa-  I don't know the exact name, but if you just look for a Peach Salsa in the chip isle of your local TJ's, you'll find it.  It's sweet and has a slightly spicy smoky flavor to it as well.  It might even have smoky in the name but I cannot remember!  I first tried it when my aunt made a cheese quesadilla and added a little of the salsa to the middle of it and the flavors were SO good!  It was just 2 corn tortillas, a little bit of shredded Gouda (I believe, or you can use any cheese you like, melty cheese works better), and a little of the salsa and heat it up in a dry pan or spray with cooking spray until crisp on both sides and middle is all melty and gooey!  YUM!

Laundry Detergent-  I know you're probably thinking, what?!  She's mentioning something other than food?! Yes, because I want to mention things I love from a particular spot and also want to show that sometimes it's not all about food.  I love their lavender laundry detergent.  It's biodegradable and had a light lavender scent.  It's not too harsh on my clothes which I like. 

There are so many things I like there and I keep finding new things so I will mention things in my regular updates when that may happen.

Do you have any favorite things I have not mentioned from TJ's?

I Messed Up...

I didn't plan for any lunches or dinners this week, I had too much going on...  So, I decided to have cheese and crackers for lunch, and then I had some of my nut and fruit mix I made.  So I wasn't too bad throughout the day, but I came home with only 4 points left.  I decided to have another serving of the mix, but I ended up bringing the bag in with me, which was my big mistake.  I don't know how much I ate of it, but it was a lot.  So I decided that was just one day, and I learned at a WW meeting that if you have 1 bad day and get off track, and don't write down anything that day and have no idea how much you went over, just start over the next day and don't use your extra points for the rest of the week.  I am going to try that out, and see if it saves me a little bit at weigh in.  We shall see! 
So that was really all I had to say food wise about yesterday.  I learned last night that most people's Zodiac signs have changed, and when I looked up this article, it said that I have changed from a Cancer to a Gemini.  I gotta admit, even though I don't believe in horoscopes, I was bummed out about it.  I love being a Cancer and I am a lot like my sign.  I read into what a Gemini is and I do have a few qualities of a Gemini, but I also heard rumors that this new way is going to take into effect only for people born 2009 and later.  I know it's all silly, but I had a lot of fun with my sign...  My friend even has a Cancer sign on her back and she is a Gemini now too.

Anyway, I am working on a post about Trader Joe's and will hopefully get it out before the end of the day.  I am going back to the Bay Area for the weekend and will be there through Monday for the holiday weekend, helping them pack and hopefully move some of their boxes to their new apartment.  So I should get in some activity points which I hope will balance out what I ate last night! 

Okay, that's it from me!

Wednesday Successes

Happy Thursday everyone!  Wednesday was a good day for me.  I have a twice monthly appointment up in Roseville and it's not until 5:30 so being that I get off work at 4, I usually have an hour or so to kill at least.  There is a Trader Joe's a mile or 2 away from where my appointment is so yesterday I thought, what the hell, I'll go in and get a couple of my obsessions of the moment which I will include in a separate post like my Tea post yesterday. 

One thing you'll probably find out about me from this blog is that I am a "Trader Joe'saholic" or whatever you so choose to call it.  I am OBSESSED with TJ's.  I am always learning about awesome new things they have there.  I am still weary and read labels, and if I can help it, I don't get produce from outside of the US, preferably California, which is why I love going to the farmer's market, I just haven't been around enough to actually GO.  It's on Sundays every week rain or shine but I have been in the Bay Area a lot for different family issues for the last couple of years.  Hopefully I will be able to stay home more often in the near future.

Breakfast was very good and filling.  I had 2 pieces of Sara Lee's light 45 calorie wheat bread toasted with 1 tsp total butter (3 points+), a piece of chili egg puff (5 points+), 2 pieces of ready cook bacon (1 point+), and a huge container of blueberries that I snacked on throughout the morning (Free!).  All of that for a total of 9 points+ which would have given me a heart attack in the past!  I wanted to save as many Godforsaken points as I could possibly save which in turn would starve me and wasn't healthy I'm sure.  I find that I am less moody too with a good breakfast.  I just need to find some more portable egg recipes. 

Around 10:30 or so, I got a little hungry again and had some beef jerky, a laughing cow sun dried tomato mozzarella cheese with 8 Sociable crackers for a total of 6 P+ before going on my 20 minute morning walk.  I ended up walking a mile for 2 activity points.

I went to Panera for lunch with my friend from work. I had the you pick two with my absolute favorite salad, their Asian Chicken Salad which has romaine lettuce, slivered almonds, marinated chicken breast, wonton pieces, and a low sugar vinaigrette (5 points+), and their garden vegetable soup which is 2 points+.  You get to choose a side too and I was a good girl and got an apple when I could have gotten a piece of their french baguette which I LOVE. 

After work, I drove straight to Roseville and walked through Trader Joe's for a while.  I believe it's pretty impressive when you end up spending $65 in Trader Joe's an only fill up 1 bag! I might have set some sort of record there!  They are usually cheap, but I ended up getting some things that really added up, including a bag each of roasted almonds, roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), dried cranberries, and dried blueberries, 100% cranberry juice, multi-vitamins, 2 boxes of tea (one for my friend at work), beef jerky, crackers, and cheese.

Once I was done there, I sat in the parking lot in front of my appointment place and read.  My stomach felt empty so I thought, I better have a snack.  With 10 points+ left, I ended up having 2 of the cheese squares and a serving (8 crackers & 3 P+) of my new favorite crackers which I will mention in the TJ's post. All of that stayed with me for over 2 hours!  I was stunned!  It was GOOOOOD too! I ate another piece of my chili egg puff for dinner since I had 5 P+ left.  I also treated myself to a sample bar they handed out at Weight Watchers.  It was a dark chocolate turtle mini bar for 2P+, and it was pretty good.

Well that was my day, I do have pictures of some of the things I ate, but they are on my iPod so I will have to edit this post to add them later!

I Heart Tea

Okay, so every now and then I'll probably have something I'd like to mention food wise that I love that I will post about in addition to my regular posts.  Plus, I'm in a kind of chatty mood today...  :)

I've never been a huge coffee or tea drinker, more so for coffee than tea, but when I got into my 20s I started having a cup of tea every now and then.  Now at work, I find myself having more and more tea and I really enjoy having it throughout the day.  I'm sort of becoming a tea connoisseur of sorts.  I like fancy teas and trying different flavored teas.  I am trying to build up my repertoire on teas but for now I'll mention my few favorites.

Harney & Sons' Paris tea-  Harney & Sons isn't something you'd just find in Safeway or Walmart.  You'd be more inclined to find it in a specialty grocery store.  Our local store, Nugget, sells a few of their teas including probably their most popular flavor, Paris, tea as well as English Breakfast, and a few others.  Paris tea is a fruity black tea and is probably my most favorite tea.  My mom drinks it every day so she's always asking me to pick some up for her since it's cheaper than where she finds it.  We first discovered this tea in a little tea shop in Carmel, CA and have been obsessed with it ever since.

Republic of Tea's Coconut Cocoa Tea- This is an herb tea that is probably 2nd to the Paris tea above as my top favorites are concerned.  I just saw this one at Nugget, and they sell Republic of Tea in quite a few places, most popular would probably be Cost Plus. This one I just had to try!  Chocolate & Coconut for practically no calories?!  Where do I sign up?!  It's best to me with 1 packet of sweetener in it, I use the Truvia brand, to make it feel like you are having dessert.  And they call it a "Cup of Dessert Herb Tea." I definitely think this will help me when I have a sweet craving!

Republic of Tea's Ginger Peach- To me this is their most popular tea, but I don't know.  I have grown up knowing this tea better than any other specialty tea I've heard of.  My mom has been drinking this for years and it's a really nice tea.  I especially love it iced.  I don't know why, maybe because sometimes in restaurants you can get iced ginger peach tea.  This is (as the name says) a fruitier black tea, and definitely reminds me of my childhood.

Trader Joe's Jasmine Pearls- This is a whole leaf green tea with Jasmine flowers. The balled up the green tea leaves and when the bag sits in the hot water, the balls open up and you can see purples jasmine leaves as well in the bag.  It's a lighter green tea, not as severe tasting (at least to me, I'm not a big green tea fan but I drink it because of it's health benefits) and you can taste a hint of Jasmine which is probably why I like it better.

Lipton's Tea- I had to add this because if you just want a good cup of regular black tea, there's no other place to go than good ol' Lipton's.  This more than any other tea definitely reminds me of my childhood.  This (again to me) is the most well known tea ever.

Okay, that's what I have right now.  If I'll add a new tea every now and then when I try new ones to my regular posts.

Do you have any teas out there you love and would like to mention?