Saturday, May 22, 2010

Unexpected Journey

Don't you just hate it when things don't go according to plan? Yesterday, I was supposed to work all day and then today a few friends and I were going to travel up to Chagrin Falls and spend the day walking around and exploring. Chagrin Falls is a cute little mill town with a ton of small shops and a farmers market on Saturdays. I was totally stoked to go - I cleaned my car and everything! - and when I got to work yesterday, I'm informed that my schedule had been changed. Now I had Friday off and work on Saturday. Bummer.

I was heartbroken to say the least. However, I decided to make the best of my day anyway and what better way to do that than a Trader Joe's/Whole Foods Market trip! So I busted out my trusty Magellan and routed out my journey.


First stop - Whole Foods Market. Yay for Whole Foods! I love how The Fitnessista calls it Whole Paycheck by the way. So true. (:


But so worth it. I've had a list handy for quite some time now full of things I wanted to pick up from here. I tried to stay true to it, though I mayyyy have strayed ever so slightly when I got to the aisle that had all the teas and drinks. My boyfriend guzzles brisk like he'll never find another - it makes me cringe every time. I, like almost every other health food junkie, am digusted by anything with an ingredient list including high fructose corn syrup.

Being the amazing girlfriend that I am (*sigh*), I raided Whole Foods for acceptable substitutes to solve this problem. I picked up a couple Honest Teas, the sweetened green and blackforest berry, Joe's Half and Half Raspberry Tea, and a Steaz Teaz Peach Tea and presented them all to my less-than-ecstatic boyfriend. I had the last laugh in the end though when he admitted he really liked the Joe's Tea. Take that Pepsi Co!

I just love when the power of pure overcomes the chemicals of commercialized foods.

Next stop - Trader Joe's House.


It always amazes me how small Trader Joe's is, yet how much stuff they can pack inside. I swear, if you blink, you miss half the store! I found my beloved mochi there though so I really can't complain. I was beyond happy, practically singing even as I headed to the register. Expect to see daily pictures of me making kissy faces to my ice cream from now till the box is sadly empty.

All in all, a pretty good day I'd say.

fresh eats.
Today I awoke with a craving for peanut butter and pancakes - so why not combine the two? That's right friends, I'm currently hard at work on a peanut butter pancake recipe!! The ones I made today were pretty good considering they were a first attempt, but the batter was a little too thick and there just wasn't enough peanut butter taste. Tomorrow I shall do better!

And you know I had to break open one of my Whole Foods buys for this:


I would like to thank Girl Meets Health for starting an UNhealthy obsession with this peanut butter for me. Hands down the BEST peanut butter I've ever had. Ever. I originally wanted the Dark Chocolate Dreams, but apparently everyone else did as well since it was completely sold out. Never fear though, White Chocolate Wonderful turned out to be pretty wonderful indeed.

After breakfast, I decided to bake the cookies that have been going around the blog world like wildfire - Dreena's Super Charge Me Cookies. I made just a few substitutions, whole wheat flour instead of spelt flour, wheat bran instead of flax meal and dried cranberries instead of raisins. I made a little rookie mistake by accidentally reading over the "in a separate bowl" part when adding the wet ingredients and combined them all together in one (oopsies), but even though they were a little crumbly, they were still delicious! I gobbled up two as soon as they came out!


For lunch, I sauteed some mixed veggies in balsamic vinaigrette at home and threw them in a wrap at work with a little goat cheese and an apple on the side to round it all out. I'm just so super creative like that.



So quick. So easy. So delicious. My three favorite things for a meal! Dinner was also these things, a blueberry walnut salad with another Whole Foods find - Spiced Pomegranate Dressing. Mmmmm!



Andddd okay, maybe another cookie or two - for dessert, naturally.


It's not me, it's my sweet tooth. I swear it.

By the way, check out my interview with Erin on her blog, The Healthy Apron! A stellar post if I do say so myself. (:

7 comments:

  1. Hahahaha it's not you..it's your sweet tooth. I have to remember that! Bummer your work schedule changed, but I would have done the same thing to feel better. It cracks me up how some people comfort themselves with clothes or shoe shopping and some of us..grocery shopping!

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  2. Trader Joes + Whole Foods = two of my favorite places on earth.

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  3. This is going to sound super nerdy, but a day with a trip to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's could just quite possibly be the best day of my life (I LONG for the day I travel to a state that has a TJ's!!)

    It sounds like you're a magazine junkie like me - I used to get Shape as well! US mags are more expensive up here though, so I try to limit myself to just a few. They always tend to come at inconvenient times though - like right before exams. Only 2 more months and I won't have that problem any more!! :)

    Next time I'm in the Toronto WF's, I'm looking for that spiced pomegranate dressing!

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  4. I LOVE Whole Foods and Trader Joe's! That's the exact location my Mom ventures to when she goes there! I grew up not too far from there! I also took my wedding pictures by the falls in Chagrin! They turned out gorgeous! I love that area! I will have to check out their farmer's markets when I visit my parents this weekend!

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  5. trader joe's AND whole foods?! that's like my dream day. and i'm so glad i can relate to someone about the boyfriend-guzzing-HFCS thing!!! mine is obsessed with cherry lemon sundrop and sadly i don't think there are many alternatives i could find for him.. you are such a good girlfriend though! oh and if you ever find dark chocolate dreams you must try it. i'm still looking for the mighty maple!

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  6. YUM, PB& Co is delish! I can't wait to try the dark chocolate, too... but it is ALWAYS sold out. The cinnamon raisin swirl is pretty tasty too :)

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  7. I have the Dark Chocolate Dreams and it's dangerous! Especially if you have Peanut Butter Puffins to dip into it ... best combo ever ;)

    I've seen these Super Charge Me Cookies everywhere and I've been dying to try the recipe!

    And I'm also a Canadian that wishes we had TJ's. I got excited when I travelled to Florida this winter, but I was crushed to find out that they didn't have any in the area I was visiting :(

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